DOYLESTOWN (Pa.) – The Delaware Valley University football team's memorable 2021 campaign came to an end in the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs as visiting Muhlenberg College blanked the Aggies 14-0 to advance to the quarterfinals.

COIN TOSS

-        DelVal won the toss and elected to defer. Muhlenberg received the opening kick going right to left.

 WHERE THEY STAND

-     The Aggies completed another successful season ranked inside the top-10 in both national polls. They finished with a mark of 11-1 overall, a perfect 10-0 in the regular season, and will carry their 36-game conference win-streak into next year. They have won four MAC championships and earned a spot in the NCAA tournament each of the last four years.  

-     The Mules advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals and will travel to take on Mount Union College next Saturday. The fourth-ranked Purple Raiders defeated Johns Hopkins at home, 45-35.

 

FIRST QUARTER

-       Muhlenberg's John Washington took the opening kickoff 49 yards to the DelVal 46 to set his offense up with a short field to start the game.

-     The Mules needed just nine plays and 4:33 of game time as senior quarterback Michael Hnatkowsky found Mitch Daniel wide open in the middle of the end zone or a five-yard touchdown strike to open the scoring. Nick Stannard's extra point made it 7-0, 4:48 into the game.

-     DelVal tried to establish its run game early but three attempts went for just nine yards and the team was forced to punt.

-     The defenses dominated the rest of the quarter as the two squads combined for just 27 yards and the Mules maintained their seven-point lead into the second.

-     Muhlenberg ran 16 plays for 58 yards while the Aggies were held to 24 yards on 11 plays.

 

SECOND QUARTER

-        The Mules worked their way into DelVal territory with their opening drive of the second quarter. From the Aggies' 19-yard line, they needed five yards for a first down but junior defensive end Anthony Nobile had a quarterback hurry on third down and a pass breakup on fourth down to force a turnover and keep it a one-touchdown game.

-     DelVal managed just three yards on each of its next two possessions and the field-position battle favored Muhlenberg.

-     With 7:09 left in the first half, the Mules offense began a drive at the Aggies' 46-yard line. After converting a 3^rd-and-7 to keep the drive alive, Hnatkowsky found Thomas Jenkins behind the defense for a 26-yard touchdown reception to make it a 14-0 game with 4:47 left in the half.

-     On the ensuing drive, the Aggies faced a 3^rd-and-10 from the Mules 24, but Bohannan was swallowed up by a pair of defenders and sacked for a 7-yard loss. DelVal went for it on fourth and long to no avail.

-     Two plays later, with Muhlenberg looking to add to its lead on 1^st-and-10 near midfield, defensive end Yusuf Aladinov got to the quarterback and jarred the ball loose for a strip-sack. Anthony Nobile recovered and returned it 14 yards to the Mules' 16 with just under a minute to play before the half.

-     The Aggies lost a yard on the first three plays to set up a 4^th-and-11 from the Muhlenberg 17. Bohannan looked right and lobbed a pass up in the end zone, but Jay McGill made a play for the Mules as he intercepted the ball for a touchback to end the threat.

-     Muhlenberg led 14-0 at the half. Each team ran 22 plays in the second with the Mules outgaining the Aggies, 112-67. Each team had one turnover.   

 

THIRD QUARTER

-     DelVal got the ball to start the second half and the first play from scrimmage resulted in a     Muhlenberg interception, followed by a fumble on the return, recovered by the             Aggies, and ruled dead after the recovery due to an inadvertent whistle on the field. It appeared that DelVal scooped up the fumble and returned it for a touchdown, but the             officials ruled the play was dead when the inadvertent whistle blew. The Aggies maintained possession at their own 27, but were forced to punt after picking up just 20 yards.

-     Later in the quarter, Muhlenberg blocked a DelVal punt attempt giving the offense another short field as it took over inside the Aggies' 25. The Mules were held to a 22-yard             field goal attempt and first-year Sebastian Montlouis managed to block the kick at the line of scrimmage to keep it a 14-point game.

-     On the next drive, DelVal had its best chance of the afternoon. Senior wide receiver Aaron Nelson found himself wide open down the sideline, but Bohannan's pass into the             wind was a little short and Nelson caught the ball with a knee on the ground inside the Muhlenberg 10-yard line for a 42-yard completion. On first down from the eight, Ralph             Hyland ran the ball down to the four-yard line. The next pass was incomplete and Bohannan was sacked by Quentin Ogren on third down. DelVal went for it on 4^th-and-goal             from the 13, but Bohannan's pass attempt to Isaiah Calhoun was broken up nicely by Jay McGill and the Muhlenberg defense held again.

-     DelVal ran 23 plays for 128 yards in the third quarter and the defense held the Mules to just 59 yards on 10 plays. Muhlenberg's lead remained 14-0 going into the fourth.

 

FOURTH QUARTER

-        The Aggies defense got the ball back to its offense near midfield with 12:16 left in regulation, but a first down holding penalty negated a nice pick up and DelVal was later forced to punt. Bobby Miller's punt pinned the Mules back inside their own 10-yard line with 11:24 on the clock.

-     The defense made another big play on the next drive as Aladinov got in the backfield on third down for his second sack of the game. After a 31-yard punt, DelVal took over near midfield again with 9:14 to play.

-     On the third play of the drive, Bohannan was intercepted near the sideline by Nick Sirico and the Mules took over at their own 27.

-     The Aggies got the ball back with 6:21 remaining at their own 31-yard line. DelVal drove the ball into the red zone once again, but four-straight incomplete passes resulted in a turnover on downs and gave the ball back to Muhlenberg, up 14, with 3:31 remaining.

-     The Aggies did not get the ball back again until there was under a minute to play in regulation and the Mules held them at bay to complete the 14-0 shutout victory and advance to the NCAA Quarterfinals.

 

KEY STATS

(DVU) TEAM – 77 plays, 279 yards, 53 rush yards, 226 pass yards

(MUHL) TEAM – 67 plays, 280 yards, 24 rush yards, 256 pass yards

(MUHL) Hnatkowsky – 23-of-39, 256 yards, 2 touchdowns, 0 interceptions

(MUHL) Daniel – 7 rec., 71 yards, 1 touchdown

(DVU) Barksdale – 6 rec., 97 yards, 2 carries, 12 yards

(DVU) Nelson – 3 rec., 71 yards

(DVU) Aladinov – 8 tackles, 4 TFL, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble

(DVU) Vessels – 7 tackles, 2.5 TFL

(MUHL) Palmer – 7 tackles, 3 TFL, 2 sacks

(MUHL) Kirin – 7 tackles, 1 sack, 1 TFL

 

Takeaways

DVU – 2 takeaways – 2 fumbles

MUHL - 3 takeaways - 3 interceptions

 

Time of Possession

DVU – 30:37

MUHL – 29:23