Albright College Lions (5-2, 4-2) vs. Widener University Pride (7-0, 6-0)

With one road victory over a nationally-ranked team already under their belts, the Albright College football team looks for another signature win as the Lions travel to face the high-powered offense of #12 Widener University on Saturday.

When: Saturday, October 27
Where: Leslie Quirk Stadium
Start Time: 1:00 p.m.

Gameday Media:
Live Stats: http://www.muse.widener.edu/~dacrudel/xlive.htm
Live Audio: http://www.teamline.cc/sportpage?teamcode=5466&eventcode=20

Albright Stats
Albright Roster
Albright Depth Chart
Widener Stats
Widener Roster
Widener Depth Chart

ALL-TIME SERIES:

The Lions hold a 17-41 all-time record vs. the Pride, in a series that dates back to 1916 (when Widener was the Pennsylvania Military College). Albright won three straight from 2008-2010 before a loss last season.

TALE OF TWO HOMECOMINGS:

Albright looked dominant in their Homecoming game last weekend, scoring the first 41 points in a 41-10 victory over King's. Albright's quarterbacks were a perfect 9-of-9 in the first half as the Lions scored touchdowns on their first four drives. TJ Luddy was 9-of-10 for 241 yards and three TDs, while Adam Galczynski went 3-for-4 for 50 yards.

It was a different story a year ago as the Lions welcomed Widener on Homecoming. In a blizzard that left several inches of standing snow on the field, the Pride still broke touchdowns of 63, 69 and 78 yards en route to a 60-20 victory. The Pride fumbled nine times in horrible conditions but lost only two of them, while Albright lost four of six fumbles and threw three interceptions as well.

HEAD COACHES:

Albright's John Marzka is the third-winningest coach in school history, improving to 42-21 (a winning percentage of .667). Isaac Collins is in his third season at Widener and holds a career winning percentage of .750 (21-7), with the Pride pushing for a second consecutive nine-win season.

MAC PICTURE:

Widener put itself in the driver's seat with a stunning comeback over Lycoming last weekend, scoring twice in the final five minutes to erase a nine-point advantage. Lycoming would have been in control with the win, having already beaten the other favorites and facing games against three teams in the bottom half of the standings to close out the year.

Defending champion Delaware Valley is still lurking, and needs Widener to beat Albright and then to beat Widener themselves, setting up a potential three-way tie for first place with the Pride and Lycoming.

COMEBACK KIDS:

Widener is undefeated thanks to a pair of heart-stopping victories this season. Trailing Lebanon Valley 37-21 with six minutes to play, the Pride grabbed a pair of touchdowns and two-point conversions before winning in overtime. In a similar comeback, the Pride needed to score twice late to knock off Lycoming.

ALBRIGHT OFFENSE:

Senior Scott Pillar had another outstanding game vs. King's, catching five balls for 150 yards and two scores. He has also begun lining up in the backfield in recent weeks, rushing 13 times for 124 yards and one score.

Running back Ty Hughes has had a solid return from injury, totaling 499 yards on 110 attempts. Returning All-ECAC fullback Marty Reinhardt reached the end zone twice last weekend and is averaging 5.5 yards per carry on mostly short-yardage downs.

ALBRIGHT DEFENSE: 

The Albright defense went seven quarters without allowing a point over victories vs. FDU-Florham and King's. Against the Monarchs, sophomore cornerback Chris Stephens had seven tackles, and freshman Mike Walsh had two sacks on the same fourth-quarter drive. Senior captain Matt Pattison had a sack and recovered a fumble for a touchdown.

Senior linebackers Tim McCaffrey has had a major impact since being put into the rotation this month. In just three games, he has totaled five tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, one recovered fumble and one interception.

Albright's defense will have to avoid big plays and be able to get off the field in order to pull off the upset this weekend, something the Lions couldn't do last year in this matchup, but did all second half in a 29-26 win at Kean this season.

ALBRIGHT SPECIAL TEAMS:

Albright boasts a strong kicking game, with rookie Daniel Sobolewski having already connected from 47 yards while booting four kickoff touchbacks. Luddy is averaging 40.6 yards per punt with no blocked kicks.

WIDENER OFFENSE: 

Widener has the second-rated scoring offense in the nation, averaging 55 points a game. The Pride scored a shocking 90 points in a shutout of Wilkes, and have added outputs of 67, 63, and 56 points this year.

Senior quarterback Chris Haupt has been a major part of that, throwing for 2281 yards, 28 TDs and 11 interceptions on 246 pass attempts. His top target is Anthony Davis, with 33 catches and 12 receiving touchdowns.

Widener has an extremely versatile rushing attack. While no one has more than 249 yards total on the season (Tevin Campbell), seven different players have rushed for over 100 yards this year and seven squad members have run for multiple TDs.

WIDENER DEFENSE:

The Pride defense has totaled 24 turnovers (including 14 interceptions) and 24 sacks on the season. Dylan Ditmer has 57 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, two forced fumbles and two recovered fumbles. Chad Gravinese has a team-best five sacks, while Nick Rodriguez (5 INTs) and Colin Masterson (4 INTs have made plays in the secondary.

WIDENER SPECIAL TEAMS: 

The Widener scoring machine actually produced two All-American kick returners last season (as chosen by BSN)- Davis and Laquan Robinson (no longer with the team). Sophomore Terrant Morrison has returned a punt for a TD this fall. Widener has attempted just one field goal all season despite scoring 55 touchdowns.

LIONS NEXT WEEK:

Albright faces a first-year program next season, welcoming the latest MAC football member- Misericordia University- to Shirk Stadium next Saturday. The Lions will celebrate Senior Day and honor 23 graduating student-athletes.

This year's seniors are Richie Applegate, Josh Barndt, Jake Bentsen, Troy Brennan, Shane Catts, Malik Compton, Galczynski, Jim Gallagher, Don Gould, Zach Groff, JT Harding, Miller Hinds, Hughes, Ed Leech, McCaffrey, Tyler Metauro, Ryan Ott, Pattison, Pillar, John Reimer, Reinhardt, Caleb Shilko and Dan Wenclewicz