READING, Pa. – The Ursinus football offense hit the ground running in their 2022 season opener against Alvernia and did not look back from they as they cruised to a 59-27 win over the Golden Wolves on a beautiful Friday night at the Alvernia Turf Field.
 
 
The Bears picked up their second-straight season opening win over the Golden Wolves after dispatching them 42-6 in Collegeville last season. It was the fifth-straight season opening win for Ursinus and ninth in the last 10 years. It was also the first time the Bears eclipsed over 50 points scored since their 70-14 win over Misericordia back in the 2018 Centennial-MAC Bowl Series.
 
 
After matching the school record for touchdown passes one year ago against the Golden Wolves, senior quarterback Jack Psenicska once again put up a crooked number on the Alvernia secondary by going 22-of-42 for 282 yards and four touchdowns to just one interceptions. Known for his ability to successfully spread the ball around, Psenicska found nine different receivers on Friday night with three different guys scoring at least one touchdown. Senior Octavious Carter paced the Bears with 75 yards on three catches while classmate Zachary Throne hauled in three catches for 47 yards and one touchdown. Senior Nick Schnaars picked up right where he left off at the end of 2021 by catching four passes for 33 yards along with two touchdown passes.
 
 
Sophomore running back Tony Holden stole the show in the second half for the Bears and finished the night with 145 yards on 14 carries while scoring three touchdowns. All three of those touchdowns and 129 of the yards came in the second half for Holden. Senior Joshua Bowman also found success on the ground by rushing for a career-high 80 yards on 17 carries and one touchdown.
 
 
Ursinus gained the ball first after winning the coin toss and marched right down the field after Schnaars returned the ball just over midfield. Schnaars capped the seven-play drive with a seven-yard touchdown reception. The Bears forced a pair of punts and extended their lead to 14-0 on the ensuing drive when Psenicska found senior Kevin DePrince for a five-yard score at the 6:21-mark of the first quarter. Ursinus stopped the Golden Wolves at midfield and Psenicska went to work once again as he tossed his third touchdown of the quarter to Throne from 11 yards out at the 1:34-mark. It looked like the Bears were going to add to their lead after the Golden Wolves fumbled the ensuing kickoff but were unable to get things going and missed a 35-yard field goal.
 
 
Junior Ryan Divergilis picked off Alvernia quarterback Colin Payne on the first play of the second quarter and returned the ball inside the red zone to set the Bears up with great field position. Senior kicker Dakota Wherrity bounced back and drilled a 22-yard field goal to end the drive and put Ursinus up 24-0. Alvernia finally found success on offense as they used a nine-play 82-yard drive to cut the deficit down to 24-6 at the 10:17-mark. Ursinus quickly responded as Bowman tallied his touchdown of the night on a 19-yard scamper. The quick drive was set up after sophomore linebacker Marc Clayton stunned the Golden Wolves special teams by returning a squib kick 34 yards to the Alvernia 45-yard line. After Alvernia scored again to cut the deficit down to 31-13 at the 4:25-mark of the second quarter, sophomore Aaron Anderson picked off Payne on their next drive at midfield. Unfortunately for the Bears, they were turned away on 4th and 1 and Payne executed a perfect two-minute offense to score with 18 seconds left in the first half, making it a 31-20 game.
 
 
With the momentum building on the side of the Golden Wolves, they marched down to the Ursinus 18-yard line on their second drive of the third quarter seeking to make it a one-score game. The game then changed when sophomore Anthony Esposito blocked a 30-yard field goal attempt to keep the lead at 11. Ursinus was unable to take advantage of a muffed punt from the Golden Wolves as Psenicska was intercepted inside the 10-yard line, but its defense responded by making a stop to force the ball back. This time, the Bears capitalized as Holden scored his first of three touchdowns to make it 38-20 with 1:40 left in the third quarter.
 
 
The Bears opened the fourth by extending their lead to 45-20 as Psenicska found Schnaars for a second time after hitting Carter for a 50-yard gain on the initial play of the quarter. Holden added a pair of scores to help the Bears pull away after a final Golden Wolves touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Holden capped his night with a brilliant 89-yard run on the first play of the drive for the Bears at the 5:45-mark.
 
 
Ursinus racked up 551 yards of total offense on the night with 282 coming in the air and 269 from the ground. Senior linebacker Brett Gross led the defense with six tackles (three solo) while six players finished with four tackles apiece.
 
Payne impressed in his collegiate debut for the Golden Wolves as he threw for 380 yards on 24-of-48 attempts and a pair of scores. Neeko Scurlock caught six passes for 92 yards while Owen Morton and Joseph Perkins each caught touchdown passes.
 
The Bears return to action next Saturday, September 10th as they will host No. 10 Johns Hopkins for its home and Centennial Conference opener at 1 p.m.