OWINGS MILLS, Md. – The Albright Lions football team was unable to overcome a strong second half offensive showing from Stevenson as they fell to the Mustangs 55-7 on Saturday afternoon in MAC play.
 
With the loss, the Lions fall to 0-6 overall and 0-4 in MAC play. Meanwhile, the Mustangs win their third-straight game as they improve to 4-2 overall and 3-1 in conference play.
 
Senior quarterback Jimmy Lahay got the start and went 14-of-28 for 176 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Sophomore quarterback Todd Shelley also saw playing time and went 2-of-11 for 20 yards and two interceptions. Sophomore running back Tony Thorpe turned in another solid performance as he rushed for 91 yards on 23 carries. Senior Zack Miller led the Lion receivers with nine catches for 71 yards, and sophomore Kevin Zehner caught four passes for 69 yards.
 
Each teams traded punts on their first possessions before Thorpe helped the Lions drive into Mustang territory with 20 rushing yards. However, the drive stalled at the Mustang 24-yard line as Lahay threw an incompletion on 4^th and 5. The Mustangs drove deep into Lions territory on a 12-play drive that eventually set them up on the Lions two-yard line. First-year cornerback Omar Sesay picked off Mustang quarterback Ryan Sedgwick in the end zone to keep the game scoreless on third and goal.
 
The Lions next drive went into the second quarter after Lahay found Zehner for 44 yards to get Albright back into Stevenson territory. Lahay found Miller for a seven-yard touchdown at the 13:35-mark to put the Lions up 7-0. The Mustangs drove back into Lions territory again, but junior linebacker Nate Steffen came up big with a sack on 4^th and 3 at the Lions 33-yard line. Albright failed on fourth down in Mustang territory again on their ensuing possession, but continued to play good defense as they forced a Stevenson three-and-out. The Lions used a 34-yard completion from Lahay to sophomore Malik Bootman on 3^rd and 8 to set themselves up in the red zone, but another failed fourth down conversion halted the drive. Stevenson got the ball back following the failed conversion with 1:49 left in the first half, and used two big completions to tie the game at seven just before halftime. Sedgwick found Cory Jones for a 26-yard completion before hitting him in stride for a 55-yard touchdown with 18 seconds left in the second quarter.
 
Stevenson got good field position to start the second half, and needed just three plays to take a 14-7 lead at the 14:04-mark of the third quarter. The Lions took a risk on their next drive by going for it on fourth down at their own 41-yard line, but failed on an incomplete pass. Stevenson needed just four plays to extend their lead to 20-7 after the extra point was blocked. Following a Lions three-and-out, the Mustangs continued momentum by driving back into Lions territory. This time, sophomore linebackers Sam Viera and Daniel Vital sacked Sedgwick to force a fumble that Steffen recovered at the Mustangs 41-yard line. Albright was unable to take advantage of the good field position as Shelley had his fourth down pass fall incomplete at the Mustangs 24-yard line. Stevenson extended its lead to 27-7 on a 34-yard touchdown pass at the 1:22-mark of the third quarter. The Mustangs added to the big run by attempting and recovering an onside kick, and scoring two plays later to make it a 34-7 game on a 41-yard touchdown pass. Stevenson added two more touchdowns to start the fourth quarter to take a 48-7 lead at the 8:46-mark, and added one last score at the 3:19-mark to bring the final to 55-7. Stevenson scored 48 points in the second half, and limited the Lions to three first downs in the final 30 minutes.
 
Viera led the Lions with a game-high 11 tackles (seven solo), while adding 0.5 sacks, and a forced fumble. First-year cornerback Chris Holbrook posted eight solo stops, and Vital posted seven tackles (two solo), and 0.5 sacks. Steffen posted three tackles (all TFL) with two sacks, and a fumble recovery. Senior safety Trevan Harris-Dorman posted five tackles (three solo), and 1.5 TFL in the loss.
 
Sedgwick finished 20-of-28 for 425 yards and five touchdown passes with one interception. Lyles caught five passes for 122 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Mustang receivers, while Jones added two catches for 81 yards and one touchdown.
 
The Lions will return to action on Saturday, October 26^th as they will host Widener for the 69^th Annual Rajah Shrine Pretzel Bowl at 1 p.m.