Albright 54, Geneva 27
BEAVER FALLS, Pa. — It was a career night for junior
tailback Josan Holmes as he rushed for 225 yards on 28 carries with
three touchdowns to lead the Lions (1-1) to a 54-27 win over Geneva
College (1-1) Saturday evening at Reeves Field in front of over
5,200 wet fans.
As part of the first-ever PAC-MAC Challenge games ever played,
Albright made the long five hour trip in hopes to get their season
back on track. Led by Holmes and sophomore quarterback Adam
Galczynski the Lions did just that as they dominated their western
Pennsylvania opponent.
On top of Holmes 225 rushing yards, the Penllyn native also tacked
on an addition 20 all-purpose yards to end the night with 245 yards
overall. His rushing total was fourth most in program history in a
single game, and his three touchdowns puts him just four rushing
TD's away from tying the all-time career record of 30.
Galczynski's night consisted of a career-best 157 yards in
the air on 7 of 13 passing. He also rushed for his first collegiate
touchdown in the fourth quarter as well. Albright's lone
touchdown pass did not belong to Galczynski or freshman Ben
Schaffle, instead it was thrown by senior wide receiver Luke
Wallace.
Looking to catch Geneva off guard, Wallace connected with Scott
Pillar on a 46 yard pass which at that point gave Albright a 24-20
lead late in the second quarter.
Also having a career night was junior wideout Josh Bakala, who
totaled 72 yards on six catches. Pillar added 107 receiving yards
to the Lions cause on three catches. Saturday's performance
marked the third time that the junior receiver has totaled 100+
yards in a single game.
Defensively, the Lions were led by senior cornerback Josh Hare.
With a game-high seven tackles Hare helped to neutralize the Golden
Tornadoes offense in the second half. His fumble return of 33 yards
for a touchdown broke the back of Geneva, and helped secure the
Lions victory.
As a team, Albright totaled 286 yards rushing and 221 yards
passing to end the night with 507 yards of total offense. They also
managed 22 first downs and held the Golden Tornadoes to 428 yards
of total offense.
Kicker John Whelan was solid as well making both a 38 yard and 41
yard field goal, as well as going 6-for-7 on point after
attempts.
The Lions wasted little time getting on the scoreboard Saturday
evening, as Holmes notched his first of three rushing TD's in
the first three minutes of the opening quarter. However, Geneva was
quick to answer back with a touchdown of their own less than four
minutes later.
From there the two would exchange touchdowns once more before the
first quarter came to a close. Geneva's only lead of the
night would come in the second quarter in the form of a one yard
touchdown run to make it 17-14 in favor of the Golden
Tornadoes.
That lead did not last however, as the Lions scored 17 unanswered
points to end the first half. Following the halftime break, Geneva
tried to close the distance between them and the Lions scoring
first in the third quarter.
Unfortunately their efforts were not enough, as Albright continued
to move the ball up the field and answer right back. The Lions
would go on to score the final 20 points of the game to secure the
54-27 victory.
Albright will now go into their bye week, and will return to the
field on Saturday, September 25th when they take on Catholic
University at 1 p.m. in Shirk Stadium.
