October 19, 2024
12:00 p.m.
Turf Field Athletic Complex – La Plume, Pa.
 
Live Stats
Live Video
 
The Wilkes University football team looks to extend their three-game winning streak on Saturday as they travel to face Keystone College at the Turf Field Athletic Complex in La Plume, Pa.

The Colonels enter the contest with a 4-2 overall record after a dominant display against Lycoming College, defeating the Warriors 53-28 at Schmidt Stadium.

Following his first career 200-yard performance, Elijah Jules (Red Bank, NJ/Red Bank Catholic) leads the Colonel offense with 652 rushing yards, the second most in the Landmark Conference. As a unit, the Wilkes rush offense is one of the most productive in the Landmark, averaging 192.7 yards per game and 5.7 yards per carry, marks that are both second in the conference.

Senior quarterback Xavier Powell (Poughkeepsie, NY/Arlington) compliments Jules with 345 yards on the ground, while totaling 1,035 yards through the air to put him at 1,380 yards of total offense, the fourth most in the Landmark Conference.

Senior Justin Moore (Voorhees, NJ/Eastern Regional) has been Powell's top target through the air, leading the team with 238 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Fellow upperclassmen Devin Higgins (Pennington, NJ/Hopewell Valley) sits behind him with 181 yards, while sophomore Juju Fears (Easton, PA/Easton Area) has 179 yards on the year. Zane Grover (East Stroudsburg, PA/Stroudsburg) leads the team with three touchdown receptions, one of seven Colonels to score receiving touchdowns this season. That list includes Powell, who caught a pass from Grover against Lycoming.

On defense, linebacker Tallen Murray (Vineland, NJ/Saint Joseph Academy) remains at the top of the conference in tackles with 54, followed by sophomore defensive back Rob Barbieri (Avoca, PA/Pittston Area) with 43. Senior defensive back Donell Mackey-Woodson (Hartford, CT/Southington) has been Wilkes' resident ball hawk with six interceptions, tied for the most in the nation across all levels of collegiate football. Mackey-Woodson was named to the D3football.com Team of the Week and Landmark Defensive Athlete of the Week for his three interceptions against Lycoming.

Angel Ramos (Allentown, PA/Parkland) leads the team and sits second in the conference with four sacks on the year, followed closely by Murray with three. Kellen Redmond (St. Petersburg, FL/Calvary Christian) leads the team in tackles for loss with seven, followed by Ramos with 7.5, and Steele Hess (Allentown, PA/Whitehall) with six.

On special teams, punter Alex Orlando (Allentown, PA/Emmaus) is averaging a conference-best 44.94 yards per punt, with five punts over 50 yards and nine inside the opponents' 20-yard line. Nick Volpone (Delco, PA/Ridley) is 6-6 on field goals, and 22-22 on extra points. With four against Lycoming, the junior broke the program record for most career PATs made. Rahmel Terry (Bethlehem, PA/Bethlehem Catholic) leads the Colonel return game with 211 yards and one kick returned for a touchdown last weekend. Shawn McCullough (Upper Darby, PA/Upper Darby) is second on the team with 134 yards on eight returns.

Keystone enters week seven with a 1-5 record after a 79-6 loss at Susquehanna University last weekend.

Senior quarterback Donald Leach III leads the team with 1,180 passing yards and eight touchdowns. Leach also adds to the run game with 314 yards and one rushing touchdown. Jayson Nami leads the wide receiver corps with 439 yards and four touchdowns. Senior running back Mujaheed Muhammad provides the Giants with a threat as both a runner and receiver, picking up 629 rushing yards and 102 receiving yards with eight total touchdowns.

Defensively, senior linebacker Quentin Tibbs leads the team with 33 tackles. Fellow linebacker Devin Montgomery leads the team in tackles for loss with 3.5 and is tied with Tibbs for the team lead in sacks with two. In the secondary, Dontez Crawford ranks third in the Landmark in passes defended, with four breakups and one interception.

In last year's matchup, Wilkes set a new program record for single-game rushing yards with 503 en route to a 42-7 win on a rainy day at Schmidt Stadium.

Following this game, the Colonels face their toughest test of the season as they take on Susquehanna University at home at 12:00 p.m.