Box Score

The Lebanon Valley Dutchmen seemed to run the ball at will as they amassed 270 yards on the ground and held the ball for nearly 41 minutes which proved to be the difference. Lebanon Valley held on for a 21-18 win, spoiling homecoming festivities for Wilkes, which fell to 3-2 on the year and 0-2 in MAC play.

Six different Dutchmen carried the ball, but Ben Guiles did most of the damage as he carried the ball 35 times for 194 yards and a touchdown. There was little need for quarterbacks Caleb Lick and Colt Zarilla to throw the ball, but when they did, the duo found their targets as they combined for 154 yards completing 12-of-18 passes.

Lebanon Valley did not give the Colonels much of a chance to score offensively as the Colonels had just three possessions in the first half, but their defense came up big as Chris Swinarski (Old Bridge/Old Bridge) returned a fumble 97 yards to pull Wilkes within three.

Swinarski's big play came on a fourth-and-goal play early in the fourth quarter when Charlie Parker was hit by as host of Colonel defenders. Parker dropped the ball at the three-yard line where the defensive lineman was there to pick it up and run untouched for a Wilkes defensive touchdown. The score kept the game close closing the Dutchmen gap to 21-18, but Wilkes would have just one more possession in the final 13 minutes of the game.

Like a week ago, the Colonel offense started slow, turning the ball over with an interception on their first possession of the game. Lebanon Valley's Alex Gilchrist picked off a pass at the Wilkes 10-yard line and would eventually be downed at the eight, where it would take the Dutchmen three plays to score. Parker, who finished with 47 yards on the day, scored from a yard out to give the Dutchmen a 7-0 lead after the extra point by Brittany Ryan. Parker is now 10 yards away from becoming Lebanon Valley's all-time leading rusher.

Wilkes kicker Chris Horn (New Tripoli/Northwestern Lehigh) got the Colonels on the board with a 28-yard field goal with 12:21 to go in the first half. Wilkes traveled 54 yards on 12 plays in 6:28, but the drive was kept alive on a fourth-and-nine play where quarterback Rob Johnson (Bridegwater, N.J./Bridgewater) hooked up with Jordan D'Emilio (Stowe/Saint Pius X) for 23 yards and the Lebanon Valley six yard line. Johnson finished with 157 yards on 7-of-12 yards passing.

The momentum wouldn't last long for Wilkes as Lebanon Valley would go 56 yards on seven plays capped off with a nine-yard rush by Fick as he scored untouched, giving the Dutchmen a 14-3 lead with 8:50 to go in the second.

Not to be outdone, Wilkes put an impressive drive together of its own as Johnson found Gennaro Zangardi (Pittston Township, Pa./Pittston) for a 26-yard touchdown pass to bring the Colonels within five (14-9) after a missed extra point. Lebanon Valley's defense gave the Colonels a break as a personal foul call on a second and nine play put Wilkes on LVC's 18 yard line and a fresh set of downs. The Johnson to Zangardi scoring strike would be the only offensive touchdown Wilkes would tally.

The Colonels opened the second half with a bang as Sean Madden (Dunmore, Pa./Bishop O'hara) returned the opening kickoff 54 yards to the LVC 37-yard line. It would take Wilkes just six plays to take advantage as Horn connected on a 31-yard field goal for his second of the game, closing the gap to 14-12.

Like the first half, the momentum would not last long for Wilkes as the Dutchmen padded their lead with an 11-play, 58 yard scoring drive when Guiles reached the end zone from one yard out with 7:19 to go in the third.

Swinarski gave the Colonels life after quite possibly one of the longest fumble returns in Wilkes history. The Lebanon Valley offense however, would hold the ball for over 10 minutes on two different possessions to seal the victory.

Defensively, four different Wilkes players registered at least 10 tackles with Kevin Gerhart (Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin) leading the way with 14. Sean O'Neal was second with 11 tackles and registered a team-high three sacks for a loss of 10 yards. Corey Gilroy (Dunmore, Pa./Dunmore) and Madden each had 10 tackles as well.

Wilkes will look for its first MAC win of the season when it travels to Doylestown, Pa. next week to face Delaware Valley at 1 p.m.