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11/10/07 -- Senior Tim Kilkenny (Doylestown, PA) caught his third go-ahead touchdown pass in as many weeks, this time on a nine-yard pass with 8:10 remaining as Widener erased a 17-point deficit for a 20-17 Middle Atlantic Conference victory at Wilkes in Edwardsville, PA.
One week after sewing up its 17th MAC championship and 12th NCAA Tournament bid, Widener (8-2, 7-0 MAC) secured its first outright conference title since 2001. That also was the last year the squad went unbeaten in the league and won seven straight.
The Pride on Sunday finds out who and were their will play in the NCAA Tournament, which begins next Saturday. The pairings will be announced at 11:30 am on ESPNU and are available on ncaasports.com.
Widener found itself in a 17-5 hold when freshman Joe Favinger (Mohnton, PA) intercepted Al Karaffa and returned it 28 yards to the Wilkes 11 yard line. A holding penalty moved the play back to the 21, but it did not matter as senior quarterback Matt Campbell (Broomall, PA) found sophomore Ian Decker (Phillipsburg, NJ) on a touchdown pass with 3:12 left in the third quarter for a 17-12 deficit.
The Pride got the ball back with 12:19 left in the game at the Colonels 41 yard line following a 13-yard punt return by sophomore Kevin Fisher (Abingdon, MD). The go-ahead drive featured a 15-yard pass from Campbell to Mike Falkenstein (Newark, DE) and a 14-yard reception by fellow senior Jamie Schild (Fairport, NY).
Junior Steve Cook (Drexel Hill, PA) kept the drive going with a three-yard sweep on fourth down and one to the Wilkes eight yard line. Two plays later, Kilkenny hauled in his fourth touchdown catch of the year in the back of the end zone. Schild added the two-point conversion for a 20-17 cushion to cap the nine-play march.
Kilkenny on October 26 caught a 12-yard touchdown pass with 6:03 left in Widener's 13-10 victory over Delaware Valley and last Saturday had an 18-yard scoring reception with 18 seconds remaining in the team's 28-24 triumph over Albright.
Wilkes on its next drive went out in four plays as Karaffa was intercepted by senior Orlando Brown (Wilmington, DE) at Widener's 32 with 6:58 remaining. The Pride ran almost three minutes off the clock before senior Robert McHugh (Philadelphia, PA) had his punt, a 48-yard boot, downed at the one yard line for the second time in the game.
The Colonels went three and out before getting the ball back at its 11 yard line with 25 seconds left, but Karaffa's last-gasp pass was intercepted by Brown on the final play.
Campbell in the second half completed 10-of-22 passes, helping Widener gain a 130-90 edge in total yards after intermission. Falkenstein had six catches for 99 yards overall and McHugh had a 38.5 yard punt average over six kicks.
Favinger sparked the defense with nine tackles and Brown's interceptions give him eight to lead the conference.
Karaffa completed 25-of-47 passes for 282 yards with Drew Letcavage recording eight catches for 124 yards for Wilkes (4-6, 4-3). Kyle Follweiler amassed 16 tackles in his final game, including 13 solos.
Wilkes wasted no time on the game's first possession, getting a three-yard touchdown run from Alex Pearson just 3 1/2 minutes in for a 7-0 lead. The Colonels bumped their lead to 14-0 with 4:24 to go in the first quarter on Karaffa's eight-yard scoring pass to Letcavage.
Mario Della Fortuna kicked a 34-yard field goal 21 seconds into the second quarter to give the Colonels a 17-0 lead, capping a 12-play, 61-yard drive.
Senior John Martorell (Aston, PA) got Widener on the board with 9:49 left in the second. Wilkes punter Nick Genuardi fumbled the snap in the end zone and tried to run it out, but Martorell tackled him for a safety to make it a 17-2 contest.
Senior Tom Laurich (Warminster, PA) reduced the Pride's deficit to 17-5 midway through the second quarter with a 30-yard field goal, his conference leading 12th of the season.
