Lycoming came into Edwardsville tied for the league lead and winners of its last four games, but the Colonels put together one of their best four quarters of the season to take a convincing 27-13 win. 

           
Wilkes came back from a 10-0 deficit in the first quarter to win its second-consecutive game, the first time the Colonels have done that since weeks seven and eight of last season. 

           
Not only did the Warriors come in tied with the league's best record, but also touted the best defense, not allowing more than 17 points in a contest – something Wilkes did in the first half. “We tried to emphasize at the beginning of the year that we needed to put a stamp on a good win,” head coach Frank Sheptock said. “I think we did that today. Lycoming is a great team.”

           
The Warriors started their first possession on their own 41-yard line and quickly went through the Colonel defense, going 12 plays that covered 48 yards before Scott Erikson kicked a 28-yard field goal for the early lead. Quarterback Colin Dwyer completed four passes for 41 yards in the drive. He finished with 312 yards passing, completing 21-of-41 passes and was picked off four times. 

           
Three of those four interceptions came from defensive back Kevin Gerhart (Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin), who also finished with 11 tackles. “That interception that Gerhart had when we were up 24-13 was huge. It was really a turning point in the game,” Sheptock said. 

           
Gerhart's pick came one play after a Wilkes touchdown with 8:46 to go in the game. Dwyer was looking for Brad Shellenberger on Lycoming's 43-yard line before Gerhart stepped in front and made the catch on the run. 

           
After Lycoming went up 3-0, Wilkes drove 24 yards on six plays before punter Mario Della Fortuna (North Plainfield, N.J./North Plainfield) pinned the Warriors on their own two yard line. It took Lycoming just one play to quickly make it 9-0 when Dwyer hit Shellenberger at their own 38-yard line where he ran in the rest of the way untouched for a 98-yard touchdown. Shellenberger finished with eight catches for 164 yards. 

           
The Colonels answered with a Chris Horn (New Tripoli, Pa./Northwestern Lehigh) 35-yard field goal with 54 seconds left to go in the first quarter. The play capped off a nine-play, 37-yard drive that took 4:15 off the clock. Harry Reese (Plymouth, Pa./Wyoming Valley West) ran for 24 of his 89 yards on the drive, including a career-long 20-yard run.

           
With just over nine minutes to go in the half, Lycoming punter Jake Lamphere booted a 30-yard punt to Aerial Adams, who fielded it at the Warrior 47-yard line. His 15-yard return went to the Lycoming 32-yard line, but a holding call on the play pushed the Colonels up to the 22, where it took Rob Johnson (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) just two plays to find Jason Prushinski (Wapwallopen, Pa./Crestwood) for a 22-yard scoring strike. Horn's extra point tied the game at 10 with 7:02 to play. 

           
Erikson gave the Warriors the lead once again when he connected on a 40-yard field goal with 3:28 to go in the half. Lycoming drove 44 yards on 10 plays covering 3:26 on the clock. 

           
The lead was short-lived as the Colonels took seven plays that covered 60 yards in just over two minutes to take a 17-13 lead which they would not relinquish. Johnson found Jonathon Kocher (Larksville, Pa./Wyoming Valley West), who caught the pass over the defender and kept his feet in bounds as he landed in the end zone. 

           
Johnson finished with a career-high three touchdowns, completing 14-of-27 passes for 175 yards. The Colonels were able to run the ball on the Warriors as well, gaining 152 yards on the ground, averaging 3.1 yards per rush. “Even though they were the top defense in the league, we wanted to continue to be aggressive by running the ball as much as we could,” Sheptock said. “I think as the game went on we really started to wear them down.” 

           
After a scoreless third quarter, Johnson found Jordan D'Emilio (Stowe, Pa./Saint Pius X) from 27-yards out to give the Colonels a 24-13 lead. Wilkes wasted little time putting more points on the board as it drove seven plays that covered 32 yards that was capped off with a 25-yard field goal from Horn. 

           
“I think we are starting to hit our groove.” Sheptock said. “I feel very satisfied for our kids to get a win like that.” 

           
The Colonels will hit the road next week when they head to Reading to take on Albright at 1 p.m. Saturday.