DOVER, Del. – The seventh-ranked Wesley College football team cruised to a 62-0 win over The College of New Jersey Lions on Friday in Wesley's New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) opener.
Wesley outgained TCNJ 638-208 in total offense. Wesley tallied 27 first downs and converted 8-of-11 on third down. Wesley averaged 9.4 yards per play.
Khaaliq Burroughs went 17-of-22 passing for 259 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Alex Kemp caught two touchdown passes on eight receptions and 108 receiving yards. Corterris Simpson reeled in a pair of passes for 67 yards and a touchdown. Simpson also notched 61 yards in punt returns. Keshuan Henry caught three passes for 38 yards. Kianta Thompson recorded two catches for 16 yards and a touchdown.
13 different Wolverines carried the ball in the win for 354 combined rushing yards. E.J. Lee had 13 totes for 100 yards and three touchdowns. Xavier Drummond had two carries for 116 yards with an 86-yard touchdown run. Elijah Minter registered eight carries for 50 yards. Abe Mansaray notched six attempts for 23 yards and a touchdown.
On defense, 31 Wolverines collected a tackle on the stat sheet. Tommy Tanner had a team-high five tackles with a forced fumble. Cappadonna Miller and Daquay Harris-Winbush each tallied four tackles. Harris-Winbush, Tanner, Matt Gore and Will Scott each sacked the quarterback once. Dante Daniel had a first-quarter interception while Marcellus Pack sealed the game late in the fourth quarter with an interception in the end zone to help preserve the shutout.
After Wesley ended TCNJ's opening drive of the game with an interception at TCNJ's 41-yard line by Dante Daniel, the Wolverines only needed one play to score the opening points of the game when Alex Kemp beat the cornerback on a fly route and Khaaliq Burroughs found him in the end zone for a 41-yard touchdown connection to give Wesley a 6-0 lead three minutes into the game.
E.J. Lee capped off a nine-play, 79-yard drive with a four-yard touchdown scamper to give Wesley the 13-0 lead.
Corterris Simpson returned a punt 54 yards to the TCNJ 18-yard line. Two plays later, Burroughs hit Kemp in the end zone with a seven-yard touchdown pass to push Wesley's lead to 20-0 in the middle part of the first quarter.
Right before the end of the first quarter, Wesley scored on a 12-play, 87-yard drive when Lee pounded the ball into the goal line from the one-yard line to give Wesley a 27-0 lead heading into the second quarter.
Burroughs showed his throw-on-the-run ability with six minutes to go in the second half when he scrambled to his right to evade the pressure and found Simpson wide open on the goal line for a 38-yard touchdown catch to extend Wesley's lead to 34-0 with 6:35 left in the first half.
Lee would get into the end zone for the third time in the first half with a three-yard touchdown run with 49 seconds to go to give Wesley the 41-0 lead over TCNJ heading into the halftime break.
On Wesley's opening drive of the second half, David Marrocco would find Kianta Thompson on a fade route for a three-yard touchdown pass, his first collegiate touchdown pass, to give Wesley the 48-0 lead.
Abe Mansaray and Xavier Drummond would notch touchdown runs in the second half would give Wesley added insurance over TCNJ.
The Wolverines (2-0, 1-0 NJAC) will wrap up their three-game season-opening homestand when they host the William Paterson Pioneers on Saturday, Sept. 22. Kickoff from Drass Field is set for 1 p.m.