October 7, 2023

12:00 p.m.

David Person field at Girardi Stadium – Williamsport, Pa.
 
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The Wilkes University football team hits the road this weekend to Williamsport, Pa. as they take on Lycoming College in another Landmark Conference clash at 12:00 pm.

The Colonels come into this game after securing their first win of the season in an offensive explosion against Juniata College last weekend 63-14. Seven different players scored touchdowns on the day, with JayJay Jordan (Reading, PA/Berks Catholic) scoring three on the ground. The offense set a new program record for total offense in a single game with 725 yards, eclipsing the previous record of 667 yards.

The Wilkes offense put together an incredibly balanced attack against Juniata, rushing for 313 yards and passing for 412, and look to do the same this weekend against the Warriors. Elijah Jules (Red Bank, NJ/Red Bank Catholic) leads the way in the rushing attack with 307 yards on 68 carries, putting him fifth in the conference in rushing yards. Quarterback Xavier Powell (Poughkeepsie, NY/Arlington) is the second leading rusher with 107 yards on 20 carries with two touchdowns. Through the air, Isaiah Rodriguez (Lebanon, PA/Lebanon) has thrown for 853 yards on 66 completions with seven touchdowns. The junior signal-caller is fourth in the conference with 936 total yards of offense. Junior wideout Devin Higgins (Pennington, NJ/Hopewell Valley) leads the Colonels in receiving with 20 catches for 268 yards and two touchdowns.

Linebacker Tallen Murray (Vineland, NJ/Saint Joseph Academy) was named the Landmark Conference Defensive Athlete of the Week for his 14 tackle performance against Juniata, bringing his tackle total to a team-high 51, the most in the Landmark Conference. Junior Jesse Addesso (Staten Island, NY/St. Joseph's by the Sea) leads the secondary with 25 tackles and leads the team with four pass breakups. Angel Ramos (Allentown, PA/Parkland) has lived in opposing backfields this season, adding two more sacks last week against the Eagles. He now has a conference-best five sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss on the year, leading the Colonels in both categories.

Despite not returning a kick last weekend, Jordan still leads the Landmark Conference in kick return yards, with 458 yards on 20 returns. He only needs 56 yards to break the Colonels single-season record held by Nate Whitaker (Upper Darby, PA/Haverford School) in 2019. Zane Grover (East Stroudsburg, PA/Stroudsburg) is second in the conference in punt return yards with 72 yards on six returns. Punter Alex Orlando (Allentown, PA/Emmaus) leads the conference with an average punt distance of 40.8 yards on 23 kicks.

Lycoming enter this game at 0-4 on the year, coming off of a bye week after a 59-3 loss at Brockport. The Warriors have had three players split time at quarterback, but Will Fish leads the team with 518 yards on 99 attempts with four touchdowns.

First year running back Terrence Oliver leads the Warriors ground game with 227 yards on 44 attempts with two touchdowns. Brandon Timothy leads the team in receiving with 16 catches for 226 yards and two touchdowns.

Lycoming's defense comes into this game allowing 500.5 yards per game and an average of 50.25 points per game. Hunter Campbell, Kevin Gianoni and Jordan Rhinehart all share the team lead in tackles with 21. The Warriors defense have been able to generate turnovers as well, forcing six interceptions and forcing four fumbles. Rhinehart leads the team with four pass breakups and has one forced fumble. Gianoni leads with 3.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble of his own. Abubakar Audu Jr. leads the team in sacks with two, putting him in the top ten in the conference.
 
After this game, the Colonels host Keystone College at Schmidt Stadium on October 14 at 12:00 p.m.