COLLEGE FOOTBALL NOTES: Mid Valley product Holt having impact at Albany

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Victor Holt is having a significant impact on his new team.

A former Mid Valley High School multi-sport standout and Lackawanna College transfer, the 6-foot-3, 202-pound defensive back is at the University at Albany. He has 34 total tackles in six games and five starts.

Last week, Holt had five tackles, including two for loss and a sack in a 28-3 win over Delaware State. Albany competes in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision and improved to 3-3 overall and 1-1 in the Coastal Athletic Conference.

In a 21-17 loss to Buffalo, Holt recorded a season-high 10 tackles and had eight the following week when Albany defeated Long Island University, 35-13. Former Lackawanna College teammate Gianni Marino played at tight end for Long Island University.

At Lackawanna College, Holt played in nine games in two seasons. He finished with 30 total tackles, two for loss, a sack, six passes defended, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery for the Falcons.

Albany has a bye this weekend and will return to play on Oct. 17 at Stony Brook (3-2, 1-0).

• Marino caught two passes for 15 yards for Long Island University last week in the team’s first win of the season, 27-24, over Mercyhurst. Marino, a 6-4, 245-pound tight end, had five receptions for 38 yards in his first season. He also recorded two special-teams tackles against Kansas this season. The Sharks (1-5 overall, 1-0 in conference) are at Duquesne (1-3, 0-0) on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the Northeast Conference.

• Undefeated Lehigh defeated Fordham, 34-0, in a Patriot League game last week. Aaron Crossley (Wyoming Area) had two carries for nine yards and a reception for 12 yards. Joe Marranca (Wyoming Area) had a reception for 21 yards. Connor Hilling (Valley View) also played for the fifth-ranked Mountain Hawks. Lehigh is 4-0 in the Patriot League and is a half-game ahead of Richmond (3-0) and Colgate (3-0). Lehigh doesn’t play again until Oct. 17 at Cornell at 2 p.m.

• Florida suffered its first loss of the season, 45-17, to Missouri in an SEC game last Saturday. London Montgomery (Scranton Prep) had one carry for 17 yards and two kickoff returns for 31 yards. Lacota Dippre (Lakeland) had his first catch of the season for 10 yards. The 16th-ranked Gators (4-1) host South Carolina on Saturday at 12:45 p.m. on the SEC Network.

• Aiden Black, a former tight end at Delaware Valley and Stanford, is looking to recover from a recent loss to Wake Forest. The Cardinal (2-3) plays at Notre Dame at 12:30 p.m. on NBC and Peacock. The 6-foot-4, 245-pound junior has played in all five games this season and started against Hawaii and Miami, Florida.

Division II

Lackawanna College continues its first season in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Association on Saturday at noon at third-ranked Kutztown (5-0 overall, 2-0 in conference).

Last week, Lackawanna lost to Bloomsburg, 42-10. David Naniewicz (Lakeland) completed 24 of 40 passes for 165 yards and ran for 21 yards. Billy Maloney (Scranton) and Brodie Daugherty led the defense with five tackles each. Rhys Williams (Mid Valley) added four tackles. Dyjeere Weekes (Scranton) had three tackles. Isaiah Rodriguez (Old Forge) made field goals of 39 and 33 yards, and Samuel Magnotta (North Pocono) had two punts for a 31.0 average.

For Bloomsburg (4-1, 1-0), Jon Seamans (Lakeland) had a reception for 13 yards. Reagan Decker (Delaware Valley) had seven kickoffs with two touchbacks.

• Justin Kalitsnik (Delaware Valley), a former Times-Tribune Defensive Player of the Year, competed in his third game at West Virginia State last week. The 6-2, 220-pound sophomore linebacker and Old Dominion transfer had two tackles in a 41-38 loss. West Virginia State fell to 1-4 overall and 0-3 in the Mountain East Conference. Kalitsnik has 14 total tackles with a season-high eight against Fairmount State.

Division III

Wilkes University (2-2 overall, 1-0 in conference) defeated Juniata College, 21-2, last week. Daniel Pigga (Dunmore) caught a team-high six passes for 60 yards and a touchdown and added 11 rushing yards on three carries. This season, the junior has 13 receptions for 116 yards and a touchdown and 19 yards rushing on nine carries. He also has nine kickoff returns for 191 yards and two punt returns for 31 yards.

Evan Dean (Western Wayne) had three tackles, Michael Golay (Scranton Prep) added two tackles, giving him 103 career tackles with 16 for loss, and Rob Barbieri had one.

Wilkes hosts Lycoming on Saturday at 1 p.m. in its Homecoming game.

• King’s College rallied for an 18-13 win over Widener last week, improving to 1-2 overall and 1-2 in conference. Connor Highes (Mid Valley) contributed two tackles, and Nick Jackson (Mid Valley) had one for the Monarchs. King’s has a bye week and plays at Eastern University on Oct. 10 at 2:30 p.m.

• Elijah Houdershieldt had five tackles for Keystone College in a 64-14 loss to Mary Hardin-Baylor last week. Houdershieldt, a 6-1, 260-pound freshman, has 21 tackles this season. Sean Owens (Western Wayne), a sophomore defensive back, had two kickoffs in the game. Keystone has a bye this week and plays again on Oct. 17 at home against Newport News Apprentice School at 1 p.m.

• Mike Iuzzolino (Delaware Valley), a freshman running back, has played in four games at Carnegie Mellon (2-2, 1-0 in Centennial Conference) this season. He has four carries for 11 yards. Last week, he had two carries for six yards in a 52-14 win over McDaniel College. This week, Carnegie Mellon hosts Johns Hopkins at noon.

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