The Wilkes ground game proved too powerful for Juniata to stop, with the Colonels racking up 353 yards rushing and four rushing touchdowns in a 38-7 senior day romp over the Eagles at Schmidt Stadium on Saturday.
Daniel Pigga and Cooper King each ran for over 100 yards, with King rushing for two touchdowns and Pigga for one, a 90-yard score to give the Colonels an early 7-0 lead.
Ben Contella added 79 yards and a rushing touchdown for Wilkes.
The Wilkes defense continued to be a problem for opposing teams, limiting Juniata to just one touchdown.
That Juniata score came right after Pigga’s long touchdown run, with Eagles running back Alex Eaton punching one in from seven yards out to tie the game at 7.
That was it for Juniata’s scoring, as the Colonels took a 10-7 lead the ensuing drive on a Nick Volpone field goal that kick-started a 31-0 run for Wilkes that carried to the end of the game.
King was plenty effective on the ground but the Wilkes quarterback also threw for 188 yards and a touchdown to Justin Moore.
Wilkes improved to 5-3 overall and 3-1 in the Landmark Conference with the win. Next up for the Colonels is the conference’s first-place team, Susquehanna University, next weekend.
King’s 24, Albright 14
Jaelin Mims tied a season and career best with three touchdown passes as the Monarchs picked up their fourth straight win with a Senior Day victory over Albright.
Mims threw for 208 yards in the win and connected with three different receivers for touchdowns.
Devin Duana, Jayon Hailey and Aiden Cook each hauled in touchdown passes for the Monarchs. Duana led the receiving corps with 93 yards on six catches.
The game was tight through one half of play, with a 20-yard connection from Mims to Hailey giving King’s a 14-7 lead that held up into halftime.
The Monarchs scored the first 10 points of the second half to gain some crucial separation from Albright, with an Aaron Losada field goal in the third quarter and an eight-yard touchdown reception from Cook early in the fourth.
King’s improved to 5-3 overall and 5-2 in the MAC with the win, just a game behind conference co-leaders Eastern and Misericordia.
The Monarchs will travel to Widener University next weekend.
Misericordia 35, FDU-Florham 16
The Cougars bounced back from last week’s loss to Eastern, coming out hot in a non-conference victory over FDU-Florham.
Misericordia took a 21-0 lead to start the game and had a 28-3 lead at the half.
Angelo Fluri had two of the team’s four total rushing touchdowns, also leading the Cougars with 87 rushing yards.
Jacob Hunter and Kasiah Poole each added a touchdown on the ground, and Hunter also threw for 238 yards and a touchdown to Anthony Rucci.
Rucci set a new career-high for himself with 130 receiving yards in the win.
FDU-Florham had a bit more success moving the football in the second half, trimming Misericordia’s 28-3 lead down to 28-16 early in the fourth quarter.
Fluri’s second rushing touchdown of the day, a 1-yarder to cap off an eight minute, 87-yard drive, iced the game for the Cougars.
Misericordia improved to 6-2 overall on the season. The Cougars will be back at home for the final two games of the season, first taking on Delaware Valley next weekend.
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