WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (Oct. 1, 2016) – Freshman Chris Randle (Lindenwood, N.J.) rushed for 149 yards and classmate Michael Raczak (Jamison, Pa.) booted a decisive field goal in the rain to lift the Widener University football team to a 24-21 victory over Lycoming in four overtimes on Saturday afternoon at David Person Field.
 
After recovering its second fumble on as many possessions in the waning minutes of regulation, Lycoming came within a point at 14-13 when Chase Whiteman tossed a 41-yard touchdown pass to Nick Costello with just 16 seconds left. The Warriors initial attempt at the point after was fumbled, but a Widener penalty for a neutral zone infraction gave the hosts another chance. Devon Flynn converted on his second attempt, and the teams headed to overtime knotted at 14.
 
In overtime, both teams failed to score on their first possession. Senior Alex Krivda (Sellersville, Pa.) had his toss intercepted at the one-yard line by Mike Ward, and classmate James Rendle (Wilmington, Del.) blocked a field goal attempt on the next possession to keep the game tied.
 
The offenses then came through in the second overtime, as Whiteman took the ball into the end zone himself on an 11-yard scamper before Randle answered for the Pride to make it 21-all through two extra sessions.
 
After the teams came up short again in the third overtime, Widener gave itself a chance by shutting down Lycoming and ending the drive with a sack courtesy of sophomore Vince Char (Southampton, Pa.). Three rushes by Randle pushed the ball ahead to the Lycoming 16, and Raczak came through for the second straight game by kicking the ball through the uprights from 33 yards away to end it and give the Pride the victory.
 
Widener never trailed in regulation and took advantage of good field positioning to get on the board in the opening quarter. Sophomore Jordan Powell (Morristown, N.J.) intercepted a Whitehead pass and returned it 12 yards to the the Lycoming 23, and classmate Donte Harrell (Downingtown, Pa.) ran four straight times to reach paydirt  and open the scoring at the 8:04 mark.
 
Lycoming (2-3, MAC 1-3) tied the game at 7-all on a Blake Bowman one-yard rush early in the second quarter before the Pride would threaten again. Harrell was given the ball on a 4th-and-goal from four yards out, but he was tackled short of the goal line by Sam Romanofsky and Nick Kovalick to allow the Warriors to take over on downs. The teams later headed to the locker rooms tied at 7-7.
 
Following a scoreless third quarter, Widener regained the lead early in the fourth when Randle reached paydirt from six yards out on the opening play of the final frame. Lycoming, however, stopped the Pride on their drive on another 4th down and recovered two fumbles on consecutive possessions to create the wild finish, which was capped by a second-chance extra point by Flynn to send the game to overtime.
 
Randle led the Pride offense by gaining his 149 yards on the ground on 34 carries. He also scored two touchdowns. Krivda passed for 194 yards in the air, while sophomore D'Andre Sapp (Queens, N.Y.) paced the Pride receivers with 10 catches for 67 yards and also added 41 more on the ground. Powell had an interception and a fumble recovery to propel the defense, which limited Lycoming to just 171 yards of total offense.
 
Lycoming's Whiteman factored into two touchdowns by accumulating one on the ground and one through the air. He completed just seven passes for only 94 yards, which included four to Costello for 83 yards and a touchdown. Dominic Loffredo led the defense with a game-high 13.5 tackles, while Zach Smith had 11.5 tackles. Korahn Williams had an interception and forced a fumble.
 
Widener (3-1, MAC 3-0), which is one of only two undefeated teams remaining in conference play, will travel to Lebanon Valley for another Homecoming Weekend matchup on Saturday, Oct. 8. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m.