BETHLEHEM, PA - The Wilkes University football team is bowl game bound after a four turnover performance by the Colonel defense paved the way to a 41-6 victory at Rocco Calvo Field on Saturday afternoon over the Moravian University Greyhounds.
 
Wilkes finish the year at 4-6 overall and 4-2 in Landmark Conference play, while Moravian finish with a 4-6 overall record on the year with a 3-3 conference record.
 
Wilkes won the opening coin toss and deferred to the second half. Jesse Addesso (Staten Island, NY/St. Joseph's by the Sea) kept points off the board on the opening drive with his first interception of the season off of Greyhounds quarterback Jared Jenkins in the endzone. However, the Colonels were unable to turn it into points on the following drive.
 
The Colonels forced another turnover on the next Greyhound drive, as Donnell Mackey-Woodson hit Jenkins untouched on a corner blitz to force the fumble, recovered by Angel Ramos (Allentown, PA/Parkland). The Colonels turned the fumble into six points, as Isaiah Rodriguez (Lebanon, PA/Lebanon) floated a ball up the middle of the field to Jay Jay Jordan for a 44 yard touchdown pass with 2:41 remaining in the opening quarter of play. The point after was blocked, but the Colonels took their first lead of the game 6-0.
 
For a third straight drive the Colonels forced a turnover, as Addesso once again found himself on the receiving end of a pass by Jenkins and hit the jets for a 29 yard pick six with 2:27 left to play in the first. Nick Volpone's (Delco, PA/Ridley) extra point was true, and the Colonels flew out to a 13-0 lead they held until the end of the first quarter.
 
Wilkes stopped Moravian running back Nate Boyle short of the first on a fourth down attempt on their next possession, and took over on their own 29. A 35 yard completion to Jimmy Johnson (Fallston, MD/Fallston) on 3rd and 10 kept the Colonel drive alive, and Elijah Jules (Red Bank, NJ/Red Bank Catholic) finished it off with a slick juke move and a 37 yard touchdown to make it a 20-0 game after the Volpone extra point with 11:20 to play in the first half.
 
The Colonels found the endzone again before the end of the half as Rodriguez hit Devin Higgins (Pennington, NJ/Hopewell Valley) for a nine yard touchdown pass with 1:30 left. Volpone's extra point was good and the Colonels took a commanding 27-0 lead.
 
Moravian wouldn't go scoreless in the first half, as Jenkins finally connected to Brad Bryan for a 46 yard touchdown with 28 seconds left in the half. The two point conversion attempt failed as Tallen Murray (Vineland, NJ/Saint Joseph Academy) sacked Jenkins, and the teams went into the half with the score 27-6 in favor of the Colonels.
 
Wilkes got the ball to start the second half and scored on their first drive of the half, extending the lead to 34-6 with 10:52 on the clock. Another clutch third down reception by Johnson kept the Colonel drive alive and allowed Jules to hit paydirt on a catch in the flat for the 10 yard score.
 
Jenkins threw his third pick of the day on the next drive, another pick six this time scored by Brandon Holcomb (Boynton Beach, FL/Boca Raton) who ran it home 52 yards with 8:12 left in the third to give the Colonels a 41-6 lead.
 
Xavier Powell (Poughkeepsie, NY/Arlington) entered the game on the next Colonel offensive possession and threw an interception to Aidan Lane, the first turnover of the game by Wilkes. Chris Rodriguez (Allentown, PA/Whitehall) ended the quarter with a sack on Jenkins as the Colonels took a 41-6 lead into the final frame of play.
 
Into the fourth quarter, a Ramos sack helped bring up another Greyhound fourth down that kept points off the board once again following the Powell interception.
 
The remainder of the final quarter went scoreless as the Colonels cruised to a 41-6 victory, clinching the second seed in the inaugural season of Landmark Conference football.
 
Rodriguez led the Colonels with 198 passing yards on 12 completions with three touchdowns. With this performance, the junior signal-caller eclipsed 3,000 career passing yards. His top target was Johnson, who led the team with five catches for 92 yards. On the ground, Jules led the team with 71 yards on 11 carries with a touchdown.
 
On defense, Murray and John Washington (Brooklyn, NY/Eagle Academy) led the team with 8 tackles as Addesso led the way in interceptions with two. Five Colonel defenders registered sacks, but Ramos led the defense with 1.5 sacks to bring him to 10 total on the year.
 
Jenkins led the Greyhounds with 176 passing yards on 19 completions with a touchdown and three interceptions. Bryan was his top target through the air with six catches for 85 yards and a touchdown. Boyle led the Moravian rushing attack with 143 yards on 23 carries.
 
With this victory, the Colonels will host a team yet to be determined from the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) next Saturday, November 18th at Schmidt Stadium as a part of the Chesapeake Bowl Challenge.