Senior Nick Palladino threw for 284 yards and broke the school record for career touchdown passes as the Muhlenberg football team began the 2016 season with a 29-22 win at Wilkes.
 
Junior Nick Savant rushed 14 times for 73 yards and also caught a two-point conversion. Senior Nick Lamb caught seven passes for 125 yards, and senior Ryan Delaney hauled in 11 passes, including a pair of touchdown strikes.
 
Senior John Feaster led the defense with nine tackles, an interception, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup. He also caught a two-point conversion.
 
Palladino, who entered his senior season as the Mules' all-time leader in passing yardage, completed 26 of 36 attempts and claimed one of the few major school records he didn't already own. His three touchdown passes gave him 65 for his career, topping the mark of 64 set by Michael McCabe in 2000.
 
Palladino's first touchdown pass, a 5-yarder to Delaney, gave Muhlenberg a 6-3 lead early in the second quarter.
 
The Colonels drove inside the Mules' 10 on their ensuing drive, but on first-and-goal Feaster recovered a fumble. Eight plays and 94 yards later, Savant (pictured above) ran in from 3 yards out.
 
Four plays into the next Wilkes drive, Feaster picked off a pass at midfield, setting up Palladino's second 5-yard scoring pass to Delaney with 2:23 left in the half.
 
Palladino's record-breaking touchdown pass, a 5-yarder to junior Matthew Stickney (7 catches-62 yards), made it 29-10 with 5:52 left in the third.
 
The Colonels closed the gap to a touchdown with 7:50 left in the fourth quarter. Muhlenberg's next two drives stalled near midfield, but two punts by sophomore Anthony Natale were downed inside the 5-yard line, and the defense did not allow Wilkes a first down on either possession. Senior Gerard Grimes knocked down a fourth-down pass with 1:41 left to seal the game.
 
Junior Amir Blair made a career-high nine tackles for the Mules, while freshman Mickey Kober had eight in his first career game. Sophomore Nate Corvil added seven stops in his first career start, and senior Mike Luby recorded 1½ sacks.

Muhlenberg tied a program record by winning its season opener for the fourth year in a row.