BUENA VISTA, Va. – The Morrisville State College football team used a 34 point- combined second and third quarter to get by hosts Southern Virginia University by a 47-23 New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) decision Saturday afternoon in Buena Vista, Virginia.

The win improves the Mustangs to 6-2 overall, 4-1 in conference play, while the Knights still seek their first win, dropping to 0-7, 0-4 within the NJAC.

Morrisville State accumulated 586 yards total offense on the day, with nearly half coming in the running game as they powered 284 yards total gain on the ground.  Lemar Johnson (Ossining, N.Y.) led the Mustangs with 117 yards on 11 carries, rushing for two scores, while running back Cristian Pena (Ridgewood, N.Y.) added another 108 on 20 carries for two touchdowns.

Johnson added 302 yards in the air, completing 18-of-27 passes and throwing for two touchdown strikes, one to wide receiver Anthony Gray (Smallwood, N.Y.) who posted a team best 130 yards on seven catches for a touchdown score. Anthony Mella (Brooklyn, N.Y.) added a 99 yard receiving game on two receptions, including a 95-yard score that came midway through the third quarter from Johnson.

Junior linebacker Colton Evans (West Winfield, N.Y.) led the Mustangs defensively, posting eight solo stops on the day to go along with his one sack that set SVU back 16 yards. Caleb Wright (Cortland, N.Y.) added seven tackles on the day, all solo stops.

A majority of the Knights offense came in the passing game as quarterback Mitch Stevenson connected on 21-of-47 passes for 279 yards and one touchdown score. Kyler Harris led the receiving unit with 85 yards on seven catches, while teammate Chris Harper added 63 on five receptions for a score.

Jerry Washington led Southern Virginia in the running game, posting a net 59 yards on 21 attempts as the Knights were held to 117 yards rushing on the day.

Matthew Gregory posted seven solo tackles to lead the defensive efforts for the hosts, while teammate Keaton Epps added another six on the day.

Morrisville State got off to a slow start in the first quarter, leading by a narrow 6-5 margin on a three-yard rushing score from Johnson with just under two minutes to go in the quarter before exploding in the second with three straight scores to claim a 26-8 halftime lead.

A 26-yard field goal by Kieren Phillips early on in the second put the hosts ahead 8-6, but Morrisville State took advantage of the first SVU turnover of the day, an interception by Shane Carroll (Morrisville, N.Y.) that was returned into Knight territory. Just four plays later, Johnson scrambled 36-yards into the end zone for the 12-8 Mustang lead to cap off the five play, 45-yard drive for the score.

The Knights had a chance to cut it to one on their next possession, but the 27 yard field goal attempt sailed wide left and gave possession back to the Mustangs where they added to their lead with a four-yard rushing score by Pena for the 26-8 advantage at the half.

In the third, Morrisville State picked up where they left off and scored on their first possession of the second half, completing the 78-yard drive in 11 plays with a 17-yard rushing score by Pena, his second of the day.

After forcing SVU to a quick three-and-out, Morrisville State regained possession on their own five yard line and in one play, the Mustangs increased the lead to 32, as Johnson found Mella wide open for the 95-yard scoring completion.

On the ensuing Southern Virginia drive, the Knights moved into Mustang territory, but on third down Evans sacked Stevenson for a loss of 16 yards and forced the hosts to punt the ball away, as they registered their smallest drive of the afternoon, just three yards.

The hosts were able to post their first score since early in the second quarter midway through the final stanza, and forced a Mustang three-and-out to regain possession, but the Morrisville State defensive unit again came up huge.

Chad Dorrance (Cazenovia, N.Y.) stepped in front of a Bryan Phillips pass at the Knights 45 and returned the ball down to the 17, where two plays later, Darrel West (Syracuse, N.Y.) capped off the two-play drive with a four-yard rushing score and 47-16 Mustang lead.

Southern Virginia added one final score with seconds remaining on the clock, but it wasn't enough as Morrisville State earned the conference win.

Morrisville State returns to the field Saturday, hosting William Paterson University in the home finale, scheduled for 12 p.m. on Drake Field.

Morrisville State sets the world in motion for students. Curricula are enriched with applied learning and pave the way for opportunity at both the Morrisville and Norwich campuses. An action-oriented, interactive learning lab, the college is a national leader in technology. Lauded for its exemplary, innovative and effective community service programs, the college was named to the 2012 President's Higher Community Education Service Honor Roll. The college was recognized, by U.S. News and World Report, in its top tier Best Regional Colleges list and ranked second among regional colleges nationwide for outperforming its anticipated graduation rate. Visit www.morrisville.edu to experience, Morrisville in motion. 

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