Cliches ring true for Delaware Valley
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On paper, everything looked like it could be a blowout going the Wolverines' way, and in the first half, that looked to be the case at Wesley took a 16-0 lead into the locker room.
But Delaware Valley wouldn't quit.
Wesley had the lead 22-17 with 4:35 left, but the Aggies came back with a beautifully executed 16-play drive. Delaware Valley had first-and-goal at the three. Two incomplete passes made it third-and-goal at the three and then a 1-yard run by quarterback Mike Isgro got them down to the one with only a few seconds and one play for everything.
“We had a bunch of different options,” Delaware Valley coach Jim Clements said Monday. “We had it fourth and goal at the one against a very good team. We challenged the line on the last play.”
So on fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard line, the offensive line met the challenge, and was rewarded as fullback Butch Whiteside scored with 10.6 seconds left to play to give the Aggies a 23-22 lead.
“Butch doesn’t carry the ball much,” Clements said. “But he’s strong as heck.”
A two-point conversion gave Delaware Valley a 25-22 lead, and after two plays were short of the end zone for Wesley, the celebration started en masse for the Aggies.
“The kids never gave up down 16-0 ... we were fortunate to be at 16-0, but we had two blocked field goals at the end of the first half,” Clements said. “We really played well in the second half.”
 Delaware Valley fought its way into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown. Photo by RC Workman for D3sports.com |
“We can't turn the ball over on our side of the field,” Wolverines coach Mike Drass said. “We also had too many penalties. When you combine those two things, it's a recipe for disaster.”
Wesley committed 16 penalties totaling 145 yards, including a roughing the punter penalty on fourth-and-13 to keep a drive alive. “That kind of penalty should never happen,” Drass said.
After that foul, Delaware Valley had fourth-and-four from the 38, and junior Brandon Fox made his first catch a memorable one, as he broke five tackles on his way to the end zone.
“We did a poor job tackling and we gave them extra opportunities to win,” Drass said.
But one penalty or one burst of bad tackling does not a game make. The Wolverines still had a chance to stop Delaware Valley at the end and just couldn’t do it.
“He (Whiteside) just barely got in,” Drass said. “He leaned and leaned and got in. It was a hard-fought game.”
Despite Wesley’s Mike Pennewell and Aaron Jackson each running for more than 100 yards, Clements said he was still happy with how his defense played.
“I think he (Pennewell) only had one big run,” Clements said. “Nothing big to the house, though.”
Delaware Valley only lost by three to Wesley last year on the road, so the home cooking must have made some difference.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens from here with these two teams. Clements will do a good job of keeping his team grounded and Drass won’t let him team get too low. It’s all about who can win on “any given Saturday.”
(Thanks to Gordon Mann for his insight on this game on the MAC board on Post Patterns.)
Focus on one game in each conference
A little different this week. Still many non-conference games this week, but Week 2 saw a nice showing for the Empire 8 as they went 4-2 for the weekend, with only Utica and Springfield suffering losses.
The Liberty League did the E8 one better, going 5-2 on the weekend, only losses by Rochester (vs. a very good Case Western Reserve) and St. Lawrence marring the slate.
The MAC earned three wins versus two losses on the weekend, with Albright, Lebanon Valley and Widener getting victories. The NJAC had the toughest week of the bunch, only going 1-2 for the weekend with Montclair State picking up the only 'W'.
Great performances
St. John Fisher held the Buffalo State Bengals to just 11 yards passing in a 20-7 defensive struggle on Saturday. The Cardinals forced four turnovers in a rainy day in Western New York.
In Ithaca's 38-28 over King's College, IC quarterback Dan Juvan and tight end Brian Weverburgh had tremendous days on offense.
Juvan went 19-for-33 for 304 yards and three touchdowns through the air, and Weverburgh caught nine passes for 121 yards and two of those touchdowns. Boy, would they need every last one though. After leading 31-7, King's started to make its way back, scoring 21 unanswered points to make it 31-28, but then Ithaca's Andy Lonsky returned an interception for a touchdown to seal it for the Bombers.
In that same game, King's Mike Verbitski caught eight passes for 106 yards and three touchdown in the 'close, but no cigar' comeback.
Norwich senior Darnell Jackson not only went over 100 yards rushing for the second game in a row, but on Saturday against St. Lawrence, he went over 200, running 25 times for 209 yards and three scores in the Cadets' 27-7 win. Jackson is on the verge of having a monster senior season if he can keep it up, and don't look now, but the Cadets are 2-0. Things will get more difficult when they enter league play, however.
St. Lawrence's Gerard Bryant led the Saints defense on Saturday, making 15 tackles, 2.5 for loss and forcing two fumbles. Bryant earned Liberty League co-defensive player of the week honors for his performance.
Alfred senior Trevor Bork caught nine balls for 139 yards in its 21-14 win over FDU-Florham. In the same game, FDU's Nick Clark had an impressive game on the defensive side of the ball, making nine tackles, including 5.5 for loss and making three sacks of AU quarterback Tom Secky.
In the annual Secretaries Cup, the Merchant Marine Academy put a beating on the Coast Guard, 34-7. USMMA quarterback Derrick Ventre had a good game, completing 15 passes for 266 yards and one touchdown in the blowout. With the win, the Mariners match their entire win total from 2007.
Record breakers/ milestones
Nick Costa ran for a career high three touchdowns in RPI's blowout opening 36-7 win over the Endicott Gulls. Union's Chris Coney rushed for 156 yards and a touchdown in Union's 24-14 victory over Empire 8 foe Springfield. Coney's 156 yards were a career high for the sophomore.
Union's win was its first over Springfield since 2005, as the Pride have won six of the previous seven meetings between the two.
In a game not known for its offense, Susquehanna squeaked out a 10-3 victory over Juniata in the Goal Post Game. The Crusaders' Bobby Eppleman set a school record with a 73-yard punt and was named as the Liberty League special teams Player of the Week after pinning Juniata in their end of the field for most of the day.
Worcester Polytech's Aaron Champagne ran for a career-high 103 yards in the Engineers' 31-10 win over crosstown rival Worcester State. WPI is 2-0 after two non-conference wins, and they'll go after their third consecutive non-conference victory of 2008 against undefeated Becker.
Unbelievably, WPI has not lost a non-conference since joining the Liberty League in 2004. The Engineers have won 13 in a row out of conference play.
Other minutiae
Despite the fact that Case Western Reserve blew out the Rochester Yellowjackets on Saturday, you wouldn't have known it by looking at the box score.
Case only ran 37 offensive plays compared to Rochester's 79 and lost the time of possession battle by more than 2-1. But of those 37, Case had short three or four-play drives and one drive consists of no plays, because Case's Bobby Bott ran back the second-half kickoff for an 88-yard touchdown. Rochester's schedule gets no easier, with St. John Fisher next Saturday night in Courage Bowl IV.
Alfred spotted FDU-Florham 14 points in the first half of their game Saturday. But this is why football games are 60 minutes and not 30. The Saxons came back with three of their own in the second half to take down the Middle Atlantic Conference school.
The MAC's Lebanon Valley is 2-0 for the first time since 1979 after a 31-19 win over Centennial Conference foe Ursinus. In the game, LVC junior Charlie Parker ran for 80 yards and a touchdown, making him the fifth back in school history to run for more than 2,000 yards.
In another low-scoring game on Saturday, Montclair State, out of the New Jersey Athletic Conference, took down Wilkes 13-6, and Rams freshman quarterback Tom Fischer wasn't flashy in his debut under center, but he definitely was efficient. In the same vein as Matt Cassel was for his first start in New England, Fischer only threw 12 times, but he completed 11 of them for 129 yards while leading his team to the seven-point win.
Widener won another barn burner Saturday, 7-6, over USAC foe North Carolina Wesleyan. In the rain, Widener ran for 167 yards total, 39 more yards than they ran for in any game last season.
1. Ithaca
2. RPI
3. Cortland State
4. Fisher
5. Hobart
6. Delaware Valley
7. Albright
8. Widener
9. Montclair State
10. Union
Ithaca stays on top with a good win. RPI and Cortland stay 2 and 3, and Fisher sticks at 4 after a hard fought win over Buffalo State.
Let me know what you think about the poll. The Top 10 was the most e-mailed subject last year, and I'm sure that will continue.
Any ideas are greatly appreciated. Send me an e-mail at adam.samrov@d3football.com or send me a message on Post Patterns.
Despite the fact that Case Western Reserve blew out the Rochester Yellowjackets on Saturday, you wouldn't have known it by looking at the box score.
Case only ran 37 offensive plays compared to Rochester's 79 and lost the time of possession battle by more than 2-1. But of those 37, Case had short three or four-play drives and one drive consists of no plays, because Case's Bobby Bott ran back the second-half kickoff for an 88-yard touchdown. Rochester's schedule gets no easier, with St. John Fisher next Saturday night in Courage Bowl IV.
Alfred spotted FDU-Florham 14 points in the first half of their game Saturday. But this is why football games are 60 minutes and not 30. The Saxons came back with three of their own in the second half to take down the Middle Atlantic Conference school.
The MAC's Lebanon Valley is 2-0 for the first time since 1979 after a 31-19 win over Centennial Conference foe Ursinus. In the game, LVC junior Charlie Parker ran for 80 yards and a touchdown, making him the fifth back in school history to run for more than 2,000 yards.
In another low-scoring game on Saturday, Montclair State, out of the New Jersey Athletic Conference, took down Wilkes 13-6, and Rams freshman quarterback Tom Fischer wasn't flashy in his debut under center, but he definitely was efficient. In the same vein as Matt Cassel was for his first start in New England, Fischer only threw 12 times, but he completed 11 of them for 129 yards while leading his team to the seven-point win.
Widener won another barn burner Saturday, 7-6, over USAC foe North Carolina Wesleyan. In the rain, Widener ran for 167 yards total, 39 more yards than they ran for in any game last season.
Top 10
1. Ithaca
2. RPI
3. Cortland State
4. Fisher
5. Hobart
6. Delaware Valley
7. Albright
8. Widener
9. Montclair State
10. Union
Ithaca stays on top with a good win. RPI and Cortland stay 2 and 3, and Fisher sticks at 4 after a hard fought win over Buffalo State.
Let me know what you think about the poll. The Top 10 was the most e-mailed subject last year, and I'm sure that will continue.
Questions, comments
Any ideas are greatly appreciated. Send me an e-mail at adam.samrov@d3football.com or send me a message on Post Patterns.