Warren Ruda

Andrew Regan finished with 110 yards receiving on five catches in Wilkes' 9-7 win at Morrisville

LATE FIELD GOAL LIFTS WILKES FOOTBALL OVER MORRISVILLE 9-7 IN SEASON OPENER

9/1/2012 4:52:00 PM

Box Score

LATE FIELD GOAL LIFTS WILKES FOOTBALL OVER MORRISVILLE 9-7 IN SEASON OPENER

MORRISVILLE, NY – Three Jordan Fredo (Williamsport, PA/Williamsport Area) field goals, including an 18-yard go-ahead kick with 1:25 left in the fourth quarter, lifted the Colonels to a 9-7 win at Morrisville State College Saturday afternoon from Drake Field in both teams' season opener.

Wilkes sees its overall mark stand at 1-0 following the victory, moving to 9-8 under head coach Frank Sheptock in season openers.

With just over five minutes left in the game, Wilkes began its game-winning drive. Four straight rushes followed by an Alex George (York, PA/West York) to Calvin Garvin (Philadelphia, PA/Roman Catholic) eight-yard completion moved the ball to midfield. A facemask penalty on an Andrew Regan (Boonton, NJ/Boonton) six-yard rush moved the Colonels to the Morrisville 26. Four more Regan rushing attempts put Wilkes at the Mustang one yard line as Morrisville used its final timeout on third down. Facing fourth and goal, Sheptock decided on the field goal for the win sending Fredo out for the 18-yard attempt. The kick was partially blocked and ricocheted off of one of the Mustangs defender's hand inches above the cross bar giving Wilkes a 9-7 lead, its first of the contest with 1:25 left.

Morrisville had one last chance following a kickoff that went out-of-bounds at its own 35. Colonel safety Paul Gaffney (Sparta, NJ/Sparta) ended all hopes of a Mustang comeback when he intercepted quarterback Jory Tanner with :9 on the clock.

Both teams' offenses struggled early with the first five possessions of the game resulting in drive-ending punts. Morrisville finally found some rhythm offensively late in the opening quarter using a five-play, 35-yard drive capped off by a Tyler Dunworth two-yard touchdown run to take a 7-0 lead.

The Colonel offense began to move the ball on the following possession using three George scampers to enter Morrisville territory. A seven yard run followed by an eight yard gain and nine yard flight sent the Colonels into field goal range. From there, Jonathan Conklin (Sussex, NJ/Vernon) took a carry for 15 yards down to the Morrisville 15. The drive would stall at the seven before a Fredo 29-yard kick was true to cut the lead to 7-3 with 8:07 left in the first half.

The Wilkes defense stiffened in the second following the Mustangs first quarter touchdown not allowing a first down over three Morrisville possessions in the second frame.

In the third, the Colonel defense was up to the task yet again continuing its dominate play at the line of scrimmage forcing a three and out on Morrisville's first two possessions. Following a Morrisville punt, Wilkes began its second promising drive of the afternoon from its own 19. George found Payton Bachman (Orefield, PA/Northwestern Lehigh) over the middle for a 19-yard gain followed by back-to-back completions to Ryan Casey (Manasquan, NJ/Manasquan) for 15 more yards bringing the Colonels down to the Morrisville 45. Facing a fourth and five, George moved the chains with a 16-yard completion to Regan down to the Mustang 29. After two incomplete passes, George connected with Regan yet again, this time on third and ten to setup the Colonels at the Morrisville 14. Following a holding penalty and two incomplete passes, the drive stalled and Fredo was called on for his second kick of the afternoon making good on a 27-yard field goal to bring the Colonels to within one, 7-6 with :56 on the third quarter clock.

Both teams traded possession to start the fourth before Morrisville used a rushing attack to move the ball to the Wilkes 27. On a first down play, Morrisville's Tanner was stripped fumbling the ball to the Colonel defense. Rob Houseknecht (South Williamsport, PA/South Williamsport) ended the Mustangs promising drive recovering the fumble at the Wilkes 25.

George led the ground game with 47 yards on 14 carries. Regan followed with 38 yards on 17 rushes, while Tyler Bernsten, who saw time under center along with George, went for 34 yards on 12 attempts. The Wilkes ground game posted 149 yards on the ground.

George and Bernsten split time throwing the football as George finished 15-for-23 for 130 yards, while Bernsten went 10-for-18 for 157 yards and one interception. Regan led all Wilkes receivers with five catches for 110 yards including a 52-yard catch.

Tate Moore-Jacobs (New Cumberland, PA/Cedar Cliff) led the Wilkes defense with nine tackles, one coming behind the line of scrimmage while recovering one fumble. Gaffney followed with seven stops and the interception, while Houseknecht posted six tackles and one sack.

The Wilkes secondary was stingy in its first test of the season limiting Morrisville to just 86-yards passing.

Wilkes will welcome its bye week on September 8^th before hosting Albright College in its Middle Atlantic Conference opener and home debut on Saturday, September 15^that Schmidt Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.

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