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WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – An aggressive defense for the Lycoming College football team forced five turnovers, scoring itself twice and setting up two more touchdowns, at the nation’s top-ranked blackshirts entering a showdown with one of the top 10 offenses in the country held sway, lifting the Warriors to a 35-13 win over previously unbeaten Albright College on a mud-soaked David Person Field on Saturday, Oct. 1, in a key Middle Atlantic Conference matchup.

Facing the nation’s top passing attack, the Warriors (3-1 overall, 1-1 MAC) went back to the roots of all its MAC Championship teams – a defense that won’t be stopped. The Lions’ quarterback duo of Adam Galczynski and T.J. Luddy finished 11-for-38 with three interceptions combined. Meanwhile, their three interceptions led to 21 points for the Warriors, including a 65-yard return for a touchdown with 10 seconds left in the first half by sophomore Kabongo Bukasa (Sharon Hill, Pa./Academy Park).

“The weather helped us,” Lycoming head coach Mike Clark said. “It was tough for both sides. The conditions weren’t great to throw the ball in. We got decent pressure on the quarterback. We mixed up the coverage a bit. Having Kabongo be able to play in every nickel and dime package, it makes you better defensively. For an inside linebacker, he is unique.”

The Warriors struck first in the first quarter when the first five possessions of the game led to an Albright punt from the four-yard line. Although, Lion punter Brooks Mitzkewich punted it 42 yards, senior Ray Bierbach (Hunlock Creek, Pa./Northwest Area) notched a 14-yard return to give the Warriors the ball at the 32-yard line. The offense followed with a seven-play drive featuring a 15-yard pass to junior Jarrin Campman (Clearfield, Pa./Clearfield) and four rushes from freshman Craig Needhammer (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn), with Needhammer scoring on his last attempt of the drive from one-yard out.

After that, both teams struggled to gain traction eight of the next nine drives ended in five plays or less, with Albright (4-1 overall, 2-1 MAC) posting the only two first downs in that time. Finally, with a minute left in the half, the Lions began to move the ball, marching 43 yards on three completions. However, with the ball at the Lycoming 42, Galczynski looked right for a receiver and found Lycoming’s Bukasa, who caught the pass in stride and took off down the right sideline for a 65-yard score, helping the Warriors take a 14-0 lead into halftime.

In the second half, the game of attrition continued, with the Warriors’ opening drive stalling in nine yards before a third-and-8 for the Lions forced Galczynski into a pass that led to an open field interception from Bierbach before he was taken down at the 37-yard line. A 21-yard pass to Campman and a 15-yard run from Needhammer set up a one-yard touchdown sneak by junior Zach Klinger (Halifax,  Pa./Halifax), giving the Warriors a 21-0 lead.

The Lions got on the board, though, as 62-yard punt from Mitzkewich helped the Lions start a drive at the 30-yard line after a Warriors drive ended in five plays. Galczynski posted a 22-yard run, setting up a two-yard rush from Zach Groff. However, the extra point sailed wide, keeping the Warriors in front by 15 with 6:23 left in the third quarter.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, junior Corey Schuster (Moosic, Pa./Riverside) got the third pick of the day at the Albright 25-yard line. After three rushes netted eight yards, a pass interference call on fourth-and-two from the 17-yard line gave the Warriors a new set of downs at the five-yard line. After a false start penalty, junior Parker Showers (Aspers, Pa./Biglerville) drove in from 10-yards out for the score.

The Lions answered quickly, though, as Devron Clark ran the kickoff 87 yards for a score to make it 28-13.

The Warriors saw another drive end at the Albright 37-yard line and sophomore punter Zach Czap (Phillipsburg, Pa./Phillipsburg-Oscelola) delivered a punt that was fair caught at the five-yard line. Two plays later, senior Anthony Marascio (Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge) popped the ball out of Galczynski’s hands at the eight-yard line and junior Ryan Fenningham (Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge) picked it up and trotted in to close out the scoring.

The Warriors held the Lions, who entered the game averaging 501.3 yards per game, to 207, although Albright did manage 111 on the ground. Lycoming gained 211 yards, but 166 came on the ground, helping the team keep the ball for 34:52.

Klinger finished 9-for-19 for 61 yards, but more importantly, he didn’t turn the ball over for the fourth time this year. He also ran for 20 yards. Showers finished with 21 carries for 69 yards and Needhammer added 14 carries for 52 yards. All three ran in a score. Campman led the receivers with three catches for 40 yards.

Czap played a key role as the punter, as he booted the ball 13 times for an average of 33.0 yards, downing six punts inside the 20-yard line to keep the Warriors ahead in the battle for field position.

Bukasa led the Warriors with 11 tackles, the interception for a touchdown and a pass breakup. Fenningham added seven tackles, three breakups and the fumble recovery for a touchdown. Junior Nate Oropollo (Aldan, Pa./Cardinal O’Hara) added seven stops, a forced fumble and a tackle for loss and Marascio posted five stops, a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Schuster notched five stops, an interception and a breakup and Bierback notched four tackles, an interception and two breakups.

Galczynski finished 6-for-22 with three interceptions for 71 yards passing and added a team-high 34 yards rushing on 11 carries to lead the Lions. Luddy added a 5-for-16 effort for 52 yards and rushed for 29. Scott Pillar caught seven passes for 77 yards and Josh Bakala added three receptions for 43 yards. Mitzkewich notched nine punts for an average of 44.1 yards, including a 62-yard bomb.

Ryan Ott made 14 stops and Matt Pattison added 11 stops, a sack and two tackles for loss to lead the Lions defensively.

The Warriors get back on the field on Saturday, Oct. 8, when they head to King’s for a 1 p.m. Middle Atlantic Conference game.