CHESTER, Pa. -- Junior quarterback Patrick Wise threw for 265 yards and two scores, but Albright's rally came up short as the Lions lost to Widener 41-23 on Saturday in a Middle Atlantic Conference game in Leslie C. Quick Stadium.

Wise, who was making his first career start, finished the game 25-36 for 265 yards and two touchdowns and helped Albright dig out of a huge early deficit.

Widener jumped out to a 28-7 lead in the first quarter before the Lions mounted a comeback.

The Albright special teams jump started the comeback as Colton Ryan blocked a Michael Bennett punt and Danny Tighe recovered at the Widener 23 yard line. Wise capped a 6-play, 23-yard drive with a 11 yard hookup to Andrew Romeo. The point after kick by Daniel Sobolewski trimmed the Pride lead to 28-14 with 9:36 to play in the second quarter.

The Albright defense, which surrendered 257 yards of offense in the first quarter, forced a Widener punt on its next possession and the Lions took over on their own 45-yard line.

Albright marched to the Widener 15 before the drive stalled and the Lions settled for a 32-yard field goal from Sobolewski cutting the lead to 28-17 with 3:10 left in the second quarter.

The Lions threatened to further cut into the lead late in the third quarter. Starting at their own 30-yard line, the Lions moved the ball to the Widener 18 but fumbled the ball on a reverse which was recovered by Widener at the 11-yard line by Jarard Stewart.

Widener quarterback Seth Klein completed a 55-yard pass to Anthony Davis on the first play following the fumble, which moved the ball to the Albright 34. Seven plays later, Klein sneaked in for a touchdown pushing the Widener lead to 34-17 with 13:20 to play in the game.

Wise was 4-5 for 29 yards during a 8-play, 51-yard march that resulted in Wise connecting with Gerrod Gainer from nine yards out to cut the Widener lead to 34-23 with 5:27 to play.

Widener answered with a 7-play, 49-yard march that consumed 3:38 and was capped by Klein finding Morrison for 17 yards and a touchdown to push the margin to 41-23.

Albright, which fell to 1-2 overall and 0-2 in the MAC, piled up a season-high 346 yards of total offense sparked by the play of Wise. Vinny Williams was the main beneficiary of the play of Wise as he caught eight passes for 135 yards, while Gainer had five catches for 44 yards and a touchdown.

Gainer finished with 242 yards of total offense as he had 44 receiving yards and 191 yards of returns in the kicking game.

The Albright defense, which gave up only 192 yards over the final three quarters of play, was led by Rich Kuhn and Colton Ryan. Kuhn had eight tackles, including three sacks, and Ryan had a team-high nine tackles.

Albright returns to action on Saturday (Sept. 27) when it hosts Stevenson for Homecoming at 1 p.m. in Shirk Stadium.