MADISON, N.J.–After the way the first half ended, Eastern University Football could have been forgiven for folding up the tents, and calling it a good season with four wins. The Eagles, however, had other plans. Trailing 33-14, and having given up two touchdowns in the final 72 seconds of the half on the road against a veteran group from FDU-Florham, the Eagles scored all 23 points in the second half and grabbed a 37-33 win to finish the year in a tie for third in the MAC.

The Eagles (5-5, 5-4) scored three times in the fourth quarter and got a critical interception from Jamauri James late to seal the win.

Even after John Nolek made a 30 yard field goal after a productive drive in the third quarter, the Eagles still trailed 33-17. While the missed extra points meant that the Eagles would need only two scores to tie, they would need to contain the FDU offense and convert two two-point conversions to tie the game that way.

The defense did its job. The Eagles held the Devils scoreless with only 47 yards in the third quarter, but the Devils had the ball to start the fourth.

A Salif Nikiema sack put the Devils behind the sticks, and the defense earned a stop to get the ball for the first time in the fourth with 11:53 on the clock. After a couple patient runs with Jeremiah Avrilien and Brett Nabb, the Eagles got a chunk play on a 17-yard completion to Eddie Swinton and then Nabb found Nassik Smith in the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown. The scoring drive, which took less than three minutes, was exactly what the Eagles needed, but the tow-point conversion failed and they still trailed by ten.

The defense again rose to the task and forced a three-and-out. Another short punt into the wind gave Nabb a short field. After a good catch by Chris Rivera for a short gain, Nabb escaped pressure and found Avrilien with space to run. The sophomore running back raced to the end zone to close the gap to four with half a quarter left.

Nolek squibbed a kick into the corner and pinned the Devils deep, but FDU worked up the field and had a fourth and one with 2:25 to play. The hosts tried to draw the defense offside with hard count, but their chicanery backfired as an offensive line-man jumped and they were forced to punt on 4th and 6.

Down three, the Eagles took over possession at their own 25 with a little more than two minutes to play.

Rather than work things short, Nabb took an early shot and found Swinton for a 75-yard score. Eastern's last touchdown of the year would be enough as James intercepted a pass to give the Eagles the ball back. They needed one more first down to ice the game. Nabb ran for ten yards on 2nd and nine to put the visitors in victory formation.

The host Devils (6-4, 5-4) honored their seniors before the game and came out with a score on their first possession of the game. While the FDU offense was in command for much of the first half, they gamed over 330 yards in the first half hour, the Eagles found an edge on special teams. Gashawn Moody blocked the first extra point, and a low snap on a first-quarter punt resulted in great field position for the Eagles when the punter went to a knee to receive the snap.

The Eagles went 36 yards in five plays and scored on a Devon Johnson catch. They went ahead on Nolek's extra point. Nolek was superb on the day. He made all his extra points and was 1-for-1 on field goals and had three touchbacks on kickoffs and another couple deep kicks that pinned the Devils deep.

Even so, the FDU offense was clicking, and the hosts went up 21-7 with the first two scores of the second quarter.

The Eagles scored on a Brett Nabb run with five and a half minutes to play in the half to close the gap to seven, but the Devils answered with a drive for a touchdown with 1:22 on the clock, but missed another extra point. Pinned deep in their end, the Eagles were forced to punt against the wind. When the Devils capitalized with a one-play drive to score, it looked like the rout was on.

"What a win to finish our regular season!" Head Coach Billy Crocker said after the win. "All the credits goes to our players who after being down big at the half could have packed it in, but they didn't. We talked about getting one stop at a time on defense and one score at a time on offense. All three phases stepped up big in the second half, especially the big plays on offense and the second-half shut out on defense. To finish our year 5-4 in the MAC in only our 2nd season is a huge credit to our staff and our players who committed to the process of building this program."

Nabb ran for 45 yards and threw for 245 yards and four touchdowns. Avrilien finished with 132 all-purpose yards. Swinton posted a season-best 125 receiving yards. 

Though the win put the Eagles in a five-way tie for third, they will miss the Bowl series on tiebreakers.