Wilkes Football Week Nine Preview vs. Juniata

Saturday, November 1

12:00 p.m.

Wilkes-Barre, PA
 

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WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - The Wilkes University football team returns to Schmidt Stadium for the first time in three weeks for their Senior Day game against the Juniata College Eagles, looking to get back in the win column.

The Colonels enter the game with a record of 4-3 and 2-1 in Landmark Conference play after suffering their first conference loss to Lycoming College 31-21 last Saturday.

Wilkes fell behind 7-0 on the first play from scrimmage and were forced to play catch-up the rest of the game. Trailing 17-7 at halftime, the offense cut the deficit to three after a touchdown drive to start the third quarter, but the Warriors responded with a touchdown of their own to get the lead back up to 10. An interception on Wilkes' next drive led to another Lycoming touchdown to make it 31-14 early in the fourth, and that hole was too big to overcome despite a late touchdown drive by the Colonels later in the quarter.

Quarterback Cooper King (Northampton, PA/Northampton) finished last week's game going 20-33 for 272 passing yards, two touchdowns and an interception to bring his season totals to 1,174 passing yards, seven touchdown passes, and six interceptions.

The running game was mostly held in check by Lycoming's defense as Wilkes ran for just 91 yards on 23 attempts with King leading the team in rushing yards with just 33. Ben Contella (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Hills) is still the team's leading rusher with 215 rushing yards and three touchdowns, but last week was kept quiet with just 10 carries for 32 yards and a touchdown. King remains second on the team in rushing yards with 215 and three touchdowns.

The top three receiving options remain unchanged for the Colonels with Justin Moore (Voorhees, NJ/Eastern Regional), Juju Fears (Easton, PA/Easton Area), and Janas Simms (York, PA/William Penn) leading the charge. Moore now has 19 receptions for 311 yards, Fears has 20 receptions for 258 yards and three touchdowns, while Simms sits at 13 receptions for 147 yards and touchdown after being kept off the stat sheet last week. That led to an increased workload for sophomore wide receiver Shane Reed (Hammonton, NJ/Saint Joseph) who tallied four catches for 53 yards in the loss.

On defense, the Colonels look to right the ship after last week's performance. The Warriors became the first team to score over 30 points and pass for over 300 yards on the Colonel defense all season. Warrior quarterback Joe Lyons III finished the game with 327 passing yards and two touchdowns while completing passes to eight different receivers.

Despite that, the defense still ranks among the best in the conference, ranking second in sacks (16), third in red zone defense and opponent third down percentage (31.9%), and first in opponent fourth down percentage (38.5%). 

Tyler Wetzel (Sellersville, PA/Pennridge), Tallen Murray (Vineland, NJ/Saint Joseph Academy), and Cohen Creswell (Winchester, VA/Millbrook) are all top-three in the conference in total tackles for the third week in a row. Wetzel now has 64 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, and two quarterback hurries. Murray has 62 tackles, six tackles for loss, two pass breakups, and quarterback hurries. Creswell has 58 tackles, a Landmark-leading 17 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, four pass breakups, three quarterback hurries, and three forced fumbles. Other contributors in the front-seven include defensive linemen Rajan Stevens (Allentown, PA/Central Catholic) and Michael Golay (Scranton, PA/Scranton Prep). Stevens has 24 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and a sack, while Golay has 21 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and a fumble recovery.

The secondary also looks for a bounce-back game behind Rob Barbieri (Avoca, PA/Pittston Area), J'Vier Johnson (Easton, PA/Easton Area), Ryan Opperman (Lewisburg, PA/Lewisburg), and Michael Kevin Cornick III (West Philadelphia, PA/William Penn). Cornick's nine tackles led the secondary last week to bring his season totals to 28 tackles and two pass breakups. However, Barbieri still leads the secondary in tackles with 42, along with an interception, two pass breakups, and a fumble recovery. Johnson has 21 tackles, four pass breakups, and maintains his lead in the conference for interceptions with three. Opperman also comes into this week with 21 tackles, an interception, and a team-leading five pass breakups. 

On special teams, kicker Nick Volpone (Delco, PA/Ridley) stayed perfect on the season now 12/12 on extra points and 8/8 on field goals. Punter Peter Zarafonitis (Staten Island, NY/New Dorp) continues his strong season coming into this week with his 40.9 average yards per punt still ranking second in the Landmark, but now leading the conference in punts inside the 20-yard line with 14.

Juniata enters this game coming off a bye with a record of 2-5 overall and 0-3 in the Landmark. Their last game was a 56-7 defeat to Susquehanna on Oct. 18.

Junior quarterback Ethan Eisenberg has taken the majority of the snaps for the Eagles this season with 522 passing yards, two touchdown passes, and four interceptions in six games. However, his backup Isaiah Randall has seen his fair share of action throughout the season with 218 passing yards, three touchdown passes, and three interceptions in three games.

Overall, the Eagles rank last in the conference in passing offense at just 112.6 passing yards per game, so their offensive identity centers around the running game. Juniata ranks third in rushing offense in the Landmark, and a lot of that is thanks to running back Ivan Foreman. The junior is second in the conference in rushing yards with 607 and eight touchdowns. His 86.7 rushing yards per game are also second in the Landmark, and will be another major test for the Colonel defense much like Terrence Oliver was last week.

In terms of receiving options, first year Brysen Delaney is the number one option for Eagles with 14 receptions for 146 yards, and his right-hand man is tight end Jordan Horm. Horm has 13 receptions, 116 yards, and three touchdowns.

The defense is another weakness that the Colonels will look to exploit on Saturday. The Eagles rank last in the conference in total defense, giving up an average of 457.4 total yards per game while also being last in both run and pass defense.

One of the bright spots on defense for Juniata is linebacker Dillon Wakefield. The junior leads the Landmark Conference with 66 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and a forced fumble. Defensive back Ethan Shank isn't too far behind with 57 tackles, four pass breakups, and a forced fumble. Their anchor on the defensive line is sophomore Estuardo Salguero with 28 tackles, two tackles for loss, and two forced fumbles.

Their starting kicker is Alex Mullin, who's hit just one of his three field goal attempts from 26 yards away. He's also 5/7 on extra points this season. Punter Wyatt Buell is having a solid season for the Eagles with an average of 39.8 yards per punt, good enough for fourth in the Landmark. 

After this game, the Colonels go on the road for their biggest test of the season at Susquehanna. That game is on Nov. 8 at 12 p.m.