Reading, Pa. (Nov. 1, 2024) - Alvernia University Football will make the short trip across the city on Saturday to take on crosstown Albright College in a MAC matchup. Kickoff is set for 12:00 PM at Albright's Shirk Stadium.

The Golden Wolves, who are looking for their first win of the season, are coming off a 34-24 loss at Widener on Saturday. Alvernia led, 17-14, with 11 minutes to play in the third quarter. But, Widener answered with a game-tying field goal, and then scored back-to-back touchdowns to take a 31-17 lead. Alvernia scored a touchdown with six minutes to play to get within a score, but a late Widener field goal put the game out of reach as the Pride took the 34-24 win. 

Albright is 1-6 overall and 0-6 in MAC play. The Lions lone win of the season came on a 17-6 win over Gallaudet in week one. Albright is coming off a 28-0 loss to Delaware Valley last week. 

Inside the Series
Saturday will mark just the fourth meeting all time between the two programs. Alvernia has a 2-1 record against the Lions and have won the last two meetings. Last season, Alvernia defeated the Lions 28-16 at home. The Golden Wolves scored 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to defeat the Lions. Colin Payne was a part of all four of Alvernia's touchdowns in the win.

Alvernia averages 23.3 points against Albright, and the Golden Wolves are 1-0 at Shirk Stadium. Alvernia last visited Albright in 2022, and Alvernia came away with a 22-14 win over the Lions. Just like in 2023, Alvernia scored 14 unanswered to defeat Albright in 2022.

Scouting the Golden Wolves
Alvernia enters Saturday following another solid team performance against Widener last weekend. The Golden Wolves had a very balanced offensive effort - with 127 rushing yards and 242 passing yards. Defensively, Alvernia had some trouble stopping Widener's running game, but Alvernia did a great job stopping Widener in the air. Alvernia also had a solid performance out of its special teams with a made field goal - which, at the time, gave Alvernia the lead - and six punts that averaged 38 yards to flip the field for the Golden Wolves.

Alvernia enters Saturday averaging 16.4 points per game. The Golden Wolves average 239 yards of total offense a game. 180 of those yards come via the passing game, and the other 60 come on the ground. Alvernia's rushing numbers are a bit skewed by yards lost on a sack, but Alvernia has shown improvement in its rushing game since the start of the season.

Defensively, Alvernia allows 35.5 points per game. The Alvernia defense gives up 383 yards of total offense per game. Alvernia does well defending the passing game, allowing 184 yards in the air per game. But, the Alvernia defense has struggled against the run and is allowing an average of nearly 200 rushing yards per game.

Alvernia Keys to the Game
Protect the Quarterback: Colin Payne was sacked ten times last week, but he still managed to get off 17 completions of 240 yards. Payne also had two touchdowns for over 30 yards last week. Albright will rush the quarterback. The Lions tend to not have success in getting to the quarterback. Albright has just 10 sacks this season, four of which came in their win over Gallaudet. If Alvernia's offensive line can buy Payne a bit more time, look for him to do well against a defense that allows nearly 10 yards per passing attempt and 16.5 yards per completion. 

Get the Ground Game Going: Alvernia's rushing game has been trending upwards since the bye week. The Golden Wolves have rushed for over 100 yards in each of the three games since the bye week. The Lions are allowing nearly 170 rushing yards per game and nearly five yards per attempt. Look for Alvernia to have an opportunity to continue its 100-yard rushing streak on Saturday.

Win the Turnover Battle: Alvernia has done well taking the ball away, but the Golden Wolves have also struggled with turnovers or special teams mishaps of their own late. Both FDU-Florham and Eastern scored touchdowns off of late turnovers, and Widener scored a go-ahead touchdown on a bad snap on an Alvernia punt late in the third quarter. Alvernia will need to protect the ball all game long, but especially late, on Saturday.

Golden Wolves to Watch
Colin Payne: Payne had his third game of over 240 passing yards last week. Look for him to continue to carry that momentum into Saturday. Payne also had one of the best games of his career against the Lions last year - accounting for all four of Alvernia's touchdowns, and passing for a near-career high 341 yards.

Andrew Simmons: Simmons has been one of the main keys to Alvernia unlocking its running game since the bye week. The first year running back is averaging just under 50 rushing yards per game, and has three straight games with 65 or more rushing yards. He is coming off a season-high 77 yards against Widener last week. 

Khysir Young: When Albright and Alvernia met last season, Young came up with a first quarter interception that led to Alvernia first touchdown of the game. He finished the game with five tackles and that interception. This year, Young enters Saturday with 34 tackles, four pass break-ups, and a forced fumble. The sophomore is still hunting for his first interception of the year, and will look to echo what he did last year against the Lions.

Jamel Fleming: The senior captain for the Golden Wolves will look to have a standout Saturday in his final meeting against the rival Lions. Fleming enters Saturday with 41 tackles and a pass break-up. Like Young, he is also searching for his first interception of the year. The opportunity will be there for both Fleming and Young, as the Lions have three quarterbacks that have seen time, and all three have thrown at least one interception.

McCabe Piavis: Albright leans on the run game often, but has not had much success with it. Piavis, Alvernia's leading tackler, will be key in making sure that the Lions do not have success with it on Saturday. Piavis has 2.5 tackles for a loss and one sack, and will look to add to those numbers on Saturday. He also has two interceptions and a pass breakup.

Scouting the Lions
Albright is 1-6 overall this season, and 0-6 in MAC play. The Lions lone win came against Gallaudet and put an end to a 27-game losing streak for the Lions. Since then, Albright has been held under seven points four times, and has been shutout twice. The Lions put up 20 points in a loss to Eastern, and that marked their highest scoring output of the season.

Albright is averaging 8.14 points per game. The Lions are averaging 246.1 yards per game and 4.2 yards per play. Albright has rushed the ball 187 times this year, but averages just 1.7 yards per attempt and 45.6 yards per game. In the air, Albright is averaging 200.5 passing yards per game and 6.2 yards per attempt.

Defensively, Albright allows 27.4 points per game. The Lions allow 360.7 yards of total offense per game and 6.5 yards per play. The Lions allow 168 rushing yards per game and 192.5 passing yards per game. 

Lions to Watch
Chase Roberts (QB): Roberts, a first-year quarterback, stepped into the primary role midway through the season. Roberts enters Saturday with a 60% completion percentage with two touchdown passes, but three interceptions. Roberts is averaging 167 yards per game. 

John Boston (RB): The Lions have had 12 different players rush the ball for them this season, but Boston is the primary rusher for Albright. He has 95 rushing attempts for 331 yards and two touchdowns. He averages 3.5 yards per touch and 47.3 yards per game.

Aiden Stickler (WR): Albright spreads the wealth pretty evenly amongst its receiving core, but Stickler leads the Lions with an average of 19.35 yards per reception and 47 yards per game. The Aggies held Stickler without a reception last week, but he had three straight games with over 65 yards prior to that.

Samuel Moratori (DB): Moratori is leading the MAC with 74 tackles on the year. He averages over 10 tackles a game and also has 1.5 tackles for a loss. 48 of Moratori's tackles are solo tackles, and he has partnered up for 26 more.
  
Darian Osmun (LB): Osmun leads Albright with eight tackles for a loss, and also has a team high three sacks for 21 yards. 

Game Information
Kickoff is set for 12:00 PM at Albright's Shirk Stadium. Tickets are available at two entrance points, and are $5 per ticket. Live coverage options are available at auwolves.com/live