WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - After coming back from down 19 points in the fourth quarter against Widener, the Lycoming College football team will host Wilkes University in the MAC opener on Saturday, Sept. 21 at 1 p.m. at David Person Field.

The Warriors (1-1 overall, 0-0 MAC) posted a 43-42 win over the Pride on Saturday, as freshman running back Joey Guida rushed for 122 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries, scoring from one yard out with 26 seconds left to seal the win.

Wilkes (2-0 overall, 0-0 MAC) are coming off a 30-24 win over Lebanon Valley, as the team has started the season 2-0 for the first time since 2009. Quarterback Jose Tabora was 24-of-33 with 279 yards and two touchdowns in the win over the Dutchmen.

Warrior Notes
• The Warriors are 7-4 in MAC openers under head coach Mike Clark and 31-18-1 in the 50 years that assistant head coach Steve Wiser has been an assistant coach or player with the Warriors.

• The Warriors have faced Wilkes more than any other program since becoming a four-year school in 1948, meeting 60 times, including every year since 1975.

• Freshman Joey Guida became the first Warrior freshman running back to rush for 100 yards with his 122 against Widener since Craig Needhammer had 114 against FDU-Florham in 2011.

• Junior Jamie Fisher needs to make three more field goals to tie the school record of 30 set by John Phillips (1989-92).

• Three Warrior seniors recorded their 100th career tackles against Widener - Jarrell Payne (105), Sam Pawlikowski (104) and Ahmad Curtis (102).

What A Comeback
Down 42-23 entering the fourth quarter against Widener, the Warriors embarked on the second biggest comeback in head coach Mike Clark's 12 years as head coach, scoring 20 unanswered points in the last 15 minutes. The Warriors drove 59 yards on 12 plays to start the comeback, scoring with 12:40 left on a one-yard sneak from sophomore quarterback Chase Snavely. After a three-and-out by Widener, Snavely threw two passes to go 71 yards, scoring on a 24-yard wheel route to senior Christoff Minott to make it 42-36 with 11:12 left. After both teams next drives ended due to interceptions, the Warriors stopped Widener on a 4-and-1 at midfield with 4:27 left. They drove 49 yards in the next four minutes, with freshman Joey Guida scoring from a yard out with 25 seconds left before senior Jamie Fisher drilled the extra point to seal the win.

It was the Warriors' biggest comeback since they came back from 21 down to defeat Delaware Valley, 43-42, on Nov. 7, 2015.

Numbers Don't Tell the Whole Story
By the numbers, the win over Widener would seem unlikely. Lycoming has won just three games while allowing 40 points since becoming a four-year college in 1948, beating Delaware Valley, 43-42, in 2015, and King's, 44-41, in 2017. It was just the seventh time in the past 12 years that the Warriors won after trailing heading into the fourth quarter and just the sixth that they won after trailing at halftime.

Fresh Face, Big Impact
In his first career start, freshman running back Joey Guida became just the second running back in head coach Mike Clark's 12 years as head coach to rush for 100 yards in a game, as he bulldozed for 127 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries against Widener. Guida consistently gained yards after first contact against the Pride and scored the game's winning touchdown from one-yard out with 26 seconds remaining. He joined Craig Needhammer, the school's all-time leading rusher, in the freshman 100-yard club, as Needhammer had 112 yards against FDU-Florham in 2011. Guida is sixth in the MAC with an average of 77.5 rushing yards per game.

Reaching 100
After four Warriors reached 100 career tackles in 2018, three reached the mark in the game with Widener.  Senior Jarrell Payne, a linebacker, leads the group with 105 career tackles, posting 19 as a freshman, 42 as a sophomore, 33 as a junior and 11 this year. Senior Sam Pawlikowski, a linebacker, has added 104 stops, posting two as a freshman, 59 as a sophomore, 30 as a junior and 13 this year. Senior Ahmad Curtis, a defensive lineman, was third to reach the mark against the Pride, as he now has 101 in his career after posting 12 as a freshman, 31 as a sophomore, 50 as a junior and nine this year. 

Senior Korahn Williams, a defensive back, is also Warrior on path to reach 100 tackles, as he has 95, posting 38 as a freshman, 28 as a sophomore, 24 as a junior and five this year. Senior linebacker Zach Kovach is also getting close to the mileston, sitting at 86 entering the third week, as he had 34 in 2016, 25 in 2017, 17 and 2018 and 10 in 2019.

Senior cornerback D.J. Boyd entered the year with 100 tackles. He posted 25 tackles as a freshman, 13 in an medical hardship year and 52 as a sophomore, 25 as a junior and has eight this year. 

Fisher, Snavely named MAC Players of the Week
Thanks to their roles in a dramatic 19-point comeback against Widener on Saturday, Sept. 14, Lycoming College's sophomore Chase Snavely and senior Jamie Fisher earned the MAC Offensive and Special Teams Player of the Week awards.
 
Snavely came into the game with 1:58 left in the third quarter after an injury to the starting quarterback and the Warriors trailing Widener, 42-23. The sophomore led Lycoming to three scoring drives over the final quarter for a shocking win over the Pride. Snavely led the Warriors to back-to-back scoring drives in his first two series to cut the deficit to 42-36. With the clock rolling to less than a minute remaining in the game, Snavely used a seven-yard quarterback draw to get the ball to the one-yard line. He finished the game with 130 yards passing, one touchdown pass and one touchdown run in just barely more than one quarter of action.
 
Fisher recorded four extra points, including the final PAT with 26 seconds remaining in regulation that gave Lycoming the 43-42. Fisher also made a 27-yard field goal to give the Warriors a 16-14 lead in the second quarter. The senior averaged 59.8 yards on kickoffs, including four touchbacks, with two other kickoffs being received at the goalline.

Finding new targets
After a trio of Warrior graduates accounted for more than 70 percent of the team's receiving yards in the past three years in Nick Costello, Brock Zollicoffer and John Kim, quarterbacks Elijah Shemory and Chase Snavely have picked out some new targets, as the pair have thrown for 542 yards in the first two weeks. Two of those targests are amongst the top 10 in the conference in receiving yards, with senior Stephen Toczylousky fifth, averaging 114.0 yards per game, and junior Tyjah During is 11th at 75.0 yards per game.

Fisher's Field Goals
With three field goals in his first two games, senior Jamie Fisher has continued his climb up the  school's career field goal record book, currently sitting at 27 in his career. Fisher has been perfect on field goal attempts this year, moving within three of the school record of 30 made field goals set by John Phillips from 1989-92. As a junior, Fisher finished 25th in Division III with 0.92 field goals made per game. He has hit two of the top-10 longest field goals in program history and he has already set a school record with seven career 40-yard field goals. Fisher is the first Warrior in program history to hit 10 field goals in back-to-back years after hitting 13-of-18 as a sophomore and 10-of-17 as a junior. He is also tied for third amongst Division III players in active career leaders with the 27 field goals in his career.