College Football: Mustangs No Match for Methodical Albright Offense

Using a combination of short passes and power runs, Albright showed Stevenson’s defense it could move the ball at will during a 13-play, 99-yard drive in the first quarter Saturday.

And then the Lions (6-4, 4-4 Middle Atlantic Conference) showed no mercy, running up a 36-0 halftime lead before cruising to a 57-21 victory in the Mustangs’ final home game of the season.

Stevenson coach Ed Hottle said his team's slow start offensively, a fixture for most games this season, was about "being mentally ready to play.

"Part of it is, we're fragile mentally," he said. "[Albright] goes down and gets an opening drive touchdown, and it's like 'oh, boy.'"

Lions tailback Josan Holmes had 100 yards in the first half (he finished with 116 yards on 17 carries with two touchdowns) and the Albright quarterbacking tandem of T.J. Luddy and Adam Galczynski went a combined 13-of-14 for 196 yards before a 29-0 lead essentially decided this game late in the second quarter.

But that didn’t stop the Lions from pouring a little salt in Stevenson’s wound.

Late in the second quarter, Holmes took a handoff and completed a touchdown pass down the field to wide receiver Scott Pillar. The trick play and ensuing extra point gave the Lions a 36-0 lead with just over a minute to play in the first half.

The Mustangs (2-7, 1-6) couldn’t catch up after that, but it wasn’t all bad news for Stevenson.

Junior quarterback C.J. Hopson set a school rushing record with 169 yards, but was the team’s only offense for much of the afternoon.

He scored on a 12-yard touchdown run with 3:51 to play in the third quarter to give the Mustangs their first points of the day. His longest run was 34 yards.

Later, Hopson hit freshman wide receiver Jae DeShields in stride for a gorgeous 62-yard touchdown late in the third quarter, but Albright had already pulled too far ahead for the picture-perfect hook-up to matter.

Hopson was bruised after the game, but said setting the school rushing record was "definitely not a bad thing," despite the loss.

"I want to get the win," he said. "We need to cut out the little mistakes."

Fullback Ryan Crawley, who last week became Stevenson’s first-ever 100-yard rusher, scored the last points for the Mustangs when he got in the end zone on an 8-yard run with 11:08 to play in the fourth.

"They're trying to do too much," Hottle said of his team, which he added is still learning to play together. "At times, we play like a bunch of guys [not a team]."

The first quarter ended with Stevenson trailing 22-0, as the Mustangs were incapable of slowing Holmes, who gained 82 of his yards on just nine carries in the first quarter.

Stevenson’s best shot in the first quarter came when DeShields beat Albright corner Ed Leech deep down the sideline. But Hopson slightly underthrew DeShields, allowing Leech to break up the pass with 16 seconds to play.

Hopson injected some life into the Mustangs offense in the second quarter, using his legs to scramble for 62 total yards in an 11-play drive that started at the Stevenson 26-yard line. 

But the junior quarterback came up one yard short on fourth and nine after already converting on a fourth and six earlier in the drive with his team already down three scores.

The day got off to an auspicious start for the Mustangs when Albright needed just four plays and less than two minutes to score their first touchdown on a 22-yard run by Holmes.

It only got worse after that. Luddy finished 17-of-19 for 253 yards and three touchdown passes, and the Lions gained 543 total yards against a reeling Stevenson defense that has allowed more than 48 points per game this season.

The Mustangs play their final game of their inaugural football season Saturday at Wilkes.

Game Notes: DeShields finished with two catches for 106 yards and a touchdown, the third 100-yard day for the freshman wide receiver this season…Mustangs linebacker Donnell Brown led all players with 14 tackles…Hopson’s interception with 7:47 left in the fourth quarter was the first the junior had tossed since since Oct. 1 at Delaware Valley…Saturday's game marked the first time in school history the Mustangs had a 100-yard rusher and 100-yard receiver in the same game…Announced attendance at Mustang Stadium was 1,300.