Widener out to break two-game losing streak

Widener looks to get back on the winning track when it hosts Lebanon Valley Saturday (1 o’clock) at Quick Stadium.

The Pride (3-3 overall, 2-2 MAC) have lost two in a row and so the focus this week has been on the little things.

“We’ve given three ballgames away, in my estimation, because of penalties, discipline and not finishing,” Widener coach Mike Barainyak said. “The challenge has been laid on our guys. We have to play better.”

Widener has struggled defensively in the second half in its last two games. The Pride has given up 40 points in that stretch. Stevenson put 23 on the board after the half to win, 36-10, and Misericordia tallied 17 points in the final two quarters to pull out a 40-35 victory.

Turnovers also have been an issue. Widener has coughed it up seven times in the last two games and four of those turnovers have led to touchdowns. The Pride has been penalized 15 times for 169 yards in the last two games.

“You can never settle, you can never be satisfied, not in our league, with the types of quarterbacks and receivers that these teams seem to have,” Barainyak said. “No lead is safe and no deficit is not able to be overcome.”

Quarterback Sean McGaughey, receiver James Gillespie and running back Chris Randle are on the verge of some impressive milestones. McGaughey needs 12 yards to become the first Widener quarterback to throw for 2,000 yards in a season since Seth Klein in 2014. Gillespie needs 106 receiving yards to go over the 1,000-yard mark for the season and 158 to top the 2,000yard mark in his career. Randle is but 73 yards away from 2,000 rushing yards for his career.

LVC (2-3, 2-1) is coming off a 3130 win over FDU-Florham, a game in which the Dutchmen led, 31-10. Quarterback Kody Kegarise has thrown for 865 yards and eight touchdowns and added five more TDs on the ground.

Williamson at Valley Forge MC

The Mechanics (3-1) head out on the road for the first and only time when they visit the Cadets (3-2) at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Williamson, which had two cancellations earlier in the season (including one on the road) is coming off a dramatic 21-7 homecoming victory over Coppin State in which quarterback Nick Layden (Ridley) threw for one touchdown and ran for another. Michael Moore (Interboro) ran for 86 yards and a touchdown.

Valley Forge has owned the series. The Trojans are 24-2 against the Mechanics. Williamson’s last win came in a snowstorm in 2011.