Football

Delaware Valley College 21, Juniata College 0

DOYLESTOWN (PA) - Jake Sheffield rushed for 144 yards and two touchdowns while the Delaware Valley College defense allowed just 145 yards on the afternoon as the Aggies blanked visiting Juniata College, 21-0, in a Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) game.

The win improved the Aggies to 7-2 overall and 6-2 in the MAC. It was also the 40th victory in 46 games for Delaware Valley's graduating class as the 23 seniors were honored before the final home game of the regular season. Juniata saw its record fall to 1-8 overall and 1-7 in conference play.

Sheffield, who was coming off a 44-carry, 176-yard performance in a 10-0 win at King's College last week, followed up with another big effort on Saturday. The junior had 24 attempts on the day and moved into 10th place on the Aggie all-time rushing list with 1,577 yards. Sheffield also caught three passes for 27 yards.

Meanwhile the Delaware Valley defense, which allowed just 141 yards last week, posted back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 1986. The unit registered six sacks and four turnovers on the afternoon.

A sloppy first half saw the teams combine for just 164 yards of total offense while each squad turned the ball over three times, all on fumbles. Juniata's first two miscues were on its side of the field, but Delaware Valley gave the ball back each time on fumbles by Sheffield.

However, the Eagles' final turnover of the half cost them as Aggie defensive lineman Anthony Silver forced the ball loose with a sack of quarterback Jay Leonard and the senior recovered it at the Juniata six-yard line. Sheffield rushed for four yards on the first play and followed with a two-yard dive into the end zone for the touchdown. Bill Miller added the extra point and Delaware Valley had a 7-0 lead with 1:10 remaining in the half.

It stayed that way until late in the third quarter when Sheffield capped an 11-play, 61-yard scoring drive with a two-yard touchdown. Miller's point-after upped the Aggie advantage to 14-0 with 20 seconds to go in the third.

On the ensuing possession, Juniata reached the Aggie seven-yard line, but back-to-back incompletions by Leonard on third and fourth down gave the ball back to Delaware Valley. The Aggies then marched 93 yards on 10 plays, including a 50-yard sprint by Sheffield that put the ball at the Eagle 1. Senior fullback Steve Doerner plunged in for his first collegiate touchdown and Miller put up the extra-point with 8:38 to go for the 21-0 final.

Delaware Valley freshman quarterback Mike Isgro completed 15 of 28 passes for 115 yards on the day. Senior David Carmon had four grabs for 52 yards and went the 3,000-yard mark (3,031) for his career. He and fellow senior Don Marshall (3,015 yards) joined Widener's Michael Coleman and Jim Jones (1998-2001) as the only tandems in MAC history to each reach the 3,000-yard plateau.

Junior nose guard Travis Albanesius led the defensive charge with eight tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble. Senior linebacker Joe Whitesell tied for team-high honors with eight stops while Silver had five tackles and the momentum-changing sack and fumble recovery. The five stops upped Silver career total to 300, making him just the third player in school history to reach that plateau. Kyle Mancuso, A.J. Neal and Jacob Serfass notched sacks while Quincy Thaxton recorded the game's lone interception.

Leonard finished 9-for-26 for 113 yards for Juniata. Matt Dunker hauled in six of the completions for 84 yards while Kiel Knisely led the ground attack with 42 yards on 18 carries. Brandon Spayd led all players with nine tackles (eight solo).