Football

Delaware Valley 31, Moravian College 22

BETHLEHEM (PA) --- Delaware Valley senior quarterback Adam Knoblauch completed 22 of 38 passes for 223 yards and a touchdown, and he ran for another score to lead the defending Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) champion Aggies to a 31-22 victory at conference foe Moravian College.

The game was a match-up of the top two teams in the MAC coaches' preseason poll. Delaware Valley, ranked as high as sixth in preseason national polls, was favored to repeat as conference champions while Moravian tied for second with Widener University.

Delaware Valley jumped out to a 7-0 lead on their first possession of the season. The Aggies took the opening kickoff and marched 71 yards on 14 plays, capped off by a one-yard touchdown run by senior tailback Steve Cook. Junior Bill Miller added the extra-point with 9:23 remaining in the first quarter.
During the drive, Delaware Valley converted a pair of third down and a fourth down conversion.

Moravian would drive right down the field on its first possession of the year as well. However, Greyhound senior quarterback Jerry Venturino was intercepted in the end zone by the Aggies' junior cornerback Matt Murphy.

Delaware Valley ran just three plays on its next series before Moravian junior cornerback Israel Aguila forced a fumble that was recovered by senior linebacker Chad DiFelice at the Delaware Valley 35 yard line.

On Moravian's second play of the drive, Venturino would be knocked out of the game on a roughing the passer penalty. The Greyhounds would drive down to the nine-yard line but Moravian settled for a 25-yard field goal by freshman Brian Maida to cut the score to 7-3 with 3:04 remaining in the first quarter.

The second quarter belonged to the Aggies with Miller connecting on a 23-yard field goal on the first play of the stanza to stretch the lead to 10-3. Late in the quarter, Delaware Valley went on a nine-play, 53-yard drive that was capped by Knoblauch's 14-yard touchdown on a bootleg with 1:39 before the intermission. Miller's extra-point set the halftime score at 17-3.

The Greyhounds took over the tempo of the game in the third quarter as they held the ball for 11 minutes and allowed just three yards of total offense by the Aggies. Moravian hit the end zone for the first time with 7:32 remaining as Venturino connected on a three-yard touchdown pass with sophomore tight end Kris Bisci. However, Maida's extra-point was wide so the score sat at 17-9.

Then with 4:25 to go in the quarter, Moravian's Chris Jacoubs leaped over the pile for a two-yard touchdown pass to make it 17-15. The Greyhounds went for two points to tie the game but Venturino's pass was intercepted by Delaware Valley junior Sean Raftery.

However, the Aggies regained control in the fourth and held the ball for nearly 12 minutes, converted 4 of 5 third-down conversions and one crucial fourth-down conversion.

Delaware Valley scored on its first possession of the fourth as Knoblauch scrambled and found junior wide receiver Don Marshall wide open in the end zone from 21 yards out to finish a seven-play, 66-yard drive. Miller's kick gave the Aggies a 24-15 advantage with 13:47 left in the contest.

Moravian needed just five plays to pull back within two points when Venturino connected on a 58-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Ben Hawkins. Maida added the kick to cut Delaware Valley's lead to 24-22 with 10:51 remaining in the game.

However, Delaware Valley put the game away with an 11-play 70-yard drive that took 5:45 off the clock. The Aggies faced a key fourth-and-five situation from the Greyhound 21, but Knoblauch hit senior tight end Jason Rorer over the middle for a 13-yard gain. Sophomore Jake Sheffield took care of the final eight yards on two runs, including a one-yard plunge into the end zone. Miller's fourth extra-point of the afternoon gave the Aggies a 31-22 edge with just five minutes remaining in the game.

On Moravian's first possession, Venturino tried connecting with junior wide receiver Shawn Martell on the same pattern as the Hawkins touchdown pass. However, Murphy out-jumped Martell for his second interception of the game. Murphy added four tackles and four pass breakups.

Junior defensive end Anthony Silver had 11 tackles for Delaware Valley including four for loss and one and a half sacks while sophomore safety Quincy Thaxton led the Aggie defense with 13 tackles. The unit also held Jacoubs, already Moravian's all-time leading rusher, to 80 yards on 23 touches.

In addition to his passing numbers, Knoblauch ran for 47 yards and the one score on 13 carries. Cook netted 77 yards on 16 attempts and moved into second place on the Delaware Valley all-time list (2,333). He also caught six passes for 36 yards. Sheffield added 23 yards on eight carries.

Junior All-American David Carmon caught six passes for 73 and tied current assistant coach Bobby Leach for third place on the all-time list with 128 grabs. Marshall finished with four receptions for 48 yards and one touchdowns and cracked the school's top 10 with 77 career catches. Miller became the schools all-time leading scorer among placekickers as his 100 career points surpassed 1985 grad Bob Hudoka's total (98).