LYCOMING FOOTBALL FALLS TO ALBRIGHT IN SHOOTOUT

READING, Pa. – The Lycoming College football team traveled to Albright College, Saturday afternoon, for a key Middle Atlantic Conference showdown. The Warriors got off to a strong start opening up a 16-0 lead, but could not contain the high-powered Lion offense eventually falling to the home team 49-32. The loss drops Lycoming to 1-2 for the first time since 1994. Albright improves to 3-0 with the win.

The Warriors looked dominate in the first 10 minutes of the contest. Taking the opening kickoff, Lycoming drove 65 yards on nine plays for the game’s first touchdown. The drive was capped by a 22-yard touchdown reception by Tim Brown (Jr./Liverpool, N.Y.; Christian Brothers) on a pass from Phil Mann (Sr./Mill Hall, Pa.; Central Mountain). Chris Schrader (So./Glenolden, Pa.; Monsignor Bonner) made the score 7-0 with the point after.

The Warrior defense then force the Lions to go three-and-out on their first possession and gave the offense the ball on the Albright 27-yardline following a 16-yard punt return by Chris Beissel (So./Leesport, Pa.; Schuylkill Valley). Lycoming needed just four plays to find the endzone again. Mann found Richie Schiccatano (Fr./Mount Carmel, Pa.; Mount Carmel) out of the backfield from the 11-yardline. Schiccatano sprinted to the three-yardline were he fumbled the ball into the endzone. Tony Kopp (Jr./St. Mary’s, Pa.; St. Mary’s) was “Johnny-on-the-spot”, however, recovering the ball for a touchdown. Schrader’s point after extended the Warriors’ lead to 14-0.

The Lions again went three-and-out on their next possession and lined up for their second punt of the game. The snap, however, sailed over the punters head and skidded into the endzone. Kevin LeSage (Jr./Darby, Pa.; Monsignor Bonner) made a diving attempt to recover the ball, but it bounced out of his grasp and through the endzone for a safety and a 16-0 Lycoming advantage.

Momentum began to shift away from the Warriors on their ensuing possession when they were unable to move the ball and were forced to punt for the first time. Albright took over on their own 31-yardline and quickly flexed their offensive muscle.

Quarterback John Port orchestrated a seven-play, 69-yard drive that took just more than two minutes and resulted in touchdown. Port was 3-for-3 passing on the drive, including a 36-yard strike to Steve Mocey that set up a one-yard dive by Adam Hubley for the score. Dustin Kaplan’s point after pulled the Lions within nine at 16-7.

Lycoming responded with a sustained 13-play drive but could not put points on the board as Schrader’s 46-yard field attempt was tipped at the line-of-scrimmage and fell short.

Albright fired back with another quick scoring drive that covered 71 yards on seven plays. Port was 4-for-4 passing on this drive, including a 26 yards completion to Mocey and a six-yard touchdown pass to Nick Cushman. Kaplan’s extra point made the 16-14.

The Warriors continued to move the ball traveling 37 yards on nine plays, but another missed field goal left the visitors with a slim two-point lead. This time the defense responded by holding the Lions on their next possession and forcing a punt. But the Albright defense trumped their counterparts when Muhammed Siddiq intercepted Mann’s pass on first down and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown. The point-after gave the Lions a 21-16 lead heading into halftime.

Albright took control of the contest in the third quarter. After trading possessions, Lycoming had the Lions pinned on their own two-yardline following a 40-yard punt by Dylan Dupuis (Sr./Flemington, N.J.; Hunterdon Central). Albright, however, mounted a 98-yard, 10-play drive that resulted in a touchdown and a two-score lead. The drive was capped by a 51-yard touchdown pass from Port to Cushman.

The Lions tallied their third interception of the game on the ensuing drive and set up the offense in Warrior territory again. Albright wasted no time capitalizing. Port completed a pass to Cushman for 17 yards to move the ball to the 12. Hubley then took a handoff and scampered to paydirt for a 35-16 lead.

Lycoming was not ready to roll over, however. The Warriors mounted a seven-play, 51-yard drive to finally answer the 35-point run by the Lions. Mann keyed the drive by finding Brown for 27 yards on a third-and-14, rushing fir six yards on a third-and-5 and finding Beissel in the endzone from 15 yards out to complete the drive. A failed two-point attempt left the score at 35-22.

Lycoming’s defense came up with a fumble recovery on Albight’s next possession to again set up the Warrior offense. That offense picked up one first down, but was forced to settle for a 33-yard field goal by Schrader that pulled them with 10 at 35-25 with 14:10 to play in the game.

Lycoming’s comeback hopes were short lived, however, as Port hooked up with Cushman on the second play of their next possession for a 71-yard touchdown that was the nail in the Warriors’ coffin.

Each team would add one more touchdown, but the result was never in doubt the remainder of the game.

Mann led Lycoming’s offense completing 23-of-35 passes for 236 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for 45 yards on eight carries. Brown was his top receiver with five catches for 97 yards and two scores. Seven other players caught at least one pass for the Warriors. Joe Cosmello was the team’s leading rusher with 59 yards on 18 carries.

Defensively, Jim Smith (Fr./Williamsport, Pa.; Williamsport), Mike Piotrowicz (Jr./Philadelphia, Pa.; North Catholic), and Matt Murdock (So./Elysburg, Pa.; Southern Columbia) each tallied seven tackles in the game. Murdock added an interception and Nick Pinto (Sr./Philadelphia, Pa.; Archbishop Ryan) recovered two fumbles.

For Albright, Port completed 20-of-30 passes for 414 yards and four touchdowns. Cushman caught seven passes for 172 yards and three scores, while Mocey added six receptions for 148 yards. Hubley ran for 107 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries. On defense, Pete Manotti led the Lions with 14 tackles. Steve Butler, Josh Benson, and Siddiq each intercepted a pass.

The Warriors will travel to Ithaca College for their next game on Saturday, October 2. The game will be Lycoming’s first regular-season, non-conference game since 1992.