READING, Pa. -- Saturday's Homecoming game against Wilkes marks the halfway point of the season for the Albright football team. The 19th-ranked Lions are exactly where they need to be at this point of the season, but far from where they want to be.
If Albright is able to secure a victory on Saturday it would improve to 5-0 on the season and 4-0 in the Middle Atlantic Conference. But in order to get to where they want to be the Lions will need to continue to improve and the game against the Colonels provides Albright another chance to earn it.
Albright will be seeking to win its first five games of the season for the first time since the 2009 campaign, which also marks the last time Albright advanced to the NCAA playoffs.
Wilkes presents plenty of challenges for the Albright defense, which enters the game as one of the top units in the nation. The Colonels, and their up-tempo offense, are averaging 22.0 first downs per game and almost 100 plays per contest. Albright ranks 27th in the nation is scoring defense allowing just 14.0 points per game and also ranks 12th nationally in turnovers gained with 14.
Albright learned last season how explosive the Wilkes offense can be as the Colonels rallied from a 23-0 halftime deficit to force overtime. The Lions eventually escaped with a 36-35 victory in Edwardsville, Pa.
Last Saturday in the Lions 41-13 victory over Misericordia, the Albright defense generated six turnovers which included five interceptions. Senior linebacker
Steve Barroso intercepted two passes and returned one for a touchdown, while
Will Harrison also intercepted a pair of passes.
JaVaughn Patterson added the Lions other interception of the afternoon and also had a forced fumble.
The Albright offense has cranked up its ground attack in the last two games, which could prove to be critical in keeping the Wilkes offense off the field. Against Lycoming and Misericordia, the Lions rushed for 369 yards and are averaged 184.5 yards per game.
Junior
Brian Wickkiser has 187 yards rushing in the last two contests, while sophomore
Chris Dawson has rushed for 91 yards.
Albright, which leads the MAC in scoring offense at 31.0 points per game, has continued to receive steady play from freshman quarterback
Mike Knight. Knight has thrown for at least one touchdown pass in all four games this season and is completing 59.8 percent of his passes.
Sophomore
Malik Jackson has been Knight's favorite target with 26 catches, while
Vinny Williams has 19 catches and two touchdowns.
Senior All-American kicker
Daniel Sobolewski is closing in on a pair of school records. He is just 15 points shy of breaking the school's career scoring record and also three field goals away from breaking the career record in that category. Sobolewski was named the MAC Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday for the second time this season.
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday at Shirk Stadium.
All the action can be seen live on the
Albright Sports Network with Mike Ventola calling all of the action.
Albright versus Wilkes Football Game Notes
