Box Score
EDWARDSVILLE, Pa. - Sophomore
Ben Guiles ran for a career-high 187 yards and Lebanon Valley's defense held Wilkes to 168 yards of total offense as LVC won, 21-18, Saturday in a key MAC match-up at Ralston Field.
The Dutchmen (4-1, 1-1 MAC) kept from falling into an 0-2 hole in conference play after last week's loss to Delaware Valley, while the Colonels (3-2, 0-2 MAC) lost for the second straight game after a 3-0 start.
LVC had to use some smart clock management to halt a late Wilkes comeback after the Colonels' Chris Swinarski returned a goal-line fumble 97 yards for a touchdown to start the fourth quarter.
"It's tough to win at Wilkes, but I liked the way our kids handled the adversity," said Coach
Jim Monos. "We're ready to score and go up two scores, and all the sudden it's a 14-point swing. But our kids hung in there and we won, and that's what counts."
A year after teammate
Charlie Parker ran for a school-record 267 yards at Wilkes, Guiles turned in the sixth-best rushing performance in LVC history, while Parker, who needed 57 yards to become LVC's all-time leading rusher, inched closer with 47 yards and a touchdown.
Parker did, however, equal the career record for carries, toting the ball 16 times to get to 673 for his career, tying
Rick Coleman '78 for that mark.
Quarterbacks
Caleb Fick and
Colt Zarilla combined to go 12-for-18 for 154 yards and no interceptions. Rob Johnson completed just seven passes for 157 yards for Wilkes, but was sacked six times, including three times by linebacker
Alex Gilchrist.
But even with three sacks, it was Gilchrist's first-quarter interception that was biggest play as he picked off Johnson at the Wilkes eight yard-line, setting up Parker for a touchdown two plays later.
Another Gilchrist sack stalled the Colonels after reaching the LVC 3, and Wilkes had to settle for a 28-yard Chris Horn field goal to make it 7-3.
LVC answered on the ensuing drive when Fick scrambled in for a nine-yard touchdown, but Wilkes scored a minute from the half when Gennaro Zangardi snagged a 26-yard pass from Johnson to make it 14-9 after Horn's missed PAT.
Horn added a 31-yard field goal to open the second half, but Guiles made it a two-score game against by capping an 11-play drive with a one-yard touchdown to go up 21-12.
The Dutchmen looked to put the game out of reach to start the fourth quarter, driving 74 yards to the Wilkes 1, but Parker coughed up the hand-off looking for the end zone, and Swinarski scooped up the loose ball and went 97 yards the other way to cut the LVC lead to a field goal.
That score would never come, however, as LVC used its outstanding running game to limit Wilkes to just one fourth-quarter possession, and the Dutchmen strung together four first downs on their final drive to eat 6:40 off the clock at the end.
Game Notes
LVC held Wilkes to just 11 yards rushing, the third time this season that an opponent has been held to 20 or fewer yards on the ground ...
Brittany Ryan became the all-time leading female PAT kicker in NCAA history, booting the 50th extra point of her career to break former West Alabama kicker Tonya Butler's mark ... Guiles' 187 yards ties him with Dave Holland, who ran for 187 at FDU-Florham in 2005, for sixth-most in a game ... Guiles' 35 carries were also fifth-most in a game for LVC ... Gilchrist ended with a team-best six tackles, three sacks, four tackles for a loss, and an interception ...
Zach Bleiler also added 1.5 sacks, and
Bruno Iozzo (1.0) and
Will Keylor (0.5) also got to Johnson ... Sean O'Neill racked up three sacks for Wilkes ... Zangardi led all receivers with 109 yards, while
Joe Brennan led LVC with 61 yards on just two catches.
Big Offensive Performer
Ben Guiles ran all over the Wilkes defense, carrying 35 times for a career-high 187 yards and a touchdown.
Big Defensive Performer
Alex Gilchrist terrorized Wilkes QB Rob Johnson, sacking him three times and intercepting him deep in Colonels territory in the first half to set up LVC's first score.
The Big Play
With LVC a yard out of the end zone,
Charlie Parker fumbled the carry and Wilkes' Chris Swinarski rumbled 97 yards the other way to put Wilkes back in the game early in the fourth quarter.
It Was Over When...
Caleb Fick hit
Sean Donovan for a nine-yard gain on 3rd-and-7 during their final drive to begin a string of four first downs, allowing the Dutchmen to eat 6:40 off the clock and prevent another Wilkes possession.