Football News

2007 GAME PREVIEW - THE WIDENER GAME

DOYLESTOWN (PA) - It will be a battle of two of the three teams tied for first place in the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) as Delaware Valley College travels to Chester, Pennsylvania to take on Widener University under the lights on Friday, October 26. Kickoff at Leslie C. Quick, Jr. Stadium is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

Both the Aggies and Pride are 4-0 in conference play and tied with Albright College for the top spot with three games remaining. The three teams play each other as well as defending MAC champion Wilkes University (2-2) down the stretch.

Delaware Valley hosts Wilkes on November 3 before ending the regular season at Albright on November 10. Widener hosts Albright next week and travels to Wilkes on November 10. Albright hosts Lebanon Valley (1-3) this Saturday. The conference champion earns an automatic berth to the NCAA Division III playoffs.

In addition to a first-place battle, the Keystone Cup - awarded annually to the winner of the Delaware Valley-Widener contest - is also on the line. The Pride hold a 24-5 lead in the series, including a 21-5 advantage since the Cup was created in 1981. However, Delaware Valley has won the last four meetings between the two teams, including last year's 16-0 blanking in Chester.

Delaware Valley, which is 4-3 overall, won its fourth consecutive game with a 31-0 shutout over Lycoming College last Saturday. The defense allowed just 159 yards, including six on the ground, and posted its fifth shutout in its last seven conference games dating back to last season. In fact, the unit has allowed just 27 points in four MAC games this year with only one touchdown coming in the first three quarters of play.

For the season, the Aggie defense is ranked first in the MAC (non-conference games included) in scoring (14.4 avg), second in passing (168.9 avg) and total yardage (267.6 avg) and third in rushing (98.7 avg). They have racked up 20 sacks and forced 19 turnovers.

All-American linebacker John Pursell (Middletown, DE/Middletown) heads the group with 69 tackles (43) and is five stops shy of becoming just the fourth player in school history to reach the 300-tackle plateau for a career. Pursell who was 10th in Division III in tackles for losses (2.3 avg) going into the Lycoming game, had six stops (one behind the line of scrimmage) against the Warriors.

Fellow seniors Travis Albanesius (Green Lane, PA/Upper Perkiomen) and Kyle Mancuso (Thorofare, NJ/West Deptford) are having strong campaigns. Albanesius, a 2006 all-conference selection at nose guard has 33 tackles, including eight for losses. He had four stops last week. Mancuso, is second on the team in tackles with 47 with five coming against Lycoming.

Yet another senior, safety Quincy Thaxton (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne), was named to the MAC Honor Roll as he racked up a team-best eight tackles and also added two interceptions and a forced fumble against Lycoming. The forced fumble came deep in Aggie territory when it was a two-possession game and one of the picks led to the team's final touchdown. For the season, Thaxton has 25 tackles and two interceptions.

Freshman linebacker Kyle Gesswein (Williamstown, NJ.Williamstown) was inserted into the Delaware Valley starting lineup prior to the first conference game and he has responded with 21 of his 27 tackles in those four contests. Last week, Gesswein recorded six tackles, four pass breakups, a fumble recovery and a sack. He is tied for the team lead in sacks with 3.5.

The Delaware Valley special teams played a key role in the win over Lycoming. Sophomore plackekicker Shane Toohey (Neptune, NJ/Neptune) was named the MAC Special Teams Player of the Week as he kicked three field goals and added two extra-points for 11 points on the afternoon. His field goals were from 39, 31 and 27 yards and they all came in the first quarter. For the year, Toohey is 4-for-5 on field goals and 11-for-13 on extra points for 23 points.

Freshman Steve Giovacchini (Lambertville, NJ/Hopewell Valley) handled the kickoff duties and averaged 62.7 yards per kick, including three touchbacks, as Lycoming had an average starting field position of its own 21-yard line in the game. Giovacchini has seven touchbacks on the year despite the kickoffs being moved back to the 30-yard line. He is also the team's punter and is averaging 33.8 yards per boot.

Delaware Valley's offense has scored 30 or more points in three consecutive games - just the fourth time in school history that that has occurred. The unit is second in the MAC rankings (non-conference games included) in scoring (28.3), total yardage (339.4 avg) and rushing (146.9 avg) as well as fourth in passing (192.6 avg).

Sophomore quarterback Mike Isgro (Galloway, NJ/Absegami), who has started all 18 games of his collegiate career, heads the offense. This season, he has completed 113 of 188 passes (60.1 percent) for 1,336 yards, 13 touchdowns and just three interceptions. Isgro is also a threat to run with 171 yards and three trips to the end zone on 78 attempts.

Isgro was 16-for-30 for 258 yards and one touchdown in the air and also scored on a nine-yard run in the Lycoming game. The performance upped his career passing total to 3,085 yards and made him just the sixth player in school history to go over the 3,000-yard milestone. He also moved into fourth place in total offense with 3,623 yards.

Isgro's favorite targets this season have been wideouts Joel Foreman (Bernville, PA/Hamburg) and Jimmy Smith (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne). Foreman, a senior, has caught 27 passes for 374 yard and five touchdowns. He had a team-best five receptions for 44 yards last week. Smith, a sophomore, hauled in three passes for 84 yards, including a career-best 65-yarder, against Lycoming. The performance upped his season totals to 20 catches for 283 yards and two scores.

Sophomore Carl Peterson (Philadelphia, PA/Father Judge) caught the first pass of his collegiate career last week and it was a 16-yard touchdown reception at the end of the first half for a 23-0 Aggie lead.

The Delaware Valley running game was held in check against Lycoming, but the tandem of freshman Matt Cook (Selinsgrove, PA/Selinsgrove) and senior Jake Sheffield (Glenolden, PA/Interboro) have had a strong 2007 campaign.

Cook is second in the MAC with 494 yards on 98 carries, including five trips to the end zone. He led the team with 44 yards on 13 attempts last week.

Sheffield is Delaware Valley's fifth all-time leading rusher with 1,923 yards while his 19 rushing scores has him tied for seventh on that list. He battled through injuries earlier this season and has 245 yards and four touchdowns on 64 carries as well as 17 receptions for 163 yards and another score. He managed just 16 yards on 14 carries against Lycoming, but found the end zone one time and also caught two passes for 49 yards.

WIDENER UNIVERSITY

The Pride went 1-2 in their non-conference slate with the triumph coming at North Carolina Wesleyan (27-17) to start the season. After back-to-back losses to nationally-ranked squads Wesley (31-17) and Rowan (41-0), they ran off four straight wins over MAC foes Lycoming (16-14), King's (21-17), Lebanon Valley (20-13) and FDU-Florham (23-3).

Widener's victory at FDU-Florham last Friday night saw the team notch 350 yards of offense and run off 23 straight points after the Devils took a 3-0 lead. The defense also forced three turnovers in the contest.

Widener's offense is fifth in the MAC in scoring (17.7 avg) and sixth in total yardage (271.7 avg). Senior Matt Campbell is the signal-caller and he has completed 123 of 222 passes for 1,316 yards, six touchdowns and six interceptions. He was 20-for-34 for 267 yards and one score last week.

Fellow seniors Mike Falkenstein and Jamie Schild are the starting wideouts. Falkenstein is among the conference leaders with 38 catches for 541 yards and one touchdown. The score came at FDU-Florham as he finished the game with 11 receptions for 177 yards. Schild has 22 grabs for 244 yards and two touchdowns following his two-reception, 24-yard effort last week.

Junior tailback Steve Cook - no relation to the Aggies' all-time leading rusher and recent graduate by the same name - paces the Widener ground attack with 224 yards and two touchdowns on 57 rushes. However, he had just one yard on one attempt last week.

Fullback Ian Decker trails Cook with 172 yards and two scores on 49 carries. The sophomore lugged the ball eight times for 40 yards and one trip to paydirt against FDU-Florham.

On the defensive side of the ball, Widener is fourth in the conference in scoring (19.4 avg) and fifth in total yardage (330.7 avg). Senior safety John Martorell, Jr. is the team's top tackler with 49 stop, including eight last Friday night.

Two others players to watch are freshman linebacker Joe Favinger and senior cornerback Orland Brown II. Favinger had 10 stops and one sack last week to up his season numbers to 45 tackles and a team-high 4.5 sacks. Brown is among the nation's leader with six interceptions for 131 yards and one touchdown. He also has 26 tackles and 10 pass breakups.