READING, Pa.— Eastern Universtiy Football (6-2, 6-1) scored the first 28 points of the game and pulled away to a 35-14 Pretzel Bowl win over the host Albrigtht College Lions.
Brett Nabb threw for a season-high 258 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and
Chris Rivera finished with 110 receiving yards and a touchdown in the passing game and another score on a punt return.
The Eagles, looking to bounce back from last weeks heartbreaking defeat on the other side of Reading, began the game with a three-and-out on defense, but did not get on the board until Nabb capped a ten-play drive with a 17-yard pass to
Curtis Johnson for a score.
Though the Eastern defense held the Lions to only 15 yards on 11 plays, the Eagles only led 7-0 at the first break. The second quarter had the Eastern defense continuing to stymie the Albright attack and missing out on opportunities. The Eagles out-gained their hosts 98-22 in the second period, but a pair of missed field goals left the lead at seven at halftime.
Eastern's first drive of the second half went only eight yards, and the Lions drove into Eastern territory before the Eagles forced a punt.
A 64-yard completion to
Devon Johnson flipped the field and gave the Eagles the offensive spark they needed. After a couple Nabb rushes and a pass to
Curtis Johnson at the one,
Jeremiah Avrilien pushed through traffic for a 1-yard with 4:38 on the clock. On the next defensive stand, Jadon Todd picked off a third-down pass near midfield. Two plays later, Nabb hit Rivera on a short pass and the senior wide receiver did the rest for a 49-yard touchdown.
After an Eastern drive faltered, the Eagles punted to the Albright 21-yard line. The Lions (3-5, 2-5) wound up punting without gaining a yard. Rivera caught the ball at his own 45 and went the distance for the score.
The Lions won a field position battle and took advantage of a short field for a 30-yard touchdown pass on a two-play drive. with four minutes left. On their next possession, Eastern got two chances after a muffed punt was recovered by
Tobias Koch at the 19-yard line. After a nine-yard pass from Nabb to
Curtis Johnson,
Eric Smith ran for eight yards and then ran for his second touchdown of the year for a 35-7 lead.
Albright scored on a 60-yard completion to close the scoring.
Nabb completed 15-of-22 in the game. It is the third game in four that
Curtis Johnson has caught a touchdown pass. Albright's offense picked up 90 of its 164 yards in the last four minutes of the game. Todd,
Noriano Smith, and
Dru Beckford each finished with four tackles.
"Teams are focused on stopping our run," Head Coach
Billy Crocker said after the game. "that opens up opportunity for big plays in the passing game. Our wide receivers stepped up and made plays. This is a great bounce back win for our team. OUr defense needed to respond and have a good day, and we were able to do that."
Today's game was the 75th Pretzel Bowl game to benefit the Shriners Organization. Nabb claimed MVP Honors.
Eastern will host Stevenson next Saturday at 12:30. After trailing in the fourth quarter, the Mustangs escaped Chester with a 22-15 win this afternoon.
