GAME NOTES (PDF)
 
Albright (0-1, 0-0) vs. Western Connecticut State (1-0, 0-0)
• When: Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021
• Where: Danbury, Conn.
• Stadium: Westside Athletic Complex (2,500)
• Kickoff: 5 p.m.
• Live Video: VIDEO
• Live Stats: STATS
 
 
SERIES BREAKDOWN
• All-Time Series: Albright leads 2-0
• First Meeting: `2008 – Albright won 30-27
• Last Meeting: Sept. 12, 2009 @ Albright – Albright won 49-7
• Streak: Albright +2
 
The Albright Lions football team will head on the road to face Western Connecticut on Saturday evening at 5 p.m.
 
Playing its first regular season game since November 16th, 2019, the Lions dropped a 56-14 contest to No. 8 ranked Salisbury last Friday. Albright responded to the Sea Gull scoring on their first drive with a one-yard rushing touchdown to make it 7-7 in the first quarter. However, the Sea Gulls ran off 35 unanswered points before the Lions scored again in the third quarter. Salisbury added 14 more points in the fourth quarter to cap off the game. Salisbury pounded out 505 rushing yards as a team, and averaged 10.1 yards per carry. The Lions limited the Sea Gulls to just 84 yards passing in the contest.
 
The Colonials of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) defeated William Paterson 24-21 last Saturday in their season opener. The game went back and forth throughout until Western Connecticut State surged ahead late in the third quarter to take a 24-14 lead. The Colonials were able to fend off a Pioneers rally in the fourth quarter to earn the win.
 
THE LAST MATCHUP
In the teams last meeting in 2009, Albright reeled off 42 unanswered points to score a dominant 49-7 win over the Colonials at Shirk Stadium. The Lions outgained Western Connecticut State 605-168 in the contest, and held the Colonials to 72 yards passing. It was the second game of a home-and-home series with the Colonials after the Lions won 30-27 in Danbury the year prior.
 
SHOCK THE WORLD
Sophomore running back Isaiah Shockley made the most out of his first collegiate start last Friday against eighth-ranked Salisbury. Making an emergency start at running back to fill in for injured senior tailback Tony Thorpe, Shockley rushed for 123 yards on 14 carries to lead all Lions rushers on the evening. Shockley's impressive debut was highlighted by a 61-yard run in the third quarter, the longest run by any Lions player since Malik Bootman had a 74-yard run against Lebanon Valley in the Lions 2019 season finale. It was the most rushing yards by a Lions running back in a single game during his first season on the team since former Lions running back Chris Dawson rushed for 174 yards against Misericordia in 2014. Albright has now had a running back go over 100 yards in a game in four-straight contests dating back to the 2019 season.
 
VITAL ON DEFENSE
Senior linebacker Daniel Vital led all tacklers on the field last Friday night with a team and career-high 11 tackles against Salisbury. Vital also had one tackle for a loss and half a sack in the contest. He was the one of two players to tally a tackle for a loss and a sack against the Sea Gulls. Vital finished second on the team in tackles during the 2019 season in his first full season as a starting linebacker. He registered 57 total tackles (30 solo). 3.5 TFL, and 1.5 sacks during the 2019 season. It was the second-straight game dating back to the Lions last game in 2019 against Lebanon Valley that Vital led the team in tackles, and was his first time outright leading the team in tackles. Vital's previous career-high in tackles before Friday was eight against Salisbury back in 2019, and the first time in his collegiate career that he recorded double-digit tackles in a game.
 
FEELS LIKE THE FIRST TIME
Between both sides of the ball, 10 different Lions made their first career starts on Friday against Salisbury. On offense, senior Michael Starkey made his first start at tight end, and caught an acrobatic 15-yard pass in the second quarter. Senior Joshua Alexander made his first start on offense after spending his first three seasons on the team on the defensive line. Rounding out the starters on offense, sophomore offensive lineman Davon Linder made his first start at right tackle in his first official collegiate game.
 
On defense, all three starters on the Lions defensive line made their first collegiate starts. Seniors Devine Davis and Giovanni Figueroa along with sophomore Eric Martin anchored the defensive line for Albright. Sophomores Josh Scurry and Javontae Wayman made their first starts at linebacker, while classmates Taylor Heflin and Ryan MacFarlane earned starts in the secondary.
 
 
RIGHT WHERE HE LEFT OFF
Senior wide receiver Kevin Zehner continued leading the Lions receiving corps to open the 2021 season. Zehner led the Lions with 59 yards on six catches and one touchdown. He earned All-MAC second team honors in 2019 after leading Albright in receiving yards, touchdowns, and receptions. His 743 yards on 51 catches and eight touchdowns were all career-highs. The touchdown was Zehner's 11th of his collegiate career. Zehner has also caught 5+ passes in eight career games at Albright.
 
 
LEG UP
First-year placekicker Jack Heuer earned the primary kicking duties for the Lions last week against Salisbury in the season opener.  Heuer was the first Lion in his collegiate debut since Daniel Sobolewski in 2012 to start at kicker for Albright. Heuer made both extra points for the Lions and handled the kickoff duties.
 
 
THROWBACK
In the first meeting between the two teams in 2008, Albright trailed 18-9 in the third quarter before scoring 15-straight points to take a 24-18 lead. The Colonials took the lead back at 27-24 with 2:32 left in the fourth quarter, but the Lions scored the go-ahead touchdown with 35 seconds left in regulation to win the game. Western Connecticut State is the only school from the MASCAC that the Lions have faced in program history.
 
 
ABOUT WESTERN CONNECTICUT STATE
Fresh off an appearance in the New England Bowl Series during the end of the 2019 season, senior running back Roy Penn-Consentino rushed for a game-high 124 yards on 26 carries to lead the Colonials against William Paterson in the season opener. Junior Chad Blaszky added 21 yards on the ground and one touchdown. First-year John Giller went 17-of-28 through the air for 124 yards and one touchdown along with two interceptions in his collegiate debut. Sophomore kicker Anthony Weidtman was named MASCAC special teams player of the week after going a perfect 3-of-3 on extra points, and nailing a 23-yard field goal. On defense, sophomore linebacker Brian Tucker led the way with a team-high seven tackles (six solo). Junior linebacker Nosa Uzamere recorded and interception against the Pioneers along with five tackles (three solo). Senior defensive lineman Jemeson Charlestin forced and recovered a fumble in the win over the Pioneers, while totaling three tackles (two solo) and one for loss.