GAME NOTES
 

Ursinus (6-4) vs. Lebanon Valley (6-4)
When: Saturday, November 22nd
Where: Collegeville, Pa.
Stadium: Patterson Field (1,700)
Kickoff: 1:00 p.m.
Live Video: VIDEO
Live Stats: STATS
TICKETS
 
 

SERIES BREAKDOWN
All-Time Series: Lebanon Valley leads 22-17
First Meeting: `1898 – Ursinus won 6-0
Last Meeting: Sept. 12, 2009 – Lebanon Valley won 27-20
Streak: Lebanon Valley +2
 

The Ursinus Bears Football Team will host Lebanon Valley in one of the three 10th annual Centennial-MAC Bowl Series games.  
 

Last week, the Bears knocked off Carnegie Mellon 27-20 in their final regular season game and Senior Day. Ursinus had a long drive to open the game but came away with zero points. The Bears took an initial 7-0 lead with a touchdown on their next drive before the Tartans ran off 10-straight points to go up 10-7 in the second quarter after a pick-6. The teams traded touchdowns that left Carnegie Mellon up 17-13 at the half. Ursinus scored a touchdown to get the lead back at 20-17 and the Tartans tied the game with a field goal. The Bears scored the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter and held from there.  
 

Meanwhile, the Dutchmen solidified their Centennial-MAC Bowl Series berth by defeating Albright 38-35 on a field goal as time expired last Saturday. The two teams went back-and-forth trading touchdowns the entire game as the lead changed hands and tied five times. The Dutchmen went up 35-28 with 1:55 left in regulation before the Lions returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards to tie the game at 35. Lebanon Valley drove down to the Albright 6-yard line and took off the final 1:34 to win the game with a 25-yard field goal.  
 
 

BEARS IN THE CENTENNIAL-MAC BOWL SERIES: This will be the Bears fifth all-time appearance in the Centennial-MAC Bowl series and fourth in the last five seasons. Ursinus is 3-1 in those four previous games after defeating Stevenson 31-13 at Patterson Field in 2023 in their other home bowl series game. The Bears routed Misericordia 70-14 in 2018, downed King's 24-13 in 2022, and were edged 31-23 by Lycoming in 2021. Ursinus has now seen postseason action in six of the last seven seasons including five straight. Former Centennial Conference Executive Director Steve Ulrich will be on hand for the coin flip to help celebrate the 10^th anniversary of the bowl series.
 
 

ALL-CENTENNIAL: The Bears had eight players earn All-Centennial honors announced by the conference on Wednesday. Senior defensive end Aaron Rios was the lone first team selection for the Bears and they had four second team selections: junior wide receiver Ryder Zulkowski, senior center Deane Leader, sophomore safety Nick Strusowski, and senior punter/kicker Jordan Carr, while junior running back Jason Bernard, senior defensive end Jonathon Small, and senior cornerback Anthony Esposito garnered honorable mention. Zulkowski, Bernard, Strusowski, and Small earned their first career All-Centennial nod while Rios took home his second and Carr, Leader, and Esposito became three-time All-Centennial selections.
 
 
 

HOT STRETCH: Junior wide receiver Ryder Zulkowski has been one of the best wide receivers in the Centennial Conference over the past month. Zulkowski has recorded 308 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in the past four games and has three straight multi-touchdown games. He is having best season to date statistically by leading the team with 608 receiving yards and nine touchdowns while ranking second with 34 receptions. He ranked seventh in the Centennial in yards and tied for fourth in touchdowns and earned All-Centennial Second Team honors for the first time in his career.
 

 
GAME ENDER: Sophomore defensive lineman Manny Saenz delivered the defining play of the Bears 27-20 win over Carnegie Mellon. Saenz had a sack on the Tartans final drive that ultimately became their last play of the game after they had no timeouts and got hit with a 10-second runoff on a false start a play later to run out the clock. Saenz has developed into a starter in his second season on the team and now ranks second on the team with 3.5 sacks and now ranks second with 7.0 tackles for loss. 
 

AIR RAID: Junior quarterback Tristan Machado topped his career best numbers following an outstanding performance against Carnegie Mellon on Saturday. Machado threw for 347 yards on 29-of-40 passing and four touchdowns which also matched his career high. Machado now leads the Centennial Conference with 27 touchdown passes and ranks second with 2,427 passing yards. Machado has a trio of 300+ yard and four touchdown pass games this season as his first year as a starter and ranks third in the Centennial Conference with 242.7 passing yards per game.
 
 

RUN FOR THE ROSES: Junior wide receiver Aidan Roselle tallied his second 100+ yard receiving game of the season against Carnegie Mellon on Saturday. Roselle caught six passes for 106 yards and one touchdown. He has now scored five touchdowns this season including one in each of the past three games and five in the last five games. Roselle leads the team with 35 receptions and ranks second with 556 receiving yards and his touchdowns. He is also in his best stretch of the season with 13 receptions for 193 yards and two touchdowns in the past two games.
 
 

SCOUTING THE DUTCHMEN: Lebanon Valley sits at 6-4 overall, but the three losses in MAC play have come by a total of just five points. Lebanon Valley saw 10 players earn All-MAC honors. Junior quarterback Logan Klitsch is a potent dual threat quarterback for the Dutchmen by throwing for 1,679 yards and 13 touchdown passes and being the team's second leading rusher at 549 yards and six rushing touchdowns. Senior running back Dion Bryant leads the team with 815 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Alex Vassallo leads the team with 348 receiving yards on 27 receptions with four touchdowns.
              On defense, senior safety Carter Foust leads the team with four interception and is second with 54 tackles and was the Dutchmen's lone All-MAC first team selection. Junior defensive lineman Sheadan Makosy leads the team with five sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss while senior defensive end Luke Ordway has 42 tackles (21 solo) and ranks second on the team with 5.0 tackles for loss while having two sacks. Ordway earned All-MAC Second Team honors for his play. Senior linebacker Luke Pollock earned All-MAC Honorable Mention after ranking third on the team with 48 tackles (25 solo) while adding 3.0 tackles for loss, two fumble recoveries, and a sack.