(boxscore)
Widener nearly eradicated a 14-point deficit, but Lycoming's defense came up big in the fourth quarter and dealt the home team a 21-17 Middle Atlantic Conference loss at Leslie C. Quick Jr. Stadium.
The Warriors (3-1, 1-0 MAC) opened a 14-7 lead with 6:19 remaining in the first half. Collin Dwyer found Brad Shellenberger over the middle for a 31-yard touchdown pass, one play after Ray Bierbach returned a punt 11 yards.
Lycoming got the ball back one play later. Widener senior wide receiver Tim Kilkenny (Doylestown, PA) caught a pass but was stripped by Nick Reese, who recovered the ball at the Warriors 48 yard line.
Five plays after, Dwyer found Mark Ryan on a 10-yard scoring pass with 3:03 remaining in the half and a 21-7 margin.
Junior Drew Lagomarsino (Sellersville, PA) went in at quarterback for the Pride (2-2, 0-1) and jump-started the offense. That resulted in a 50-yard drive, which he capped on the ninth play with a three-yard touchdown run with 31 seconds left for a 21-14 contest.
Widener got even closer in the fourth, moving to 21-17 with 9:39 left when freshman Matt Breslin (Sugarloaf, PA) booted a 24-yard field goal.
Lycoming had every intention of chewing time off the clock and it did just that. A 13-play, 37-yard drive took six minutes, ending however with Scott Erikson missing a 45-yard field goal with 3:39 left.
But the Warriors defense also did their job, forcing the Pride to give up the ball after gaining no yards on three plays. Lycoming got the ball back with 2:24 to go and sealed the game on Dwyer's seven-yard pass to Shellenberger at its own 41 for a first down.
That ended a quarter in which the Warriors recorded a 55-20 edge in total offense and converted 3-of-7 first downs.
Lagomarsino completed 5-of-8 passes for 34 yards and sophomore Bob Brice (West Chester, PA) completed 7-of-16 attempts for 105 yards. Kevin Franklin (Baltimore, MD) closed with 11 tackles and fellow sophomore Joe Favinger (Mohnton, PA) had nine.
Dwyer ended with 236 yards passing and two touchdowns, completing 25-of-42 passes. Shellenberger had seven receptions for 85 yards and Ben Rosa posted 11 tackles.
Lycoming finished with a 236-139 edge in passing yards and a 297-244 advantage in total offense.
Widener, which went undefeated in the MAC last season, suffered its first league loss since a 16-0 home setback to Delaware Valley on November 11, 2006. This also snapped a four-game winning streak against Lycoming at Quick Stadium, with the last loss being a 15-13 setback on October 24, 1998.
The Pride broke from the gates fast, scoring on their first possession as junior Salah Hawkins (Wilmington, DE) ran it in from seven yards for a 7-0 lead. The Warriors answered with 1:06 left in the first quarter on Josh Kleinfelter's one-yard dive for a 7-7 game.
Widener next week visits King's in Wilkes-Barre, PA, beginning at 1:00 pm.
