September 21, 2024
1:00 p.m.
Eunice Kennedy Shriver Stadium – Brockport, N.Y.
 
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The Wilkes University football team hits the road this weekend, heading north to the Empire State to face the SUNY Brockport Golden Eagles this Saturday at Eunice Kennedy Shriver Stadium.

The Colonels enter the contest with a 1-1 record, looking to rebound from a 32-25 loss against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) last Friday at Schmidt Stadium.

Senior quarterback Xavier Powell (Poughkeepsie, NY/Arlington) leads the Colonel offense and the Landmark Conference with 516 passing yards and five passing touchdowns. Powell also leads the Colonel ground game with 134 rushing yards.

Running back Elijah Jules (Red Bank, NJ/Red Bank Catholic) sits not far behind Powell in the rushing attack, putting up 131 yards with two touchdowns. Jules also sits third on the team in receiving yards with 93, bringing him to 224 yards of total offense.

Senior Justin Moore (Voorhees, NJ/Eastern Regional) leads all receivers with 119 yards and one touchdown. Zane Grover (East Stroudsburg, PA/Stroudsburg) and Juju Fears (Easton, PA/Easton Area) are also on the verge of eclipsing the 100 receiving yard mark with 96 and 93 respectively, while Devin Higgins (Pennington, NJ/Hopewell Valley) leads all wideouts with two touchdown catches.

On defense, linebacker Tallen Murray (Vineland, NJ/Saint Joseph Academy) once again leads the team and conference with 24 total tackles, followed by sophomore defensive back Rob Barbieri (Avoca, PA/Pittston Area) with 19. Donell Mackey-Woodson (Hartford, CT/Southington) picked up his second interception in as many games against RPI, leading the team and tied for the most in the conference.

Kellen Redmond (St. Petersburg, FL/Calvary Christian) leads the defensive line with a team-high three tackles for loss, while Steele Hess (Allentown, PA/Whitehall) leads the team with two sacks and a blocked kick. 

On special teams, punter Alex Orlando (Allentown, PA/Emmaus) is averaging 43.6 yards per punt, with one punt of over 50 yards and three inside the opponents' 20-yard line. Nick Volpone (Delco, PA/Ridley) is 1-1 on field goals, and 7-7 on extra points. Shawn McCullough (Upper Darby, PA/Upper Darby) leads the Colonels on kick returns with 99 yards, with Rahmel Terry (Bethlehem, PA/Bethlehem Catholic) returning three kicks for 37 yards.

Brockport comes into the game after a close road defeat at #11 Susquehanna University, 27-21.

Sophomore quarterback Ben Gocella leads the Golden Eagles under center with 398 yards passing and three touchdowns. Daniel Manneh has been his top target with 12 catches for 203 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore Nolan Slywka has 111 yards and a touchdown through two games. On the ground, Isaiah Simmons has 232 yards rushing with three touchdowns.

Defensively, Brockport is led by fifth year linebacker Ben Robinson who has 22 total tackles with 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack. Defensive lineman Andre Marianetti leads the team with two tackles for loss, while junior defensive back Malik Kelly has two interceptions and two pass breakups in the secondary. Kyle Haettich, another member of the Golden Eagle secondary, is second on the team in tackles with 14.

Last season was the first meeting between these two teams, with Brockport winning 31-7 at Schmidt Stadium.

After this contest, the Colonels return home to finish off their non-conference schedule against St. John Fisher University for Homecoming on Saturday, September 28 at 12:00 p.m.