Albright Sports Information

2008 ECAC South Central Bowl
Albright College 42
Montclair State 14

MONTCLAIR, NJ - Behind another top rushing performance by the 2008 MAC Rookie of the Year Josan Holmes (Ambler, PA/Wissahickon), the Albright College Lions avenged their 2007 ECAC South Atlantic Bowl loss at the hands of Montclair State by defeating the Red Hawks by the final score of 42-14 Saturday afternoon at Sprague Field to earn the 2008 ECAC South Central Bowl title.

Both Albright and Montclair State closed out their 2008 seasons with an 8-3 record.  The Lions who have not won an ECAC Bowl game since 2004 completely dominated their New Jersey opponents.  Saturday's match-up was only the second time that the two teams have ever faced each other on the grid-iron.  With Holmes leading the way the Albright offense dominated their non-conference opponents. 

On the day the freshman running back and ECAC South Central Bowl Most Valuable Player rushed for 172 yards on 26 carries and had four touchdowns.  Holmes four scores ties the all-time single game record at Albright.  The last time an Albright rusher ran for four TD's in a single game was in 1994.  Holmes also became the first player to rush for over 1,000 yards in a single season since 1995, ranking him third all-time in single season rushing yards category with 1,087. 

On the other side of the ball it was the Albright defense that really stole the show holding the Montclair offense to a season low 135 yards of total offense.  In total the Lions defense held Montclair to 49 rushing yards on 32 carries, and limited them to only 135 passing yards.  Also adding to their impressive numbers this season was the fact that the Red and White did not allow a single score in the final two quarters of play, making it the fifth time this season that the Lions have accomplished that feat.

Taking the reigns of the Albright defense throughout Saturday's contest were Robert Harper (Sewell, NJ/Paul VI), Michael Limoli (Pittstown, NJ/Delaware Valley Regional), and Andrew Kibler (Freeland, MD/Calvert Hill) who earned a combined 16 tackles respectively.  Harper had the team's only sack of the day and was responsible for breaking up one pass.  In the interception category a trio of players stepped up for the Lions starting with Joseph Baciotti (Lancaster, PA/Manheim Township), who closed out the year with his fifth interception.  Ryan Dolan (Toms River, NJ/Toms River East) and David Harig (Glen Burnie, MD/Calvert Hill) also tallied interceptions for the Red and White.

Despite two late scores in the second quarter, Albright controlled the opening quarter and the early minutes of the second with Holmes scoring three straight touchdowns, starting with a five yard run in the first five minutes of play to put Albright a head 7-0.  The freshman came back less than six minutes later to tack on his second score of the day this time on a 38 yard run. 

Holmes continued the onslaught tacking on this third TD of the half midway through the second quarter on an eight yard run which put Albright up 21-0.  Montclair finally managed to get on the board with about four minutes to play in the half on a Jeff Bliss five yard touchdown run.  The Red Hawks added to their lead with less than two minutes to play as Tanner Kelly's (Clearfield, PA/Clearfield) only interception of the day resulted in a 54 yard interception touchdown return on the part of Cornell Hunt.  Despite the one interception Kelly had a decent game throwing for 129 yards while also rushing for an addition 62.

Down by only seven, Montclair thought they had themselves in a great position going into the half.  However Albright did not settle for just a seven point lead as junior wide receiver Nate Romig (Birdsboro, PA/Daniel Boone) caught his 11th touchdown pass of the year to give Albright a 13 point lead with seven seconds on the clock.  Romig's 11th TD is a career best for the Birdsboro native, and moves him up to fifth all-time in career touchdown receptions.  He is now just four shy of tying Jesse Dorais's record of 29 which he set in 2003.

Following the intermission, Albright continued to fire on all cylinders.  The defense was relentless when it came to holding the Red Hawks offense at bay.  Albright's offense tried numerous times to extend their lead but fell just short on their possessions.  The Lions did manage to catch a lucky break with about five minutes to go in the third when Dolan blocked a Montclair punt which was taken in their end zone.  Freshman Travis Dresch (Lebanon, PA/Northern Lebanon) managed to pick up the loose ball and run it for a two yard score to make it 33-14.  A successful two point conversion by Kelly extended Albright's lead to a three score game. 

In the fourth Holmes solidified his place in the record books as he rushed for his final touchdown with 10:13 left to play.  Throughout the year Holmes has been no stranger to adding his name to the record books, in the game against Wilkes University Holmes recorded the sixth greatest rushing performance ever in Albright history when he became the first player to rush for over 200 yards in a game since Matt Santoro in 1998. 

As time continued to wind down Albright knew that they had finally accomplished what they had set out to do all year and that was finish strong.  Saturday's victory also signified the final contest in the careers of 14 seniors. 

At Right:  2008 ECAC South Central Bowl
Most Valuable Player Josan Holmes