September 13, 2024
6:00 p.m.
Schmidt Stadium
 
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EDWARDSVILLE - The Wilkes University football team open their home calendar this week as they welcome Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) to Schmidt Stadium on Friday at 6:00 p.m.

The Colonels enter the game with a 1-0 record after defeating King's College 43-28 in the Mayor's Cup last Saturday, the first win for new head coach David Biever.

Senior quarterback Xavier Powell (Poughkeepsie, NY/Arlington) lit up the Monarch secondary to earn his second Mayor's Cup MVP award, going 11-for-18 with 283 yards and four touchdowns through the air. He also added 65 yards on the ground with a rushing touchdown. Elijah Jules (Red Bank, NJ/Red Bank Catholic) remained the anchor of the Wilkes backfield with team-highs in rushing (87) and receiving yards (66) with one rushing touchdown.

On the other side of the ball, the reigning tackling champion of the Landmark Conference Tallen Murray (Vineland, NJ/Saint Joseph Academy) found himself at the top of the sheet yet again with 14 tackles. Defensive back Rob Barbieri (Avoca, PA/Pittston Area) also collected double-digit tackles with 11. Six other players picked up five or more tackles on the day, while Donell Mackey-Woodson (Hartford, CT/Southington) had one interception to seal the game and Steele Hess (Allentown, PA/Whitehall) had the first sack of the season.

On special teams, Alex Orlando (Allentown, PA/Emmaus) punted four times with an average of 45.8 yards per punt, with two inside the 20-yard line and one over 50 yards. Nick Volpone (Delco, PA/Ridley) was 5-for-5 on extra point attempts, and sophomore linebacker Tyler Wetzel (Sellersville, PA/Pennridge) picked up a successful two-point conversion pass.

RPI enter this game at 0-1 after they were blanked by number six ranked University of Wisconsin-La Crosse 35-0 in their season opener.

Senior quarterback Jake Kazanowsky was 21-of-39 with 179 yards for the Engineers with two interceptions. Junior wide receiver Hayden Faraday had a team-high 83 receiving yards while running back Cristian Buckley had 61 yards on the ground.

On defense, linebacker Anthony D'Agostino led the team with 11 tackles, while seniors Desmond Von Tobel and Nate Sicard each recorded one sack.

Kicker Aleksandar Maric had one field goal attempt in the game, a 37-yard try that the junior missed.

Last year the Colonels met the Engineers for the first time on the road, a win for RPI 38-14.

Following this game, the Colonels hit the road to the Empire State as they face SUNY Brockport at Bob Boozer Field on September 21. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m.