WATERVILLE, Maine – The Wesleyan football team (2-2) downed Colby (0-4), 28-20 on the road on Saturday. The win is the ninth-straight over the Mules, with Colby's last win coming in 2009.
FIRST HALF HIGHLIGHTS:
- On third-and-two, the Cardinals took over at their own-35. On third down with two yards to go, QB Mark Piccirillo threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Glenn Smith to give Wesleyan a 7-0 advantage with 4:36 remaining in the first.
- The Cardinals added to their lead when they went nine plays for 80 yards over as 3:51 elapsed. During the drive, Piccirillo completed a 35-yard pass to Hallvard Lundevall at the Colby five, before Piccirillo found Sean Penney for the Cardinal touchdown to make it 14-0 in the second.
- The Mules intercepted a pass and returned it for 22 yards to the 27-yard line. Colby gained 73 yards on 10 plays, with QB Matt Hersch finding Matt Richman for a Colby touchdown, making it 14-7 at the half.
SECOND HALF HIGHLIGHTS:
- Wesleyan looked to extend its lead early in the third quarter, but were unable to convert at the Colby four-yard line.
- Later, a Sam Green interception led to a 22-yard touchdown run by Piccirillo, extending the lead to 21-7 with 5:31 left in the third quarter.
- Colby drove to the Wesleyan-25 early in the fourth quarter, but the Cardinal defense held.
- The Cardinals sealed the game on a three yard touchdown run by Glenn Smith, putting them up 28-7 with 1:45 remaining.
- The Mules quickly answered with a 63-yard touchdown pass from Hersch to Jibri Woods, cutting the lead to 28-14.
- Colby recovered the onside kick and added a touchdown with just 14 seconds left on a six yard strike from Hersch to Jordan Roody.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Piccirillo led the Cardinals with 269 yards of total offense, going 15-24 for 166 yards with two touchdowns. He also paced all rushers with 103 yards on 17 carries with a touchdown. Smith added 72 yards on 11 carries and a score, while Lundevall the Cardinals with 50 yards receiving.
- Colby gained 277 yards in the air, with only 67 yards on the ground. Hersch was 23-40 with 277 yards passing, three touchdowns and one interception. Jack Schwern earned 66 yards on 21 carries, while Woods led all receivers with 95 yards on three catches including a touchdown.
- Defensively, Wesleyan's Cole Harris led all players with 14 tackles, while Taj Gooden had nine stops and two sacks, Ben Thaw had two pass-breakups and Green recorded an interception. Billy Costello made 10 tackles for Colby, while Nick Wilcox had seven tackles and one sack.
UP NEXT:
- The Cardinals will travel to Bates on Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. kick off, before returning to Middletown, Conn. for Homecoming Weekend on October 20th.