EDWARDSVILLE, PA - Despite a late touchdown reception by Zane Grover (East Stroudsburg, PA/Stroudsburg), the Wilkes football team came up just short against the visiting Catholic University Cardinals in a thrilling game on Senior Day 40-35.

The Colonels fall to 3-6 on the year and 3-2 in conference play, while the Cardinals improve to 4-5 overall and 2-3 in conference play.
 
Wilkes received the opening kickoff and opened the scoring, as two major plays by Elijah Jules (Red Bank, NJ/Red Bank Catholic) set the junior running back up for a four yard touchdown run with 10:42 on the clock in the first quarter. The top passing offense in the Landmark Conference responded with a touchdown of their own, an 18 yard pass from Madden Lowe to Preston Jeffrey for the score set up by two big gains through the air to even the score at seven all with 4:39 left to play in the first frame.
 
On the following Colonel possession, Isaiah Rodriguez (Lebanon, PA/Lebanon) threw an interception to Tyler Donnelly that gave the Cardinals the ball at their own 46 yard line. The Wilkes defense stood tall, capitalizing on two penalties and a John Washington (Brooklyn, NY/Eagle Academy) sack to hold Catholic to three points with 13:27 in the second quarter, the score now 10-7.
 
Rodriguez rebounded from the interception strong, finding Devin Higgins (Pennington, NJ/Hopewell Valley) for a 29 yard pass that put the Colonels inside the Catholic ten yard line. Higgins finished the drive with a nine yard rushing touchdown on an end around to put the Colonels back in front 14-10 with 8:21 to play in the half. A 40 yard kickoff return by the Cardinals set them up with strong field position on the ensuing drive, capped off by a two yard touchdown run by Zach Williams to restore the Cardinal lead 17-14 with 5:36 left in the second.
 
The Cardinals continued that momentum onto their next offensive drive after a Colonel punt, as Lowe dealt a 40 yard completion to Malachi Hansen that set up a 15 yard touchdown the next play to Sam Cornacchione for a touchdown with 33 seconds left. A brief Colonel drive brought the second half to a close, Catholic ahead 24-14.
 
The second half started with a defensive duel, as both the Colonels and the Cardinals were forced to punt on their opening offensive drives. The Colonel special teams unit pinned Catholic at their own one yard line for their second possession after a magnificent punt by Alex Orlando (Allentown, PA/Emmaus), forcing another punt from the visitors. Wilkes opened the scoring on their second possession as Rodriguez connected with Grover deep for a 33 yard touchdown catch with 2:52 left in the quarter to bring the Colonels back to a three point margin, down 24-21.
 
The Cardinals next drive bled into the final quarter of play, setting themselves up deep in Colonel territory after a 38 yard catch by Anthony Giordano put Catholic at the Wilkes 20. A costly penalty forced the Cardinals to settle for a field goal, now leading 27-21 with 14:44 remaining in the fourth quarter. Wilkes was forced to punt on their next drive as a strip sack set the offense back, recovered by Billy Anderson (Mount Carmel, PA/Mount Carmel Area).
 
Catholic methodically drove down the field on their next possession, punctuated by a seven yard touchdown pass to Nole Henry to make the score 33-21 Cardinals after a failed two point conversion, now with only 5:31 remaining in the game.
 
Wilkes responded quickly with a 36 yard bomb to Justin Moore (Voorhees, NJ/Eastern Regional) and 15 yard pass to Jules that set Jimmy Johnson (Fallston, MD/Fallston) up for the 17 yard touchdown catch to bring the Colonels within a score, 33-28 with 3:46 to play.

A kick out of bounds by Orlando gave the Cardinals favorable field position on their next drive and they quickly found the endzone, a 26 yard completion to Williams, to give them a 40-28 lead with 2:27 to play.
 
The Colonels fought until the very end, benefiting from three major penalties on Catholic to set up Grover for a 12 yard touchdown catch with a minute and change left to play, but the Cardinals took the victory on the day 40-35.
 
Rodriguez finished the day 22 for 36 with 298 passing yards, three touchdowns, and an interception. Jules led the Colonel ground game with 56 yards on 12 carries with a touchdown, and Johnson led the Colonel receiving corps with six catches for 71 yards and a touchdown. Brandon Holcomb (Boynton Beach, FL/Boca Raton) led the defense with 14 tackles.
 
Lowe led the way for the Catholic offense, going 40 for 47 on the day with 352 passing yards and four touchdowns. Williams led the team in rushing yards with 96 on 19 carries and a touchdown, while Giordano led the team in receiving yards with 79 on seven catches.
 
Prior to the game, the Colonels celebrated the careers of their seniors as a part of the senior day festivities.
 
The Colonels will be in action next Saturday, November 11 for their final game of the regular season, as they travel to Bethlehem to take on the Moravian University Greyhounds.