October 4, 2024
6:00 p.m.
Knox Stadium – Huntingdon, Pa.
 
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The Wilkes University football team begins Landmark Conference play in week five, traveling to face off against the Juniata College Eagles at Knox Stadium under the lights on Friday night.

The Colonels enter the contest with a 2-2 record after a dramatic late-game comeback against St. John Fisher to win 28-21 thanks to a Donell Mackey-Woodson (Hartford, CT/Southington) pick six with just seconds left to play.

Senior quarterback Xavier Powell (Poughkeepsie, NY/Arlington) leads the Colonel offense under center with 56 completions for 756 yards and seven touchdowns. On the ground, Powell has rushed for  259 yards to put him at 1,015 yards of total offense, the third most in the Landmark Conference.

Senior running back Elijah Jules (Red Bank, NJ/Red Bank Catholic) leads the ground game with 298 yards and four touchdowns. With his two-touchdown performance against St. John Fisher, Jules now leads the Colonels in rushing touchdowns in the Internet Era (2004-present) with 26 and counting.

Senior Justin Moore (Voorhees, NJ/Eastern Regional) has been the top target for Powell, leading the team with 210 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore Juju Fears (Easton, PA/Easton Area) is second on the team with 169 yards, while seniors Devin Higgins (Pennington, NJ/Hopewell Valley) and Zane Grover (East Stroudsburg, PA/Stroudsburg) have also reached triple digits with 132 and 118 yards respectively. Moore, Grover, and Higgins are tied for the team-high in touchdowns with two each.

On defense, linebacker Tallen Murray (Vineland, NJ/Saint Joseph Academy) remains at the top of the conference in tackles with 42 through four games, followed by sophomore defensive back Rob Barbieri (Avoca, PA/Pittston Area) with 35. After his game winning interception, Mackey-Woodson leads the team and conference with three interceptions and six pass breakups.

Steele Hess (Allentown, PA/Whitehall) leads the defensive line in sacks with 2.5 and is second on the team with 4.5 tackles for loss with an interception of his own against St. John Fisher. Kellen Redmond (St. Petersburg, FL/Calvary Christian) leads the team and conference with six TFLs.

On special teams, punter Alex Orlando (Allentown, PA/Emmaus) is averaging 44.93 yards per punt, with three punts over 50 yards and seven inside the opponents' 20-yard line. Nick Volpone (Delco, PA/Ridley) is 2-2 on field goals, and 13-13 on extra points. Shawn McCullough (Upper Darby, PA/Upper Darby) leads the Colonels on kick returns with 134 yards, with Rahmel Terry (Bethlehem, PA/Bethlehem Catholic) returning six kicks for 75 yards.

Juniata College enters this game with a 1-3 overall record, falling to Shenandoah University 62-27 in their last contest. The Eagles boast the second highest scoring offense in the Landmark Conference averaging 33.3 points per game but allow a conference-worst 54.3 points per game on defense.

Senior quarterback Calvin German has thrown for 864 yards on 70 completions with eight touchdown passes. His top target is Quintin Stephens, who leads the Landmark with 402 receiving yards and six touchdowns on 27 catches. Juniata's most potent weapon this season has been senior running back Hunter Wolfley, who leads the nation in rushing with 657 yards and nine touchdowns. Wolfley's nine touchdowns and 54 total points are both conference-leading numbers in their respective metrics.

On defense, junior defensive back Ethan Shank leads the team in tackles with 29 and is second on the team in PBUs with two. Defensive linemen Conner McCracken leads the defensive line with 1.5 sacks, while fellow defensive linemen Max Locke and Cam Irving are tied for the team lead in tackles for loss with two each.

Kicker Alex Mullin is 1-2 on field goals through four games and is 15-18 on extra point attempts. Junior punter Wyatt Buell averages 37.5 yards on 23 punts with nine ending up inside the 20. On top of being the team's leading receiver, Stephens leads the team with 175 kick return yards, with first years JJ Asante and Mandel Edelin also in triple digit return yards with 125 and 105 respectively.

Last season Wilkes and Juniata played in the inaugural game of Landmark football, with the Colonels defeating the Eagles 63-14 on Homecoming. Wilkes put up 725 yards of total offense in the game and set a new program record.

The Colonels will return home for their next contest, a Landmark Conference matchup with Lycoming College on Saturday, October 12. Kickoff against the Warriors is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.