Rowan Visits Johns Hopkins In D-III Tourney Opener
By Matt Leon
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- For the third straight season and 16th time since 1991, the Rowan football team is preparing to play in the Division III NCAA Tournament.
With a 7-3 overall record, and a 6-1 conference mark, the Profs, who call Glassboro home, earned a share of the New Jersey Athletic Conference title and the league's automatic bid. They will open the tournament up on the road on Saturday as they visit the champions of the Centennial Conference, Johns Hopkins.
This appearance is especially sweet for a Rowan team that started 1-2 after playing a very challenging non-conference schedule and sat at 4-3 after a tough loss to Montclair State. But the Profs ended the regular season on a three game winning streak and got some help a couple of weeks ago when Morrisville State defeated Montclair. That led to a three-way tie for the title with the Profs getting the automatic bid by way of a tiebreaker.
Listen To Matt Leon's Whole Interview With Rowan's Jay Accorsi:
"There's 32 teams left to play in the NCAA playoffs," Rowan head coach Jay Accorsi tells KYW Newsradio. "Most of the other teams are turning in their equipment today or yesterday or the day before. We've been resilient enough to kind of battle our way through the season and find ourselves in a pretty good spot. So I'm very proud of what the players have done, the coaches. It's been a trying season, but we've hung in there and sometimes you get rewarded for that."
Rowan excels in areas that tend to travel well in the postseason. They can run the ball with junior Wit Marcelin. He has 1,311 yards and 11 touchdowns this season on the ground and he rushed for 217 yards in last week's win at TCNJ. The Profs also play suffocating defense. They allow just 13.7 points a game. They have shutout two opponents this season (Morrisville State and Kean) and held two others under 7 points. They have allowed 12 points, total, during their current three-game winning streak.
"We have some experienced players there (on defense)," Accorsi says. "We have some dynamic players there. A good mix of upper classmen, that we'll miss (next season), a good mix of some young players. And I think our scheme and with the defensive coaches and (defensive coordinator) Pat Lancetta does on our defensive side fits who we are and what we do. I think it's just really kind of meshed together and molded together and just been a really solid unit."
Johns Hopkins is making its fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance after winning the Centennial. They bring a 10-0 record into Saturday.
"They run the ball really well," Accorsi says. "Big, physical offensive line. Good running backs, good, solid wide receivers. Quarterback is elusive, can throw, can run. They do a lot of things offensively. Obviously, a smart team with some smart guys. Defensively, they kind of move around a little bit, try to force you to get (into) long yardage situations and then bring some pressure."
This will be the first ever meeting between these two programs.
The winner on Saturday gets the winner of Hobart and Ithaca in the second round.
Saturday's game in Baltimore kicks off at noon.
You can follow Matton Twitter @mattleonkyw.
