ANNVILLE, Pa. – Brian Dym hit a walk-off 22-yard field goal as time expired to complete a thrilling 24-21 comeback victory by the Lebanon Valley football squad over visiting Eastern University on Saturday afternoon at Arnold Field in a big Middle Atlantic Conference contest.
The Dutchmen (2-1, 2-0 MAC) got the ball to begin the game and drove the ball down the field using a big 31-yard pass from Logan Klitsch to Alex Vassallo down the right side to get into field goal range. The Eagles (2-1, 1-1 MAC) were able to stall the drive there as Dym just missed a 46-yard attempt that had plenty of leg on it. Eastern drove the ball down the field using a strong running attack. The Eagles got into the red zone and had a first down at the seven when Carter Foust stepped in front of a pass in the end zone and took it out to 15.
Eastern's defense responded by forcing a three-and-out by the Dutchmen. The Eagles took over at their own 46 and drove the ball 54 yards in seven plays, ending with a four-yard touchdown run to take the lead. The Dutchmen put together a long drive that spanned the last two minutes of the first quarter and the first four minutes of the second quarter. The drive ended without points as a fourth-down pass to Adam Acker fell incomplete, giving the ball back to the Eagles. John Klein came up with a big sack on second down to put the Eagles in a third-and-long on the following drive. Nahseem Cosme read a screen pass, stepped in front, and returned the ball 27 yards to the house for a defensive touchdown. Dym converted the extra point to tie the game. The Eagles answered right back with a nine-play drive that ended with a 28-yard touchdown pass to retake the lead. Both teams had a pair of possessions in the final four minutes of the half, but neither team was able to get anything going on the four drives.
The Eagles got the ball to start the second half and had a 97-yard return for a touchdown called back for a holding. Eastern put together a long seven-minute drive, going 74 yards in 12 plays. The drive ended with a one-yard touchdown run on a reverse to go up 21-7. LVC countered with a great drive orchestrated by Klitsch and Bryant that ended in a touchdown. Klitsch broke loose for a 63-yard gain on the third play of the drive. Bryant had four consecutive rushes to get the ball inside the five. Klitsch then scored on a three-yard rush up the middle.
After holding the Eagles to a punt on defense, LVC got the ball back at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Klitsch hit Drew Campbell along the right side for a long 35-yard gain to begin the drive. The Dutchmen had a third-and-four at the EU 33 when Klitsch made an excellent shovel pass while escaping defenders to an open Trey Freeman for the first down. Two plays later, the quarterback found Bryant down the left sideline for a 20-yard touchdown pass. Dym once again converted the extra point to tie the game at 21 with 12:30 left.
LVC held Eastern to a three-and-out to get the ball back with 9:55 left. The Dutchmen drove the ball into Eastern territory behind a big third-down pass to Alex Vassallo right in front of the Eastern sideline for 20 yards. Unfortunately, the drive stalled there as the Dutchmen were forced to punt. The defense came up big, holding Eastern to a quick three-and-out, and LVC took over at midfield with 3:26 remaining. Bryant, Klitsch, and Avrey Grimm used a strong rushing attack to get the Dutchmen into field goal range as time ticked down. Klitsch had a huge 14-yard gain to get LVC to the 16 with around a minute left. As both teams used timeouts, the Dutchmen were able to get excellent field position, moving the ball down to the six with two seconds left. Dym stepped up and calmly kicked a 22-yard field goal as time expired to set off a celebration on the sidelines.
Inside the Box
- Dym kicked the first game-winning field goal of his career and had six total points in the game.
- Klitsch was responsible for 274 yards of total offense and two touchdowns as the quarterback passed for a career-high 170 yards with one touchdown. He also ran for a career-high 104 yards with one touchdown. His 63-yard run was a career-long.
- Bryant had a strong game on the ground, accumulating 74 yards on 24 carries. The senior also caught a 20-yard touchdown pass.
- Vassallo led the receivers with 56 yards on three receptions. Campbell also had three receptions for 44 yards.
- Cosme became the third member of the defense to score a touchdown on an interception return this year with his first career touchdown of 27 yards.
- Foust had another great game with four total tackles and another interception.
- Luke Ordway led the defense with nine tackles, including a tackle for a loss. Luke Pollock had eight tackles while J.D. McCallion and Jordan Blauch had seven tackles each.
- LVC had a 361-316 advantage in total offense and were a perfect 3-3 in the red zone.
Up Next
LVC will play its first road game of the year as the Dutchmen head to Doylestown next Saturday, Sept. 27, for a big first-place battle with Delaware Valley University. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Robert A. Lipinski Field at James Work Memorial Stadium on the campus of Delaware Valley.
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