MADISON, NJ - Two fourth quarter touchdowns by home standing Fairleigh Dickinson-Florham in a two and a half minute span proved to be the rallying point for the Devils as they defeated Apprentice School 23-21 on Saturday at Shields Field.

The hosts started the scoring on a 91-yard drive that closed out the first quarter as Bill Winters found Kyle Bukowiec on a 13-yard scoring pass.  The extra-point conversion was good to give FDU a 7-0 lead after one quarter.

Apprentice School got on the scoreboard via special teams to tie the game.  Freshman Jusdon McKee blocked a punt that fellow freshman Deondre James recovered and returned 35 yards for a touchdown with 9:28 left in the first half. 

On the ensuing kickoff, freshman Jovan McCamey recovered a fumble at the FDU 30 to put the Builders in prime position.  Following a pass interference penalty and five running plays, junior Phil Caralla found McKee for a four-yard scoring pass.  The Devils matched the Builders by blocking the extra-point attempt to give Apprentice School a 13-7 lead with 6:07 left in the half.

To start the second half, the Devils drove down to the Builder 27 before being forced to attempt a 45-yard field goal which Michael Barnard connected to cut the deficit to 13-10 with 9:57 left.

After each team traded a series, the Builders went on a 70-yard scoring drive capped by a Caralla to McKee five-yard scoring pass.  Those two also connected on the two-point conversion to put the Builders ahead 21-10 with 50 seconds left in the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, the Devils found the end zone on two straight possessions in the first six minutes.  They ended a seven play, 61-yard drive with Sean North scoring on a six yard run to cut the lead to 21-17.  After forcing a Builder punt, Dale Arena scored on a 33-yard run with 9:09 left.  That extra-point attempt was blocked by freshman Mana Ohia as the Builders trailed 23-21.

The Builders had four chances in the last nine minutes; two were stopped on downs while two ended in interceptions.

The teams were almost dead even in statistics.  Each team had 17 first downs, the Builders rushed for 15 more yards (144-129) and the Devils threw for 15 more yards (161-146).  Apprentice School held the ball for 52 more seconds and each team turned the ball over twice.

Caralla was the leading rusher for Apprentice School with 75 yards, while he was 14-of-33 for 146 yards and two touchdowns.  Sophomore Bryan Cain and McKee each caught three passes.  On defense, sophomore Jeremy Drayton had a game-high 11 tackles and a fumble recovery, while Ohia added seven, one sack, two tackles for a loss and a blocked kick.

"The effort was there, we just have to do the little things and we'll be ok," said Apprentice School coach Michael Vite.  "Special teams came through twice, giving us our first score and defense for the most part was good."

The road doesn't get easier for the Builders as they'll return home for their lone home game in October to face nationally-ranked Salisbury University in a 1:30 pm start.  The Sea Gulls lost 41-27 at Delaware Valley on Saturday for their first loss of the season.

FDU-FLORHAM 23, APPRENTICE SCHOOL 21

Apprentice       0          13        8          0--       21

FDU-Florham  7          0          3          13--     23

First Quarter

FDU - Bukowiec 13 pass from Winters (Barnard kick), 5:09

Second Quarter

NNA - James 35 blocked punt return (Edelen kick), 9:28

NNA - McKee 4 pass from Caralla (kicked blocked), 6:07

Third Quarter

FDU - Barnard 45 FG, 9:57

NNA - McKee 5 pass from Caralla (McKee from Caralla), :50

Fourth Quarter

FDU - North 6 run (Barnard kick), 12:30

FDU - Arena 33 run (kicked blocked), 9:09

Att. - 1,139

                                          NNA              FDU

First Downs                        17                      17

Rushes-Yds                        34-144       40-129

Passing Yds                        146                  161

Comp-Att-Int                     14-33-2    13-24-0

Fumbles-Lost                     4-0                   2-2

Penalties-Yds                     4-50             10-87

Punts-Avg                          5-44.8         7-28.9

Time of Possession             30:26             29:34

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Apprentice, Caralla 10-75; Arnold 22-63; Paulin 1-5; Pittman 1-1; FDU, Arena 15-96; Winters 13-20; Norton 4-19; Griffin 6-3; Wells 1-1; Team 1-(-10).

PASSING: Apprentice, Caralla 14-33-2-146; FDU, Winters 13-24-0-161

RECEIVING: Apprentice, Cain 3-26; McKee 3-8; Gordon 2-37; Arnold 2-31; Ellis 2-11; Paulin 1-18; Murphy 1-15; FDU, Bukowiec 6-53; Arena 2-22; Schoonover 2-16; Eck 1-45; Reed 1-26; Scamporino 1-(-1).

Full Game Stats