Reading, Pa. (October 17, 2026) - Alvernia University (3-3, 3-2) tallied 20 unanswered points to down crosstown rival Albright College (3-3, 2-3), 20-14, Saturday afternoon in a MAC football clash at Albright's Eugene L. Shirk Stadium.
The Lions held a 14-0 lead heading into the halftime break after scoring a touchdown in the final seconds of the first half. The Golden Wolves then tallied the only points of the third quarter when safety Shawn Young nabbed a 74 yard pick six to pull the Golden Wolves within a touchdown. Alvernia then tied the game in the fourth quarter after a Sawyer Esbenshade touchdown run leveled the score at 14. Alvernia grabbed the lead and held onto it for the rest of the game with under two minutes to go in the game when James Bermudez powered through the line and into the endzone to give the Golden Wolves the 20-14 lead. The Golden Wolves would force a turnover on downs on the ensuing Albright drive to secure the victory over the rival Lions.
How it Happened
- The Lions got the ball first in the game and went right down the field and grabbed the lead after quarterback Chase Roberts ran a quarterback sneak into the endzone to put the Lions up 7-0.
- The Golden Wolves went three and out on their first drive and gave the ball back to the Lions. Albright then got to the 50 yard line before Kashantis Anderson picked off Roberts and returned it to the 28 yards to put the Golden Wolves on the Albright 43 but Alvernia's offense could not get anything going and punted the ball back to Albright.
- Alvernia staved off a 12 play Albright drive and forced the Lions to punt the ball away. The Golden Wolves then rattled off a 13 play, 52 yard drive but turned the ball over on downs on the Albright 28 yard line.
- After a few short drives from each team, the Lions got the ball back on the Alvernia 39 yard line and it took them ten plays to find the endzone when Desai Drummond tallied a four yard rushing touchdown to give the Lions a 14-0 lead heading into the half.
- The Golden Wolves turned the ball over again on downs on the first drive of the second half after an eight play drive and gave the ball back to the Lions yet again, this time on their own 24 yard line.
- Albright then tallied a nine play drive that got them all the way down to the Alvernia 32 yard line but that was the farthest they would get as Shawn Young jumped a Drummond pass and returned it 74 yards to the house and got the Golden Wolves on the board, 14-7, with under six minutes to play in the third quarter. The pick six from Young came as the first defensive touchdown of the season for the Golden Wolves.
- Alvernia's defense continued to step up and forced another turnover on the next Albright drive thanks to a forced fumble and fumble recovery by LJ Aldas on Albright's Isaiah Megginson to give the Golden Wolves the ball back with just over two minutes to go in the quarter.
- Alvernia punted the ball away yet again after the offense struggled to find a rhythm which ended the third quarter and took the game to the final 15 minutes with Albright holding a 14-7 lead over the Golden Wolves.
- Albright got the ball back but yet again, LJ Aldas came up big for the Golden Wolves defense and tallied his second strip sack and fumble recovery on the day to give Alvernia the ball but the offense still struggled and punted the ball again, but this time Kevin Carotenuto pinned the Lions inside of their own ten on the seven yard line.
- The Golden Wolves halted Albright's offense on the ensuing drive and forced the Lions to punt into a wicked wind in their face, which resulted in just a 20 yard punt that gave Alvernia the ball on the Albright 31 yard line.
- Alvernia took advantage of the field position and went right at the Albright defense looking to tie the ballgame and they did just that. After a first play incompletion, Esbenshade connected with Adonis Akande for a nine yard completion and after a roughing the passer penalty on the Lions, Alvernia had the ball on the Albright en yard line. James Bermudez tallied a three yard rush before Esbenshade scrambled up the middle and punched the ball into the endzone to pull the Golden Wolves within one, 14-13. Carotenuto knocked the extra point through the uprights and leveled the game at 14 with under eight minutes to go.
- Albright converted on a third down on the next drive but stalled out after a Alvernia sack by Kyle Custis and Young pushed the Lions back to their own 17 and forced them to punt the ball back to the Golden Wolves.
- Alvernia took over at the 50 yard line and went right to work. Esbenshade connected with Zakai Smullen for 25 yards on the first play of the drive and put the Golden Wolves on the doorstep of the redzone. Back to back rushes by Bermudez, including a 14 yard run, put the Golden Wolves on the eight yard line at the two minute timeout. Two more Bermudez runs put Alvernia on the one yard line and the Golden Wolves called his number one more time and this time he punched the ball into the endzone and vaulted the Golden Wolves into the lead, 20-14, with 1:42 left in the game.
- The Lions got down to the Alvernia 37 yard line with under a minute to play but after a fumble dropped them back 11 yards, they were faced with a fourth and 11 with ten seconds to go. Alvernia's defense stepped up one final time and denied the Lions and forced the turnover on downs to secure the 20-14 come from behind victory for the Golden Wolves.
Inside the Box Score
- Sawyer Esbenshade completed 13 of 26 passes for 128 yards and tallied one rushing touchdown.
- James Bermudez led the way on the ground for the Golden Wolves with 53 yards rushing on 13 attempts and one touchdown, which came as the game winner.
- Zakai Smullen hauled in four passes for 67 yards and Adonis Akande led Alvernia with six receptions for 44 yards.
- LJ Aldas put together an impressive day on the defensive side of the ball for the Golden Wolves and tallied 12 total tackles, eight solo tackles, 1.5 tackles for a loss, one sack for ten yards, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
- Shawn Young tallied a 74 yard interception return for a touchdown that sparked the Alvernia comeback and also added ten tackles, 1.5 tackles for a loss and a half of a sack.
- Kashantis Anderson also tallied an interception and added ten total tackles and also recorded a tackle for a loss for three yards.
Up Next
- The Golden Wolves head back home next weekend when they take on the defending MAC Champion Eastern Eagles at 1:00 PM on Alvernia's Turf Field.
