Wilkes Colonels (4-0, 3-0) vs. Albright Lions (2-3, 1-2)
Saturday, October 9, 2021 - 12:00 p.m.
Gene L. Shirk Stadium
 
Game Notes
 
Live Stats
 
Live Video
 
THE MATCHUP
Wilkes University travels to Albright College for a 12:00 p.m. Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) game on Saturday, October 9. The Colonels will look to remain unbeaten on the year after a 21-14 Homecoming win over Stevenson last Saturday to move to 3-0 in the league. The Lions are looking for their third victory of the season after starting 2-3, including a 31-20 road loss at Misericordia in conference play last week.
 
THE HEAD COACHES
Jonathan Drach (Western Michigan '04) was named head coach of the Wilkes University football team on February 8, 2018 becoming the ninth mentor of the program since its inception in 1946. Drach will continue to serve as the offensive coordinator during the 2021 season as well as working with the quarterbacks. Wilkes continued its success under Drach in 2019 when he led the Colonels to an 8-3 overall record, finishing 6-2 in Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) play and earning a postseason berth for the first time since 2010 and the program's first trip to the Centennial[1]MAC Bowl Series. The eight wins were also the most since 2006 for the program. Drach pioneered one of the biggest turnarounds in Division III football in 2018 when he led the Colonels to a 6-4 record after the team went winless in 2017. Four Colonels were named All-MAC under Drach in 2018 and 2019. Drach came to Wilkes after 11 years at Hobart. As the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, he was instrumental in leading the Statesmen to six Liberty League Conference championships, seven NCAA playoff appearances and three consecutive undefeated regular seasons. Drach coached the Liberty League Offensive Player of the Year in 2007, 2014, 2016 and 2017 and the ECAC Offensive Player of the Year in 2007 and 2016. He also coached seven All-League quarterbacks and a Bill Middleton Memorial Football Award Winner. A native of St. Charles, Ill., Drach earned his bachelor's degree in business finance and economics from Western Michigan University in 2004. A three-year starter, he enjoyed his finest year as a senior, completing a single season record 67 percent of his passes for 1,499 yards and 13 TDs.
 
Head coach John Marzka (Allegheny College '91) is entering his 15th year at the helm of the Albright football program in the 2021 season. Named head coach in 2007, he and his staff inherited a 2-8 team and have since directed one of the most impressive turnarounds in NCAA history. The Lions have amassed an 85-48 record and seven post-season wins since Marzka's arrival. His 74 percent win ratio prior to the start of the 2010 season was the best for any Albright football coach with at least three seasons leading the program, while his 26 wins were the most of any Lions gridiron coach during his first three years on the job. In 2017, Albright started the season 5-0 before posting its second consecutive 8-3 season. The Lions earned a berth in postseason play for the seventh straight season as they hosted Susquehanna in the 2017 MAC Centennial Bowl Series. Ten Albright players earned 12 All-MAC postseason accolades which included six players earning first team honors. Marzka led the Lions to the Middle Atlantic Conference championship in 2015 and was rewarded by being named the MAC Coach of the Year and the ECAC South Coach of the Year. Albright finished the season with a 10-2 overall record and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Playoffs.
 
THE SERIES
This game marks the 44th meeting between the two schools with the series edge favoring Albright at 25-18. The Colonels have won the past two meetings including 42-40 in Reading, Pa.  in 2019. Albright's last win came in 2017 when the Lions posted a 26-23 victory at home.
 
UP NEXT
The Colonels travel to Chester, Pa. to face Widener in a MAC matchup on Saturday, October 16 at 1:00 p.m. Widener holds a 21-11-1 lead in the all-time series, including victories in the last six meetings. The two teams haven't played since 2017 and Wilkes' last win against the Pride came in 2011, 35-27 at Schmidt Stadium.
 
SCOUTING THE WILKES OFFENSE (MULTIPLE)
- Wilkes ranks second in the MAC in scoring offense (31.3), first in total offense (460.5), first in rushing offense (229.5), and third in passing offense (231.0).
 
- Wilkes used a balanced attack on offense in the 21-14 win against Stevenson rushing for 218 yards and one score while throwing for 225 yards and two touchdowns. Wilkes still leads all MAC teams with 23.0 first downs per-game and 460.5 yards of total offense.
 
- Senior quarterback Jose Tabora (Egg Harbor Township, NJ/St. Augustine Prep.) became the school's all-time passing yards leader last week throwing for 222 yards on 18-of-28 passing and two scores. Tabora enters today's game with 6,972 career yards passing. He has 57 career touchdown passes and 565 completions as he closes in on the school records of 59 and 590 respectively. Tabora was named the MAC Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season after accounting for all three scores for the Colonels in the win against the Mustangs. He ranks third in the conference with 203.3 passing yards per-game and second with a 141.1 QB efficiency.
 
- The run game was strong, producing 218 yards against a stout Stevenson defense. Tabora used his feet along with his arm to give the defense fits rushing 21 times for 120 yards and one score. Sophomore running back Kamaal Reed (Egg Harbor City, NJ/Cedar Creek) rushed 19 times for 88 yards. Reed ranks sixth in the MAC with 85.0 yards rushing-per-game and is sixth with a 6.9 yards-per-carry average. Reed was the MAC Offensive Player of the Week in week one following his performance during a 46-7 win over Keystone.
 
- Sophomore wide receiver Jason Schweizerhof (Warninster, PA/William Tennent) leads the Colonels in receiving with 16 receptions for 201 yards on the season. He ranks 12th in the conference with 50.3 receiving yards-per-game. Fellow sophomore Cory Pelzer (Somerset, NJ/The Pennington School) caught five passes for 68 yards against Stevenson and ranks sixth in the MAC with a 16.0 yards-per-reception average.
 
- Junior tight end Jacob Katz (New City, NY/Clarkson North) scored one of the Colonels two receiving touchdowns against Stevenson finishing with two catches for 21 yards. Junior wide out Jonah Lilley (Wurtsboro, NY/Monticello) caught the other making two catches for 29 yards in the win. Backup quarterback Heath Hoovler (Sparrowbush, NY/Burke Catholic) saw snaps against Stevenson going 1-for-4 for three yards in the air.
 
SCOUTING THE WILKES DEFENSE (4-3-4)
- Wilkes is second in the MAC in scoring defense (9.0), second in total defense (251.8), seventh in rushing defense (135.8), and third in passing defense (116.0).
 
- The Colonels defense was outstanding in creating turnovers in the win against Stevenson posting two interceptions and one forced/recovered fumble. For the season the Colonel defense has intercepted a MAC-best 10 passes and recovered three fumbles.
 
- Sophomore linebacker Nick Gazzola (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill East) topped the unit with a career-high 14 tackles and one sack. For the season N. Gazzola leads the defense with 36 tackles, 5.0 tackles-for-loss, 1.5 sacks and one interception. He is sixth in the MAC in tackles and sixth in the league in tackles per-game (9.0).

- Sophomore defensive back Dylan Walck (Hamlin, PA/Western Wayne) also had a strong game with nine tackles and several well defended passes in the secondary. Walck is 16th in the league with 7.0 tackles per-game. Junior cornerback Nahjir Woods (Piscataway NJ/Piscataway) had five tackles and two pass breakups. Sophomore Billy Doron (Hawley, PA/Wallenpaupack) made his first career interception and added two tackles.
 
- Sophomore linebacker Dante Gazzola (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill East) has 24 tackles on the season. Senior defensive lineman Pat Ricci (Gilbertsville, PA/Boyertown) posts a team-high 5.5 tackles-for-loss and sophomore Adam Piston (Laurys Station, PA/Parkland) follows with 4.5 tackles-for-loss this season. Ricci leads the team in sacks with 2.5. First year defensive lineman Steele Hess (Palmerton, PA/Whitehall) adds 20 tackles, 3.0 tackles-for-loss and 1.5 sacks.
 
- Brandon Holcomb (Boynton Beach, FL/Boca Raton Community) forced a fumble against Stevenson. The sophomore defensive linemen also recorded three tackles in the game. Holcomb also accounts for 2.0 sacks this season.
  
SCOUTING THE WILKES SPECIAL TEAMS
- Sophomore Nate Whitaker (Upper Darby, PA/Haverford School) was selected the MAC Special Team Player of the Week after taking the opening kickoff of the second half back for a 91-yard touchdown to give Wilkes a 10-0 lead against Alvernia in week four.
 
- Sophomore kicker Justin Pollack (Sloatsburg, NY/Suffern) converted a 29-yard field goal in the second quarter against Alvernia to give Wilkes the first points of the game. He went 3-for-3 on PAT attempts last week and is now 14-for-17 on the season.
 
- First year kicker/punter Alex Orlando (Allentown, PA/Emmaus) ranks second in the MAC with a 41.8 yards-per-punt average. He averaged 41.2 yards on four punts last week with one touchback. Orlando has also handled the kickoff duties with a 53.6 yard per-kick average on 18 attempts.
 
- First year Elijah Jules (Red Bank, NJ/Red Bank Catholic) returned two punts for 31 yards against the Golden Wolves in week four. He has two returns of over 40 yards on the season and is first in the conference with an average of 14.0 yards-per-return.
 
 SCOUTING THE ALBRIGHT OFFENSE (MULTIPLE)
- Albright is eighth in the MAC in scoring offense (15.6), seventh in total offense (302.4), sixth in rushing offense (142.8), and eighth in passing offense (159.6).
 
- Senior quarterback Todd Shelley is seventh in the MAC with 160.6 passing yards-per-game and a 50.8 completion percentage. He has gone 66-for130 for 803 yards with nine touchdowns and four interceptions through five games.
 
- Sophomore running back Isaiah Shockley has rushed 73 times for 451 yards and 6.2 yards-per-carry on the season. His 90.2 yards-per-game rank fourth in the conference and he also adds two touchdowns. Senior Tony Thorpe follows with 33 carries for 161 yards and one score.
 
- The Lions senior wide receiver tandem of Kevin Zehner and Malik Bootman is a threat to opposing defenses. Zehner is fourth in the MAC in receptions (21), fourth in yards (307), third in touchdowns (3) and fourth in yards per-game (61.4). Bootman has posted 21 catches for 205 yards and three touchdowns.
 
SCOUTING THE ALBRIGHT DEFENSE (3-4-4)
- Albright ranks 10th in the MAC in scoring defense (27.8), 11th in total defense (395.2), 11th in rushing defense (272.2), and 4th in passing defense (123.0).
 
- Senior linebacker Daniel Vital leads the MAC in tackles with 59 and is first in tackles per-game at 11.8.
 
- Senior linebacker Sam Viera has 47 tackles (second in the MAC), 2.0 TFL and 1.0 sack.
 
- Senior safety Armon Jefferson is second in the league with three interceptions and adds 26 tackles.
 
SCOUTING THE ALBRIGHT SPECIAL TEAMS
- First year kicker Jack Heuer has gone 3-for-4 on field goals this season with a long of 36 yards. He is also 12-for-12 on PATs.
 
- Zehner has taken nine kickoff returns for a average of 20 yards per-return.