November 4, 2023
12:00 p.m.
Schmidt Stadium – Edwardsville, Pa.
 
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The Wilkes University football team comes off their bye week well-rested and ready to take on Catholic University at Schmidt Stadium for Senior Day.

The Colonels last contest was a 34-7 loss at #12 Susquehanna University. Junior tight end Jason Dean (Auburn, PA/Blue Mountain) was the lone scorer for the Colonels as they were bested by the Landmark Conference leading River Hawks.

The Wilkes run game looks to rebound from a quiet game by their recent standards, held to only 101 yards on the ground against Susquehanna. The Colonels have the best yards per carry average in the conference at 5.8, and sit second averaging 187.5 yards per game. Elijah Jules (Red Bank, NJ/Red Bank Catholic) continues to lead the way with 639 yards this season with one touchdown, the second-most in the Landmark Conference. He is followed by JayJay Jordan (Reading, PA/Berks Catholic) with 372 yards and six touchdowns on the year. The first-year running back has showcased his game-changing speed in Landmark Conference play, averaging a team-best 11.6 yards per carry.

Isaiah Rodriguez (Lebanon, PA/Lebanon) has captained the Colonels under center, throwing for 1,188 yards on 96 completions with 11 touchdowns through the air and two on the ground. The junior signal-caller is fifth in the conference in total offense at 1,232 yards. Junior wide out Devin Higgins (Pennington, NJ/Hopewell Valley) leads the Colonels in receiving with 25 catches for 345 yards and two touchdowns. Wilkes' aerial attack has been limited in recent weeks, unable to break 100 yards through the air against both Keystone and Susquehanna, but still remains a dangerous facet of their offensive attack looking to be unleashed against Catholic.

On defense, Linebacker Tallen Murray (Vineland, NJ/Saint Joseph Academy) continues to be a leader for the Colonels at the second level. The sophomore linebacker leads the team in tackles and interceptions with 71 and two respectively. Murray's impressive tackling totals not only lead the team, but put him at the top of the Landmark Conference. Junior Jesse Addesso (Staten Island, NY/St. Joseph's by the Sea) leads the secondary with 41 tackles and leads the team with four pass breakups. Junior Angel Ramos (Allentown, PA/Parkland) continues to spearhead the Colonel pass rush, leading the team and conference with 8.5 sacks. He also leads the team with 10 tackles for loss. Ramos and the rest of the Colonel defensive linemen will look to capitalize on an offense that has given up 22 sacks on the year, the most in the conference.

On special teams, Jordan leads the team in kick return yards with 565 yards on 26 returns, and sits second in the Landmark Conference in that category. Zane Grover (East Stroudsburg, PA/Stroudsburg) leads the Colonels in punt return yards with 81 yards on twelve returns. Punter Alex Orlando (Allentown, PA/Emmaus) leads the conference with an average punt distance of 41 yards on 35 kicks.

Catholic come into this game against the Colonels riding the momentum of their first ever Landmark Conference victory, a 26-14 road victory at Keystone College.

The Cardinals boast the Landmark Conference's best passing offense, led by senior Madden Lowe. The signal caller from Stafford, Va. is second in the Landmark Conference in passing yards with 1,931 yards on 227 completions with 17 touchdowns. Lowe also has the best completion percentage in the conference at 71.6%. His top target has been Preston Jeffrey, who is second in the Landmark Conference with 723 yards on 55 catches for eight touchdowns. Andrew Tabor also finds himself in the top ten in the conference with 304 yards on 48 catches. Senior running back Zach Williams leads the ground attack with 461 yards on 97 carries with three touchdowns.

On defense, linebacker Michael Hopkins leads the team in tackles and interceptions with 64 and two respectively. Fellow linebacker Carson Henry leads the team and the conference with twelve tackles for loss. Mason Stillwell leads the Cardinal secondary with 43 tackles, and Aidan Long leads the team in PBUs with five. Henry and Conor Jennings are tied for the team lead in sacks with two each.

After this game, the Colonels have one more game left on the season, a road contest with the Moravian University Greyhounds on Saturday, November 11 at 12:00 p.m.