Written and posted by Wesley College Sports Information
DOVER, Del. - On a day when Wesley College honored its 14-player senior class, the Wolverines dominated Huntingdon 54-13 in critical game in the race for a Pool B bid to the NCAA Football Championships.
Wesley held the Hawks to just 228 total yards, 188 pass yards and 40 rushing yards, all season lows for Huntingdon.
The Wolverines, meanwhile, churned out 268 rushing yards and ended the day with 459 yards of total offense.
Shane McSweeny (Bensalem, Pa./Bensalem) rushed for three touchdowns and threw for one more. He led a contingent of 12 Wesley rushers with 67 yards on just five carries. Passing, he finished 10-of-14 for 183 yards and a 60-yard touchdown pass to Matt Barile (Bel Air, Md./Fallston).
The contest also marked a return to the sidelines for Associate Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator Chip Knapp. Coach Knapp had been away from the team for three weeks to be with his son Ben, who had been hospitalized at the Pittsburgh Children's Hospital, but was transferred to A.I. DuPont Children's Hospital in Wilmington, Delaware.
The Hawks were forced to punt to open the game and on just the sixth play from scrimmage for the Wolverines, McSweeny turned in a dazzling 46-yard touchdown run. The extra point failed and Wesley led 6-0 with 9:38 to play.
The drive was the start of a 20-point first quarter for the Wolverines as Wesley piled up nearly 200 yards of offense in the game's first 15 minutes.
Neal Posey was intercepted on the Hawks' next series by Kirk Brooks (Baltimore, Md./Mount Saint Joseph) and after an eight-yard run by McSweeny, Steven Koudossou (Waldorf, Md./Westlake) took an end around 28 yards for a score and a 13-0 lead.
After another punt by Huntingdon, Wesley went on an 11-play, 85-yard drive for yet another touchdown. McSweeny was 5-of-6 on the drive, including a 41-yard pass to Barile, before finishing the drive with a nine-yard run for his second touchdown of the day with just 10 seconds left in the opening quarter.
Wesley's opening drive of the second featured another big play score as Devar Robinson (Lindenwold, N.J./Lindenwold) ripped off a career long 55-yard touchdown run and the Wolverines led 27-0 with 11:22 to go in the half.
The Hawks again went three and out, but a bobbled snap on the punt was recovered by Jeremiah Howe (Cambridge, Md./Cambridge South) and returned 18 yards for a touchdown.
Huntingdon was faced with third and 10 on their next drive and Dominque Herald (Newark, N.J./Pennington School) intercepted Posey and the Wolverines took over at the Hawk 38-yard line. McSweeny hit Larry Jackson (Dade City, Fla./Cardinal Gibbons) for a 20-yard gain to the one, then leaped over the pile on the next play for his third rushing score and a 41-0 lead at the half.
Wesley received the kick to open the third quarter, but a penalty placed the ball on the Wolverines' four. On the second play of the drive, Koudossou rushed for 34 yards and on the very next play, McSweeny hit Barile for a long score and a 47-0 lead after a bad snap on the extra point.
Huntingdon finally got on the scoreboard with 3:49 left in the third when Bruce Hemphill recovered a fumble and returned it 30 yards for the score.
Howe returned the ensuing kickoff 91 yards to the Hawks' seven and two runs by Kennard Squirrel (Aberdeen, Md./Aberdeen) put Wesley on top 54-7.
In the fourth quarter, Trevor Manuel had a 36-yard catch and later scored on a one-yard run during an 82-yard touchdown drive that accounted for over a third of the Hawks' offense on the day. Devin Hardy (Baltimore, Md./Eastern Tech) blocked the extra point as the Wolverines went on to a 54-13 win.
Sean McAndrew (Lanoka Harbor, N.J./Lacey Township) led the team with four catches covering 44 yards, while Barile became the first Wolverine to top 100 yards receiving since September with 101 yards.
Wesley averaged 7.2 yards per rush in the game and 8.2 yards per play in the contest. In addition to McSweeny's 67 yards rushing, Koudossou had 62 yards and Robinson added 55. No player had more rushes in the game than Askia Jahad's (Williamstown, N.J./Williamstown) seven attempts.
Defensively, Sosthene Kapepula (Olney, Md./Sherwood) registered a career-high 10 tackles, including two for loss and half a sack. Herald turned in a big performance with eight stops, an interception and a blocked punt. Hardy had five tackles and two sacks in addition to his blocked extra point. Chris Mayes (Waldorf, Md./Westlake) had half a sack and batted down two passes.
Prior to the game, Wesley honored its 14 seniors playing their final regular season home contest: Matt Abrams (Princeton, N.J./Princeton), Hassan Alston (Randallstown, Md./New Town), Mike Asiedu (Yonkers, N.Y./Gorton), James Buettner (Dundalk, Md./Patapsco), Paul Gilstrop (Lindenwold, N.J./Paul VI), Dakevis Howard (Wilmington, Del./Concord), Brendan Keelan (Randallstown, Md./Mount St. Joseph), Trevor Kling (Denver, Pa./Cocalico), Joe Lightcap (Middletown, Del./Middletown), Mayes, McAndrew, McSweeny, Jeff Morgan (Vineland, N.J./Vineland) and Billy Slocum (Middletown, N.J./Middletown South).
Posey, who entered the game completing 68 percent of his passes, connected on just 18-of-34 for 127 yards and was picked off twice and sacked three times.
Manuel rushed 19 times, but was stifled into just 35 yards in the game. He led the team with five catches for 54 yards in the contest.
Wesley's offensive line neutralized what had been a dangerous interior on the front four. DJ Chappell and Zach Elkins had combined for 29 tackles for loss entering the game, but neither player got into the Wolverine backfield.
With the win, Wesley awaits word on its seventh straight bid to the NCAA Championships. The bracket will be unveiled on Sunday, November 13 at 6:00 PM via live video on NCAA.com.