WILKES-BARRE (PA) – It was quite a starting debut for Delaware Valley College junior quarterback Mark Hatty as he completed 16 of 22 passes for 276 yards and three touchdowns while leading the Aggies on seven scoring drives in their eight possessions, en route to a 47-21 victory over King's College in a Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) game.

The win improved Delaware Valley, ranked 23rd in the latest D3football.com poll, to 7-1 overall and 5-0 and tied for first in the conference. It also set the stage for the game of the year next Saturday, November 7 (1:00 p.m.) when the Aggies host undefeated Albright College (8-0, 5-0).

A Delaware Valley victory in that contest would assure the squad of at least a share of the MAC championship and, more importantly, give them the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III playoffs. An Albright win would give the Lions at least of share of the crown, but the NCAA berth could still be up for grabs if Lebanon Valley downs Lycoming next week and remains with just one MAC loss (to Delaware Valley). Albright has to travel to Lebanon Valley for the regular-season finale on November 14 while the Aggies head to Widener University.

Delaware Valley racked up 513 yards of total offense at King's and Hatty was a big reason why. He got the starting call in place of the injured Mike Isgro and wasted no time in putting the ball in the air as he hit Chad Peterman for a 19-yard strike on the first offensive play of the game.

The Aggies drove into King's territory, but a sack and a penalty put them in a second-and-24 situation from its own 49. Hatty's next pass was nearly intercepted by a King's defender, but it instead deflected in the air and Peterman came down with it and was eventually tackled at the Monarch nine-yard line for a 42-yard reception. A penalty backed Delaware Valley up but, on second-and-seven, Hatty drilled one to fullback Butch Whiteside for an 11-yard touchdown and the first scoring toss of his career. Jake Sobchak added the point after for a 7-0 lead with 10:39 left in the first quarter.

Delaware Valley stopped the Monarchs on its first drive and took over at its own 28-yard line following the punt. The offense needed just five plays to find the end zone and the drive was capped by another Hatty to Whiteside touchdown pass, this one a 21-yarder. Sobchak made it 14-0 with the extra-point with 7:21 remaining in the quarter.

King's drove into Aggie territory on its ensuing possession, but Ryan McCullough notched his fourth interception of the season on a long pass by Corey Lavin at the 16-yard line. It was the 11th turnover forced by the Delaware Valley defense in its last nine quarters of play. 

The Aggies then went on a 13-play, 84-yard scoring drive that took seven minutes and 14 seconds off the clock. The big plays on the drive were a 21-yard run by Chris Ruiz, a Hatty 10-yard scramble and a 25-yard pass from Hatty to Dan Heiland. The pass put the ball at the two-yard line and Cook took care of the rest for a 21-0 advantage 90 seconds into the second quarter. 

A short punt into the wind by King's gave the ball back to Delaware Valley at the Monarch 33-yard line. It was all Cook as on the drive as he netted all the yards except for a four-yard King's penalty. He found the end zone from one yard out for his 25th career rushing touchdown. That moved the junior into third place on the school's all-time list. The extra-point was wide leaving the score at 27-0 with 9:57 left in the half.
King's got on the board with exactly four minutes left in the opening half as Lavin hit Mike Verbitski for a 17-yard touchdown pass. It was Verbitski's 11th scoring reception of the year and it capped a seven-play, 51-yard drive. Andrew DeRito added the extra-point for a 27-7 score. 

Delaware Valley responded with a six-play, 58-yard scoring drive before the end of the half. Hatty had an 11-yard scramble on a third-and-10 play and followed with a 16-yard touchdown toss to Heiland. Sobchak made it 34-7 with just 65 seconds left on the clock. 

King's opened the second half with a 12-play, 74-yard scoring drive that ate up more than seven minutes off the clock. Lavin snuck in from a yard out for the touchdown and DeRito added the extra-point for a 34-14 ballgame. 

The ensuing possession saw Delaware Valley reach the end zone again as Tyler Neal's one-yard touchdown run capped an eight-play, 54-yard drive. A bad snap resulted in a two-point conversion attempt and a failed pass to leave the score at 40-14 with 4:47 remaining in the third. 

Neal found the end zone from a yard out for a second straight drive with 9:55 left in the contest. One run earlier, he broke numerous tackles for an 11-yard gain. Sobchak added his six extra-point of the game for a 47-14 advantage. The final score of the game was posted by the Monarchs as Lavin hit Rob Lane for a 32-yard touchdown pass with 3:35 on the clock. 

Delaware Valley finished with 237 yards on the ground led by Cook's 108 yards and two scores on 18 carries. Neal had 29 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries. Peterman finished with three catches for 71 yards while Heiland also had three grabs for 51 yards and one score. Whiteside caught three passes out of the backfield for 48 yards and the game's first two touchdowns. 

Defensively, Ken Fowlkes led the Aggies with nine tackles. Kyle Gesswein added seven tackles and one sack as the junior moved to within one sack of tying Anthony Silver's school record of 26 career sacks. 

Lavin was 16-for-29 for 187 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions for the Monarchs, Verbitski had eight receptions for 92 yards and one score. Claude O'Connor led the ground attack with 61 yards on 13 carries. Alex Watty had nine tackles and one sack on the defensive side.