The Wilkes University football team will be playing their last game at Ralston Field on Saturday, hosting Widener in Middle Atlantic Conference action. Wilkes brings a 5-3 record into the game, while the Pride are 3-5 in the 2009 season.
Last season these two teams met up at Chester, Pa. with Wilkes coming out the victor by a score of 30-27. Wilkes Quarterback Rob Johnson connected with then wide receiver Jason Prushinski for a 23 yards touchdown pass in the final three minutes to secure the win for the Colonels. Salah Hawkins led the Pride in that game with 102 rushing yards and a touchdown.
This season Widener has multiple weapons in the run game, led by Adam Smith who is averaging 30 yards per game on the ground to go along with five touchdowns. The air game is led by Chris Haupt who is averaging 176.4 yards per contest. He main receiver is Justin Horning who has 485 yards and five touchdown catches.
Wilkes is led by Quarterback Rob Johnson who is averaging 170 yards per game through the air, and has eight touchdown passes. His main target is Jordan D’Emilio who has 42 catches for 496 yards. Zach Tivald has emerged as the main threat on the ground for Wilkes, and is coming off a game against Lycoming in which he ran for 149 yards on 31 carries. He also had a 22-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter.
Defensively, Wilkes is led by Kevin Gerhart with 73 tackles on the season to goa long with two interceptions and seven pass deflections. Sean O’Neill leads the Colonels in sacks with six, as well as tackles for loss with 10 for a total of 50 yards lost. Defensive back Corey Gilroy has three interception on the year, as well as 133 return yards on those picks.
The game will begin at 1:00 at Ralston Field. Live stats can be viewed
here.