GAME NOTES
 
Albright (0-6, 0-4) vs. Widener (3-4, 2-3)
• When: Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019
• Where: Reading, Pa.
• Stadium: Shirk Stadium (5,000)
• Kickoff: 1 p.m.
• Live Video: VIDEO
• Live Stats: STATS
 
 
SERIES BREAKDOWN
• All-Time Series: Widener leads 44-21
• First Meeting: 1916 – Widener won 24-7
• Last Meeting: Sept. 22, 2018 @ Widener – Widener won 69-0
• Streak: Widener +1

The Albright Lions football team will host Widener for the 69th annual Rajah Shrine Pretzel Bowl at 1 p.m. Saturday
 
Albright dropped a 55-7 contest to Stevenson last Saturday. The Lions struck first on a seven-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Jimmy Lahay to classmate Zack Miller early in the second quarter. The Lions defense forced two turnovers and held the Mustangs off the scoreboard until Stevenson connected on a 55-yard touchdown pass before halftime. The touchdown opened the door for the Mustangs as they score 48 unanswered points in the second half to pull away. The Lions were held to three first downs in the entire second half, but were able to tally a season-high four sacks.
 
Widener dropped its third-straight game last Saturday as they fell to Lebanon Valley, 41-35. The Pride amassed a 28-14 lead late in the second quarter before the Dutchmen scored 34 unanswered points to take a 41-28 lead early in the fourth quarter. Widener scored with five seconds left to make it a one score game, and recovered the ensuing onside kick. Lebanon Valley halted the potential miracle comeback with an interception on the Hail Mary attempt from the Pride. It was the third time this season the Pride let a multi-score lead slip away.
 
LAST SEASON'S MATCHUP
Last season, the Lions were shutout by the Pride in Chester by a score of 69-0. Widener got off to a hot start in the air as they score four first quarter touchdowns to take a 28-0 lead. From there, the Pride cruised to the win behind amassing 10 sacks and holding the Lions to just 153 yards of total offense along with -29 rushing yards. The win snapped a three-game losing streak in the series for the Pride.
 
ANNUAL EVENT
For more than 75 years, the Shriners have operated a network of specialized hospitals that treat children with orthopedic problems, burns and spinal cord injuries, up to their 18th birthday, regardless of their ability to pay. The 2019 game marks the 69th version of the Rajah Shrine Pretzel Bowl. All proceeds generated from Saturday's game will be donated to Shriner's Hospitals. Tickets are $5.00. There will be a MVP announced for each team following the game.
 
APPLYING PRESSURE
Junior linebacker Nate Steffen had a big day against the Mustangs last Saturday. He made three tackles with all three of them coming for loss. Two of the TFL's were sacks, and he also recovered a fumble. It was a career-high in TFL for Steffen. He now leads the team in sacks and recorded the first multi-sack game for the Lions since the 2017 season. Steffen has 18 tackles for the season with 6.0 coming for loss.
 
GETTING THE JOB DONE
Sophomore running back Tony Thorpe has now rushed for over 90 yards in three-straight games for the Lions. The New Jersey native rushed for 91 yards on a career-high 23 carries against Stevenson last Saturday. Thorpe also established a career-long 39-yard rush in the fourth quarter. Thorpe leads the team by a wide margin, and ranks fifth in the conference with 422 yards on the season along with three touchdowns.
 
AMONG THE LEADERS
Sophomore linebacker Sam Viera led the Lions in tackles again last Saturday against Stevenson. Viera tallied a game-high 11 stops with seven of them being solo tackles. Viera also added 0.5 sack and forced a fumble. Viera leads the team and ranks second in the MAC behind Russo with 60 total tackles. He has led the team in tackles in all but one game this season, and has tallied four double-digit tackle outputs. Viera also ranks fourth in the conference with 8.0 TFL.
 
ADD THEM UP
First-year cornerback Omar Sesay continued his strong debut season with his second interception of the season on Saturday against Stevenson. Sesay halted a potential Mustang scoring drive in the first quarter as he intercepted Setevenson quarterback Ryan Sedgwick in the end zone on third and goal. Sesay is tied with senior safety Trevan Harris-Dorman for the team lead with two interceptions. The Florida native has started in all six games for the Lions this season in a secondary that now features three first-year starters.
 
BIG PLAYS
The Lions have posted 16 'explosive plays' on offense this season. Albright tallied three last week against Stevenson, with sophomore wide receiver Kevin Zehner having the longest with a 44-yard reception on the final play of the first quarter. Zehner leads the team with five receptions of 20+ yards this season. Five of the 16 plays have come in the first quarter which is the most of every quarter. Five of the 16 plays have been touchdowns for Albright in 2019.  
 
ABOUT WIDENER
The Pride sit in seventh in the MAC under first-year head coach Mike Barainyak. Despite the recent slide, the Pride feature a dynamic offense that sees one of the best quarterback-receiver duos in all of Division III Football. Senior Sean McGaughey leads all of NCAA Division III with 2,351 passing yards, and leads the MAC with 20 touchdown passes. He has thrown for 400+ yards multiple times, and has thrown for 3+ touchown passes in all but three games. His favorite target is classmate James Gillespie. Like McGaughey, Gillespie too leads a national category with 1,084 receiving yards. He is the first receiver in Division III this season to eclipse 1,000 yards. Gillespie ranks fourth in Division III with 60 receptions, and is tied for third with 12 receiving touchdowns. He has over 100 receiving yards in all but one game this season, and torched the Lions secondary last season for 140 yards on four catches with three touchdowns before being lost for the season due to injury. The Pride also feature a pair of potent running backs in senior Chris Randle, and junior Tahir Cruse. Randle is tied for second in the conference with seven rushing touchdowns, while Cruse leads the team with 390 rushing yards.
              
On defense, the Pride are led by linebackers Matt Russo and Brendan Kearns. Russo leads the MAC with 65 total tackles with 34 of the tackles being solo. Kearns ranks second on the team with 48 tackles, and leads the team with 7.0 TFL. On the defensive line, junior Mario Scotese leads the team with 4.5 sacks which is also good for being tied for third in the conference. Mario is the son of former Albright running back, Vic Scotese, who played for the Lions from 1978 to 1981.