MADISON, N.J. - To say Saturday's Middle Atlantic Conference match-up between the Lions (5-3/3-2 MAC) and the Devils of FDU-Florham (3-5/0-5 MAC) was anything but pretty would be an understatement. With a slew of penalties and turnovers for both squads, Saturday's conference showdown was truly a battle of who wanted the win more. Luckily enough the Lions used a three touchdown second half to take the 41-15 conference win Saturday afternoon at Shields Field.
Pacing Albright to the win was junior tailback Josan Holmes who rushed for 105 yards on 20 carries and three touchdowns. Defensively, the red and white held strong holding the Devils to just 3 of 10 on third down conversions and 0 of 3 on fourth down conversions.
The Lions also combined for 61 stops on the afternoon, forced and recovered a fumble, picked off two Devil pass attempts, and recorded three tackles for a loss and two sacks. Driving the defense was juniors Joe Arneth and Keith Bruno who each had seven tackles. Rob Mancinelli and PJ Green both recorded their first career interceptions.
With nothing to lose the Devils could have got their afternoon off to a great start after intercepting, the Lions first pass attempt. However, the Lions defense would have the last laugh as they forced FDU to go four and out. On Albright's very next drive the red and white marched up the field and on a 41 yard run by Holmes jumped out to a 7-0 lead.
Holmes TD run, the 13th of the season for the record setting junior, would be the only score of the opening quarter. In the second, the Lions tacked on a pair of touchdowns, while holding FDU to just a field goal and touchdown with a blocked extra point.
The Lions first touchdown of the second quarter was the result of a Ty Hughes six yard run in the opening minutes. Albright gained some more breathing room when sophomore quarterback Adam Galczynski ran the ball into the endzone from five yards out to make it 21-9.
Under center Galczynski was 18-for-24 and totaled 218 yards, while freshmen Ben Schaffle and TJ Luddy combined for 58 yards on 6-for-8 passing respectfully. Proving to be one the go-to targets for the Lions quarterbacks was senior tight end Andrew Castano who recorded 71 yards on just six catches.
Late in the third quarter, FDU closed the gap between them and Albright even more when quarterback Matt Jeffers connected with Jon Bennett for his second touchdown of the afternoon, but with a missed point after attempt the score remained 21-15 Lions.
Even with the late touchdown, Albright's offense showed no signs of slowing down as Holmes rushed for back-to-back touchdowns to make it 34-15. A touchdown in the fourth quarter would seal the win for the Lions.
As a team, the Lions offense totaled 459 total yards on 66 plays, and maintained possession for over 31 minutes of Saturday's contest. FDU recorded 338 yards of offense and were 2-for-3 in the redzone. Albright continued their dominance when in the redzone as they went a perfect 5-for-5 to improve to 31-for-36 on the year.
Football returns home next Saturday when they host Delaware Valley College at 1 p.m. Prior to the start of that game, the Lions will honor their senior members.