WAYNE, N.J. —Three early turnovers were too much for William Paterson to overcome as it fell to No. 22/23 Wesley College, 66-0, Saturday afternoon at Wightman Stadium.

After forcing and recovering a fumble on the Wolverines’ second play from scrimmage, sophomore quarterback Mike Yarosz threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown by Wesley senior cornerback DaJahn Lowery.

The turnovers didn’t stop there for the Pioneers (0-4, 0-3 NJAC), as Yarosz was stripped on William Paterson’s next play. The Wolverines (2-1, 2-0 NJAC) would go on to score to take a quick 14-0 lead on the first of five touchdown runs for sophomore tailback E.J. Lee. The 5-foot 7-inch Yarosz was again stripped on the first play of the next offensive possession, followed by Lee plunging into the end zone for his second score and a 21-0 lead less than three minutes into the first quarter.

“I thought the start was solid,” William Paterson head coach Jerry Flora said. “We did some good things early on, and I’m obviously not happy about the interception.”

The No. 22/23 Wolverines defended WPU’s new option offense well the entire contest and had Yarosz’s pitches timed perfectly from the start.

“[Wesley] had a run through on a blitz that we didn’t pick up,” said Flora. “It was a mistake that we practice and obviously need to practice some more.”

Yarosz was just 1-for-5 with 8 yards through the air while rushing nine times for -20 yards. Senior quarterback James Waldron took over for him at the beginning of the second half.

The Pioneers had a hard time getting anything started on offensive with just 20 yards of total offense and two first downs.

Wesley, who came into the game as the top scoring offense in the NJAC, was able to score at will, amassing 411 yards of total offense and 20 first downs.

Flora attributed their offensive proficiency to team chemistry and experience.

“They have a lot of guys that have been playing together for a while,” said Flora. “That helps a lot in terms of cohesiveness, and there were a lot of returning starters on both sides of the ball.”

Junior linebacker Charles Faulkner led the Pioneer defense with seven tackles, while sophomore linebacker Corey Anthony and sophomore safety Tyler Gross followed close behind with six tackles apiece.

William Paterson will head into a bye week next before visiting conference foe Kean University for a 1 p.m. matchup on Saturday, October 7.

Flora and his players will take the next few days to relax and clear their minds, but then it’s full speed ahead into October.

“We’re going to get back after it and get ready for Kean, and that’s all we can do.”