Another season has come and gone, and now for the Wilkes University football team, the focus moves on to 2026. With three consecutive bowl appearances in their first three Landmark Conference seasons, the Colonels have impressed thus far against new competition since leaving the Middle Atlantic Conference in 2023.

‘One Team-One Family,’ ‘A Brotherhood,’ and ‘We Over Me’ are just some of the ways Wilkes football players describe their team.
However this past season, those quotes were on display every time the Colonels were on the field. Finishing the campaign with a 7-4 record, and their second bowl win in three seasons, it was a memorable season for all involved.

After a 2-2 start to the 2024 campaign, the Colonels were able to eventually pull it out and finish with a winning record, but losing in their bowl game.

This season began like an almost carbon copy of 2024. Going 2-2 in the first four games of the season, the Colonels then went 4-2 in conference play, clinching a bowl game berth and eventually grabbing a huge win on the road at Shenandoah University.

One player that proved to be clutch all year was kicker Nick Volpone. Volpone was able to stay nearly perfect for the entirety of the campaign on field goals and extra point attempts.

His near perfect season started in the Mayor’s Cup game against King’s College. After a two day delay due to thunderstorms, the Colonels took the win off of a Volpone field goal in the dying minutes.

“This season was personally extra sweet after having the opportunity to seal the deal in the Mayor’s Cup to start the year,” Volpone said.

The way the season ended for Volpone was poetic in more ways than one. He started off his senior season with the aforementioned field goal over King’s, and he ended his collegiate career with a game-winning field goal with mere seconds remaining in the game against Shenandoah to clinch the bowl game win.

“With all the great coaching and big plates by the team, I was able to keep this form and use those opportunities to make a direct impact.

It was amazing to end my career with another game-winning kick to put us over Shenandoah in the Cape Henry Bowl,” Volpone stated.
Nailing 14 out of 16 on field goal attempts, Volpone finished his collegiate career with 28, according to Wilkes Athletics record books.

However, he was perfect in PATS, nailing all 26 extra-pointers he had the chance to take.

Another player that seemed to always make a difference was quarterback Cooper King. After the departure of Xavier Powell after he graduated last season, King won the starting job out of training camp, and had it for the entire year.

It was a season of firsts for King, most notably it was his first season as a collegiate starter. And for the senior, the transition from backup to starter didn’t seem to be any issue.

“The transition was easy. Not starting for three years made me more knowledgeable about our offense and over the position of quarterback,” King said.

He led the charge for the Colonels offense, which proved to be quite potent at times despite being young.

“We were young as an offense, and it took us a little white to find our identity, but towards the middle of the season, we started executing and putting the pieces together.

To be able to finish 7-4 with a postseason win to close out our season, that meant a lot to us as a team, especially the seniors who played their last game ever.”

For Biever, he cited the growth of the team as one the things he was most impressed with. “From guys like Cohen Creswell who was a sophomore this year, who we recruited as a linebacker who led the league in sacks. His work ethic shows everyone else what they need to be doing,” Biever said.

“Leaders like Tyler Wetzel and Rob Barbieri do a really good job at keeping those guys in line, doing what they need to do and showing up everyday, I think it’s just a really consistent approach for a young football team to come out and learn every rep, every opportunity, every moment we get together to get better and compete.”

As for now, the team will only grow in size as the Colonels set out for their end of semester recruiting trips. With over 40 new recruits expected to hit the field next season for Wilkes, their strength in numbers will only continue to improve. The Colonels will begin the next phases of their 2026 season this upcoming spring with spring camp.

Then, later in the summer, it’s go time as the Colonels chase a Landmark Conference title.