Reading, Pa. (Nov. 8, 2024) - Alvernia University Football returns home on Saturday afternoon for the penultimate game of the 2024 season as the Golden Wolves welcome Lebanon Valley College to campus for a MAC Football matchup.
Alvernia is still on the hunt for its first win of the season after dropping a heart-breaker to Albright last weekend in an overtime thriller. The Golden Wolves overcame a 16-9 deficit late and tied the game at 16-16 with one minute to play in the fourth quarter to force overtime. Alvernia had to settle for a field goal to open overtime, but took a 19-16 lead. Albright then overcame a 2nd and 25 and scored two plays later on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Chase Roberts to Alden Stickler. The game marked the first time Alvernia played in an overtime contest.
Lebanon Valley enters Saturday with a 3-5 record overall and a 3-4 record in MAC play. The Dutchmen are coming off a 24-21 loss to Widener on Saturday, and Lebanon Valley has lost four of its last five games after 2-0 start to open MAC play back in September. The Dutchmen led the Pride 14-4-7 at the half, but Widener outscored Lebanon Valley 17-7 in the second half. The Dutchmen got within three late on a touchdown run with 1:11 to play and got the ball back with six seconds to play after making a defensive stop. But, Lebanon Valley ran out of time as Widener took the 24-21 win.
Inside the Series
Saturday will mark the sixth meeting between the Dutchmen and Golden Wolves. Lebanon Valley has won the first five meetings of the series, but Alvernia nearly pulled off an upset of the Dutchmen last year. Alvernia trailed by just a possession with two minutes to play, but the Dutchmen made the defensive stop late to come away with the 34-26 win.
The Dutchmen are a historically tough team for Alvernia to score against, and Alverina averages just 12.2 points per game against Lebanon Valley. However, the 26 points Alvernia put up against Lebanon Valley last year was the most points Alvernia has scored against the Dutchmen.
Lebanon Valley has scored over 30 points against Alvernia in all five matchups and averages 36.6 points per game against Alvernia.
Scouting the Golden Wolves
Alvernia has strung together two good overall team efforts the last two weeks, but have not seen its efforts come through in the win column yet. Alvernia's last three losses have been decided by ten points or less.
For the second consecutive week, Alvernia has put together a balanced offensive effort. Against the Lions, Alvernia rushed for 94 yards and passed for 204 yards. Alvernia rushed the ball 33 times to mark the third consecutive game with at least 30 rushing attempts.
Alvernia is averaging 16.75 points per game entering Saturday, and are averaging 246.4 yards of offense per game. The Golden Wolves average 182.4 of those yards in the air and 64 on the ground.
Alvernia's defense is allowing 33.88 points per game and 375 yards of total offense per game. Opponents average 5.7 yards per play against Alvernia. While Alvernia limits opponents to under 200 yards of passing on average per game, the Golden Wolves have been giving up a lot of yardage on the ground with opponents averaging 181.3 rushing yards per game against Alvernia.
Alvernia Keys to the Game
Get off to a Quick Start: Alvernia has trailed 14-0 and 9-0, respectively, early on its last two games. Alvernia will need to limit the Dutchmen from scoring early and take an early lead itself. If Alvernia can do this, the Golden Wolves can control the game flow instead of needing to play catchup.
Protect the Quarterback: After allowing ten sacks against Widener, Alvernia did a better job protecting
Colin Payne in the backfield last week. Lebanon Valley is third last in the MAC with 11 total sacks on the season, but the Dutchmen are bringing an experienced defensive line to matchup against Alvernia's young offensive line. Alvernia's line will need to slow down the pass rush to allow Payne to establish the passing game.
Time of Possession: Winning the time of possession battle is something Alvernia has struggled with all season. The Golden Wolves are averaging just 25:28 in time of possession this season. In comparison, the Dutchmen average just over 30 minutes. Alvernia has to find a way to keep the offense on the field and move the chains, and Alvernia's defense has to make third down stops and get off the field.
Golden Wolves to Watch
Colin Payne: Payne had his fourth game of the season of over 200 passing yards with a 20-for-34 day for 204 yards at Albright. That followed a 242 yard performance at Widener the week prior. Payne also had one of his best games of his career against Lebanon Valley last season. He threw for 374 yards and was just shy of a school-record performance. Look for Payne to keep things rolling from the last two weeks and look to match his performance of last season against the Dutchmen.
Dachan Thompson: Thompson is one of Payne's favorite targets. However, he has been held under 100 receiving yards the last three weeks after back-to-back 117 yard games against Stevenson and FDU-Florham. Thompson will look to get back in the triple digits on Saturday.
Andrew Simmons: Simmons, a first year running back, has been key in Alvernia establishing its running game the last few weeks. Simmons has rushed for 65 yards or more the last four weeks and rushed for a season-high 88 yards last week at Albright.
Jamel Fleming: Fleming anchors the Alvernia secondary that is holding opponents to under 200 passing yards. Fleming has two pass break-ups and 45 tackles on the season, and he grabbed his first interception of the year last week against Albright. Lebanon Valley has two quarterbacks that split time and have combined for seven interceptions on the season. So, Fleming will have the opportunity to add on to his interception total.
McCabe Piavis: Piavis leads Alvernia with 57 tackles on the season. He has two quarterback hurries and two interceptions on the season. Piavis also had 3.5 tackles for a loss and 1.5 sacks.
Scouting the Dutchmen
Lebanon Valley averages 22.8 points per game and averages 351 yards of total offense. Lebanon Valley averages 188.75 passing yards per game and 162.3 rushing yards per game. The Dutchmen also average 5.2 yards per play and have successfully converted 18 of their 27 fourth down attempts.
Defensively, Lebanon Valley allows an average of 23.8 points per game and 347 yards of total offense per game. Lebanon Valley has done well limiting its opponents to an average of 165.4 passing yards per game. But, like Alvernia, the Dutchmen struggle to stop the run and allow an average of 181.6 yards per game on the ground.
The Dutchmen struggle a bit with ball security and have thrown seven interceptions and fumbled the ball 12 times, losing eight of them.
Dutchmen to Watch
Braden Bohannon (Quarterback): The Dutchmen split time between Bohannon and Logan Litsch, but Bohannon is the primary quarterback for the Dutchmen. Bohannon averages 141 passing yards per game yards per game and is 96-167 with eight touchdowns and three interceptions. Bohannon is also Lebanon Valley's leading rusher, and averages 73.5 yards per game.
Alex Vassallo (Wide Receiver): Lebanon Valley's leading receiver is Deshawn Wilson, but Wilson is not listed on the depth chart for this week's game. If Wilson does in fact not play, look for Vassallo to be the next man up. Vassallo is averaging 37.13 yards per game and has 23 receptions on the year for 297 yards.
Brody Robinson (Linebacker): Robinson is Lebanon Valley's leading tackler with 51 tackles on the year. Robinson averages 6.4 tackles per game and also has one tackle for a loss this season.
Noah Caldani (Defensive End): Caldani leads the Dutchmen with 8.5 tackles for a loss and 3.5 sacks. He also has one quarterback hurry and 35 total tackles on the year.
Evan Kutzler (Safety): Kutzler leads the MAC with five interceptions on the year. He also has two pass breakups and 21 tackles on the season.
Game Information
Kickoff is set for 1:00 PM at Alvernia University. The stadium opens at 11:30 AM on Saturday morning, and tickets will be available for purchase between the PEC and the Campus Commons beginning at 11:30 AM. All tickets are $5.
Live options for Saturday are available at auwolves.com. The game will be broadcast to MACtv, and Billy Fisher and Dane Sabarese will be on the call for Alvernia.
