October 26, 2024
12:00 p.m.
Schmidt Stadium
 
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WILKES-BARRE - The Wilkes University football team readies this week for a clash of Landmark Conference heavyweights, as the Colonels welcome the seventh-ranked Susquehanna University River Hawks to Schmidt Stadium this Saturday.

The Colonels enter the week with a 5-2 overall record and a 3-0 conference record after matching the program record for points in a single game with a 69-24 win over Keystone College.

The reigning Landmark Conference Offensive Athlete of the Week Elijah Jules (Red Bank, NJ/Red Bank Catholic) leads the Colonel offense with 823 rushing yards after his fourth-straight game over 100 yards, the most in the conference. The senior back also leads the conference in rushing touchdowns with 11. As a unit, the Wilkes rush offense is one of the most productive in the Landmark, averaging 204.7 yards per game and six yards per carry, marks that are both second in the conference.

Senior quarterback Xavier Powell (Poughkeepsie, NY/Arlington) compliments Jules with 380 yards on the ground, adding to his 1,364 yards passing to put him at 1,745 yards of total offense, the fourth most in the Landmark Conference.

After his 117-yard game against the Giants, Senior Devin Higgins (Pennington, NJ/Hopewell Valley) leads the Colonel receivers with 298 yards and three touchdowns. Fellow senior Justin Moore (Voorhees, NJ/Eastern Regional) is second on the team with 264 receiving yards, with Jimmy Johnson (Fallston, MD/Fallston) third on 194 yards. Senior Zane Grover (East Stroudsburg, PA/Stroudsburg) and sophomore Juju Fears (Easton, PA/Easton Area) are tied for fourth with 179 yards each. The trio of Higgins, Johnson, and Grover are tied for the team-high in touchdowns with three.

On defense, linebacker Tallen Murray (Vineland, NJ/Saint Joseph Academy) remains at the top of the conference in tackles with 59, followed by sophomore defensive back Rob Barbieri (Avoca, PA/Pittston Area) with 46. Senior defensive back Donell Mackey-Woodson (Hartford, CT/Southington) has been Wilkes' resident ball hawk with seven interceptions, the most in the nation across all levels of collegiate football.

Angel Ramos (Allentown, PA/Parkland) leads the team and sits second in the conference with 4.5 sacks on the year, followed closely by Murray with three. Ramos also leads the team in tackles for loss with 10, followed by Kellen Redmond (St. Petersburg, FL/Calvary Christian) with 8.5 and Steele Hess (Allentown, PA/Whitehall) with seven.

On special teams, punter Alex Orlando (Allentown, PA/Emmaus) is averaging a conference-best 45.05 yards per punt, with five punts over 50 yards and nine inside the opponents' 20-yard line. Nick Volpone (Delco, PA/Ridley) is 6-7 on field goals, and 31-31 on extra points. Rahmel Terry (Bethlehem, PA/Bethlehem Catholic) leads the Colonel return game with 211 yards and one kick returned for a touchdown. Shawn McCullough (Upper Darby, PA/Upper Darby) is second on the team with 134 yards on eight returns.

Susquehanna comes into this game ranked seventh in the nation at 6-1 overall and 3-0 in Landmark play after defeating Juniata College 66-21.

Josh Ehrlich leads the River Hawk offense under center with 1,646 passing yards and 20 passing touchdowns. Ehrlich also has 422 rushing yards and 6 rushing touchdowns, combining for 2,068 total yards of offense, the most in the conference. His top receiving target has been senior Kyle Howes, who has 40 catches for a league-leading 648 yards and nine touchdowns. The River Hawks have also found a new weapon in first year running back Rahshan La Mons, who leads the team with 733 rushing yards as well as 321 receiving yards with 11 total touchdowns. La Mons sits at the top of the conference with 1,374 all-purpose yards.

Defensively, linebacker Garrett Carter leads the team with 52 tackles and six for loss. Defensive line duo Brian Layton and Jake Schultes lead the team in sacks with 3.5 and three respectively. Seven different defenders have registered interceptions, while three share the lead in the pass breakup category with three.

On special teams, Christian Colasurdo averages 41.47 yards per punt and is 3-5 on field goals while also going 39-43 on extra-point kicks. Dominic Bourgeois is 3-3 on extra points with two field goals on as many attempts.

In last year's matchup, Wilkes fell at Susquehanna 34-7.  

Following this game, the Colonels take a well-earned bye week before they travel to the nation's capital for their final road game of the year against Catholic University on Saturday, November 9 at 1:00 p.m.