Football

Delaware Valley College 35, Albright College 34

DOYLESTOWN (PA) - Steve Cook notched three touchdowns, including the go-ahead score with 5:10 remaining, and the Delaware Valley College defense made a last-minute stand as the Aggies edged Albright College, 35-34 in a Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) football game.

It was the 17th straight regular-season victory for Delaware Valley as it stayed on top of the MAC with a 6-0 record (overall and in conference play). The Lions fell to 4-2 overall and 3-2 in the MAC.

Albright held a 34-28, fourth quarter lead and stopped the Aggies with 11:18 remaining as James Rowland sacked quarterback Adam Knoblauch at midfield. Knoblauch fumbled the football, and Matt Gill fell on the ball for the Lions. However, Albright handed the ball right back as Raymond Keshel fumbled on the first play and Delaware Valley's Justin Porter recovered it on the Lion 48.

The Aggies capitalized on the opportunity, using 14 plays and over six minutes to drive for the touchdown. Cook completed the drive with a two-yard run, and Bill Miller's extra point put Delaware Valley on top 35-34 with 5:10 left in regulation. Cook carried the ball 25 times for a game-high 118 yards and two touchdowns while also catching two passes for 10 yards and one trip to the end zone. The two rushing touchdowns made Cook the Aggies' all-time leader with 26.

Albright took over on its 20-yard line, and drove to the Delaware Valley 26 with 90 seconds remaining. On third-and-six from the 26, John Port's pass to Jordan McCauley was knocked down by Desmond Wiggins, setting up fourth down. Port was then sacked by Aggie linebacker John Pursell for a loss of 10 with 1:22 left in the game. It was Delaware Valley's lone sack of the afternoon.

The Lions used their final two timeouts in stopping the Aggies and forcing a punt with 50 seconds left. After a low snap the Lions nearly blocked the punt, and got the ball back with 30 seconds left on the clock on their own 40-yard line. After a pass for a yard on first down, Port threw deep down the right sideline, but the pass was picked off by Niger Herbert to seal the game.

Albright caught the first break of the game when Seth Kaplan's punt hit an Aggie player after it bounced, and Drew Schiller pounced on the ball for the Lions at the Delaware Valley 41. The Lions cashed in as, facing a third-and-12 from the Delaware Valley 33, Port hit Stephen Asay at the 25, and Asay broke two tackles on his way to the end zone to give Albright a 6-0 lead with 10:45 remaining in the first quarter.

Delaware Valley needed just two plays to take the lead as the Aggies pulled out the flea-flicker, with Knoblauch hitting David Carmon for a 55-yard touchdown. Miller added the extra-point for a 7-6 advantage with 9:47 left in the quarter.

Albright came right back and went on an eight-play, 51-yard scoring drive capped by Port's 11-yard touchdown toss to Michael Heppler. Dustin Kaplan's extra-point put Albright on top 13-7 midway through the first quarter.

Delaware Valley took advantage of a 19-yard Albright punt to retake the lead early in the second quarter. Starting from the Lion 24, the Aggies drove to the one-yard, where Cook scored on fourth-and-one to make the score 14-13 Delaware Valley with 11:49 to go in the half

Late in the half, the Lions regained the lead as they need just seven plays to go 47 yards and Vincent Andrews ended the drive with a one-yard plunge. Kaplan's extra-point gave Albright a 20-14 advantage with 3:41 left in the half.

Delaware Valley scored on its first two possessions of the third quarter for a 28-20 lead. The Aggies took the opening kickoff and went 69 yards on 11 plays, taking six and a half minutes off the clock. It ended with a 10-yard screen pass from Knoblauch to Cook.

After the Lions went three-and-out, the Aggies again marched right down the field for an eight-play, 77-yard drive. Knoblauch increased the lead to eight with 4:43 remaining with a 10-yard keeper.

Albright roared back with a 73-yard scoring drive as Port found Bryon Haupt for a 20-yard touchdown with 1:55 remaining in the third. The two-point pass fell incomplete leading the Aggies with a 28-26 lead.

A seven-yard Delaware Valley punt on the next possession gave the Lions the ball at the Aggie 35 but a bad a bad snap out of the shotgun put Albright in a third-and-21 situation as the third quarter ended. The Lions dipped into the bag of tricks as Port hit Asay at the 35, and Asay pitched to Andrews, who ran untouched into the end zone for the touchdown on the hook-and-ladder. Port then found Asay in the corner of the end zone for the two-point conversion to put the Lions on top 34-28. That set the stage for Cook's heroics and the big stop by the Aggie defense.

Knoblauch completed 20 of 35 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 43 yards for Delaware Valley. He moved closer to become just the fifth player in NCAA history (all Divisions) to throw for 10,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in a career. Knoblauch is already over the rushing milestone (1,079) and he is now at 9,514 passing yards with four regular-season games remaining (postseason would count towards the total as well.

Carmon made seven grabs for 112 yards and one score to lead the Aggies. Defensively, Pursell sack was also his 14th tackle of the day to lead all players.

For Albright, Port finished the day 29-for-46 for 357 yards and four touchdowns. The four scores made the senior just the ninth player in NCAA Division III history to throw 100 or more touchdowns in a career (101). Asay made eight grabs for 99 yards and a touchdown while Haupt finished with seven catches for 93 yards and a touchdown. Andrews netted 48 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries while also catching three passes for 49 yards and one score.