Football
Cougars Picked Third in NJAC Preseason Football Poll
EWING, N.J. (8/8/07) - The Kean University football team has been picked to finish third in the New Jersey Athletic Conference preseason poll, as announced at NJAC Media Day on Tuesday, August 7. The Cougars were also selected as the league's "dark horse" by the NJAC's eight coaches, while three-time defending champion, Rowan University, received five first place votes and was the preseason favorite.
Kean received votes in the D3football.com Top 25 Preseason Poll
and was also named among the "Best of the Rest" by Street &
Smith's in their Division III preview. 
The Cougars enter the 2007 season coming off the program's first winning season since 1994 after capturing just the second Eastern College Athletic Conference football championship in program history.
Picked a year ago to finish in eighth and last place in the New Jersey Athletic Conference preseason poll, the Cougars surprised, going 7-4 overall, and 4-3 in conference play to place fourth, with head coach Dan Garrett earning NJAC Coach of the Year honors by his peers in his first year at the helm.
The Cougars open the 2007 campaign with the program's first August contest, when they host USMMA-Kings Point on Friday, August 31. After non-conference games against Albright College and future-NJAC member Morrisville State University, Kean travels to Buffalo State University on Saturday, September 29, for the first of seven straight NJAC games.
QUARTERBACKS
One of the most highly decorated players in program history, senior A.J. Roque (Matawan, N.J.) has helped turn the program around and enters his senior season as the school's most prolific passer. The 2006 NJAC Offensive Player of the Year and a Don Hansen's Football Gazette Honorable Mention All-American, Roque broke his own school record for passing yards and touchdown passes in a season last year with 2,320 yards in the air and 19 scoring strikes.
In 30 career games under center, Roque (pictured) has accumulated 5,980 passing yards and thrown for 46 touchdowns, while also holding the top-five single-game passing totals in school history.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Perhaps the squad's deepest and most talented position, the
Cougars return their top four pass-catchers, including All-NJAC
second-team pick Durell Dukes (Elizabeth, N.J.).
In his first season in a Cougar uniform, Dukes (pictured) set the
program's single-season record with 49 receptions in 2006, while
his 846 receiving yards and nine touchdown catches rank third
all-time on Kean's single-season charts. 
Senior Brian Williams (Pleasantville, N.J.) caught 34 passes for 363 yards and four touchdowns to earn NJAC honorable mention status, while junior James Felton (Plainfield, N.J.) had 24 catches for 358 yards and one touchdown. Sophomore Jared Chunn (Tinton Falls, N.J.) recorded 13 catches for 246 yards with two touchdowns, while junior Shane Meyer (Hazlet, N.J.) appeared in nine games last year, making eight catches for 92 yards.
TIGHT ENDS
Junior Dane Reeves (Plainfield, N.J.) brings some veteran experience to the tight end position. The 6-4, 230-pounder played in seven games a year ago, grabbing four catches for 53 yards, and he will be challenged by a host of freshmen and transfers for playing time.
RUNNING BACKS
One of the squad's biggest question marks in recent years has
been solidified by a solid group of backfield performers. After
ranking last in the NJAC just two years ago in rushing yards, the
Cougars ran for 146.1 yards per game last season to lead the
conference and help balance out the offensive attack.
Jared Chunn led the team with 391 total yards and had three rushing touchdowns to earn All-NJAC honorable mention distinction last season. A three-time NJAC Rookie of the Week honoree, Chunn (pictured) averaged 5.4 yards on 72 rushing attempts.
Senior Brian Williams and junior Durell Dukes also showed their athleticism and versatility running the ball, combining for 617 yards on 96 attempts. Williams had 320 yards on 61 attempts, while Dukes averaged 7.2 yards on 35 carries, including a 71-yard touchdown run versus Buffalo State College
OFFENSIVE LINE
A number of upperclassman will help anchor the offensive line, as four players with starting experience return this season. Senior Joe Martucci (Staten Island, N.Y.) returns to the starting lineup after missing the second half of the season with an injury, while juniors Frank Lillis (Old Bridge, N.J.) and Chris Gould (Tuckerton, N.J.) both stepped up nicely a year ago.
Junior Kareem Johnson (Pemberton, N.J.) returns after missing all of 2006, and several other returnees and newcomers will also battle for a starting role.
DEFENSIVE LINE
The Cougars return three players with starting experience to the defensive line this fall. Sophomore John Parker (Egg Harbor City, N.J.) posted a solid rookie campaign, playing in eight games and making 15 tackles, including three tackles for a loss of 18 yards.
Sophomore Darryl Jackson (Red Bank, N.J.) played in 10 games as a freshman and made 14 tackles, while senior Brian Cilento (Dunellen, N.J.) shifts back to the defensive line after notching 22 tackles, including 4.5 tackles for a loss of 19 yards, from his inside linebacker position last year.
INSIDE LINEBACKERS
Kean returns a pair of athletes to inside linebacker this fall, with seniors Clarence Goodman (Cliffwood, N.J.) and Devon McHarris (Camden, N.J.) providing some veteran experience.
Goodman, who missed all of last season with an injury, made an
immediate impact in 2005 in his first season at Kean, with 54
tackles and adding five sacks, one interception, one fumble
recovery and one forced fumble. Last season, McHarris played in
eight games and recorded 12 tackles. 
OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS
The Cougars once again return experience to the outside linebacker position, with junior Jake Pew (Sussex, N.J.) leading the way after ranking fifth on the team with 59 tackles and adding 4.5 tackles for a loss, including four sacks. Pew (pictured), who played in all 11 games a year ago after missing the entire 2005 season with an injury, also had a forced fumble and fumble recovery for the Cougars.
Juniors Matt Ali (Keasbey, N.J.) and Maurice Ginyard (Cape May Courthouse, N.J.) both return for their third years, after Ali played in all 11 games last season and made nine tackles, while Ginyard had nine tackles in six games.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Kean returns three players with starting experience in the secondary, including the team's leading tackler a year ago, senior Ryan Staton (Mays Landing, N.J.). An All-NJAC honorable mention a year ago, Staton led the team with 76 tackles and added six pass breakups with two interceptions.
Junior George Williams (Matawan, N.J.) stepped up nicely and finished with 23 tackles, including four tackles for a loss of 14 yards, while senior L.R. Blanc (Irvington, N.J.) battled injuries during the year, appearing in just five games and making nine tackles.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Four-year starters at place-kicker and punter, respectively,
seniors Jon Robinson (Brick, N.J.) and
A.J. Roque are both on the verge of breaking
program kicking records. Robinson (pictured) is just four
successful PAT and two converted field goals from becoming Kean's
all-time leader in 
both categories. Last season, Robinson connected on a 42-yard
attempt against Morrisville State University for the fifth-longest
field goal in program history.
In addition to his quarterbacking accolades, Roque has also earned All-NJAC accolades as a punter. Last season, he punted 39 times for 1,387 yards, averaging 35.6 yards per attempt. Roque has 6,092 career punting yards in 173 attempts and is just 725 yards and 24 attempts away from becoming the all-time leader in both categories.
Seniors Brian Williams and Ryan Staton both return as the team's kick-returner and punt-returner, respectively. Williams, a second-team All-NJAC honoree last season as a kick returner, returned two kickoffs for touchdowns last season, including a 100-yard effort against William Paterson University. Staton had 14 punt returns for 98 yards last year.
2007 NJAC FOOTBALL PRESEASON POLL
(as voted on by the league's eight head coaches - first place votes in parenthesis
1. Rowan (5)
2. SUNY-Cortland (3)
3. Kean (dark horse)
4. Montclair State
5. Western Connecticut
6. Buffalo State
7. The College of New Jersey
8. William Paterson