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Wilkes Football Crowned Cape Henry Bowl Champions on Last Second Field Goal

WINCHESTER, Va. – Nick Volpone's 20-yard field goal as time expired helped the Wilkes University football team earn its second Cape Henry Bowl title, defeating Shenandoah University 37-35 at Glo Fiber Field at Shentel Stadium.

With the win, the Colonels finish the year 7-4 overall, while the Hornets fall to 8-3.

Wilkes opened the scoring on the game's opening drive as Cooper King finished the drive with a two-yard touchdown run, set up by a 37-yard pass to Juju Fears. Shenandoah responded quickly, scoring on a 55-yard catch and run by Roge't Walker on their first offensive play to tie the game at 7-7.

King and the Wilkes offense once again marched down the field, with King completing three passes for double-digit yards before Ben Contella punched it in on the ground from two yards out to make it 14-7. After teams exchanged punts, Wilkes took that score into the first quarter break.

Driving at the end of the first quarter, Shenandoah once again tied the game on an Aidan McCloskey seven-yard rush. The Colonels fired back once more as King struck Fears again in the endzone for a 34-yard touchdown catch over his shoulder to take a 21-14 lead. Going blow-for-blow, Shenandoah responded on the ensuing drive by marching down the field and finding the endzone on a six-yard rush by Jalen Redfearn.

With just over three minutes to play, Wilkes took the ball down the field to kick a field goal as time expired and took a 24-21 lead into halftime.

The second half became a much more defensive affair, with the Colonels forcing a punt and subsequently being held to another Volpone field goal to extend the lead to 27-21. On the next Hornet possession, Rob Barbieri jumped in front of a crossing route and ran into the endzone untouched to quickly grow the lead once more to 34-21.

Scoring did not resume until the fourth quarter, when the Hornets scored on the second play of the frame on a 20-yard pass to Walker. A Contella fumble on the ensuing possession put the Hornets back on offense, but the Wilkes defense held firm at the goal line thanks to a Ryan Opperman interception in the endzone.

The Colonels couldn't capitalize on offense, and the Hornets made them pay on a 33-yard touchdown pass from Mekhi Brown to Kyle Grant and took a 35-34 lead. With 2:05 left to play, Wilkes drove down to the Shenandoah three-yard line, allowing Volpone to kick the game-winning field goal as time expired, sealing victory for the Colonels.

King led the Colonels with 22 completions for 278 yards and one passing touchdown, adding another on the ground. Fears was his top target, saving his best career performance to date for the biggest moment with 112 yards and a touchdown. On the ground, Contella finished his collegiate career on a high with 90 rushing yards and one touchdown.

Defensively, Tallen Murray set a new Wilkes Internet Era record (since 2004) for single-game tackles with 21, also leading the team with 1.5 tackles for loss. Tyler Wetzel and Winchester native Cohen Creswell also reached double-digit tackles, racking up 13 and 11, respectively.