Football

Delaware Valley College 31, Lycoming College 0

DOYLESTOWN (PA) - Shane Toohey kicked three field goals and the Delaware Valley College defense held visiting Lycoming College to just 159 yards on the afternoon as the Aggies remained perfect in Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) play with a 31-0 shutout.

The win was the fourth straight for the Aggies as they improved to 4-3 overall and, more importantly, 4-0 in the MAC. They are tied with Albright College and Widener University for the top spot in the conference and will play both of those teams on the road over the last three weeks, beginning this Friday night, October 26 (7:00 p.m.) at Widener. The loss dropped the Warriors to 1-6 overall and 1-3 in the conference.

Toohey booted field goals of 39, 31 and 27 yards - all coming in the first quarter as Delaware Valley took advantage of strong kickoffs by Steve Giovacchini and poor special teams play by Lycoming to create short fields to work with. In fact, the average field position for the Aggies' four possessions in the quarter was the Lycoming 31-yard line.

The Warriors went three-and-out on their first possession of the game and a low snap resulted in a hurried punt of 19 yards to the Lycoming 40. The Aggies drove the ball to the 14, but suffered an eight-yard sack on third down and settled for Toohey's career-long 39-yarder and a 3-0 lead with 10:07 left in the quarter.

With the wind behind his back, Giovacchini kicked off to the end zone for a touchback and Lycoming mustered zero yards on three plays. Punter Brad Shellenberger shanked a seven-yard kick, giving the Aggies the ball at the Warrior 27. However, the drive stalled at the 13 and Toohey connected from 31 yards out with 7:42 remaining.

On the ensuing kickoff, Lycoming's Josh Dixon was stripped of the ball by Adam Smith and Delaware Valley's Charles Squitiere recovered it at the Warrior 11. Two players later, quarterback Mike Isgro scored on a nine-yard draw and Toohey added the point-after for a 13-0 advantage with 6:54 left in the first.

After another touchback, Lycoming lost three yards on three plays and Shellenberger's 28-yard punt gave the Aggies the ball at the Warrior 45-yard line. They drove to the 10 and Toohey came through again with a 27-yard field and a 16-0 lead with 1:06 to go in the opening quarter.

Lycoming threatened to get on the scoreboard late in the second quarter when it put together its best drive of the day. Starting at its 13, the Warriors reached the Aggie 15 on nine plays. Quarterback Tm Hook then hit Jimmie Stevenson on a short pass at the 11, but Delaware Valley safety Quincy Thaxton forced a fumble and cornerback Joe Barnicle recovered it at the 14 to stop the threat.

On the ensuing drive, Delaware Valley faced a third-and-10 when Isgro hit wideout Jimmy Smith for a 65-yard completion down to the Warrior 21-yard line. Two plays later, Isgro found Carl Peterson alone in the end zone from 16 yards out. Toohey's extra-point upped the score to 23-0 with just 1:16 remaining in the half.

It stayed 23-0 until the latter stages of the fourth quarter when Thaxton's second interception of the game put the ball at the Lycoming 16-yard line. Four players later, Jake Sheffield scored on a five-yard run. A high snap on the extra-point forced a two-point conversion pass that was completed by holder Joel Foreman to starting defensive tackle Travis Albanesius for the 31-0 final with 5:23 to go.

Delaware Valley held the Warriors to just six net yards rushing on 31 attempts. The unit also forced six turnovers. Thaxton finished with eight tackles, two interceptions and a forced fumble while linebacker Kyle Gesswein added six tackles, four pass breakups, a sack and a forced fumble. Squitiere added five tackles, one interception and one fumble recovery.

Offensively, Isgro completed 16 of 30 passes for 258 yards and one score. Foreman notched five catches for 44 yards while Smith added a game-high 84 yards on three grabs.

Hook was 15-for-28 for 143 yards and three interceptions for Lycoming. Chuck Bellitto and Matthew Licci led their defensive charge with 10 tackles apiece.