Football News

2007 GAME PREVIEW - THE FDU-FLORHAM GAME

DOYLESTOWN (PA) - The Delaware Valley College football team will look to even its overall record and stay perfect in Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) play when the Aggies host FDU-Florham for Homecoming on Saturday, October 13. Kickoff at Robert A. Lipinski Field at James Work Memorial Stadium is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.

Delaware Valley improved to 2-3 overall and 2-0 in the MAC with last Saturday's 49-13 victory at Lebanon Valley College. The team was dominant on both sides of the ball as the offense racked up 599 yards (319 rushing, 280 passing), controlled the ball for more than 40 minutes (40:03), were a perfect 6-for-6 in the red zone and were 16-for-20 on third down conversions. They also put together seven scoring drives of 60-plus yards.

Meanwhile, the defense allowed just 162 yards - 56 coming on Lebanon Valley's opening drive of the game - and held the Flying Dutchmen to a 2-for-11 effort on third downs. The unit also held the conference's leading rusher, Charlie Parker, to just 24 yards on 10 carries.

For the season, Delaware Valley averages 25 points and 316.8 yards per game. Heading the unit is sophomore quarterback Mike Isgro (Galloway, NJ/Absegami), who notched 325 of the team's 599 yards at Lebanon Valley and was named the MAC Offensive Player of the Week. He completed 23 of 30 passes for 268 yards and one touchdown and also carried the ball nine times for 57 yards and a score. The performance upped Isgro's 2007 totals to 79 completions in 134 attempts (59.0%) for 839 yards and nine touchdowns. He has also rushed for 131 yards and one trip to the end zone.

Isgro's favorite target is senior wideout Joel Foreman (Bernville, PA/Hamburg), who has caught 20 passes for 308 yards and five touchdowns. Last week, he made seven catches for 107 yards, including one for a 28-yard score in the fourth quarter. Foreman's 47-yard reception on a third-and-29 set up the Aggies' go-ahead touchdown in the second quarter and was a key turning point in what was a 7-7 game at the time.

Freshman wideout Dan Heiland (Willow Grove, PA/Upper Moreland) earned his first start at Lebanon Valley and responded with six catches for 79 yards. He has caught nine passes for 94 yards on the season.

The tailback tandem of freshman Matt Cook (Selinsgrove, PA/Selinsgrove) and senior Jake Sheffield (Glenolden, PA/Interboro) combined for 184 yards and four touchdowns at Lebanon Valley.

Cook went over the 100-yard mark for the second straight week as he lugged the ball 17 times for 113 yards and two touchdowns. He is second in the MAC in rushing with 392 yards and five trips to the end zone on 72 carries.

Sheffield, who is the Aggies' sixth all-time leading rusher with 1,837 yards, carried the ball 19 times for 71 yards and two touchdowns at Lebanon Valley. He saw limited time in the first three games due to an injury, but now has 159 yards and two scores on 40 attempts. He has also caught 13 passes for 118 yards and one touchdown.

Freshman tailback Adam Smith (Hanover, PA/New Oxford) came in at the end of the Lebanon Valley game and netted 64 yards on six carries, including a 14-yard touchdown for his first collegiate score. He has nine rushes for 67 yards and the one score on the year.

The Delaware Valley defense saw its four-game shutout streak against conference opponents come to an end on Lebanon Valley's opening drive of the game (the streak lasted for 253 minutes and 38 seconds). For the year, the Aggies are allowing an average of 17.4 points and 308.2 yards per game, including just 6.5 points and 236 yards in MAC games.

All-American linebacker John Pursell (Middletown, DE/Middletown) leads the defensive charge with 58 tackles and is now 16 stops shy of becoming just the fourth player in school history to reach the 300-tackle plateau for a career. Pursell, who also has 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble to his credit this year, notched six tackles last week.

Fellow senior Kyle Mancuso (Thorofare, NJ/West Deptford) racked up a team-best eight tackles at Lebanon Valley while his interception and 12-yard return set-up a field goal that gave that gave Delaware Valley a 22-7 lead at halftime. The safety is second on the team in tackles with 39 and he also has one interception and a forced fumble.

Junior linebacker Kyle Reuter (Richwood, NJ/Clearview) has 32 tackles, two sacks and team-highs of two interceptions and two fumble recoveries in his first year as a starter. He had two stops last week.

FDU-FLORHAM

The Devils opened the year with non-conference wins over Juniata (20-17 in overtime) and William Paterson (14-13) with a 53-7 loss to The College of New Jersey sandwiched in-between. They then entered MAC play and dropped back-to-back games to Albright (17-14) and Wilkes (47-0) to fall to 2-3 overall and 0-2 in the conference.

Last week, FDU-Florham managed just 178 yards of total offense and turned the ball over four times while the defense allowed 486 yards, including 276 in the air, against the defending conference champions.

Offensively, the Devils are averaging 11 points and 213.2 yards per game. Sophomore Bill Winters is the signal-caller and has completed 46 of 109 passes for 459 yards and five touchdowns on the season. He was 15-for-26 for 132 yards last week.

Junior Rob Eck and senior David Nemeth are the team's leading receivers with 11 catches apiece. Eck's receptions have gone for 127 yards and one touchdown, including three catches for 28 yards at Wilkes. Nemeth led the team last week with four grabs for 41 yards and it upped his season yardage total to 91.

Senior Dan Harrison paces the ground attack with 217 yards and one trip to the end zone on 62 rushes. He was held to just 24 yards on 10 carries last week.

FDU-Florham's defense is allowing 29.4 points and 382.2 yards per game, including an average of 225.2 yards per game in the air. Outside linebackers Rob Felicetta and Vinny Russo lead the way with 35 tackles apiece. Felicetta, a senior who had two stops at Wilkes, also has two blocked kicks and one sack this season. Russo, a junior, also has one interception and one fumble recovery on the year.