EWING – Following their 21-17 loss to Montclair State, the TCNJ Lions record sunk to 0-5, which is impossible to convert to a winning record in a ten game series. The game against the Red Hawks was their most competitive yet, but ultimately they lost the lead in the third quarter and could not get back on the board, ending the game on the wrong end of a good performance.
But are the Lions an 0-5 team? Record aside, are they a team that doesn’t have anything going on, or are other circumstances at play causing them to lose? Head Coach Casey Goff thinks it’s a matter of holding on to the ball.
“We’ve got to extend drives,” said Goff. “We ended up facing I think 16 possessions on the defensive side, so we’ve got to find a way to continue drives on the offensive side. And I think we’re finding those things, I think we’re finding ways we can click, and things we can take advantage of.”
The stats back this up to an extent. In this week’s game against the Hawks, the Lions held on to the ball for 26:06, a nearly 8 minute difference to the Hawk’s 33:54 on offense. The Lions had a bit of a problem of either making major play – like an 80-yard touchdown to wide receiver Thomas Koenig in the first quarter – or going three-and-out.
“Fourth and ten, we’ve got a kid dead to rights, five yards short, he makes a move and next thing you know they’re setting up 1st-and-goal on a play that should be done.” said Goff. “Third and whatever they hit a screen for a touchdown so we’ve got to just make sure we’re cleaning those things up.”
There are two big symptoms to this possession illness, both of which were evident in a play during the second quarter. In second quarter the “neverending third down” occurred.
TCNJ sent in backup quarterback Andrew Donoghue towards the end of the second quarter, and the Lions were facing an uphill battle with 3rd-and-16 from their own 16-yard line.
On the first play attempt, the Hawks encroached on the offense, which changed it to 3rd-and-11. On the second attempt, the Lions had a false start and lost the five yards they had just gained, going back to 3rd-and-16.
On the third attempt, the Lions had another false start, going back another five yards. It wasn’t until the fourth attempt that the play actually took place: a failed rushing attempt by Donoghue that lost them another five yards, them to punt on 4th-and-26 at their own 8-yard line.
This play showed off the two major weaknesses the Lions had to play through. The first is an inability to get much done on the ground. The leading rusher for TCNJ was Connor Owen, with a net four yards on three carries.
Both quarterbacks who played, Trevor Osler and Donoghue, attempted to rush the ball, but both ended up losing a net 13 yards. The Lions rushed for negative-28 yards over the course of the game, which skews the balance of the offense entirely to passing.
Not only did that make it easier for the Hawks to run pass defense, it meant TCNJ couldn’t control the clock.
The other is the penalties incurred during the play. Both teams combined for 14 penalties for 135 yards. But, fouls seemed to hurt TCNJ more. The Lions’ eight penalties for 85 yards made difficult drives even longer. They also didn’t have a running back that performed like Montclair’s Willie Barr who could run 15, 20 or 25 yards through the defense, and thus had to turn to the passing game.
With limited options, TCNJ turned to a fake punt which was unsuccessful. That, combined with injuries to linebackers – Kevin Hennelly and Thomas Biscardi,- were what turned the Lions’ prospects of winning upside down after such a torrid beginning.
“We’ve got a couple of injuries we have to address, we had a couple of kids who got out throughout the week,” said Goff. “But we’ve got to find a way to step up and make up for that and do what we’re supposed to do.”
And while skilled play by Osler and Koenig made the final drive incredibly close, TCNJ’s reliance only on the pass allowed Montclair to put the clamps on defensively.
“At the end there they started double teaming me,” said Koenig. “But we’ll be able to adjust to anything. The coaches will put a plan in and we’ll be able to adjust.”
Ultimately, if the Lions can’t run the ball, every game is going to be a challenge.
Fortunately for them, they have some monstrous players in the passing game. Players like Osler and Koenig were the reason the game was as competitive as it was, and if they can build on those strengths they might be able to cover for their weaknesses on the ground and a lack of time of possession.
Not shockingly, Goff lavished praise on Koenig as well as wide receivers Jack Clevenger and Ibn Bailey.
“[Koenig’s] not the only one.” said Goff. “Clevenger’s going to continue to come up big, Ibn continues to be healthy, we’ve got some kids, we got some skill kids that we’re excited about that we feel like we can take advantage of so we’re going continue to do that.”
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