OWINGS MILLS, MD – Host Stevenson University held the Wilkes University offense scoreless for the first time this season as the Mustangs cruised to a 28-0 Middle Atlantic Conference victory over the Colonels Saturday afternoon at Mustangs Stadium.
 
Wilkes fell to 6-3 overall and finished MAC play at 5-3. Stevenson improved to 8-2 overall and 6-2 in league games.
 
Stevenson began its first scoring drive early in the first quarter as Brandon Walker took a handoff up the middle 27 yards for the score to put the Mustangs up 7-0 with 10:27 on the clock.
 
Wilkes had its first promising drive of the game on the ensuing possession, using runs of 15 yards and 20 yards from Elijah Jules (Red Bank, NJ/Red Bank Catholic) to move the Colonels to the Stevenson 20. A short run, two incomplete passes and a false start setup a fourth and nine where a pass to Nate Whitaker (Upper Darby, PA/Haverford School) fell short of the first down turning the ball over on downs.
 
Stevenson went to the air on its second scoring drive as Ryan Sedgwick found Steven Smothers for an 11-yard slant pass to put the Mustangs up 14-0 with 9:01 left in the second quarter.
 
Wilkes started another long drive on its next possession looking to swing the momentum before the end of the first half as Travis Shaver (Massapequa, NY/Plainedge) entered as quarterback and ran the ball for seven and 19 yards on consecutive plays to move Wilkes inside the Stevenson 20. The drive would stall from there and Wilkes chose to go for it on a fourth and four from the Mustangs 13. Shaver's pass was deflected off a Wilkes receiver and into the hands of Edward Mannone for a Stevenson interception ending the drive and the first half.
 
Stevenson added to its lead early in the third quarter as Sedgwick connected with Smothers for a second touchdown through the air, this time for 21 yards to extend the Mustangs advantage to 21-0 with 11:44 left in the third.
 
Following a Stevenson punt later in the third, Elijah Jules (Red Bank, NJ/Red Bank Catholic) broke free for a 39-yard run to move Wilkes to the Stevenson 26. After picking up another first down, Wilkes tried again on a fourth and six from the Mustang six only to see a pass from Shaver fall incomplete ending another promising scoring drive inside the Stevenson 10.
 
Stevenson added one more score late in the fourth quarter as Sedgwick connected on his third passing score of the game finding Emmanuel Ekop for a 12-yard touchdown putting the hosts up 28-0 with under three minutes remaining in the contest.
 
Wilkes had one final chance to put points on the board but Jules was stopped on a run from the Stevenson three and time expired on the play with Wilkes exhausting all its timeouts on the previous Stevenson possession.
 
Wilkes was able to move the ball down the field mostly with the run game throughout the contest outgaining Stevenson with 268 total yards of offense (Stevenson 256 total yards of offense).
 
Jules was dominant on the ground as he has been all season rushing 21 times for 162 yards, the fifth time he has gone over the 100-yard mark on the season.
 
Brandon Holcomb (Boynton Beach, FL/Boca Raton) led the Wilkes defense with 11 tackles while Angel Ramos (Allentown, PA/Parkland) was disruptive in the backfield posting a season-high three sacks.
 
Sedgwick finished 14-for-23 for 125 yards and the three passing touchdowns. Walker led the Mustangs ground game with 23 carries for 126 yards and one score.
 
Wilkes will conclude its season next Saturday when the Colonels host cross-town rival King's College in the annual Mayor's Cup game scheduled for 12:00 p.m. at Schmidt Stadium.