DOYLESTOWN (PA) – Delaware Valley College's high-powered offense racked up 573 total yards while its defense held visiting FDU-Florham to 164 yards as the 17th-ranked Aggies cruised to a 55-7, Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) victory to set up next week's undefeated showdown with archrival Widener University.
The win improved Delaware Valley to 9-0 overall and 8-0 in the MAC, the same marks as Widener, which pounded King's College, 55-6, on Saturday. So the two conference powerhouses will meet in Chester, Pennsylvania next Saturday, November 15 with the Keystone Cup (awarded annually to the winning team in the series), the MAC championship and the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III playoffs on the line.
Delaware Valley was first in the NCAA East Region rankings that came out this past Wednesday while Widener was third. The losing team in next week's contest may get one of the six at-large berths to the NCAAs, but that team's fate would be left in the hands of the championship committee.
The Aggies, who entered the game 10th in Division III in both scoring (43.9 avg) and total offense (504.8 avg), eclipsed the 50-point mark for the fifth time this season. They notched 286 yards on the ground and 287 in the air, averaging nine yards per play (64 plays).
And it was the senior trio of quarterback Aaron Wilmer, wide receiver Rasheed Bailey and tailback Chris Smallwood who led the way once again for Delaware Valley. Wilmer completed 18 of 28 passes for 283 yards and four touchdowns and moved closer to become just the 25th player in college football history (all divisions) to pass for 10,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in a career (9,624 passing yards; 1,543 rushing yards for a total of 11,167 yards).
Bailey entered the game as Division III's leader in receiving yards (1,310), receiving yards per game (163.8 avg) and receiving touchdowns (15) and improved those figures by catching 10 passes for 172 yards and two trips to the end zone.
Smallwood carried the ball 16 times for 101 yards and a record-breaking touchdown as it was his 19th of the season, setting a new Aggie single-season mark. He was ranked third in Division III in the category prior to the game.
Delaware Valley jumped out to a 13-0 lead in the game as Smallwood's 10-yard scoring run was sandwiched in-between 21 and 36-yard field goals by fellow senior Brandon Snyder. Those two kicks upped Snyder's career total to 21, tying the Aggies all-time mark.
FDU-Florham (0-9, 0-8 MAC) made it a 13-7 all ballgame as a 15-play, 77-yard drive was capped by Anthony Ognibene's two-yard touchdown run with 3:17 left in the first half. Delaware Valley responded with a seven-play, 53-yard drive that ended when Wilmer hit Bailey in the end zone from eight yards out with 43 seconds to go before the intermission.
The second half was all Aggies as they put five touchdowns on the board in those final 30 minutes. On their first drive of the stanza, Wilmer found Bobby Marterealla for a 16-yard touchdown pass. Three minutes later, he hit a wide-open Smallwood out of the backfield for a 62-yard score and a 34-7 lead.
Wilmer and Bailey teamed up again, this time for a 47-yard score, just nine seconds into the fourth quarter. Senior Charlie Marterella came in for Wilmer and tossed a four-yard touchdown to senior fullback Joe Meehan with 6:54 remaining, and Marterella capped the scoring with a 13-yard touchdown run with 1:06 left for the 55-7 final.
In addition to the big trio, Robert Cleveland had a big day offensively for the Aggies as he ran for 82 yards on eight carries. Armani Fuller-Williams added 58 yards on five rushes while Bobby Marterella caught three passes for 31 yards and a score.
Defensively, Delaware Valley held the Devils to 89 yards rushing and 75 yards in the air. Rashaad Lighty had nine tackles and a sack while Ryan Gordon and Danny Wynne had seven and six stops respectively. Akmed Muhammed and Matt Smith each recorded an interception.
For FDU-Florham, Ognibene carried the ball 22 times for 55 yards and the team's lone touchdown. Tyler Maurer was 13-for-28 for 75 yards and two interceptions while Malik Pressley caught six passes for 48 yards. Bill Medve and Chris Fitzgerald had six tackles apiece.