Albright College (0-1/0-0 MAC) vs. Geneva College (1-0/0-0 PAC)
In the first ever PAC-MAC Challenge game the Lions, will look to bounce back from last Saturday's loss to Ursinus. The Lions who felt a serious sting, will look to take out their aggressions on the Golden Tornadoes of Geneva College. Not only will the Lions being facing an opponent they have never seen before, but they must also bounce back from their first season opening loss since the 2008 season.
When: Saturday, September 11th
Where: Reeves Field, Beaver Falls, Pa. (
Directions/
Campus Map)
Start time: 7 p.m.
Gates Open: 6 p.m.
Admission is FREE to all fans
GAME DAY MEDIA
Webcast (Audio):
http://www.teamline.cc/sportpage?teamcode=5466&eventcode=20
Live Stats:
http://www.geneva.edu/livestats/football/xlive.htm
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Last season, Albright was truly a road warrior type of team. Each time they stepped on the oppositions home field, they quickly made it their own. The only two losses handed to Albright were on the road, with the first coming at Delaware Valley in the regular season, then by Mount Union in the national quarterfinals. Albright avenged that loss to Delaware Valley be defeating them 27-3 in the second round of the NCAA tournament in Doylestown.
WHATEVER IT TAKES IN 2010
Last week the Lions got a real bad taste in their mouths after suffering a 21-13 defeat at the hands of Ursinus College. Now even more hungry for their first win, the Lions will truly do whatever it takes this Saturday in Beaver Falls as they face the Golden Tornadoes. With so many new faces filling in last week, the future does look bright for the red and white. Once these new and talented players get some playing time under their belts, the Lions will truly be a force to be reckoned with in the MAC and in Division III football.
ALBRIGHT IN DIVISION III
Last season, the Lions were ranked on both the AFCA and D3Football.com Top-25 Coaches Polls for the first time in program history. On the AFCA coaches poll, the Lions ended the season ranked 9th in the country, while on the D3Football.com the Lions were ranked 15th in the country for the first time in program history. On the 2010 D3Football.com Preseason Poll, the Lions were ranked 29th in Division III.
KELLY ON THE SIDELINES
After having one of the most prolific careers in program history, former quarterback
Tanner Kelly has joined Head Coach
John Marzka's staff for the 2010 season. Kelly will work primarily with the quarterbacks as well as being in charge of the offensive quality control. The ECAC Division III Player of the Year, Kelly ended his senior season as one of the top passers in the country, and was named MAC Offensive Player of the Year, ECAC Southeast Player of the Year, and D3Football.com East Region Offensive Player of the Year.
PAC-MAC CHALLENGE
For the first time ever members of the MAC and the PAC will meet in rivalry games. This season, the Lions will travel Geneva College, while the rest of the Middle Atlantic Conference will host to their PAC opponents in what should turn out to be a great test for the entire conference as a whole. Never in the history of the MAC has their ever been a rivalry game scheduled against a non-conference opponent. Next season the Lions will host Geneva in Shirk Stadium for the first time in over 70 years.
WELCOME TO THE CLUB
It was recently announced that Stevenson University will be joining the Middle Atlantic Conference in football. With the addition of the Mustang's to the conference, the Lions will now have eight conference games and only two non-conference games in 2011. With next season marking year two of the PAC-MAC Challenge, Albright will face only one new non-conference opponent. Steven University is located in Stevenson, Maryland and was formerly known as Villa Julie College.
ODENWALT AND WHELAN TABBED AS PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS
Prior to the start of the 2010 season, senior offensive lineman
Matt Odenwalt and senior kicker
John Whelan were named Preseason All-Americans by D3PRODAY.com. The honor was the first for both players. The duo is also the only two returning players from the 2009 squad that earned MAC All-Conference honors.
HERE COMES HOLMES AGAIN...
In his 2010 debut junior tailback
Josan Holmes led the Lions rushing game with a total of 70 yards on 16 carries. He also rushed for his first touchdown of the season on the Lions final drive of the game. In his career, Holmes has rushed for a combined 23 touchdowns, which ranks him tied for fifth all-time next to John Port. As a receiver Holmes added an additional 69 yards to his cause.
PLENTY OF OPTIONS TO CHOOSE FROM
With three quarterbacks getting action last Saturday, the Lions were able to showcase their numerous receivers. Junior wideout #Sean Caldwell, Jr.
led the receivers core with 85 yards on three catches. After him was Holmes with 69 yards on three catches. Senior tight end Andrew Hettinger# recorded 33 yards on two catches, while
Josh Bakala finished the game with 19 yards on three catches.
RUNNING THE RED AND WHITE
This fall the Lions will once again look to their run game as key part of their offensive scheme. After totaling 143 yards on the ground against Ursinus, Albright will once again look to pound the rock this Saturday. Holmes, along with Bakala, and
Tyrell Drumgo will serve as Albright's top-3 rushers.
Ty Hughes could also step in to help out the Lions run game come Saturday evening.
YOUTH AT QB
This week, the Lions will have sophomore
Adam Galczynski and freshman Ben Schaffel leading the charge at the quarterback position. Last week Galczynski was 4-for-8 with 15 yards. Schaffel, who made his collegiate debut in the final minutes of the contest carried the Lions from deep in their own territory to an Albright TD with 44 seconds left in the game. On the night Schaffel finished with 78 yards and four completions.
HERE COMES THE DOG SOLDIERS
In the 2010 opener, junior defensive end
Francis Hall had a career-best night with 11 stops and 1.5 tackles for a loss.
Rob Mancinelli finished second on the team with 10 tackles, followed by
Ryan Ott with 8. Joe Arneth led the Lions in the tackles for a loss category with 2 for -2 yards. Trip-captain
Mark Bergery broke up a team-high three pass attempts.
SO WE MEET AGAIN
This Saturday will mark the third time that head coach
John Marzka has faced Geneva College. While at Thiel College, coach Marzka faced the Golden Tornadoes on two occasions as the team's offensive coordinator. In 2002 Geneva beat Thiel 41-26 and in 2006 Thiel defeated Geneva 7-0.
THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM
This Saturday's match-up will only be the third time that Albright has faced Geneva on the gridiron. It has been over 70 years since these two historic programs have faced each other. In both meetings (1937 & 1938) the Lions shutout the Golden Tornadoes and have outscored them 39-0. In 2011, Geneva will travel to Reading to close out the first-ever PAC-MAC Challenge.
Albright leads series 2-0
1937 - AC 20-0
1938 - AC 19-0
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
In their 2010 season opener, Geneva College rushed for four touchdowns and 234 yards to defeat Frostburg State University by the final score of 32-27. Leading the charge for the Golden Tornadoes' run game was Gerard Muschette, who recorded 180 total yards on 27 carries. Muschette recorded three of the four Genvea rushing TD's, while Pat Matty on his only carry of the night recorded the other. Also having a solid game was Jordan Curry, who rushed for 46 yards on 7 carries. In the air David Girardi threw for 164 yards on a 14-for-24 night. The senior did throw a pair of interceptions in the win. Receivers AJ Delmonico and Muschette combined for 79 yards on 11 catches respectively. The defense was fueled by Gary Walstrom's 10 tackles. Four different players recorded sacks in the win.
GENEVA IN THE PAC
At the 2010 Presidents' Athletic Conference media day, the Golden Tornadoes were predicted to finish their PAC schedule with a 5-3 record. Due to their provisional status the Golden Tornadoes were not included on the preseason voting. Thomas More was selected to win their third consecutive PAC title this fall.
ALL SORTS OF CHANGES
One definite change fans will notice at every Albright home game, are the brand-new red uniforms the Lions will be wearing. On top of that some key players will be sporting new numbers for this season.
Josh Bakala will be wearing #1,
Josan Holmes will be wearing #2,
Luke Wallace will be wearing #11, and
JT Harding is now wearing #92.
NEXT UP FOR THE LIONS
The Lions will take next weekend off, but then will return to action on the 25th when they host Catholic University at 1 p.m. in Shirk Stadium.
