Wesley quarterback Joe Callahan and the Wolverines get ready to start a play against Widener

BY ROCK HOFFMAN

Dover – It was a record-setting night for a pair of Wesley College players as the Wolverines topped Widener University 33-21 at Scott D. Miller Stadium in the season opener for two schools ranked in the D3Football.com poll. Quarterback Joe Callahan set single-game school marks for completions and yards while his favorite target, wide receiver Steve Koudossou, now holds the records for receptions and yards in game.

It started off well enough for the Pride, who came in ranked 20^th, as the debuted their offense under new head coach Bobby Acosta with a goal of averaging 90 plays per game. In the first 21 minutes of the game, Widener ran 37 plays, gained 233 yards and scored 21 points.  They converted a 15-play, 99-yard drive into their first points of the season when sophomore quarterback Seth Klein found Jermaine Quattlebaum for a 10-yard touchdown. Near the end of the first quarter, Chris Wickes ran in from two-yards out then at the 9:19 mark of the second quarter Couve LaFate had his own two-yard touchdown run which capped a short drive after a fumble by Wesley.

Meanwhile, other than a 71-yard touchdown drive that ended with a 10-yard pass from Callahan to Koudossou, the No. 5 Wolverines struggled to move the ball early. They rebounded from the fumble with an 11-play, 67-yard drive but came away empty when a field goal attempt hit the post. However, the Pride was unable to capitalize and would not move the ball well for the rest of the game. Over the final 39 minutes of the game, the Pride would run 39 plays and gain just 57 yards.

“We got away from some plays that were good for us,” said Acosta “and as soon as you lose moment, it’s hard. They made adjustments and I don’t think we made adjustments.”

The Wolverines offense found their groove, scoring two quick touchdowns before half time to pull with one at 21-20 after missing an extra point. The first score was a 25-yard catch and run by fullback Jeremiah Howe after a 27-yard punt return by Sean Hopkins. Less than four minutes later, Callahan hit Koudossou in the back corner of the end zone for a five-yard score.

The pair would connect twice more in the second half; the first was a 26-yard pass on the final play of the third quarter that would give the Wolverines the lead for the first time. Their final scoring play covered 70 yards.

The 37 completions and 510 yards were new records set by Callahan, a sophomore from Absecon, NJ and a Holy Spirit High School graduate, while his five touchdowns were one short of the school mark. Koudossou caught 17 passes for 266 yards, both new records, and four touchdowns which ties the school best.

“It was a good night,” said Koudossou, a junior. “I felt I played well but I had some mistakes I’m going to check on film and correct.”

Koudossou said they didn’t panic when they got down 14 points.

“The coaching staff stresses dealing with adversity,” he said. “I feel we showed great poise. We didn’t point fingers and we led each other to victory.”

The Wolverines play was not flawless in the second half, they turned the ball over a couple times, missed another field goal and the Pride’s defense was able to make some plays before wearing down. However, Widener was never able to get the momentum back.

“When they had a change of momentum opportunity in the first half Widener took advantage of it,” said Wolverines head coach Mike Drass whose team is now 60-4 in home games since 2004. “In the second half, our guys got the ball back for the offense.”

E-mail Rock Hoffman at Rock@footballstories.com