Warren Ruda

Patrick Ingulli rushed for 210 yards and two scores in Wilkes' 38-35 win at Stevenson Saturday

INGULLI RUSHES FOR 210 YARDS AND TWO SCORES IN WILKES 38-35 WIN AT STEVENSON

10/20/2012 7:52:00 PM

Box Score

INGULLI RUSHES FOR 210 YARDS AND TWO SCORES IN WILKES 38-35 WIN AT STEVENSON

OWINGS MILLS, MD – Patrick Ingulli (Hawley, PA/Wallenpaupack) rushed for a career-high 210 yards and two touchdowns and Jordan Fredo (Williamsport, PA/Williamsport Area)'s 20-yard field goal with :11 remaining propelled Wilkes University to a 38-35 come-from-behind Middle Atlantic Conference victory over host Stevenson University Saturday afternoon from Mustang Stadium.

With the win Wilkes moves to 4-3 overall and evens its MAC mark at 3-3. Stevenson drops to 1-6 overall and 1-5 in MAC play.

With Wilkes trailing 35-28 midway through the fourth quarter, the Colonels began their furious comeback. A long and ground-heavy drive put Wilkes in scoring position with a chance to tie the score. Starting at its own 16, the Colonels went to the ground to move the ball. Facing a third and three from its own 37, Ingulli took a handout off tackle and darted through the Stevenson defense for 27 yards and a Wilkes first down. From there, quarterback Tyler Berntsen (Long Valley, NJ/West Morris Central) rushed for nine yards on two draws and Ingulli for another five yard gain to setup the Wilkes scoring play. Berntsen went play action and found tight end Dan Curry for a 21-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 35 with 8:54 left in the fourth.

Needing a three and out, the Wilkes defense came up with a huge set of stops forcing a Charlie Cornell 52-yard punt setting the Wilkes offense up at its own seven yard-line.

That's where the game-winning drive would start as Berntsen found Curry over the middle for an eight yard completion. Ingulli rushed three straight times for 14 yards and Berntsen went on a quarterback keeper twice for 14 more yards to move the ball to the Wilkes 44. After another Berntsen draw picked up 11 yards, the junior signal caller made the biggest throw of the contest hitting Tim Bousson (Shamokin, PA/Shamokin) for 24 yards moving the ball to the Stevenson 10 with :51 remaining in the contest. Wilkes rushed three straight times before sending Fredo out for the potential game-winning kick with :11 ticks on the clock. Following a Stevenson timeout, Fredo's kick was true through the center of the uprights as Wilkes captured its third MAC win of 2012.

The game see-sawed throughout the first half as both teams had little trouble finding the scoreboard. After the Mustangs took a 7-0 lead on their first possession, Wilkes answered tying the game on its first possession as Justin Pellowski (Mt. Carmel, PA/Mt. Carmel) caught a 19-yard touchdown pass from Berntsen.

Drew Devitt (Sinking Spring, PA/Wilson) tied the game at 14 when he caught a Berntsen pass from three yards out. Two Ingulli touchdown runs, one from two yards out and another a 28-yard dash through the Stevenson defense tied the game for the fourth time at 28 late in the third quarter.

Ingulli enjoyed his finest showing in the Navy and Gold racking up the 210 yards on a season-high 30 carries. Berntsen was also punishing on the ground finishing with 114 yards on 24 attempts. As a team, Wilkes continued to show why it ranks first in the MAC in rushing yards per-game totaling 337 yards on 61 attempts in the win.

Berntsen was efficient through the air finishing 12-for-21 for 194 yards and a season-high three touchdowns. Curry (three catches/60 yards) and Pellowski (two catches/54 yards) each scored touchdowns to lead the Wilkes receivers.

Defensively Wilkes was led by safety Paul Gaffney (Sparta, NJ/Sparta) posting 12 tackles. Tate Moore-Jacobs (New Cumberland, PA/Cedar Cliff) followed with 10 stops while recovering one fumble. J.T. Keer (Lehighton, PA/Marian), who started in the place of injured safety Dylan Mohring (Mohrsville, PA/Schuylkill Valley), contributed 10 stops.

K.K. Smith led the Stevenson offense with 96 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.

Wilkes hosts Lycoming (5-2, 5-1 MAC) next Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at Schmidt Stadium.

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