Wilkes Colonels (2-0, 1-0) vs. Alvernia Golden Wolves (0-3, 0-1)
Saturday, September 25, 2021 – 1:00 p.m.
Schmidt Stadium
 
Game Notes
 
Live Stats
 
Live Video (John Mendola, audio play-by-play)
 
THE MATCHUP
Wilkes University looks to keep its early season form when the Colonels welcome Alvernia University to Schmidt Stadium for a 1:00 p.m. Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) game on Saturday, September 25. The Colonels are coming off a 35-15 victory at Misericordia last weekend to open the conference season while the Golden Wolves lost their MAC opener 31-21 to Albright at home.
 
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-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, Drach was instrumental in leading the Statesmen to six Liberty League Conference championships, seven NCAA playoff appearances and three consecutive undefeated regular seasons. He began his career as the quarterbacks coach in 2007 until adding offensive coordinator to his responsibilities in 2014. 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.
 
Ralph Clark (Robert Morris College) was hired on January 11, 2017 as the first head coach in the program's history. Clark led Alvernia to a win over Gallaudet in the first game in program history on September 1, 2018. The following season, Clark and the Golden Wolves finished at 2-8, including the first MAC win in program history with a 29-24 win over Lycoming College. Clark joined the Golden Wolves' staff after a year as the Defensive Coordinator and Recruiting Coordinator at Seton Hill University. He was a four-year letter winner and a member of the first graduating football class at Robert Morris College. He finished his career with 1,362 yards and 12 touchdowns. Following his senior season he was named an Unsung Hero All-American by The College Football Chronicle and was invited for a free-agent tryout with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He obtained his first college coaching job as a linebackers and secondary coach at Georgetown. Clark got his first opportunity as a defensive coordinator at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology from 2006 to 2008. At Saint Francis (Pa.) his defense set a school record with seven interceptions in a game and ranked second in the Northeast Conference in red zone defense. Clark moved on from St. Francis to become the Defensive Coordinator at Millersville University for two seasons before Seton Hill.
 
THE SERIES
Wilkes holds a 2-0 series lead against Alvernia. The Colonels won 45-12 at Schmidt Stadium in 2019 and won 34-14 in the first-ever meeting between the programs during 2018 at FirstEnergy Stadium in Reading, Pa.
 
UP NEXT
The Colonels remain home to host Stevenson University on homecoming weekend. Kickoff for the MAC game is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. at Schmidt Stadium. The Mustangs won the 2019 meeting 42-21 to take a 5-4 lead in the series.
 
SCOUTING THE WILKES OFFENSE (MULTIPLE)
- Wilkes ranks first in the MAC in scoring offense (40.5), first in total offense (554.0), first in rushing offense (264.0), and second in passing offense (290.0).
 
- Senior quarterback Jose Tabora (Egg Harbor Township, NJ/St. Augustine Prep.) was named the MAC Offensive Player of the Week after a strong performance in the 35-15 victory at Misericordia. Tabora went 26-for[1]39 for 391 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. He added 10 rushes for 59 yards and another touchdown. Tabora is now only 272 passing yards from the school record as he stands at 6,668 entering this weekend. He is has 55 career touchdown passes and 539 completions as he closes in on the school records of 59 and 590 respectively as well.
 
- Sophomore running back Kamaal Reed (Egg Harbor City, NJ/Cedar Creek) ranks third in the MAC with 104.0 yards rushing-per-game and is second with a 9.5 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. First year running back Elijah Jules (Red Bank, NJ/Red Bank Catholic) is fifth with 79.5 rushing yards-per-game and sixth with a 7.2 yards-per-carry average while also tying for the
league lead with three rushing scores.
 
- Sophomore wide receiver Jason Schweizerhof (Warninster, PA/William Tennent) had a career-high seven receptions to lead the Colonels in the passing game last week against Misericordia. He totaled 89 yards and two touchdowns in the process and ranks fifth in the conference with 70.5 receiving yards-per-game. Nate Whitaker (Upper Darby, PA/Haverford School) led the receiving group with 104 yards against Misericordia and added a touchdown as the sophomore moved up to eighth in the MAC with 61.0 receiving yards-per-contest. Cory Pelzer (Somerset, NJ/The Pennington School), another sophomore wide out, ranks 11th in the league with 56.5 receiving yards-per-game. He scored two touchdowns in the season-opener against Keystone.
 
- Junior wide receiver Jonah Lilley (Wurtsboro, NY/Monticello) tallied two receptions for 37 yards last week while Jules also figured in the pass game with three catches for 33 yards. Four other receivers also caught passes from Tabora against the Cougars.
 
SCOUTING THE WILKES DEFENSE (4-3-4)
- Wilkes is second in the MAC in scoring defense (11.0), second in total defense (220.0), sixth in rushing defense (122.5), and second in passing defense (97.5).
 
- The Colonels secondary has been strong through two games and three weeks of the season as the unit ranks second allowing 97.5 passing yards-per-game and a 46.8 completion percentage. Wilkes has snagged four interceptions so far which is also tied for second in the league.
 
- Sophomore defensive back John Washington (Brooklyn, NY/Eagle Academy) came away with an interception for the second straight game to start the season and is one of six players in the MAC to post two interceptions so far. First year defensive back Leroy Marshall (Cambria Heights, NY/Chris the King) recorded his first career interception against Misericordia and returned it 37 yards. Washington had four tackles and Marshall three last week as well.

- Sophomore linebacker Dante Gazzola (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill East) made a career-high and team-high 11 tackles in the win against Misericordia. He leads the Colonels defense with 17 total tackles this season and ranks in a tie for sixth in the conference with 8.5 tackles per-game.
 
- First year defensive lineman Steele Hess (Palmerton, PA/Whitehall) recorded nine tackles in just his second game including 2.0 for loss. Senior defensive lineman Pat Ricci (Gilbertsville, PA/Boyertown) had 1.5 tackles-for loss (TFL) against the Cougars and is up to 4.0 for the season to rank second in the conference at 2.0 per-game this season. Sophomore Adam Piston (Laurys Station, PA/Parkland) and Hess are tied for fourth with 1.5 TFL per-contest.
 
- Sophomore linebacker Nick Gazzola (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill East) had eight tackles against Misericordia including 2.0 for loss. He is fourth on the team in tackles with 13 and leads the team with two pass breakups.
 
- First year linebacker Nick Troutman (Kulpmont, PA/Mount Carmel) led Wilkes with nine total tackles in the season opener and added one this week.
 
- Junior defensive back Nahjir Woods (Piscataway NJ/Piscataway) forced a fumble and sophomore defensive lineman Adrian Malave' (Clifton, NJ/Passaic County Tech) recovered a fumble against Keystone.
 
SCOUTING THE WILKES SPECIAL TEAMS
- Sophomore kicker Justin Pollack (Sloatsburg, NY/Suffern) went 5-for-5 on his PAT attempts against Misericordia and is now 9-for-11 on the season.
 
- First year kicker/punter Alex Orlando (Allentown, PA/Emmaus) followed up a strong debut by kicking off five times for an average of 53.8 yards against Misericordia after kicking off five times for a 53-yard average against Keystone. He added two punts for a 44.5 average this past week including one punt inside the 20.
 
- Jules returned five punts for 59 yards against the Cougars including one for 40 yards. He took one back 43 yards against Keystone and is second in the conference with an average of 13.6.
 
- Whitaker returned his first kickoff of the season for 26 yards against Misericordia.
 
SCOUTING THE ALVERNIA OFFENSE (MULTIPLE)
- Alvernia is ninth in the MAC in scoring offense (13.7), 10th in total offense (268.0), sixth in rushing offense (173.7), and 11th in passing offense (94.3).
 
- Senior quarterback Nick Rosahac has gone 26-for-49 for 271 yards with two touch- downs and four interceptions through three games. He has added 18 rushes for 56 yards.
 
- Senior running back Malcolm Carry has rushed 63 times for 337 yards and three touchdowns. His 112.3 rushing yards-per-game rank second in the MAC and he is averaging 5.3 yards-per-carry.
 
- Senior wide receiver Neeko Scurlock leads the Golden Wolves with 15 catches and 121 yards. He ranks 20th in the league with 40.3 receiving yards-per-game.
 
SCOUTING THE ALVERNIA DEFENSE (3-4-4)
- Alvernia ranks eighth in the MAC in scoring defense (32.0), 10th in total defense (404.0), 10th in rushing defense (215.3), and seventh in passing defense (188.7).
 
- Senior defensive back Tyzhir Morris leads the Golden Wolves with 22 tackles and also has 2.0 TFL and 1.0 sacks. His 7.3 tackles-per-game is 12th in the MAC.
 
- Senior linebacker Tajon Whiten is second on the team with 20 total tackles and leads Alvernia with 3.5 TFL.
 
- Sophomore defensive back Jamel Fleming totaled 17 tackles over the first two games of the season and ranks in a tie for sixth in the league with 8.5 tackles-per game.
 
- Fellow sophomore defensive back Jyleen Neals has an interception and leads Alvernia with two pass breakups while totaling 10 tackles.
 
SCOUTING THE ALVERNIA SPECIAL TEAMS
- Senior kicker/punter Ryan Long is 3-for-5 on PATs this season including a 3-for-3 day against Albright last week. He is averaging 33.1 yards-per-punt with four inside the 20. He averages 54.9 yards on his eight kickoffs this season with one touchback.
 
- First year running back Kyle Stanton is averaging 20.8 yards on his nine kickoff returns to rank fourth in the MAC right now.