Delaware Valley University Athletics

 
DOYLESTOWN (Pa.) – The ninth ranked Delaware Valley University football team will look to avenge its only blemish on the schedule this year as it travels to Wesley College to take on the Wolverines in round two of the NCAA Division III Playoffs on Saturday, November 30 at 12 p.m.

You can watch the game from Wesley's live stream here: https://www.atlanticeastnetwork.com/wesley/
Listen to DelVal's play-by-play analyst Gordon Mann here: https://www.youtube.com/user/gmannji92/live
The headlines have written themselves leading into this week's game. The Aggies only lost this year came at home in week two against the Wolverines in a 24-18 four-overtime thriller. Since that setback, DelVal has ripped off eight straight wins in the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) to lock up its third straight conference championship and NCAA playoff berth. It is the 16^th straight postseason appearance and the ninth NCAA playoff appearance for the Aggies since 2002.

DelVal is now 10-8 in NCAA tournament games, but will playing just its fourth playoff game on the road where it is 1-2 thanks to last week's triumph at Bridgewater.
 
SCOUTING THE AGGIES

DelVal entered the playoffs ranked one sport ahead of Wesley at ninth in Division III by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and D3Football.com, and it finished third in the final NCAA East Region rankings. Head coach Duke Greco owns a 58-9 overall record in six years at the helm and has six postseason appearances including four NCAA berths, and two Centennial-MAC Bowl Series championships. He recently earned his third MAC Coach of the Year honor.

His team is now 10-1 this year and one win away from getting back to the NCAA Quarterfinals round for the fifth time in program history.  

Last week, DelVal went down to Virginia and defeated Bridgewater College University, 30-22, in its first round game. The Aggies scored first in the game, but turned the ball over three times in the first half and gave up a kick return touchdown to trail by six, 13-7, at the half. The Eagles went up 19-10 in the third quarter, but DelVal battled back with three touchdowns, including a scoop-and-score fumble, to go up, 30-19, late in the fourth quarter and secure its trip to the second round.

The defense forced two more turnovers and scored its sixth touchdown of the season for the Aggies as the unit continues to be one of the best in the country. Among all teams in Division III, the unit ranks third in total defense with just 180.6 yards per game allowed and fourth in scoring with 11.4 points per game permitted. They are ranked inside the top-25 in seven other categories:
            Rushing Defense           2nd – 44.5 yds/gm          
            Team Sacks                  T-5th – 43 sacks                         
            Team Tackles For Loss T-8th – 8.8/gm.   
            Interceptions                 T-5th – 19                      
            Passing Defense            8th – 144.8 yds/gm         
            4th Down Defense         T-22nd – 28.6%                       
            3rd Down Defense        10th – 27.2%               
            Defensive Touchdowns T-5th – 5 TDs              
                                   
 
Returning All-American defensive end Michael Nobile (Brick, Nj./Brick Memorial) lead the country in tackles for loss throughout the entire regular season and currently sits at 29.5 while his 12 sacks also ranks inside the top-10. He has recorded a team-high 68 tackles this season, and moved into second place on the program's all-time list with his second sack in last Saturday's game.

Senior linebacker Vicnent DiLeo (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) was named a first team all-MAC player this year and he recorded three tackles including the 16-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown. Anthony Tedesco (Ocean, Nj./Ocean Twp.) another first team linebacker, led the squad last week with 12 tackles and is second on the team this year with 65. Fellow linebackers Billy Walsh (Brick, Nj./Brick Memorial) and Ryan Barrett (Willow Grove, Pa./Archbishop Wood) followed with eight and seven tackles last week, respectively.

Michael's twin brother Anthony Nobile (Brick, Nj./Brick Memorial) returned to the defensive line after missing six games with an injury earlier this season and was named to the all-MAC second team. He had a sack and two quarterback hurries last week. Senior Kenyonn Jones (Burlington, Nj./Glassboro) is another first team all-star on the defense and has 45 tackles, nine TFL, and six sacks this year.  

Sophomore safety Blaine Netterman (Brick, Nj./Brick Memorial) notched his team-leading fifth interception in the win over the Eagles. He is joined in the defensive backfield by Justin Harris (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter), Dontae Mason (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop McDevitt), and Jamir Prevard (Galloway, Nj./Atlantic City) who have combined for eight interceptions, 17 pass breakups and 102 tackles.

Offensively, The Aggies post 36.55 points per game and have scored are finished atop the MAC in scoring with 37.2 points per game and 56 touchdowns. They average 394.2 yards per showing with 239.7 yards through the air and 154.5 on the ground. DelVal has a surplus of weapons as evident by its 15 different offensive players with a touchdown this season.

Senior quarterback Anthony Fontana (Brick, Nj./Brick Memorial) has completed 64.5% (167-of-259) of his passes for 2,299 yards with 26 touchdowns. He has hit 10 different receivers for scores and has thrown six interceptions. On the ground he has run the ball 85 times for 175 yards and six scores.

Returning All-American tight-end Dan Allen (Philadelphia, Pa./Penn Wood) and senior wide out Aaron Nelson (Hampstead, Md./North Carroll) pace the team with 33 and 28 receptions, respectively. Allen was a first team all-MAC honoree this year and has 540 yards and six touchdowns. Nelson has 608 yards and five scores, but was held without a catch last week. It was wideout John Davis (Philadelphia, Pa./Prep Charter) that led the way in round one with five receptions for 68 yards and two touchdowns to go with two rushes for another 14 yards.

Two running backs have toted the ball over 90 in seniors Mario Nigro (South River, Nj./South River) and Donte Simmons (Bristol, Pa./Bristol). Simmons gets the bulk of the work and goes for five yard per carry and four scores while Nigro averages 4.8 per carry and also has found pay dirt four times. Nigro's biggest play of the season came last week as he caught a pass and went 49 yards for the score that put DelVal ahead for good.   

The special teams have been a key contributor for DelVal this season led by return men Jamir Prevard and freshman Tahmir Barksdale (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Wood). Barksdale is seventh in the country with 15.9 yards per punt and has three touchdowns and Prevard is 20^th in the nation at 26.9 yards per return and he has taken one to the house this year.

Senior kicker Nick Restaino (Bloomfield, Nj./Bloomfield) became the program's all-time leader in extra points made and points by a kicker this season. He has converted 51-of-54 attempts and connected on a big 27-yard field for the Aggies last Saturday.
 
SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES
Wesley earned one of the five at-large bids to get in to the 2019 NCAA Playoffs. The Wolverines finished the regular season 10-1 overall and 8-1 in New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) play. Their lone loss of the season came to sixth-ranked Salisbury, 35-28, as the Seagulls eventually went on to win the NJAC.

The storyline for Wesley heading in to the playoffs has been the emergence of freshman quarterback Drew Fry. Fry has started just the last two games and has thrown only six incompletions with seven touchdowns and no interceptions. He is 32-for-38 passing for 537 yards. He has run the ball just seven times for 13 yards.

He will lead the Wolverine offense that has posted 35.9 points per game and 443.5 yards per game this season. The ground attack is going for 162.8 yards per showing and they convert 45% of third downs and 48% of fourth downs.   

Senior tailback E.J. Lee who had over 100 yards rushing for Wesley in its win over DelVal in week two has been sidelined since week four and senior Marcellus Pack has carried the load. He has 111 rushes for 656 yards and 5.9 yards per carry with seven touchdowns and four fumbles.

Senior wideout Ruhann Peele is one of the best in the country. He caught six passes for 64 yards and two scores, including the game-winner, last time these teams met. This year, he has totaled 88 receptions for 1,237 yards and 13 touchdowns. Corterris Simpson follows with 51 catches for 635 yards and five touchdowns.

Defensively, junior linebacker Dante Daniel has nearly 30 more tackles than anyone else. He's notched 89 this season including 9.5 tackles for loss, eight pass breakups, four sacks, three fumble recoveries and one interception. Defensive end Shymere Vessels follows with 60 tackles and a team-high 11.5 TFL while sophomore end Tommy Tanner has recorded a team-best five sacks to go with nine TFL.

Defensive back Coray Williams is another player to watch as he has picked off five passes this season and has 115 yards of returns. As a team, Wesley has 13 interceptions, 10 forced fumbles and eight fumbles recovered.

On special teams, the Wolverines average 24.4 yards per kick return and just 8.6 yards per punt return with just one return for a touchdown. Senior Nick Bruhn handles the kicking duties and is 43-for-46 on extra points and 10-for-14 on field goals with a long of 44 yards.

The 2019 NCAA Division III Football playoff second round game will kick off at 12 p.m. in Dover, De.