Colin Payne, top target, back to lead Alvernia into opener vs. Ursinus
One thing is certain as Alvernia gets set for its sixth season of football: The Golden Wolves are going to be a threat throwing the ball.
With the return of record-setting passer Colin Payne of Exeter and his top receiver, Dachan Thompson, the Golden Wolves are expecting to again have success through the air.
They’re looking to improve in other aspects of the game after finishing 1-9 last season, 1-8 in the Middle Atlantic Conference.
Alvernia opens its season Friday at 7 against Ursinus at Collegeville. Steve Azzanesi returns for his fourth season as head coach.
Payne, a redshirt sophomore, threw for a program-record 2,177 yards last season, second-most in the MAC. His 217.7 yards per game were tops in the league.
The 6-2, 190-pound Payne threw 12 TDs in 10 starts. He threw for a season-high 374 yards against Lebanon Valley and for 341 yards and three TDs against Albright.
The Golden Wolves picked up their only victory of the season against the Lions, winning 28-16. The rematch is set for Nov. 2 at Shirk Stadium.
Payne, who led Exeter to its only District 3 championship as a senior in 2021, took the MAC by storm in 2022 when he threw for 380 yards in the season-opener. His first season lasted only three games before he was lost for the season with an ACL tear in his right knee.
Payne is one of three Berks grads on the roster, along with Jaison Beckford, a 5-11,190-pound junior linebacker from Wilson and 6-foot, 280-pound freshman offensive lineman Owen Reber of Berks Catholic.
Thompson, a 6-4, 200-pound grad student, broke Alvernia’s single-game receiving record twice last season and set the single-game receiving yards record.
He earned D3Football.com All-Region third-team honors as a wide receiver, becoming the first player in Alvernia football history to earn All-Region recognition.
Thompson, a first-team all-conference pick, led all MAC wide receivers with 896 receiving yards. He averaged a conference-leading 89.6 yards per game and averaged 19.5 yards per catch, also tops in the conference.
Thompson finished with 46 receptions and five touchdown receptions, three of which were 70 yards or longer.
Alvernia is also bolstered by the return of 5-11, 200-pound linebacker Elijah Carr, who played at
Lampeter-Strasburg. He earned all-conference honors after finishing tied for the conference lead in tackles with 104. He had 32 solo tackles and averaged 10.4 tackles per game. He had 7.5 tackles for a loss, including a sack.
Thompson is the only senior starter on offense, and Carr is one of just two on defense.
Alvernia has seven wins in its first five seasons.
Defending champion Delaware Valley is the preseason pick to win its seventh straight Middle Atlantic Conference title. King’s is picked second and Stevenson third. Alvernia is picked ninth in the 10-team league, one spot ahead of rival Albright.