EDWARDSVILLE, Pa. – Sophomore quarterback Al Karaffa threw for 208 yards on 18-of-29 passing and four touchdowns while junior receiver Jim Jordan had eight catches for 111 yards and three touchdowns as Wilkes University defeated Lebanon Valley 28-6 in a Middle Atlantic Conference football game at a mucky Ralston Field Saturday afternoon.
Wilkes (4-2, 4-1 MAC), which entered the game ranked second in the MAC in scoring defense, held the Dutchmen (2-5, 2-4 MAC) to 184 total yards and forced five Lebanon Valley turnovers.
Junior quarterback Dan Kelly threw for 111 yards on 11-of-27 passing and was intercepted three times. Senior Luke Rendine led the Dutchmen receiving corps with three catches for 47 yards while sophomore Ryan Brennan was the team's top rusher, taking the handoff eight times for 22 yards.
Wilkes applied the defensive clamps early, holding the Dutchmen to one first down and intercepting the ball twice over Lebanon Valley's first six possessions.
The Colonels' first touchdown was set up by a fumbled Lebanon Valley snap that Wilkes recovered at the LVC-31. Six plays later, Karaffa pump-faked and found Jordan wide open in the right side of the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown pass, making it 7-0 with 8:56 left in the opening quarter.
A 42-yard punt return from junior Bo Tkach gave the Colonels the ball at the Dutchman-31, and Wilkes needed just four plays to find the end zone for the second time. Karaffa hit Jordan down the middle of the field for a 19-yard touchdown pass on the second play of the second quarter as the Colonels took a 14-0 lead.
After Lebanon Valley's fifth punt of the half, Wilkes went on a nine-play, 68-yard drive, capped by Karaffa's third touchdown pass of the game. Matt Pizarro pulled in a Karaffa aerial and just kept his feet in bounds before running out of the back of the end zone, making it 21-0.
The Dutchmen came back with a 15-play, 71-yard touchdown drive that ate up the final 2:38 of the half. A 5-yard run by Kelly put the ball at the Wilkes-1, and after a timeout with three seconds left, Kelly rolled out to his right and sprinted into the end zone as time expired for his third rushing touchdown of the season. Sophomore Eldin Brodlic had his extra point blocked, and the scoreboard read 21-6 at the half.
Neither team was able to get its offense going in the second half. Wilkes punted the ball four times and turned it over on downs once, while Lebanon Valley punted four times, threw one interception, and gave the ball away on downs once.
Wilkes scored the only points of the game late in the third quarter, as the Colonels went 76 yards in seven plays during a 2:41 scoring drive. Karaffa used the pump-fake again to find Jordan for the third time, this time from 29 yards out, as Wilkes went up 28-6 with 2:22 left in the third quarter.
Junior cornerback Dan Stauffer, freshman defensive end Brian Drew, freshman defensive end Curt Brown, and freshman linebacker Brian Cottone made seven tackles apiece for Lebanon Valley. Stauffer also had two pass breakups while Brown had 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack. In addition, senior linebacker Chris Weaver made his first collegiate interception and returned it 17 yards.
Stauffer also punted six times for an average of 38.2 yards per attempt. Sophomore receiver/punter Adam Brossman also had three punts for a 36.3 average before leaving the game with a shoulder injury late in the first quarter.
Lebanon Valley returns to action next Saturday, when it hosts Lycoming College at 1 p.m. in another MAC game starting at 1 p.m.
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