ACFC Fourpeat for Wesley
SALISBURY, Md. - No. 11 Wesley College became the first team in 2008 to outrush No. 16 Salisbury as the Wolverines picked up their fourth consectutive Atlantic Central Football Conference Championship with a 36-21 win at Salisbury in the Route 13 Rivalry.
Sean Matthews led the Wesley defense with 16 tackles, including two for loss.
The Wolverines also ran their ACFC win streak to 12 games with their third straight undefeated conference season and sixth overall.
On Wesley's first possession, after Jon Lanouette picked up 20 yards on completion from Shane McSweeny on the Wolverines' first play, the Wolverines dialed Mike Pennewell's number on three straight plays to move a total of 42 more yards.
After a two-yard loss, McSweeny rushed up the middle and cut back to his right as Wesley took a 6-0 lead.
The Wolverines stretched the lead to 13-0 on the second play of the second quarter. On the first play, Mike Asiedu forced and recovered a Ronnie Curley fumble at the Salisbury 41. McSweeny hit a leaping Lanouette on a 41-yard score on the first play of the possession.
Curley's 45-yard run on the next drive set up his own 13-yard score as the signal caller accounted for 62 yards on the 80-yard drive to cut the score to 13-7.
Wesley turned the ball over on downs, but forced Salisbury to a three and out. The snap sailed over Andrew Geisert's head and out of the end zone for a 15-7 lead with 5:00 remaining in the half.
The Wolverines took possession at the Salisbury 48 yardline after the free kick and Aaron Jackson later scored on a seven yard run to the left as Wesley took a 22-7 lead into the half.
The Sea Gulls cut it to a one possession game in the third quarter on a two-yard run by Shelby Fisher and the teams entered the fourth quarter with the score 22-14.
McSweeny hit Lanouette for a 20-yard score less than two minutes into the period for a 29-14 lead.
Curley hooked up with Randal Smedley on a 56-yard score on the next possession as Salisbury again cut it to a single score game at 29-21 with 10:39 left.
Mike Pennewell put the game away on Wesley's next drive, breaking multiple tackles on a 35-yard touchdown run to give the Wolverines a 36-21 lead with 7:04 remaining.
Wesley forced a three and out and a turnover on downs before running out the clock.
The Wolverines outrushed the Sea Gulls 226-191, the first time since the final game of last season an opponent outrushed Salisbury. The 226 yards was also the most against the Sea Gull defense since Wesley rumbled for 246 in the meeting last season.
Pennewell rushed for 85 yards on just 12 carries.
McSweeny, who also rushed for 77 yards, completed 14-of-25 passes for 203 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Both of those scores went to Lanouette, who finished with six grabs for 106 yards and topped the 2,000 yard mark for his career.
Curley led the Sea Gulls with 107 yards on 16 carries, but completed just 4-of-14 passes in the game for 137 yards.
Wesley will stay on the road next week with a trip north to Division II Lake Erie College in Painesville, Ohio.
NOTES: The Wesley defense has allowed just 19 first half points all season...Mike Pennewell moved into fourth place all-time at Wesley with 2,537 yards and became just the fifth player in school history to top the 2,500 career yard mark...He also became the eighth player at Wesley with 20 career rushing touchdowns and is tied for seventh on the Wolverine career list...Larry Beavers moved into fourth on the career receiving list with 2,179 yards...Lanouette is seventh at Wesley with 2,044 career yards.
