The month of March is supposed to come in like a lion and go out like a lamb, but in the first game of the season for the Muhlenberg football team, it was a Lamb who came in like a lion.
Junior Nick Lamb, in his first game as a college football player after playing on the baseball team his first two years, stepped in for injured teammates and caught five passes for 99 yards and a touchdown as the Mules opened the campaign in impressive fashion with a 34-0 win at Wilkes.
It was the first opening-day shutout for the Mules since a 15-0 blanking of TCNJ in 2007. The defense forced three turnovers, allowed only 112 total yards and eight first downs and held the Colonels to minus-5 yards rushing. Wilkes never advanced past the 34-yard line of Muhlenberg.
Freshman Josh Messina (pictured right) made his own stellar debut, leading the defense with nine tackles, including a sack. Junior Lenny Smith (8 tackles) and sophomore Mike Luby (6 tackles, including a sack), both making their first career starts, also were big contributors on defense, while senior lineman Greg DeLade notched his first career interception.
Sophomore Nick Palladino completed 15 of 22 passes for 167 yards and three touchdowns in three quarters of action. Freshman Nicholas Savant rushed for a game-high 54 yards on seven carries in his collegiate debut.
The only score of the first quarter was a career-long 45-yard field goal by senior Connor Winter, capping a short drive that started when seniorKevin Cellary recovered a Wilkes fumble near midfield. On Muhlenberg's next possession, Winter downed a punt at the 5-yard line, and the Mules regained possession on the Wilkes 34 following a three-and-out.
Six plays later, Palladino senior tight end Michael Long with a 4-yard pass for the first touchdown of the game.
Palladino's 28-yard scoring pass to sophomore Ryan Delaney with less than a minute left in the half made it 17-0, and Muhlenberg put the game out of reach with two quick touchdowns early in the third quarter.
On the first play after freshman Max Cepeda returned a punt 27 yards, Palladino connected with Lamb (pictured left) on a 44-yard pass play to the 2. Senior Thomas DiCarlo carried in on the next play.
A three-and-out and short punt gave Muhlenberg the ball at the Wilkes 42 a little more than a minute later, and another two-play drive – an 11-yard run by Palladino and a 31-yard scoring pass to Lamb – increased the lead to 31-0. Winter added a 33-yard field goal in the third play of the fourth quarter.
