Saturday, September 16, 2017

Warriors Close To An Upset In Albright Come From Behind Win

(R) Sr QB Chase Williams
A www.MACfb.com File Photo
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Senior Chase Williams (Damascus, Md./Damascus) ran for a touchdown and threw for another in the first quarter, but the Lycoming College football team fell victim to a 14-point second half rally from undefeated Albright College as it snuck out of David Person Field with a 21-17 Middle Atlantic Conference win on Saturday, Sept. 16.


Williams finished 20-of-33 passing for 174 yards and a touchdown and rushed nine times for a net of 14 yards and a score in his first full start behind center for the Warriors (0-3 overall, 0-2 MAC).

He got the Warriors out to a great start, as he helped the Warriors score on their first drive, going 2-for-2 for 11 yards passing before cutting around the tackle and breaking free for a 37-yard touchdown to cap a six-play, 62-yard drive.

The Warriors were able to win the battle of field position late in the first half, with a punt from junior Connor Bell (Mickleton, N.J./Kingsway Regional) being downed at the two-yard line. After a three-and-out, the Warriors got the ball at the Albright 38 and seven plays later, Williams found junior Nick Costello (Havertown, Pa./Haverford) for a nine-yard leaping touchdown in the right corner of the endzone to give Lycoming a 14-0 lead with 51 seconds left in the opening quarter.

The Lions (3-0 overall, 2-0 MAC) got on the board late in the second quarter, scoring with 2:20 left off a two-yard pass on 4th-and-goal from Alec Vignola to Mike Jordan. The Warriors ran a brilliant two-minute drill in response, with sophomore Dante Gipson (Bordentown, N.J./Bordentown Regional) rushing for 33 yards to get the ball to the Albright 36 before making a catch for 21 yards to get the ball to the 15-yard line with just under a minute to go. An eight-yard catch on the right sideline by junior Brock Zollicoffer (Owings Mills, Md./Owings Mills) got the ball inside the 10 and sophomore Jamie Fisher (Folsom, Pa./Ridley) hit a 23-yard field goal to cap the drive with 19 seconds left, sending the Warriors into the locker room with a 17-7 lead.

The Lions scored on their first two drives of the second half, first with a 68-yard drive that included a 34-yard catch by Milton Cordero, and second on a 14-play, 75-yard drive that took 7:05 and was capped when Chris Dawson scored from a yard out to give Albright a 21-17 lead with 2:04 left in the third.

The Warriors got inside the Albright 40 on the answering drive, but the drive stalled at the 38. Albright got the ball to the Lycoming 22 on its first drive of the fourth quarter, but couldn’t convert a 39-yard field goal with 11:09 left. The Warriors began to turn the game of field position into its favor, getting the ball at the Albright 47 after a 32-yard punt with 1:54 left, but Albright was able to use a sack from David Sanchez on 2nd-and-10 to ensure the win.

Gipson finished with 149 all-purpose yards, as he posted 44 rushing yards on eight carries, 21 receiving yards on five catches and 84 kick return yards on four opportunities. Zollicoffer had four catches for 63 yards and added a rush for eight yards. Costello caught five passes for 33 yards and a score.

Vignola finished 24-of-42 for 240 yards and two touchdowns. He was intercepted once. Jordan caught seven passes for 56 yards and two scores and Malik Jackson caught six passes for 80 yards. Walter Lewis led the Lions’ rushing crew, posting three carries for 37 yards.

Sophomore Trey Smith (Hughesville, Pa./Hughesville) led the Warrior defense with nine tackles and junior D.J. Boyd (Seat Pleasant, Md./District Heights) posted seven stops and a breakup. Senior Mike Ward (Edgewater, Md./South River), who became the 27th player in school history to reach 200 career tackles, posted seven stops and an interception. Senior Aaron Davis (Sayreville, N.J./Sayreville War Memorial) had five tackles and two breakups.

Grant Boehler had six tackles, one for a loss and Nate Steffen posted six stops, 0.5 for a loss, to lead the Albright defense. Sanchez and Trevor Leone each had solo sacks.

The Warriors get back on the field on Saturday, Sept. 23, when they head to King’s College for a 1 p.m. MAC matchup.

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