Football

Delaware Valley College 35, Albright College 28

READING (PA) - In a game that had major implications in both the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) and on the national scene, Delaware Valley College edged Albright College, spoiling the afternoon for a raucous Albright homecoming crowd of more than 5,200.

Delaware Valley, ranked as high as 16th in Division III, continued its storybook season with a school-record ninth win in a row (including last year's final two victories) and improved to a school-best 7-0 overall and 6-0 in the MAC. The Aggies are a half game behind Moravian College (7-0, 7-0) with three weeks remaining for the top spot in the conference and the automatic bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs. The two schools do not meet in the regular season. The loss drops the Lions to 5-2 overall and 4-2 in the MAC.

Once again, Delaware Valley needed late-game heroics for the victory. After the offense scored touchdowns in the final minute in three of its last four wins, this time the defense made the big play in the waning moments.

Trailing 35-28, Albright needed just six plays and a 15-yard face mask penalty against the Aggies to move from its own 28 to the Delaware Valley 24 yard-line with just over one minute to play. On first-and-10, John Port was sacked for a loss of four yards by linebacker Andrew Erby. Port then hit senior Nick Cushman for five yards to the 23 on second down, but threw incomplete on third down to set up fourth-and-nine with 43 seconds left on the clock.

After a timeout, Port dumped the ball off to running back Adam Hubley in the flat. Hubley headed up field, but was stopped just inside the 15-yard line by Michael Caison. Albright needed to reach the 14 for the first down, so Delaware Valley took over with 34 seconds to go and took a knee one time to end the game.

The Aggies trailed 28-27 with 6:50 to go after Vincent Andrews scored on a second effort on a fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line. They responded once again, this time, a 10-play, 80-yard scoring drive that took 3:47 off the clock. Steve Cook rushed for 26 yards to key the drive and Lenzie Davis caught an 11-yard pass to put the ball at the Albright 11. Davis finished the drive as he took a handoff and went untouched into the end zone for what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown. Adam Knoblauch then found John Kiphorn for a two-point conversion to give the Aggies a 35-28 lead with 3:03 showing on the clock. That led to Albright's last drive and the Delaware Valley's biggest stop of the year.

After a scoreless first quarter, Delaware Valley got on the board 1:12 into the second. The Aggies drove 65 yards in seven plays, and Knoblauch capped the drive with a seven-yard run for the touchdown to give Delaware Valley a 7-0 lead.

The Lions went three-and-out on their next possession, then botched a fake punt attempt, giving the Aggies the football on the Albright 32-yard line. Delaware Valley capitalized on the Lion error, as the Aggies marched to the end zone on their second straight possession. Knoblauch hooked up with David Carmon from 16 yards out for the score, and Bill Miller's extra point gave the visitors a 14-0 lead with nine minutes left in the half.

Albright's offense needed just 83 seconds to get onto the scoreboard as Port connected with Bryon Haupt for a 24-yard touchdown pass to pull Albright within seven at 14-7. Later in the quarter, Port hit Scott Shepherd for a two-yard touchdown pass and a 14-13 ballgame. Dustin Kaplan's extra point attempt was blocked by A.J. Neal. As a Delaware Valley defender attempted to pick up the ball and run, Albright offensive lineman Jeremiah Andrefski stripped it away and ran into the end zone for a two-point conversion, giving Albright a 15-14 lead with 41 seconds left in the half.

Delaware Valley was not about to run out the half, however, as Lenzie Davis returned the kickoff to the 40-yard line, and a face mask penalty against Albright tacked on 15 more yards, giving the Aggies the ball on the Albright 45 with 31 seconds to go. Knoblauch scrambled for five yards on first down, then handed to running back Steve Cook for nine more and a first down at the Lion 31. On the next play Knoblauch tossed a 31-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Don Marshall to give Delaware Valley a 21-15 halftime lead.

Delaware Valley wasted little time extending its lead in the second half. The Aggies drove 64 yards in seven plays, with Knoblauch rushing five yards for his second touchdown of the day to finish the drive. Miller's extra point was blocked, so the score remained 27-15 early in the second quarter.

After the teams traded punts, it was Albright's turn to turn up the offense again. Starting from their own 16, Albright drove to midfield, where it faced second and 11 from the Delaware Valley 49. Port threw over the middle to Steve Mocey, who broke a tackle, changed direction, and raced to the end zone for a touchdown. Kaplan's extra point drew the Lions within five, 27-22, with just under five minutes left in the third quarter.

For the second straight possession Albright's defense forced a punt, but the Aggie defense held as well as Dawaine Whetstone intercepted his second pass of the game to kill the Lion drive at the four-yard line. The Aggies moved the ball out to their own 35, but was forced to punt.

Albright's offense drove down to the Delaware Valley three-yard line for a first-and-goal. Three plays netted just two yards for a fourth-and-goal at the 1. Andrews got into the end zone for the 28-27 lead but Delaware Valley responded later in the quarter with Davis' game-winning touchdown and Caison's game-ending tackle.

Delaware Valley netted 469 yards of total offense, including Knoblauch's 249 yards in the air and 42 more on the ground. He completed 20-of-29 passes for two touchdowns and also rushed for two scores.

Marshall hauled in eight passes for 129 yards and one score while Davis made four grabs for 39 yards and also rushed for 11 yards and the big touchdown on his only carry of the day. Cook led the ground attack with 153 yards on 30 carries and moved into eighth place on the Aggie all-time rushing list with 1,626.

Defensively, Delaware Valley kept the potent Albright no-huddle offense to 371 yards on 68 plays (Albright entered the game leading the MAC and among the Division III leaders with 42.7 points and 389.5 yards per game). The Aggies sacked Port five times with Anthony Silver and Matt Wallick recording 1.5 sacks apiece. Wallick also added seven tackles in the game. Whetstone had a career-best two interceptions to go along with three tackles.

Port finished the day 24-38 for 336 yards and three touchdowns, but was intercepted twice. Cushman, who entered the game leading the nation in receiving yards per game with 151, caught nine passes for 124 yards. Albright struggled to get the running game going, gaining just 35 yards on 29 attempts on the day.