This was an emotional season opener for Wesley College because this was the first game in 29 years the late Mike Drass would not be the head coach of the football team.
The late head coach passed away in May and the team honored the Drass with a pre-game ceremony, the team will be wearing a helmet sticker for the whole season to remember the great coach. Aptly titled the “Drass game” in remembrance of the late coach, I think he would have been proud of how Wesley battled back at Drass Field and took control of the game which lead to a 34-10 win over Delaware Valley.
This was the first win for Chip Knapp who was named the new head coach after Drass passing.
The offensive standouts in the game for the Wolverines were senior quarterback Khaaliq Burroughs who went 14/22 passing, 261 yards, three touchdowns, one fumble lost, and one interception. Burroughs also rushed for 20 yards in the game.
Senior wide receiver Alex Kemp had a big game with five catches for 108 receiving yards, averaged 21.6 yards per catch, and had two touchdowns.
Kemp’s fellow wide receiver junior Ruhann Peele had two catches for 56 yards, averaged 28 yards per catch, and had a touchdown.
Wesley’s running backs also had some bright moments as junior running back E.J. Lee had 74 yards on 17 attempts with one touchdown.
Sophomore running back Abe Mansaray had one touchdown along with 47 yards rushing with eight carries.
On the Defensive side, the standouts for Wesley were senior free safety Cappadonna Miller, senior Defensive End Vincent Ebron, junior defensive end Will Scott, freshman defensive tackle Tyler Tate, sophomore linebacker Nazir Williams and sophomore cornerback John Castro.
Miller led the team in tackles with 11 in the win.
Ebron had five tackles, one sack, and one tackle for loss in the win.
Scott had five tackles, 1.5 sacks, and 1.5 tackles for loss in the win.
Tate had two tackles, 0.5 sacks, and 0.5 tackles for loss in the win.
Williams had five tackles, one force fumble, and one fumble recovery in the win.
Castro had three tackles, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery in the win.
Delaware Valley Scores First
Wesley won the opening coin toss but deferred which gave Delaware Valley the ball first in the game.
Delaware Valley opened their first drive at Wesley’s 38-yard line which was thanks to a personal foul call on Wesley that tacked on 15 yards.
Valley’s drive was anchored by the quarterback Dashawn Darden who threw for 20 yards and rushed for 11 on his team’s opening drive which finally stalled at Wesley’s eight-yard line.
Delaware Valley brought kicker Nick Restaino out for the field goal and it was good which gave his team an early 3-0 lead in the game.
Wesley Answers Back
Wesley started their opening drive at their own 45 yard line and this drive it was running back E.J. Lee and quarterback Khaaliq Burroughs who led the team.
Lee had 30 rushing yards on the drive and Burroughs threw a 22 yard pass to wide receiver Alex Kemp for the touchdown.
Wesley’s kicker Nick Bruhn missed the extra point which resulted in the Wolverines having a 6-3 lead with 9:49 left in the first quarter.
E.J. Lee Continues His Solid Day With A Score
The two team’s defense clamped down in the late first quarter which had quieted down the scoring for a while.
Then in the Wesley’s first drive in the second quarter, the team had a 05:13 minute and 99 yard drive which resulted in a touchdown to give them a 13-3 lead.
The drive started at Wesley’s one-yard line and running back Elijah Minter rushed for 30 yards in the early minutes of the drive.
Wolverines quarterback Burroughs also pushed the team down the field with 24 yards passing.
Running Back E.J. Lee ended the drive with 13 yards rushing and 17 receiving yards which included a seven-yard touchdown run.
Delaware Valley Answers Right Back
Valley started their next drive at Wesley’s thirty-yard line with 6:06 remaining in the first half.
Delaware Valley went on seven play and 30 yard drive which was led by their quarter Dashawn Darden who rushed for five yards and threw for six yards.
Darden rushed for a one-yard touchdown to decrease Wesley’s lead to 13-10.
Second Half Domination Starts For Wesley
In the second half, Wesley started to dominate and be more aggressive on both sides of the ball.
Around the 12:00 minute mark, linebacker Nazir Williams forced a fumble when he hit Delaware Valley’s QB Darden and he recovered it.
Unfortunately, Wesley could not turn that turnover into points for the team.
Wesley’s next scoring drive started at their own twenty-two-yard line and the drive was a one-play for 78 yards.
Wesley’s QB Burroughs threw a 78-yard pass to receiver Alex Kemp which gave the Wolverines a 20-10 lead with 9:22 left in the third quarter.
The next scoring drive for Wesley was late in the third quarter and it was seven plays for 55 yard drive.
The big play on the drive was Wesley’s QB Burroughs threw a 69 yard pass to wide receiver Ruhann Peele for a touchdown.
This score put the Wolverines up 27-10 with 1:32 left in the third quarter.
The last score of the game came from Wesley’s running back Abe Mansaray who rushed for four yards for the touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Wesley’s stays at home for next week’s match up against TCNJ on Friday the 14th at 7pm ET.
Team Stats:
First Downs: Wesley 22 & DV 23
Third Effiencey (%): Wesley 36% (4 of 11) & DV 29%(4 of 14)
Total Offense: Wesley 483 & DV 328
Net Yards Passing: Wesley 280 & DV 152
Net Yards Rushing: Wesley 203 & DV 176
Penalties: Wesley 17-169 & DV 8-76
Fumbles: Wesley 3-1 & DV 3-2
Sacks: Wesley 3-19 & DV 1-6
Interceptions: Wesley 0 & DV 1-15
Time of Possession: Wesley 26:50 & DV 33:10
College Delaware Sports Blitz 
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