DOVER (DE) – Wesley College took advantage of a reversed fumble call and scored with 3:29 remaining to lift the third-ranked Wolverines to a 21-17, come-from-behind victory over No. 8 Delaware Valley College in one of the premier Division III match-ups of the week.

The Aggies (2-1) had rallied themselves from a 14-0 halftime deficit thanks to a defensive unit that recorded five turnovers in the second stanza. The last one set up a 20-yard field goal by Jake Sobchak that gave Delaware Valley a 17-14 advantage with 8:14 remaining in the game.

Wesley (3-0) began the ensuing possession on its own 34-yard line and converted a long third down to keep the drive alive. The Wolverines then had a third-and-four from the Aggie 25-yard line when it appeared that tailback Brandon Wright was stripped of the ball by Jim DiLisio and fellow Delaware Valley linebacker fell on it for another turnover. However, the officials reversed their original call and ruled that Wright was down before the fumble.

That gave Wesley a second chance and, with the loss of three on the play, and it faced a fourth-and-seven from the 28. Quarterback Jason Sottilare found tight end Sean McAndrew open for a 20-yard play and a first-and-goal. On the next play, Sottilare hit a wide-open Leonard Stevenson for the go-ahead score. Dan Tryon added the extra-point to make it a 21-17 ballgame with just 3:29 remaining.

Delaware Valley took over on its own 20 following a touchback. An incomplete pass and a six-yard run by quarterback Mark Hatty left the Aggies with a third-and-four situation. Tailback Matt Cook gained two to bring up fourth down. Cook was handed the ball again, but the senior was stopped at the line of scrimmage to hand the ball back to Wesley with 2:27 left.

Delaware Valley's defense put together one more stop on downs to give the offense the ball at its own 34-yard line with 48.7 seconds and no timeouts left. Hatty had two incomplete passes with a short completion to Joe Gionfriddo sandwiched in-between. On fourth down, Hatty, with a player wrapped around him, sailed a pass over the head of Dan Heiland to end the upset bid.

The Aggies got the first break of the game late in the first quarter as Wesley was trapped deep in its own territory and a Sottilare pass sailed high and was picked off by safety Ryan McCullough at the 20. However, Delaware Valley managed just two yards on the first two plays after the interception and Hatty then had a pass intercepted by Marcus Wilson, who returned it to the 16.

Two big runs by Wright brought the ball out to the Wesley 41. Then on a third-and-two, Wright got to the outside, bounced off a few tackles and raced to a 59-yard touchdown. Tryon's extra-point made it 7-0 with 12:05 left in the half.

Delaware Valley went three-and-out on its next possession, but a long punt return by Wesley's Sean Hopkins was nullified by a penalty. That placed the ball at the Wolverine three-yard line. Wesley eventually moved the ball to its own 48 when Sottilare hit Ellis Krout for a short pass and Krout did the rest for a 52-yard touchdown and a 14-0 advantage with 7:09 to go before the intermission.

The Aggies took over on downs at their own 32-yard line with 1:40 left in half. A 16-yard pass from Hatty to Gionfriddo, a 15-yard scramble by Hatty and a personal foul penalty by Wesley, put the ball at the Wolverine 19-yard line. They later faced a fourth-and-two from the 11 when Hatty's pass was knocked down at the line by Mike Asiedu to end the threat.

Wesley received the opening kickoff of the second half, but, on the second play, defensive end Mike Jaskowski batted a Sottilare pass in the air, picked it off and returned it 23 yards for the touchdown. Sobchak booted the extra-point to make it a 14-7 contest just 43 seconds into the third quarter.

On the ensuing drive, Aggie nose guard Amadeus Hall came in and stripped Sottilare as he stepped up in the pocket. Linebacker Ken Fowlkes pounced on the loose ball at the Wolverine 34-yard line to give more life to Delaware Valley. It moved the ball to the 22 and faced a fourth-and-10 when a Hatty pass fell incomplete. However, a pass interference was called for an automatic first down at the nine-yard line.

On second down, Hatty found Isaiah Hall in the end zone but a penalty nullified the score and moved the ball back to the 14. The Aggies got back to the nine, but Hatty was sacked to bring up fourth down from the 11. Sobchak then sailed the field goal attempt wide to the left and the Aggies came away with no points on the drive.

Delaware Valley defense came right back and forced another turnover as linebacker Chris James intercepted a pass. On the first offensive play, Hatty went deep and hit Chris Ruiz for a 47-yard pass down to the Wesley 16. Cook caught an eight-yard pass out of the backfield and followed with an eight-yard plunge into the end zone. Sobchak put the kick through the uprights to tie the game at 14-14 with 1:29 left in the third.

In the fourth quarter, the Wolverines drove into Delaware Valley territory, but the Aggies picked off Sottilare at the line of scrimmage again, this time by Garrett Wooters at their own 46. A sack put Delaware Valley in a hole and it was forced to punt. However, Hopkins fumbled the kick and Hall recovered it at the Wolvernine 26. The Aggies eventually reached the three-yard line, leading to Sobchak's go-ahead field goal and followed by Wesley's late-game dramatics.

The Aggie defense allowed 407 total yards for the game, but just 131 yards in the second half. Terrance Osborne had a team-high 11 tackles while McCullough and Fowlkes had nine apiece. DiLisio and James added seven stops while Gesswein and Hall finished with five tackles and one sack apiece.

Offensively, Hatty was 17-for-49 for 177 yards. Gionfriddo caught five passes for 45 while Heiland hauled in four grabs for 30 yards and became just the eighth player in school history to reach the 100-catch plateau (101) for a career. Cook was held to just 34 yards on 17 carries.

Sottilare completed 19 of 34 passes for 249 yards and two touchdowns, but was also intercepted four times. McAndrew had a game-high six receptions for 61 yards. Krout finished with five grabs for 96 yards and a score while Stevenson had four catches for 47 yards and the game-winning touchdown. Wright carried the ball 25 times for 145 yards and one trip to the end zone. Bryon Eaton led the defense with 11 tackles while Jeff Morgan posted two sacks.