OWINGS MILLS (MD) – Rasheed Bailey and Chris Smallwood combined for five touchdowns and the Delaware Valley College blanked host Stevenson University for the first three quarters as the No. 22 Aggies remained undefeated with a 35-13, Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) victory.
The win improved Delaware Valley to 6-0 overall and 5-0 in the conference as it remained tied with Widener University for the top spot in the league standings. The two archrivals will meet in the regular-season finale in four weeks. Stevenson fell to 4-2 overall and 3-2 in the MAC.
The Aggies entered the contest as the fourth-highest scoring team in Division III with an average of 50.2 points per game. They were also ninth in total offense with 536.8 yards per showing. They were held under those figures on Saturday (35 points, 457 yards) and did not score in the first and third quarters, the first such scoreless quarters all year.
It was the Delaware Valley defense that had its best showing of the season as it permitted just 248 total yards, including 41 on the ground. The unit recorded five sacks and forced one of Stevenson's two turnovers.
The defense shined right away as Stevenson's Anthony Reid took the opening kickoff and returned it 57 yards before a touchdown-saving tackle by Jordan Livingston at the Aggie 33. From there, the defense pushed the Mustangs back four yards on three plays, including a sack by Frank Law, to force a punt. A two-yard punt gave the Aggies the ball at their own 35.
Delaware Valley stalled on its drive and the Mustangs followed with a trip to the red zone. However, Danny Wynne forced a fumble on a Marcus Holley carry and Matt Smith recovered for the Aggies at their own 15-yard line.
Later in the quarter, Tyler Bing fumbled a fair catch on a punt and the Mustangs recovered at the Delaware Valley 27. Stevenson moved the ball just four yards and, on fourth-and-six, Aggie cornerback Brian Carter batted away a pass in the end zone for a turnover on downs.
Two possessions later, Delaware Valley got the ball in excellent field position thanks to a special teams miscue by Stevenson. The punter dropped the ball on the snap and was forced to run, but Romaine Evans stopped him shy of the first down marker and the Aggies were in business at the Mustang 29-yard line. Three plays later they had the ball at the three. Smallwood got the call and he pushed past two defenders and into the end zone. Brandon Snyder booted home the extra-point for a 7-0 Delaware Valley lead with 5:52 left in the opening half.
The ensuing kickoff was a squib and Stevenson fumbled it. Nick Wright recovered for the Aggies at the Mustang 30. A two-yard run by Smallwood was followed by a 21-yard pass from Aaron Wilmer to Bobby Marterella for a first-and-goal at the seven. Smallwood took care of the rest on the next handoff and Snyder added another extra-point for a 14-0 advantage just 92 seconds after the first touchdown.
After a scoreless third quarter by both teams, a short punt gave Stevenson possession at the Aggie 38 just 11 seconds into the fourth. After a Mustang penalty, Stevenson used a reverse, flea flicker to find the end zone as quarterback Jeff Farrah got the ball back and hit Reid in the end zone for a 43-yard touchdown. However, the extra-point attempt went wide to leave it a 14-6 score with 14:03 remaining.
However, Delaware Valley needed less than two minutes to respond as Wilmer went deep and found Bailey, who had to twist his body around with two defenders all around him to haul in the 48-yard touchdown. Snyder's kick upped the advantage to 21-6 with 12:42 to go.
The Aggies made it a three possession game with an eight play, 80-yard scoring. A 37-yard pass from Wilmer to Bailey put the ball at the Mustang three-yard line and Smallwood notched his third touchdown of the day for a 28-6 lead with 5:56 remaining.
Stevenson got its next points on a one-yard quarterback sneak by Farrah with 4:41 left on the clock for a 28-13 score.
The last touchdown of the afternoon was all Bailey and it was a record-tying score in the process. He caught a short pass at the Mustang 25, broke two tackles and went down the left sideline for the 32-yard touchdown with 1:58 left. The touchdown catch was the 12th for Bailey in just six games this season and it tied the school's single-season mark that Rich Gear set in 10 games in 2001. He was second in all of Division III in receiving touchdowns heading into the game
Bailey, who also entered the game as the country's Division III's leading receiver with 903 yards, added 150 yards on six receptions. He is just the fourth player in school history to go over 1,000 receiving yards and his current total of 1,053 is just 156 behind the record held by David Carmon in 13 games in 2004.
Smallwood finished with 147 yards on 34 carries and his three scores upped his season total to 13. He was fifth in Division III coming into the afternoon and he moved into a tie for fifth place on Delaware Valley's single-season list.
Wilmer completed 14 of 22 passes for 260 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 45 yards on seven rushes. Defensively for the Aggies, Wynne led the charge with 14 tackles. Five different players notched sacks on the day.
Reid had 249 all-purpose yards for Stevenson, including 171 on kickoff returns. Farrah was 15-for-27 for 207 yards while Trey Lee netted 56 yards on 15 carries.