DOYLESTOWN (PA) – Albright College scored 27 unanswered points in the second half as the Lions upset host and Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) rival Delaware Valley College, 27-3, in the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs.

Albright (11-1) set a program record for victories and ended a seven-game losing streak to Delaware Valley, including a 45-16 setback on the Aggies' home turf just three weeks ago. The Lions will now head to Alliance, Ohio and a quarterfinal meeting with defending national champion Mount Union College next Saturday.

The loss ended Delaware Valley's season with a 10-2 record, the outright MAC title (it shared last season's crown with Albright and Lycoming College) and its first trip to the NCAA playoffs since 2005. The Aggies then routed Susquehanna University, 66-7, in an opening round match-up.

Delaware Valley led 3-0 at the intermission, but it was all Albright in the second stanza as the Lions scored on their first four possessions. The first two came in the third quarter while the final two took place into heavy gusts of wind in the fourth.

The Aggies went three-and-out to start the third and a punt into the wind went just 22 yards as Albright took over on the Delaware Valley 43. The Lions reached the 23-yard line and, on third-and-five, quarterback Tanner Kelly hit Nate Romig, who broke three tackles and powered into the end zone. John Whelan then added the extra point to give Albright a 7-3 lead with 10:55 to play in the third quarter.

On the ensuing drive, Delaware Valley reached its 48 and faced a third-and-two. Quarterback Mike Isgro took off on a designed run, had the first down and looked to be down, but the officials ruled that Brendan Bresnahan stripped the ball loose and teammate Rob Mancinelli recovered it at the Lion 46-yard line.

Albright faced a pair of third-and-10 situations but Kelly converted both with 15 and 12-yard passing plays. The Lions reached the one-yard line when another call went against the Aggies. Kelly ran the ball and was popped by Derek Porter shy of the goal line. The ball came out and Delaware Valley's Charles Squitiere came up with it, but Kelly was ruled down before the fumble. One play later, Tyrell Drumgo found the end zone to complete the 13-play, 54-yard scoring drive. Whelan added the extra point for a 14-3 Albright advantage with 2:05 left in the third.

Delaware Valley turned the ball over on the second play of the fourth quarter as Isgro was intercepted by Bob Harper at the Albright 45-yard play. Kelly directed the Lions on another scoring drive and had a big 13-yard pass on a third-and-10. Josan Holmes capped the eight-play drive with a 12-yard touchdown run. Whelan's kick was blocked, but Albright had a 20-3 lead with 11 minutes left on the clock.

Back-to-back sacks and an incomplete pass forced the Aggies to punt from deep in their territory and Albright took over at its 35. It then marched 65 yards on nine plays, including another third down conversion by Kelly, and he ended it with an eight-yard toss to a wide-open Holmes for a touchdown. Whelan made it 27-3 with 4:21 remaining. The Lion defense held two more times and they had the victory.

Albright, which had the wind to its back in the first quarter, reached the Aggie 10-yard line on its first drive, but Kelly was intercepted by Troy Green in the end one. The Lions then had a first-and-goal from eight on their next drive, but were moved back to the 17 for a fourth-and-goal in the early part of the second. The wind was now against them and they chose to keep the offense on the field, but Kelly was sacked by Porter to end the drive.

Later in the quarter, Delaware Valley moved the ball to the Albright 18, thanks to a 23-yard pass from Isgro to Chad Peterman and 16 yards on the ground by Matt Cook. The 13-play drive stalled and Jake Sobchak nailed a 35-yard field goal to five the Aggies a 3-0 lead with 5:01 left in the half.

Both teams stalled on their next drives and Albright got one more chance from its own 24 with 3:03 on the clock and no timeouts. The Lions drove to the Aggie 18 with less than a second on the clock. Again, the offense stayed on the field due to the wind conditions and a Kelly completed a pass to Scott Pillar, but he was stopped two yards of the end zone as the half came to an end.

Albright finished with 379 yards of total offense, including 208 in the second half. Kelly, the 2009 MAC Offensive Player of the Year, completed 26 of 39 passes for 302 yards and two scores. Romig was at the receiving end of 14 of them for 182 yards and one touchdown. Drumgo and Holmes combined for 61 yards and two scores on the ground.

Meanwhile the Lion defense held Delaware Valley to its lowest point total since 2002. They allowed just 241 yards, including 94 in the second half, and racked up six sacks and two turnovers. Bresnahan and Mancinelli led the way with seven tackles apiece while Ryan McAdams and Jake Sayer had two sacks apiece.

Isgro's last collegiate game saw him complete 10 of 29 passes for 130 yards while also rushing for another 20 yards. A three-time all-conference and 2008 MAC Offensive Player of the Year honoree, Isgro finished his career as Delaware Valley second all-time leader in every passing category including completions (610), yardage (7,336) and touchdowns (61). He was also second in career total offense with 8,621 yards.

Cook was held to 75 yards on 23 carries while Dan Heiland led the wideouts with five catches for 64 yards. Mike Jaskowski and Chris James had 10 tackles apiece while Gesswein had two sacks on the afternoon.