Reading, Pa. (October 16, 2026) - Alvernia University (2-3, 2-2) travels across town to take on rivals Albright College (3-2, 2-2) Saturday afternoon in a MAC Football tilt at Albright's Gene L. Shirk Stadium. 

The meeting will come as the sixth between the two historic rivals with the Lions holding a 3-2 lead in the series. The Lions head into this weekend after a 38-14 victory over the Golden Wolves last season and that was the largest margin of victory in any of the previous four matchups with the other four games being decided by an average of eight points. 

Scouting the Golden Wolves

Alvernia comes into the weekend with a 2-3 overall record and a 2-2 record in the MAC conference after a tight, 21-17 loss to Misericordia on Homecoming and Family Weekend. The Golden Wolves outgained the Cougars, 411-293, in the contest last weekend including over 300 yards in the air but Misericordia scored all 21 of its points in the second half and held the Golden Wolves to just seven. Every single one of Alvernia's games this season has come down to the last snap of the game and its point differential is just -1 even with three losses. No matter the outcome this week, buckle up for a long game that is destined to come down to the wire. 

Alvernia Keys to the Game: 

Convert in the Red Zone
The Golden Wolves have a 59% conversion rate in the red zone this season but that percentage drops down to 40% when it comes to redzone touchdowns. If the Golden Wolves expect to have success this weekend, they need to punch the ball into the endzone when they get down in the red area. 

Take Early Shots Downfield
In both of Alvernia's wins this season they have taken shots downfield to the likes of Zakai Smullen and Adonis Akande. Smullen recorded two 40+ receptions against King's and a 45 yarder against LVC. Look for the Golden Wolves to go over the top early and often this week against an Albright team that allows over 220 yards per game in the passing game. 

Stop the Run
The Golden Wolves defense allowed under 100 yards rushing in the first two games of the season but in the last three have allowed over 150 yards on the ground and four touchdowns. The Golden Wolves are going to have to sure up their run defense this week against an Albright team that averages 150 rushing yards per game. 

Win the Turnover Battle
The Lions have lost two fumbles in back to back games and last weekend against Widener threw an interception. Look for the Golden Wolves defensive line and linebackers to punch the ball out and force fumbles against an Albright team that has been susceptible to such in the last few weeks. Alvernia is also coming off of a two interception game against Misericordia, look for the Alvernia defensive backs to be flying around when the Lions look to throw the ball and hunt for an interception or two. With that being said, Albright's defense produces turnovers themselves. The Lions picked off the Pride four times last weekend and tallied two of them for 20+ yard returns. Taking care of the football is always at the forefront of each team's mentality, but it will certainly be heightened this weekend in a hostile, rivalry centered environment. 

Alvernia Players to Watch:

Adonis Akande: 
Akande, a sophomore tight end, led the Golden Wolves last week with six catches for 74 yards including a long reception of 26 yards. Akande also leads the Golden Wolves in receptions with 25 and averages just over six catches per game. First year quarterback Sawyer Esbenshade has picked out Akande as a security blanket in the first five games of the season and Akande has answered. Not only has he caught the long ball, Esbenshade also finds Akande in the flat for short, high percentage completions and Akande has made the most of them and has racked up yards after the catch so far this season. Look for the combination of Akande and Esbenshade to be at the forefront of Alvernia's pass game this week. 

Christian Medina:
Medina recorded a breakout game last weekend against the Cougars and helped lead the Alvernia defensive line that recorded seven tackles for a loss and two sacks. Medina accounted for three of those tackles for a loss and recorded both of the Alvernia sacks, one of which came as a sack fumble that the Golden Wolves recovered. Medina finished the day with nine total tackles, six of those being solo tackles and three assisted tackles. If the Alvernia defensive line is going to get any pressure on the Albright backfield, look for it to start with Medina and once the Lions look to handle him, it could free up the likes of Kyle Custis and Tommy DiGregorio to wreak havoc in the backfield. 

Sawyer Esbenshade: 
First year quarterback Sawyer Esbenshade has been nothing but solid for Alvernia throughout the first five games of the season. Esbenshade recorded another impressive game last week against Misericordia and completed 22 of 38 passes for 302 yards and although he did not throw a touchdown pass, he scrambled out of the pocket and ran for a touchdown, one that gave the Golden Wolves the lead late in the fourth quarter. Esbenshade has been efficient so far this season with just over a 61% completion percentage, 1,223 passing yards and seven touchdowns. Esbenshade averages over 240 yards per game and has only thrown two interceptions this season. If the Golden Wolves are to have success this weekend, look for Esbenshade to sling the football around the field but also look for him to protect the football and take off running when the Albright defense covers up the Alvernia receivers. 

Scouting the Lions: 

The Lions come into the rivalry game with a 3-2 overall record and a 2-2 record in the MAC. Albright tallied back to back commanding victories over Gallaudet (44-7) and FDU-Florham  (30-17) but then dropped back to back tight contests to Delaware Valley (24-21) and Misericordia (15-14). The Lions got back on the horse last weekend after the bye week with a 26-7 victory over Widener where they racked up 465 total yards against the Pride including 315 in the air. Although the numbers would suggest that the passing game was the highlight, the Lions were decently balanced on the offensive side of the ball. Albright tallied 150 yards rushing on 33 attempts and two rushing touchdowns. Yes, they doubled that in passing yards with over 300 but they threw the ball 34 times and also tallied two passing touchdowns. The Lions average 150 rushing yards per game so halfway through the season, 260 passing yards and average 27 points per game. What kills the Lions seems to be penalties. Albright is first in the MAC in penalty yards per game with 107 penalty yards per game. That is more than 30 yards per game more than Delaware Valley who is second with 71 yards per game. Albright has been penalized 48 times in the first five games of the season, look for Alvernia to capitalize on mistakes and free yards given to them by the Lions in what is surely going to be a hostile game environment. 

Albright Players to Watch: 

Chase Roberts: 
Roberts, a senior quarterback, is the only quarterback in the MAC that has more passing yards than Alvernia's Esbenshade with 1,302 passing yards. Roberts has completed 91 of his 146 passes on the season for eight touchdowns and averages 260 yards per game. Last week in a victory over Widener, Roberts completed 25 passes for 315 yards and two touchdowns. If the Alvernia defense shuts down the Albright running game, Roberts will have to show up in a big spot to help the Lions if they are to have any success on the offensive side of the ball. 

Logan Rothberg: 
Rothberg leads the Lions in receiving yards with 453 and receptions with 24 and is clearly Roberts' go to target. Rothberg caught eight passes last week for 122 yards but did not catch a touchdown despite having three TD's on the season. Rothberg did record a catch of 46 yards last week, so when Roberts looks deep downfield, expect it to be toward Rothberg's direction. 

Alden Stickler:
Stickler, a senior wide receiver, posted a big day last weekend against the Pride. In a game in which Rothberg went for 122 yards and had eight catches, Stickler still added six catches for 79 yards and a touchdown. Coming into last week, Stickler had just four catches on the season for 40 yards. If the Golden Wolves lock up Rothberg, expect Roberts to head toward the direction of Stickler after the success they had together last weekend.