Owings Mills, Md. (November 14, 2026) — Alvernia football (5-5, 5-4 MAC) dropped a conference brawl to the Stevenson Mustangs (7-3, 6-3 MAC) in the fight for the final spot in the MAC/Centennial Conference Bowl.
After trailing 24-10 with just three minutes to go in the third quarter, Adonis Dixon punched in what would be the game-tying touchdown with just under two minutes left in the game. Despite the touchdown, the Golden Wolves aggressively went for two to take the lead, but failed on a rollout attempt from Sawyer Esbenshade. The Mustangs would march deep into Alvernia territory and, with just 12 seconds to play, turn the ball back over to the Golden Wolves, who ran out of time.
How it Happened:
- In the opening drive, the Mustangs sparked a nine-play, 60-yard drive all the way down to the Alvernia six-yard line, but Kashantis Anderson and the Alvernia defense stopped the Mustangs on a third-and-12 to force the field goal.
- Sawyer Esbenshade and the Golden Wolves offense responded on their opening drive courtesy of Adonis Dixon, who popped off four rushing attempts for 24 yards to get the Golden Wolves to their own 38-yard line. The ensuing plays were completed passes to Parrish McFarland and Yon Anderson to put the Golden Wolves at first-and-10 on the Stevenson 36-yard line. Esbenshade fired a 36-yard bomb to Yon Anderson, who stretched out to secure the opening score for the Golden Wolves, who now led 7-3.
- Stevenson rattled off 14 unanswered points off the back of an eight-play, 64-yard drive in the first quarter and a six-play, 60-yard drive in the second quarter. After the first touchdown drive for the Mustangs, both teams exchanged interceptions. The Golden Wolves were picked off, then, just three minutes later, Kashantis Anderson turned the Mustangs over to get the ball back into the hands of his first-year quarterback. The Golden Wolves went into the half down 17-7.
- Coming out of the half, the Golden Wolves would go 62 yards in 15 plays to cut the Stevenson lead to just one possession. Sawyer Esbenshade completed 5 of 8 passing attempts on the drive for 79 yards, including a 31-yard connection with Yon Anderson and a 19-yard completion to Adonis Dixon.
- The Mustangs responded and drove the ball down the field with a nine-play, 65-yard touchdown drive that was capped off by a one-yard Nicolas Blagmon rushing touchdown.
- On the Golden Wolves' ensuing drive, with desperation seeping in, they dialed up another extended 14-play, 75-yard drive against a stubborn Mustangs defense, but were turned over on downs inside the Stevenson 2-yard line. The Golden Wolves defense forced a Stevenson punt when the Alvernia defense and Kashantis Anderson dialed up a blitz on third-and-8 for a sack and forced fumble on quarterback Kirby Matson.
- After a short punt, the Golden Wolves took over on the Mustangs' 49-yard line, trailing 24-10. On the first play of the drive, Sawyer Esbenshade rolled to his right and, facing pressure, delivered a cross-field missile to Zakai Smullen, who ran a post route against the movement with three steps on his defender and took it to the house for the 49-yard touchdown connection. The Golden Wolves now trailed by one score, 24-17.
- On the drive that followed, the Mustangs were moving the ball and were in Golden Wolves territory at the 42. On first-and-10, with their season hanging in the balance, Darrius Whetstone made a play. As Nicolas Blagmon cut through the Alvernia defensive line, the first-year defensive lineman punched the ball free, and LJ Aldas fell on it to give the ball back to their offense with an opportunity to tie the game.
- Needing a touchdown, the Golden Wolves marched down the field with a 10-play, 67-yard touchdown drive to give themselves a chance to tie it up. The drive opened with back-to-back completions from Sawyer Esbenshade, with a seven-yard completion to Frank Billings and a 20-yard completion to Trevor Kimaiga. The Golden Wolves then pounded the rock from the Stevenson 40 down to the Stevenson eight-yard line with Adonis Dixon, who had five rushes for 28 yards. Dixon capped the drive off with a one-yard touchdown run to make it a 23-24 game. With the game on the line, Sawyer Esbenshade rolled out to his right on a two-point attempt that was not converted.
- On the drive that followed, the Mustangs marched deep into Alvernia territory and, with just 12 seconds to play, turned the ball back over to the Golden Wolves, who ran out of time.
Inside the Box Score:
- Sawyer Esbenshade fired for 293 yards on 18 completions with two passing touchdowns. Esbenshade broke the single-season passing yards record with 2,259 on the season. Colin Payne previously held the title with 2,177 in 2023. Sawyer also completed his single-season touchdown record-breaking season with 15 touchdowns on the year.
- Adonis Dixon rushed 22 times for 86 yards and a touchdown, averaging 3.8 yards per carry.
- Yon Anderson hauled in four passes for 97 yards and a touchdown, while Zakai Smullen caught three passes for 82 yards and a touchdown.
- Kashantis Anderson and Darrius Whetstone turned the Mustangs over with an interception and a forced fumble. With his interception, Kashantis Anderson broke the record for interceptions in a career with eight.
The Golden Wolves will await a potential ECAC bid on Monday afternoon to determine if their season will extend into the postseason.
