FULL GAME NOTES
 
Ursinus (0-0) vs Alvernia (0-0)
When: Friday, September 6th
Where: Collegeville, Pa.
Stadium: Patterson Field (1,700)
Kickoff: 7:00 p.m.
Live Video: VIDEO
Live Stats: STATS
 
 
SERIES BREAKDOWN
All-Time Series: Ursinus leads 3-0
First Meeting: 2021 – Ursinus won 42-6
Last Meeting: Sept. 1, 2023 @ Ursinus – Ursinus won 38-6
Streak: Ursinus +3

 
The Ursinus Bears Football Team will open its 2024 season by taking on the Alvernia Golden Wolves.  
 

These teams are no strangers to each other in opening seasons up as they have opened the last three seasons by facing off with two of them coming at Patterson Field. The Bears overwhelmed Alvernia 38-6 in their 2023 season opener. Ursinus totaled more than 400 yards of total offense and racked up eight sacks.  
 

GROUND SERVICE: Senior running back Tony Holden continued to be one of the top backs in the Centennial Conference last season after earning All-Centennial first team honors for the first time in his career. He ranked second in the Centennial Conference with 905 yards and tied for the conference lead with eight rushing touchdowns. Holden has been especially as dominant against the Golden Wolves in his career with a pair of 100-yard outings to total 257 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Holden recorded 100 yards on the ground in four games last season.
 

EXPERIENCED SIGNAL CALLER: Senior quarterback Jalen Bradford thrived in his first season as the Bears starting quarterback in 2023. Bradford threw for 2,730 yards last season which was the fourth most all-time in a single season for Ursinus football. He finished with 27 touchdown passes that was the second most in a single season for the Bears to only Jack Psenicska's 36 that came in the previous season. Bradford wrapped up his season by being named the MVP of the Bears Centennial-MAC Bowl Series game against Stevenson behind totaling 350 total yards and four touchdowns between the passing and running game. Bradford added 292 rushing yards behind his dual threat abilities.
 
 

HEART OF THE BEARS: Senior safety Ryan DiVergilis returns for his fifth and final season on the team. One of the most experienced players on the team, DiVergilis has earned three All-Centennial honors in his career with the last two being first team honors. DiVergilis unfortunately saw his 2023 season cut short with an arm injury against Johns Hopkins in Mid-October as he was during another strong season. A two-time team captain, he has racked up 152 career tackles, two fumble recoveries, and five interceptions. One of those interceptions came against Alvernia in last season's season opener.  
 

ANCHORING THE LINE: Senior offensive lineman Trey Williams will once again anchor the Ursinus offensive line that returns all but one starter. Williams garnered first team All-Centennial last season which was his second straight All-Centennial pick. Williams continued to be a model of consistency on the Bears O-Line at right tackle as he has made 22-straight starts since the 2022 season opener. Williams anchored the line to allow Ursinus to have the third-highest scoring offense in the Centennial at 31.9 points per game and post 409.5 yards per game that also ranked third in the league.
 
 
HOME COOKING: With their win over the Golden Wolves last season, the Bears continued their strong run of winning their home openers since the 2012 season. Ursinus has won 10 of their last 11 season opening games including the past six-straight. Under head coach Pete Gallagher, the Bears are 15-7 in season opening games since the 2001 season.
 
 
CATCH THIS: The Bears enter 2024 with a veteran wide receiver group. Senior Justin Collier leads the group after garnering All-Centennial Second team honors last season. Collier tallied a team-leading six touchdowns this season in just seven games, and he led the team with 605 yards on 48 catches. He tallied at least 60 receiving yards in all but two games played this season. Joining Collier is a dynamic threat in junior Cody House, who made his impact felt the most with his three touchdowns against Alvernia. House also became a big threat on returns and was named All-Centennial Honorable Mention at returner. Senior Cameron Dennis hauled in a career-high four touchdowns in 2023 and caught 20 passes for 378 yards, while sophomore Ryder Zulkowski flashed potential with 298 yards on 11 catches plus four touchdowns.
 
 
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN WOLVES: The Golden Wolves will once again be led under center by redshirt sophomore quarterback Colin Payne. Payne has started at quarterback since his freshman season and overcame a torn ACL in 2022 to lead the MAC in passing for the 2023 season with 2,177 yards and tied for third in the league with 12 touchdown passes. He will have a big threat at wide receiver to throw to in senior Dachan Thompson, who paced the MAC with 896 total receiving yards and ranked sixth with five touchdowns. Thompson was a D3football.com All-Region third team pick for his first strong season on the team.
              

On defense, senior linebacker Elijah Carr led the team and ranked second in the MAC with 104 tackles (32 solo) while earning All-MAC honors at honorable mention. Carr will have classmate Antonio Lazar in the front seven with him who tied for third on the team with 61 tackles in 2023. Sophomore defensive lineman Stefan Rich paced the team with 11.0 TFL and junior defensive lineman McCabe Piavis ranked second on the team with 8.0 TFL and led the team with two sacks. Sophomore defensive back Khysir Young had a strong collegiate debut season with three interception in 2023 and senior safety Jamel Fleming led the team with seven pass break-ups.