Football

Delaware Valley College 19, FDU-Florham 7

MADISON (NJ) - Delaware Valley College held host FDU-Florham to 151 yards of total offense, including just 29 yards in the second half, as the nationally-ranked Aggies rallied from an early 7-0 deficit and posted a 19-7 victory in the season opener for both teams.

The game marked the head coaching debut of Jim Clements, who spent the last two seasons as Delaware Valley's assistant head coach and defensive coordinator. It also counted as a Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) game for the Devils but not for Delaware Valley due to the 11-team, nine-game conference format. The Aggies who are the two-defending MAC champions and ranked 12th in the latest D3football.com poll, are the team this year that plays all 10 conference opponents with one random game chosen as a non-conference contest.

The Aggie defense was dominant with three sacks, an interception and a fumble recovery in the win. They held FDU-Florham to minus two yards of total offense and no first downs on its first 15 plays of the second half. The Devils then mustered 31 yards and three first downs on their last drive of the game, which began with 50 seconds left in the contest and the Aggies holding a 19-7 advantage.

Delaware Valley's dominance on the defensive side, combined with a more ball-controlled offense on the afternoon allowed the Aggies to run 82 plays and control the ball for nearly 41 minutes (40:53). The Devils ran just 43 plays and had the ball for 19:07.

The Devils jumped out to a 7-0 lead with 6:05 to play in the first quarter on a 68-yard touchdown run by senior quarterback Dan Huff. Huff's run capped a three-play, 90-yard drive for the Devils.

The Aggies responded with 40 seconds left in the first quarter as, on third-and-six. Freshman quarterback hit running back Antonio Fernanders on a screen pass and the sophomore transfer took it the distance for a 74-yard touchdown. Senior Bill Miller added the extra point to tie the game at 7-7.

Delaware Valley started to control the time of possession in the second quarter when they went on a 15-play, 36-yard drive that ate up eight minutes, but the drive stalled when Isgro tried a fourth down run from the four- yard line that got stuffed by the Devils. The Aggies then got the ball back with 3:45 to go before the half and proceeded to march 85 yards on 14 plays, but, on first-and-goal from the 10-yard line, Isgro was intercepted by linebacker Shane Hayes to keep the score 7-7 at the half.

It stayed that way until midway through the third quarter when Delaware Valley went 49 yards on 10 plays, culminating in a 25-yard field goal by Miller. Miller then made it 13-7 with 5:58 left in the game as he capped an eight-play, 31-yard drive with a 27-yard field goal.

On FDU-Florham's next possession, senior cornerback Kevin Bliss sacked and stripped Huff with senior linebacker Justin Porter the ball at the Devil 23. Nine plays and 23 yards later, junior running back Jake Sheffield punched it in from a yard out on fourth down to seal the game with 50 seconds to go. The two-point conversion attempt failed.

In his first collegiate game, Isgro finished 12-for-27 for 215 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Senior wide receivers david Carmon (59 yards) and John Kiphorn (40 yards) had three catches apiece to pace the squad. Sheffield rushed 28 times for 79 yards and a touchdown while Fernanders ran 12 times for 38 yards and caught two passes for 69 yards and a touchdown.

Junior linebacker John Pursell led the Aggies in tackles with six, while senior linebacker A.J. Neal picked off a pass. Bliss and junior defensive end Sean Raftery had a sack apiece while junior tackle Travis Albanesius and senior end Anthony Silver combined for a sack.

For FDU, Huff ran 13 times for 101 yards and a touchdown while going 6-for-19 for 52 yards and an interception in the air. On defense, Hayes had 12 tackles and an interception while junior safety Jon Sacco had 11 tackles and recovered a fumble.