Albright College Lions (2-2, 1-2) at FDU-Florham Devils (1-2, 0-2)

Albright looks for a second consecutive victory as the Lions travel to face FDU-Florham in New Jersey.

When: Saturday, October 5
Where: Robert T. Shields Field (Madison, N.J.)
Start Time: 1 p.m.

Gameday Media:
Live Audio: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/fdu-football
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/albright/football/

Albright Stats
Albright Roster
Albright Depth Chart
FDU Stats
FDU Roster
FDU Depth Chart

ALBRIGHT WEBCASTS:

Important note for Lion fans: Albright will be unable to provide its usual free online radio broadcast through Teamline this Saturday. For an audio feed of the game, go to: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/fdu-football .  There will also be no video streaming of this weekend's contest.

HOMECOMING/TAILGAITING:

Albright will be playing in four consecutive Homecoming games. After beating King's last weekend in Wilkes-Barre, the Lions will play the Devils on FDU-Florham's Homecoming weekend. The Red and White will follow with a bye week, and then Albright's Homecoming on October 19 features a football matchup with Wilkes University. Incredibly, the Lions will then go back on the road for Lycoming's Homecoming game on October 26.

Fans looking to tailgate on campus this weekend should refer to FDU-Florham's policies for the game: http://fdudevils.com/news/2013/10/1/FB_1001134918.aspx?path=football

LIONS LAST WEEK:

Albright recovered from a slow start to defeat King's College in the Monarchs' Homecoming game, 48-29 on Saturday in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

Quarterback TJ Luddy completed 24-of-35 passes for 305 yards, 3 TDs and no interceptions. Seniors Daniel McNair (9 catches, 139 yards, TD) and Devron Clark (7 catches, 118 yards, TD) were his top targets. Senior Matt Pattison led the defense with seven total tackles, including two in the backfield. Linebacker Sean Cunningham also had seven tackles.

Three touchdowns were scored in a stretch of 2:26 early in the second half, beginning with an 8-yard running score from Ty Hughes (89 rushing yards on 18 carries) that put the Red and White ahead 21-10. Junior Chris Stephens soon blocked and recovered a punt in the end zone for a 28-10 Albright lead.

PREVIOUS MEETING:

The Lions recorded a shutout on Saturday in Shirk Stadium last season, blanking a short-handed FDU-Florham squad 45-0. It was Albright's first shutout since a 16-0 win over King's in 2008. The Devils had been ravaged by injuries on offense, losing top receiver Anthony Fruncillo, starting quarterback Mike Santos and their top two running backs, and had a key lineman playing hurt as well.

MAC receptions leader Scott Pillar lined up in the backfield on numerous occasions, totaling 114 yards on five carries (with one score). He also caught two passes for 20 yards and a touchdown. Pillar broke for a 94-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter to put the Lions up 14-0. It was the third-longest rush in school history, and the longest run by a Lion since 1951.

Senior Ty Hughes (nine carries, 69 yards) and Marty Reinhardt (nine carries, 67 yards) were each effective out of the backfield, averaging over seven yards per rush. As a team, the Lions rushed for 389 yards and totaled 543 yards of offense.

NATIONAL WEEKLY HONORS:

After a week one victory over Kean University, Albright kicker Daniel Sobolewski (three FGs, 3-3 PATs, 2 touchbacks) was named a BSN National Special Teams Player of the Week, the USA College Football National Special Teams Player of the Week, and was listed on the D3football.com Team of the Week. Safety Drew Peterson (two interceptions) was also named to the D3football.com Team of the Week, and earned honorable mention honors from USA College Football.

Chris Stephens earned an honorable mention USA College Football nod last week after blocking a punt and recovering in the end zone vs. King's.

PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS:

The Lions were well-represented on 2013 Preseason All-American teams, with three players receiving a total of six selections. Senior safety Drew Peterson was a first team USA College Football, second team D3 Senior Classic and third team BSN Preseason All-American. Fifth-year senior Matt Pattison earned second team USA College Football and honorable mention D3 Senior Classic honors, and senior tight end Eric Wade was a fourth team USA College Football selection.

SERIES:

Albright leads the all-time series 16-6, with the Red and White winning all six games under head coach John Marzka.

HEAD COACHES:

John Marzka, in his seventh season at Albright, holds a career mark of 47-24. Brian Surace is in his third season at FDU, and is 4-19 overall after taking a program that was winless in MAC play in 2010.

ALBRIGHT OFFENSE:

Quarterback TJ Luddy was named to the MAC Weekly Honor Roll after last week's performance, where he also uncorked a 60-yard punt. Senior running back Ty Hughes is averaging 105.2 yards per game, and has already scored seven touchdowns. Daniel McNair has caught 25 passes for 373 yards and two scores.

ALBRIGHT DEFENSE:

Senior cornerback Levi Myers leads the Lions in total tackles (33) and forced fumbles (two). Classmate Drew Peterson has three interceptions in the secondary, while a deep and talented pass rush includes seniors Don Gould (3.5 sacks, 4.0 TFLs), Mark Capetola (1.5 sacks, 5.0 TFLs, 1 forced fumble) and Matt Pattison (1.0 sack, 4.0 TFLs).

ALBRIGHT SPECIAL TEAMS:

Albright sophomore Daniel Sobolewski was one of just four Division III kickers named to the Fred Mitchell Award September Recognition List. The Mitchell Award is given to the nation's top collegiate place-kicker among more than 750 FCS, Division II, III, NAIA and NJCAA football teams.

One of 26 September honorees across all divisions, Sobolewski has scored 27 points from 5-of-9 FG's and 12-of-13 PAT's. Two of those four field goal misses have been from 48 and 51 yards. He set the school record with 51-yard FG against Stevenson on September 14, and scored 12 points in 30-14 win over Kean University on September 7.

FDU OFFENSE:

Redshirt-sophomore running back Craig Kimbrough leads the FDU rushing attack with 241 yards on 39 carries. He gained 495 yards and two TDs last season, and might be a familiar name to Albright fans as he was originally on the Lions' roster in 2011 as a true freshman.

FDU DEFENSE:

The Devils defense intercepted a program-record six passes in an 18-12 win over TCNJ, including two from Joe Mancini and a game-clinching pick by Ryan Rodriguez. Senior linebacker Mike Mancino leads the team with 27 tackles.

FDU SPECIAL TEAMS:

Sophomore Sean Gavin has won the kicking job at FDU, and is 2-for-2 on field goals and 5-of-7 on PATs this season. The Devils used four different kickers (and three punters) in 2012, with Gavin taking one kickoff and one punt attempt last year.

ECAC SOUTH-EAST CHAMPIONS:

In a crazy first minute of the fourth quarter, Albright erased a 14-point deficit in 14 seconds and went on to win the 2012 ECAC South-East Bowl, 38-34 over Franklin & Marshall.

After F&M punched it in for a 28-14 lead on the opening play of the fourth quarter, junior Daniel McNair took the ensuing kickoff back 88 yards for the touchdown. The Diplomats then fumbled Albright's kickoff on their own four-yard line, where it was recovered by Sean Cunningham on the one. Ty Hughes carried it in on the next play, giving the Lions two touchdowns in 14 seconds (and a combined three touchdowns for the two squads in a 28-second span).

The action was far from over, as F&M's Paul McGann got behind the Lion defense on the next play from scrimmage but was stripped. Cunningham came up with the ball for his second fumble recovery in a span of 18 seconds. Albright quarterback TJ Luddy completed a tough third down pass to Caleb Shilko to the four-yard line, and then snuck it in with 8:33 left to put the Lions ahead 35-28.

JT HARDING HONORED BY NFF/NCSA:

Albright fifth-year senior JT Harding has been selected as a national semifinalist for the National Football Foundation Campbell Trophy, the most pretigious Scholar-Athlete award in college football. Selected as the best and brightest from the college gridiron, The National Football Foundation (NFF) announced this week the 170 semifinalists for the 2013 William V. Campbell Trophy, endowed by HealthSouth, which recognizes an individual as the absolute best scholar-athlete in the nation.

This is actually the second straight year Harding was selected as a national semifinalist. By the time he was chosen in 2012, he had already taken a medical redshirt following a serious injury in the Lions' second game of the season. Albright then withdrew him from consideration, since candidates must be in their final year of eligibility.

This summer, Harding was also the only NCAA football player named to the Inaugural NCSA Athleader All-American team. A business and marketing major, Harding has maintained a 3.75 GPA at Albright. He was also named to the Dean's List five times and had a perfect 4.0 GPA in the spring 2012 and spring 2013 semesters. He is a two-time team captain, starts on the defensive line, and is considered one of the top Division III long snappers in the nation.

MAC STANDINGS:

Delaware Valley (with a win over Stevenson) and Lycoming (a tight 16-14 victory over #24 Widener) won big games last weekend to move to 3-0 in MAC play. They will now face off for first place in Williamsport, Pa. this Saturday. Lebanon Valley, Stevenson and Widener are all 2-1; Albright (1-2 MAC) will hope that teams continue to pick each other off in what appears to be a very deep league.