DOYLESTOWN (PA) – The Delaware Valley College football team will begins its 2009 season on Saturday, September 5 when the Aggies host Johns Hopkins University for a non-conference game. Kickoff at Robert A. Lipinski Field at James Work Memorial Stadium is slated for 2:00 p.m.

It will also be Hall of Fame Day as former Delaware Valley standouts Alisa DiBonaventura '02 (women's basketball) and Mike Jones '03 (wrestling) will be inducted during a halftime ceremony along with former Aggie football coach and director of athletics Al Wilson (posthumously).

This will be the first meeting on the gridiron between Delaware Valley and Johns Hopkins and the two enter the '09 campaign with similar expectations. Both squads are coming off 8-3 campaigns and ECAC appearances with the Aggies having won the South Atlantic Bowl (16-7 victory over Kean University) and the Blue Jays having dropped the Southeast Bowl (18-17 to Catholic University). Both squads were ranked nationally in preseason publications (Delaware Valley as high as fourth and Johns Hopkins as high as 18th) and both were selected in the preseason coaches' polls as the favorites to win their respective conferences (Middle Atlantic Conference for Delaware Valley, Centennial Conference for Johns Hopkins).

For head coach Jim Clements and the Aggies, the goal is to not only repeat as MAC champions, but earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs. Last year, Delaware Valley finished tied with Albright College and Lycoming College for the top spot, but Lycoming earned the national bid as they posted victories over both the Aggies and the Lions during the regular season.

The Aggies have 13 starters back from '08, including seven on the offensive side of the ball. Leading the cast of returnees is senior quarterback and 2008 MAC Offensive Player of the Year Mike Isgro (Galloway, NJ/Absegami).

Isgro has started all 32 games of his collegiate career and has a habit of making something out of nothing thanks to both his arm and his feet. That capability has helped Isgro post a 21-11 record in his first three years and put him in second place on the Aggies' all-time list in completions (458), passing yardage (5,403) and total offense (6,428).

Isgro is coming off a season that saw him complete 144 of 265 passes for 1,787 yards and 21 touchdowns while allowing just five interceptions. On the ground, he added 366 yards and two trips to the end zone.

The Aggie ground attack will be led by junior tailback and 2008 first-team all-conference honoree Matt Cook (Selinsgrove, PA/Selinsgrove). Cook led the MAC in rushing a year ago as he lugged the ball 276 times for 1,323 yards and 13 touchdowns for the school's second-highest, single-season total in all three categories. He went over the 100-yard plateau in eight of the 11 games, including each of the final four contests. 

A balanced corps of wide receivers is back for Delaware Valley, including the top four performers. Senior Chad Peterman (Hatboro, PA/Upper Moreland) led the unit last year with 32 catches for 377 yards and five touchdowns while junior Dan Heiland (Willow Grove, PA/Upper Moreland) added 27 grabs for 327 yards and three scores. Fellow junior Joe Gionfriddo (Philadelphia, PA/Neumann-Goretti) posted 24 receptions for 318 yards and three trips to the end zone a season ago while senior Brandon Fox (Laureldale, PA/Muhlenberg) emerged out of nowhere to become a big-play threat as he made nine catches for 279 yards and five touchdowns.

The Aggie offensive line took a major hit as three starters graduated including All-American guard Ralph Stambaugh. Junior tackles Mike Lewis (Philadelphia, PA/Northeast) and Mike Long (Philadelphia, PA/Roman Catholic) will head the 2009 unit.

On the defensive side of the ball, three linebackers from the 3-4 alignment were lost to graduation, but the one returnee is junior Kyle Gesswein (Williamstown, NJ/Williamstown), who was named a preseason All-American by D3football.com, Lindy's and The Sporting News thanks to a fantastic 2008 campaign.

Gesswein tied a school record and led the MAC with 11.5 sacks last year while also leading the conference in tackles for loss with 22. The '08 first-team all-conference and D3football.com all-East Region second-team pick was also tops on the team and third in the MAC in total tackles with 105. Gesswein's other numbers from last year included four forced fumbles, three blocked kicks and two fumble recoveries.

The defensive line returns two starters in senior Derek Porter (Williamstown, NJ/Williamstown) and Dustyn Seifert (Quakertown, PA/Quakertown). Porter was named to the all-MAC second team last year as the end racked up 32 tackles, two fumble recoveries and one sack. Seifert's first season as a starter saw the nose tackle add 23 tackles, 1.5 sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery

The secondary features a pair of returning starters, including senior cornerback Charles Squitiere (Philadelphia, PA/Roman Catholic). Squitiere earned all-MAC first-team and D3football.com all-East Region second-team honors a season ago after tying for both the team and conference lead in interceptions with six (118 yards on returns). He also added 41 tackles and five pass breakups.

Junior safety Rob Eagles (Willow Grove, PA/Upper Moreland) is coming off a season that saw him place fifth on the team in tackles with 53.

Delaware Valley will have a new placekicker, but the punter is back in junior Corey Heard (Saylorsburg, PA/Penn Argyl). Heard placed fourth in the conference last year with an average of 35 yards per kick.

JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY

The Blue Jays, under the direction of longtime head coach Jim Margraff, have 17 starters back from last year's squad. In fact, every player who scored an offensive touchdown last season – 34 in all – returns as are players who accounted for 4,122 of the team's 4,158 yards of total offense.

Heading the offensive unit is sophomore quarterback Hewitt Tomlin. Tomlin got the starting nod in nine games and set a school and conference freshman record with 1,847 passing yards, including 387 yards in a near upset of fifth-ranked Muhlenberg College. For the year, he completed 154 of 275 tosses with nine touchdowns and nine interceptions.

Tomlin has the top four receivers from last year back to throw to. Junior Tucker Michels leads that group as the 2008 second-team all-Centennial selection hauled in 63 passes for 682 yards and four touchdowns a year ago. Sophomore Sam Wernick is a deep threat as he made 37 grabs for 663 yards and four trips to the end zone as a rookie.

Senior Andrew Kase is already the Blue Jays' all-time leading rusher with 2,954 yards, including 16, 100-yard performances. Last year, he netted school records of 1,635 yards and 17 touchdowns en route to first team all-Centennial and all-ECAC honors.

Johns Hopkins employs a 4-4-3 defense and five starters are back on that side of the ball. Senior Colin Wixted heads the unit and is expected to move to strong safety after playing inside for his first three years. The two-time, all-Centennial honoree finished second on the team (first among returnees) last year with 66 tackles and also added one interception and one sack.

Fellow senior Glenn Rocca is back on the line where he posted a career-high 50 tackles and 3.5 sacks last year. Sophomore linebacker Kale Sweeney and sophomore Sam Eagleson followed with 49 and 44 stops respectively. Sweeney was also the team's leader in sacks a season ago with four.