Albright College Lions (7-3, 6-3 MAC) at Franklin & Marshall College Diplomats (7-3, 6-3 Centennial)

The Albright College football team has been selected for a postseason game, and will make the short trip to Lancaster's Franklin & Marshall on Saturday at noon for the ECAC South-East Bowl.

When: Saturday, November 17
Where: Sponaugle-Williamson Field
Start Time: 12:00 p.m.

Gameday Media:
Live Video: http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/fandm.portal#
Live Stats: http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/fandm.portal#

Albright Stats
Albright Roster
Albright Depth Chart
F&M Stats
F&M Roster
F&M Depth Chart

ALL-TIME SERIES:

Franklin & Marshall owns a 24-11-2 all-time mark against the Red and White, but the two former MAC rivals have not met since 1982.

ECAC HISTORY:

Albright has played in seven ECAC bowl games since 1995, winning five of them. The Lions played in the 2011 South-East Bowl, losing 14-0 at Cortland State. For their part, the Diplomats have played in eight ECAC championship games, winning four of them. Their last victory was a 29-24 decision in 2009 over another MAC opponent, Wilkes.

Albright ECAC Bowl Game History
1995 South-Atlantic Bowl: Albright 20, Salisbury State 10
1997 North-West Bowl: Albright 10, Wesley 0
2001 South-Atlantic Bowl: Albright 49, Wesley 35
2004 South-Atlantic Bowl: Albright 54, McDaniel 10
2007 South-Atlantic Bowl: Montclair State 17, Albright 13
2008 South-Central Bowl: Albright 42, Montclair State 14
2011 South-East Bowl: Cortland State 14, Albright 0

HEAD COACHES:

John Marzka is 44-22 since taking over at Albright, and has a MAC co-championship (2008) and National Coach of the Year award (2009) on his resume. John Troxell is 36-36 in his seventh season; he was the Centennial Coach of the Year in 2009 and a finalist for the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year award, in the same year Marzka was the John C. Whitehead / Nike NCAA Division III national award-winner.

Both coaches have won one ECAC game; Marzka has three appearances while Troxell has made two.

MAC PICTURE:

Widener University (9-0, 8-0) won its record 19th MAC championship with a 42-23 victory over defending champion Delaware Valley. The 9th-ranked Pride will now host Bridgewater State on Saturday in an NCAA first round game. Delaware Valley (7-3, 7-2) also travels to a Centennial opponent for an ECAC game, as the Aggies face Muhlenberg in the South-Atlantic Bowl. Lycoming (8-2, 8-1) is not an ECAC member and was likely one of the first teams out in the selection for an NCAA at-large bid.

LIONS LAST WEEK:

Junior Mark Capetola set school records with four forced fumbles and 6.5 tackles for loss and the Albright defense was excellent throughout as the Lions defeated Lebanon Valley 26-14, Saturday in Annville, Pa.

Capetola finished with 11 tackles (eight solo) and 2.5 sacks as the Lions didn't allow an offensive point until the final minute of the contest. Classmate Drew Peterson added an interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

Other defensive standouts included senior Ryan Ott (12 tackles, 2.0 for loss), and junior Matthew Hnatiuk- who returned an interception 51 yards late in the contest. Albright held LVC to 236 yards of total offense and stopped two of three fourth down tries.

WEEKLY AWARDS:

Weekly awards concluded last week and it was a banner year for Albright, with four different athletes receiving national recognition.

Capetola was included on the D3football.com National Team of the Week after the LVC victory, along with an ECAC South Defensive Player of the Week nod.

Senior wide receiver Scott Pillar was named both a BSN National Offensive Player of the Week and to the D3football.com National Team of the Week following his performance two weeks ago vs. Widener.

Peterson was named by both D3football.com and BSN after two interceptions against Wilkes, and freshman kicker Daniel Sobolewski was the ncaa.com National Special Teams Player of the Week vs. Stevenson. ECAC Player of the Week awards have also gone to Peterson (Defense) and Mark Krisak (Special Teams)

The Lions have also won a number of MAC weekly awards this season. Running back Ty Hughes (week one), starting quarterback TJ Luddy (week two) and Pillar (three times) have garnered MAC Offensive Player of the Week recognition, while Peterson (Defense), Capetola (Defense), Sobolewski (Special Teams), Krisak (Special Teams) and Chris Stephens (Special Teams) also have MAC weekly honors in 2012.

ALBRIGHT EARNS 11 ALL-MAC SELECTIONS:

The 2012 All-MAC football team was also announced and Albright was heavily mentioned, earning five first team selections and 11 overall.

A pair of fifth-year seniors earned their second consecutive first team honor, including fullback Marty Reinhardt (six rushing TDs) and Pillar (75 catches, 1002 yards, 12 TDs, 1 rushing TD). Senior captain Jake Bentsen was a first team selection at guard, after earning second team honors in 2011.

Two defensive players were voted onto the first team, including Ott, who tied for the team lead with 58 tackles, and added 2.0 sacks, 10.5 tackles for loss, and one forced fumble. Peterson (four interceptions) rounded out the first team selections for Albright.

Albright's final offensive selection was junior tight end Eric Wade, who earned his second consecutive second team honors. Also on the second team were Luddy (as a punter) and pass rushers Capetola (16.5 TFL, 6.0 sacks) and Matt Pattison (3.5 sacks, 8.0 tackles for loss).

Honorable Mention honors went to sophomores Nick Gjoni (defensive line) and Stephens (cornerback).

Widener's Isaac Collins was the Coach of the Year, while Offensive Player of the Year honors went to his quarterback Chris Haupt (2841 yards, 33 TDs). Kabongo Bukasa of Lycoming was the Defensive Player of the Year, and Stevenson running back KK Smith was Rookie of the Year.

DIFFICULT SCHEDULES:

The Lions potentially haven't lost to a team that finished the season with less than eight wins since 2010. This year, the Lions have only been beaten by Widener (9-0), Lycoming (8-2) and a Delaware Valley team gunning for its eighth victory at Muhlenberg. Albright lost five times in 2011 but those defeats came at the hands of Delaware Valley (11-1), Widener (9-2), Cortland State (9-2), Lycoming (8-2) and Lebanon Valley (8-3).

NATIONALLY-RANKED UPSETS:

Both of these teams have scored upsets over nationally-ranked opponents in 2012. Albright scored 22 unanswered points to beat #14 Kean on the road in their season opener. Two weekends ago, Franklin & Marshall shutout #9 Johns Hopkins in the first half en route to a 14-12 home win.

F&M OFFENSE:

Starting quarterback E.J. Schneider has made the Centennial Weekly Honor Roll five times in 10 weeks, winning Player of the Week honors twice. He has thrown for 2573 yards and 20 touchdowns, with just 11 interceptions. Running back Frank Strumolo (491 yards, 9 TDs) has been named to the Honor Roll twice.

F&M DEFENSE:

Sam Massaro has made the Centennial Weekly Honor Roll six times, with two Defensive Player of the Week nods. The senior linebacker has 73 tackles on the season, including 2.5 sacks, two interceptions and a forced fumble.

The Diplomat defense has only forced 15 turnovers but holds opponents to under 16 first downs per game. F&M has allowed 22.9 points per game this season.

F&M SPECIAL TEAMS:

Safety Chris DeStephano handles kicking duties, and has made 2-of-5 field goals and 29-of-36 PATs. Sophomore Jordan Zachery is the Diplomats' main returner, averaging 12.9 yards per punt return and 20.7 yards on kickoffs.