Football News

2007 GAME PREVIEW - THE LEBANON VALLEY GAME

DOYLESTOWN (PA) - The Delaware Valley College football team will hit the road for the fourth time this season on Saturday, October when it travels to Annville, Pennsylvania to battle travel to Lebanon Valley College on Saturday, October 6. Kickoff at Arnold Field for the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) game is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.

The Aggies were finally home last Saturday after non-conference games at Division I-AA non-scholarship Iona College and a pair of nationally-ranked Division III teams in Wesley College and Salisbury University. The result was a 27-0 blanking of MAC foe King's College to improve to 1-3 overall and 1-0 in conference play. The Delaware Valley offense racked up a season-high 356 yards while the defense notched six sacks, en route to its fourth consecutive shutout of a MAC team.

Sophomore quarterback Mike Isgro (Galloway, NJ/Absegami) heads an offensive unit that averages 19 points and 242.6 yards per game. He is 56-for-104 for 571 yards and eight touchdowns and also has 74 yards on the ground. Isgro was on his game against King's as he completed 12 of 16 passes for 181 yards and three touchdowns.

Isgro's scoring tosses against King's went to tight ends Mike Barainyak (Chalfont, PA/Archbishop Wood) and Brad Emmons (Marlboro, NJ/Colts Neck) and tailback Jake Sheffield (Glenolden, PA/Interboro). Barainyak, a sophomore transfer, hauled in a 25-yard touchdown pass for his first and only catch of the season. Emmons caught his first collegiate scoring pass with a two-yard grab. The junior has three receptions for 27 yards on the season.

Sheffield caught a team-high five passes out of the backfield for 95 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown. The senior also carried the ball 12 times for 60 yards against King's and moved into sixth place on the Aggies' all-time rushing list with 1,766 yards. Sheffield saw limited time in the first three games due to an injury and has just 88 yards on 21 carries. He has also caught 11 passes for 120 yards and one trip to the end zone.

Freshman tailback Matt Cook (Selinsgrove, PA/Selinsgrove) is off to a quick start in his collegiate career as he has netted 279 yards and three touchdowns on 55 carries. He rushed the ball 13 times for 100 yards against King's, including a 44-yard scoring scamper.

Senior wideout Joel Foreman (Bernville, PA/Hamburg) tops all Aggie receivers with 13 catches for 201 yards and four touchdowns. He hauled in two passes for 36 yards last week.

The Delaware Valley defense has not allowed a point to a MAC team since former conference squad Susquehanna University notched a field goal in the fourth quarter of last year's week seven match-up - a streak of 250 minutes and 19 seconds. The Aggies blanked King's, Juniata and Widener to end the 2006 regular season and added to that run with last week's shutout of King's.

All-American linebacker John Pursell (Middletown, DE/Middletown) leads the defensive charge with 52 tackles in the first four games of the year. The senior has registered double digits in tackles three times, including last week's 14-tackle performance. He also has 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble to his credit this year.

Fellow senior Kyle Mancuso (Thorofare, NJ/West Deptford) follows with 31 tackles, including 20 solo stops. The safety made nine stops last week against King's.

Junior linebacker Kyle Reuter (Richwood, NJ/Clearview) is in his first year as a starter and he has notched 30 tackles, two sacks, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries. He racked up eight tackles and an interception last week.

Freshman linebacker Kyle Gesswein (Williamstown, NJ/Williamstown) and senior tackle Nick Lucas (Chalfont, PA/Central Bucks West) had big performances against King's with two sacks apiece. Gesswein's first start also included seven tackles and a forced fumble. Lucas finished with five stops in the contest.

LEBANON VALLEY COLLEGE
The Flying Dutchmen will look for revenge against the Aggies as they surrendered 11 points in the final 3:24 and allowed Delaware Valley to slip out of Annville with a 19-18 victory last year.

Head coach Jim Monos fell to 1-3 overall and 0-1 in the MAC this year with last Saturday's 29-22 overtime loss to defending conference champion Wilkes University. The Colonels reached the end zone on their possession of overtime and then intercepted a Lebanon Valley pass to seal the victory.

The Flying Dutchmen average 23 points and 368.8 yards per game. Freshman Caleb Fick is the team's signal-caller and the rookie has completed 56 of 108 passes for 656 yards and five touchdowns. He has also been intercepted seven times. Last week, he was 24-for-42 for 304 yards and two touchdowns.

Fick has one of the top wide receivers in the region to throw to in senior Adam Brossman. Brossman has caught 25 passes for 322 yards and one touchdown, including a 12-reception, 180-yard effort against Wilkes. Sean Donovan is another threat with 16 catches for 224 yards and three trips to the end zone.

The Lebanon Valley ground attack is paced by sophomore Charlie Parker, who has netted 452 yards and three scores on 93 carries. He ran the ball 19 times for 74 yards last week.

Lebanon Valley's defensive unit has permitted 27.2 points and 386.5 yards per game. Heading the unit is junior linebacker Brian Cottone, who has 42 tackles, two interceptions and one sack on the season. He racked up seven stops, one interception and a blocked kick against Wilkes.

Another player to watch on the defensive side of the ball is senior safety Russ DeStefano. DeStefano has a team-high three interceptions to go along with 19 tackles. One of the picks came in the loss to Wilkes last week.