Box Score DANBURY, CONN. - Senior running back Roy Penn-Consentino (Liberty, N.Y.) rushed 26 times for 124 yards and the Western Connecticut State University football team opened the season with a 24-21 victory over visiting William Paterson University at the Westside Athletic Complex on Saturday night.  It was WestConn's first game since 2019 following the shut down last fall due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Freshman quarterback John Giller (Massapequa Park, N.Y) had a solid collegiate opener as he completed 17 of 28 passes for 124 yards and one touchdown.  His five-yard hook up with David Ross (Port Jervis, N.Y), with 1:52 remaining in the third quarter proved to be the game-winning score.

Giller spread the wealth around, connecting with Walter Crain (Windsor, Conn) five times for 36 yards as well as Jahzaari Mullings (Bridgeport, Conn.) and Messiah Diggs (Rahway, N.J.) four time each, for 33 and 16 yards, respectively.

For William Paterson, Terriq Riddick (Bridgeville, Del.) rushed 15 times for a team-high 100 yards.  He scored on a four-yard run with 9:05 left in the third quarter.  The extra point from Ronald Alvarez (Union City, N.J.) knotted the contest at, 14-14.

Freshman signal caller Spencer Lee (Hasbrouck Heights, N.J.) matched Giller's completing 16 of 25, but tallied 217 yards.  He threw one TD and was picked once.

Defensively, Matt Forti (Bronx, N.Y.) and Brian Tucker (Greenville, N.Y.) recorded seven tackles each.  Nosa Uzamere (Hempstead, N.Y.) added five tackles and one interception for the winners.

For William Paterson, now 0-1, Jared Salgado (Parsippany, N.J.) registered a game-high 10 tackles while Keshaun Henry (Woodbridge, N.J.) had eight tack downs.

"I am really proud of the team tonight," stated WestConn head coach Joe Loth.  "I knew we would face some adversity early and I thought our guys really handled the moment."

WestConn continues its three-game home stretch to start the slate when it plays host to Albright College next Saturday, September 11.  Kick-off is set for 5 pm.

WPU host FDU-Florham next Saturday at Wightman Field at 1 pm.