READING, Pa. – The Albright Lions football team closed out its 2019 season with a 28-23 win over Lebanon Valley on a chilly Saturday afternoon senior day in MAC play at Shirk Stadium.
 
With the win, the Lions finish the season 2-8 overall and 2-6 in MAC play after tallying back-to-back wins. Meanwhile, the Dutchmen close their season at 3-7 overall and 3-5 in MAC play.
 
For the second-straight week, sophomore running back Malik Bootman led the Lions offense as he rushed for a career-high 208 yards on 34 carries. The 208 yards were the most for a Lions running back since Josan Holmes ran for 225 yards against Geneva in September 2010, and the first time since any Lions running back had over 200+ yards on the ground. Bootman scored one touchdown, and caught four passes for 28 yards. In his final game as a Lion, senior quarterback Jimmy Lahay went 16-of-29 for 177 yards and one touchdown. Wide receiver Zack Miller caught five passes for 93 yards and one touchdown in his final game of his collegiate career to lead all Lions receivers.
 
The Lions punted on their first drive, but cashed in on the first play of the Dutchmen's initial drive as junior linebacker Nate Steffen ran a fumble back 25 yards for a touchdown. A double reverse attempt was fumbled by Dutchmen running back Hunter Wilson, and Steffen grabbed the ball after it bounced back five yards. Sophomore quarterback Todd Shelley found senior wide receiver Mike Jordan for the two-point conversion to make it 8-0 Lions at the 12:12-mark of the first quarter. The Lions forced a Dutchmen three-and-out on their next drive, and seemed to be in position to extend their lead after Bootman broke free on a 74-yard run to the Lebanon Valley nine-yard line. Unfortunately for the Lions, Bootman fumbled the ball out of a wildcat formation and the Dutchmen recovered. Lebanon Valley was unable to generate much of anything on offense again, and punted back to the Lions. However, Bootman was stripped of the ball on 3^rd down during the Lions next series to give the ball back to the Dutchmen. Lebanon Valley used a pair of 20+ yard runs to get down to the Lions four-yard line, and made it an 8-7 game at the 1:43-mark of the first quarter on a four-yard touchdown run by Wilson.
 
Albright went on a 21-play 74-yard drive that went into the second quarter, but came away with no points after a pass to Bootman was stopped at the one-yard line on 4^th and goal. Following the eight-minute drive from the Lions, the Dutchmen made it as far as the Lions 46-yard line before an intentional grounding call stalled the drive. Each team was unable to generate any points for the rest of the half as the Lions took their 8-7 lead into halftime.
 
Lebanon Valley opened the second half with the ball in Lions territory, and took advantage of the short field to take a 10-8 lead from a 41-yard field goal from Nick Bentz. Albright responded with an eight-play 75-yard drive to go back up 15-10 on a two-yard touchdown from Bootman at the 9:00-mark of the third quarter. The key play on the drive was a 35-yard run from Bootman that put the Lions inside the 10-yard line. Albright forced a three-and-out on the next Dutchmen drive, and continued to use a strong run game to enter Dutchmen territory again. First-year running back Lucas Roselli capped the drive with a 12-yard touchdown run to give the Lions a 21-10 lead at the 2:47-mark of the third quarter.
 
The Dutchmen cut into the Lions lead in the opening minute of the fourth quarter to 21-13 following a 30-yard field goal from Bentz. Albright again drove into Dutchmen territory on their next drive, but were stopped on 4^th and 1 at the Lebanon Valley 26-yard line on a pitch toss to Bootman. The Dutchmen used two long passes to get into a goal-to-go situation, but the Lions defense held strong to force a third field goal from Bentz to make it 21-16. On the ensuing Lions possession, Lahay found Miller wide open over the middle on 3^rd and 5 for a 63-yard touchdown to extend the Lions lead out to 28-16. Senior safety Trevan Harris-Dorman seemed to slam the door on the Dutchmen by intercepting Lebanon Valley quarterback Kody Kegarise on the first play of the next drive, and set the Lions up at the LVC 42-yard line. However, Bootman fumbled on the second play of the Lions drive to give the ball back to the Dutchmen with 4:26 left in regulation. Lebanon Valley took advantage of the turnover and scored a touchdown with 2:45 left in the 4^th quarter to make it a 28-23 game. Albright recovered a short kickoff, and was able to run the clock down to 25 seconds before giving the ball back to the Dutchmen. Lebanon Valley was able to get to the Albright 38-yard line with six seconds left, but a hail mary attempt was intercepted by junior safety Armon Jefferson in the end zone to seal the win.
 
Three Lions led the team with seven tackles. Sophomore Daniel Vital was one of the three with six solo tackles and one sack. Steffen finished with six tackles (one solo) and 2.0 TFL, and sophomore defensive lineman Ryan Rapp added five tackles (two solo), 2.0 TFL, and one sack. Kegarise finished 18-of-37 in the air with 231 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. Andrew Olson caught seven passes for 106 yards, and Anthony Jenkins led the team with a game-high 12 tackles (nine solo), 2.0 TFL, and one forced fumble.