Home Opener Awaits Collegeville, Pennsburg Athletes

READING PA – Two area athletes, residents of Collegeville and Pennsburg, are part of Albright College’s Lions football team that will play its season home opener Saturday (Sept. 10, 2022) at 3 p.m. at Shirk Stadium in Reading against the Western Connecticut State University Wolves. Both teams are 0-1, and hungry for their first NCAA Division III win.

Junior Andrew Meeley, of Collegeville and Perkiomen Valley High, is the Lions’ long snapper. He’s majoring in sports management and marketing at Albright. Freshman Damon Faraco, of Pennsburg and Upper Perkiomen High, is an Albright defensive end.

“The Lions will be looking to bounce back after falling to nationally ranked Salisbury, 49-0, in their first game of the season,” Albright Athletics reported Friday (Sept. 9) “The offense struggled, and only managed 86 total yards. Getting … the running game going will be key this week, especially against a Western Connecticut defense that allowed only 38 passing yards last week.”

Entering last week, it added, none of the Lions’ five quarterbacks “had ever appeared in a collegiate game. Both Jarren Rutter and Alex Gardsy played, and got (those) all important first game jitters out of the way. Both went 2-7 passing, for a combined total of 41 yards. With the first game out of the way, whoever lines up behind the center will now have some experience to look back on.

The red-and-white Lions are part of the historic Division III, Middle Atlantic Conference.

Photo provided by Albright College