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11/3/07 -- Senior Matt Campbell (Broomall, PA) capped a solid day on an 18-yard touchdown pass to junior Tim Kilkenny (Doylestown, PA) with 18 seconds left, propelling Widener to a 28-24 victory over Albright at Leslie C. Quick Jr. Stadium and its 17th Middle Atlantic Conference championship.
It is Widener's first title since sharing the 2002 crown with King's and first outright since 2001. The Pride (7-2, 6-0 MAC) will make their 12th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and first since 2001.
The first round will take place Saturday, November 17 and the pairings will be announced Sunday, November 11 at 11:30 am on ESPNU.
Down 21-7 at halftime, Widener began its march late in the third quarter. Sophomore Ian Decker (Phillipsburg, NJ) had a 25-yard carry on third down and 10 to Albright's three yard line. Campbell three plays later found senior Jamie Schild (Fairport, NY) on a five-yard touchdown pass with 3:19 to play for a 21-14 deficit.
Albright (7-2, 5-1) on its next drive went three and out, but looked it good shape after Tanner Kelly boomed a 68-yard punt to Widener's three yard line. But the Pride would embark on an 11-play, 97-yard drive spanning 5:29 for a tie game.
Campbell was 7-for-7 on that drive, including a 21-yard pass to sophomore Kevin Fisher (Abingdon, MD) to the Pride 46 yard line and a 28-yard toss to senior Mike Falkenstein (Newark, DE) on third and six to the Lions one yard line.
Junior Steve Cook (Drexel Hill, PA) dove in from one yard on the next play with 10:25 remaining.
Albright went on a 16-play, 61-yard drive that covered 8:51 for a 24-21 cushion. Kelly did all he could on the march, completing 5-of-5 passes and helping the Lions convert three first downs. Albright worked its way to the 12 yard line before John Whelan booted a 30-yard field goal with 1:34 left.
That's when Widener began its march to the title with an eight-play, 56-yard drive in which Campbell completed 6-of-7 passes for 52 yards. He hit Falkenstein on an eight-yard pass on third down to Albright's 44 yard line and on an 11-yard toss to the 33.
Campbell then completed passes of four, five and six yards to Kilkenny to the 18-yard line before the winner to end the 76-second drive. Albright's last-ditch chance on a hook and lateral was thwarted on a tackle by freshman Shane Szumski (Moorestown, NJ) as time expired.
Campbell completed 27-of-43 passes for a career-best 279 yards and three touchdowns, including 19-of-27 attempts for 206 yards after intermission. Falkenstein had eight catches for 100 yards, and senior Dan MacDonald (Pine Hill, NJ) posted 11 tackles and 1 1/2 sacks.
The victory marked the second straight year Widener has posted a six-game winning streak. The Pride ended with a 374-366 disadvantage in total offense, but recorded a 263-121 margin in the second half.
Kelly completed 22-of-30 passes for 253 yards, three scores and added 21 carries for 79 yards. Stephen Asay had 11 catches for 79 yards.
Tyrell Drumgo caught an eight-yard touchdown pass from Kelly with 5:30 left in the first to give Albright a 7-0 lead. Widener answered on the first play of the second quarter when Decker caught a 10-yard scoring pass from Campbell.
Keith Allen hauled in touchdown passes of 39 and 38 yards from Kelly just 34 seconds apart for the 21-7 margin with 11:49 remaining in the half. The second score was set up on Campbell's interception to Brett Gaul at the Widener 38.
Widener next week closes the regular season at Wilkes, beginning at 1:00 pm. The squad looks for its first undefeated mark in the conference and first seven-game winning streak since 2001.
