2021 Delaware Valley University Football
Game #9 vs. Wilkes University Colonels
Saturday, November 6 - 1 p.m.
Schmidt Stadium - Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
DOYLESTOWN (Pa.) – The seventh and 10th ranked Delaware Valley University football team looks to punch its fourth-straight ticket to the NCAA Division III football playoffs and at least a share of its fourth consecutive Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) victory when it travels to Wilkes University on Saturday afternoon.
The Aggies are 8-0 overall and 6-0 in conference play after another convincing MAC win last week. In front of a packed homecoming crowd, DelVal held Lebanon Valley College to just 23 yards on 38 plays in a 31-3 triumph.
The victory moved seventh-year head coach Duke Greco to 67-11 overall, passing Jim Clements for the most wins by a head coach in program history. Greco's staff of defensive coordinator/assistant football coach/linebackers coach Nick Brady, offensive coordinator/recruiting coordinator/running backs coach Mike Isgro, offensive line coach/ director of football operations/academic coordinator Greg Fedick, special teams coordinator/ defensive backs coach/ video coordinator Roger Wright, and strength and conditioning/ defensive line coach Famos Wilson have been together for each and every win.
Meanwhile, the Colonels have lost two of their last three contests including a 30-27 setback at Lycoming College last Saturday.
In addition to the national playoff berth and another conference title, an Aggies win this week will extend the team's conference record win-streak to 35 games in a row. DelVal's last conference loss came over five years ago on October 22, 2016.
Nationally, the Aggies maintained their spot in the top-10 in both polls. The American Football Coaches' Association (AFCA) has them seventh while D3football.com has the team 10th. Additionally, the NCAA released its first regional rankings of the 2021 season on Wednesday, and DelVal was featured among the Region I selections. The first rankings of the year were listed alphabetically and not in any particular order, as follows:
School Overall Record
Delware Valley 8-0
Endicott 7-2
Framingham St. 6-2
Husson 6-2
Lycoming 6-2
Merchant Marine 7-1
Salve Regina 8-1
Widener 6-2
This Saturday will be the 59th all-time meeting between the Aggies and the Colonels. Wilkes owns a 32-26 record in the series but DelVal has won 11 of the last 12 contests.
Kickoff at Schmidt Stadium is set for 1 p.m. Before the game, Wilkes will honor its seniors with a special senior day ceremony. All fans going to the game at Schmidt Stadium should thoroughly read and understand the Wilkes Athletics Spectator Policy:
https://gowilkesu.com/sports/2021/8/31/wilkes-athletics-spectator-policy.aspx
SCOUTING THE AGGIES
Through nine weeks of college football, the DelVal defense has earned its reputation as the best in the country. The unit ranks inside the top-10 in all of Division III in 13 statistical categories:
| STAT |
VALUE |
NCAA RANK |
| Total Defense |
106.9 ypg. |
1st |
| Rush Defense |
28.5 ypg. |
1st |
| Pass Defense |
78.4 ypg. |
1st |
| First Downs Allowed |
60 |
1st |
| Passing Efficiency Def. |
66.21 |
1st |
| 3rd Down Defense |
.188 opp. pct. |
2nd
|
| Red Zone Defense |
.429 opp. pct. |
3rd |
| Scoring Defense |
7.1 ppg. |
3rd |
| Turnovers Gained |
23 |
7th |
| Team Tackles for Loss |
8.8 per game |
8th |
| Fumbles Recovered |
10 |
10th |
Last week, the Aggies held the Flying Dutchmen to just 23 yards off offense on 38 plays last week. It was the fourth time in eight games DelVal has held its opponent under 60 yards of total offense. It has held teams to zero or fewer rushing yards three times and less than 50 yards six times, as no team has rushed for more than 83 yards against the defense all season.
Through the air, DelVal has surrendered less than 25 yards in each of the last two games and held opponents under 60 yards five times – no team has thrown for more than 190 yards. Through eight games, opponent average less than one yard per carry and less than eight yards per reception.
Teams have only entered the red zone seven times against the Aggies with two touchdowns and one field to show. DelVal has outscored its opponents 166-36 in the first half of games, 77-6 in the third quarter, and 81-15 in the fourth quarter.
Individually, junior defensive tackle Anthony Nobile is coming off his first national weekly honor as he was named to the D3football.com Team of the Week. The two-time all-conference honoree and east region all-star had two fumble recoveries last Saturday including a 19-yard scoop and score touchdown. He ranks third on the team with 30 tackles and leads the way with nine quarterback hurries.
Another junior standout along the defensive line is Yusuf Aladinov who leads all of Division III with five fumble recoveries to go with a team-high 12 tackles for loss. He is second on the team with 33 tackles and six sacks.
Senior linebacker Anthony Tedesco leads the team with 70 tackles to go with 8.5 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and an interception.
Cornerback Jamir Prevard has a team-high five interceptions this year and another four pass breakups while safety Blaine Netterman has three picks to go with 25 tackles, five tackles for loss, and a forced fumble.
The defense faces its toughest test to date this week against the Colonel's top-ranked offense in the conference.
The Aggies offensive unit trails Wilkes only slightly, with 397.8 yards per showing, but outscores the Colonels significantly with 40.5 points per game compared to 28.3 for Wilkes. The offense is efficient in the red zone, operating at an 85% clip with 32 touchdowns and two field goals on forty trips. The Aggies have faced 108 third downs and converted 45 of them (41.7%), third best in the MAC.
DelVal's run game is the best in the league at 218.3 yards per game and through the air they rank sixth at 178.7 yards per contest.
Senior tailback Donte Simmons runs behind a veteran offensive line for a conference-best 97.3 yards per game on 5.8 yards per carry. He has eclipsed 100 yards on the ground in each of the last three games and in five of eight games this season. He is rapidly approaching 1,000 all-purpose and rushing yards as he leads the team in each category with 801 all-purpose yards and 778 rushing yards this season. Simmons is second in the league in rushing touchdowns and total touchdowns with eight and nine, respectively, trailing only his quarterback DaQuan Bohannan.
First-year Julian White leads the conference with 10.1 yards per carry as he has toted the ball 28 times for 284 yards and two touchdowns.
Bohannan, the senior play-caller, has completed exactly half of his pass attempts this season (105-210) for 1,290 yards with 16 touchdowns with five interceptions and has another 193 rush yards this year for 1,483 yards of total offense.
Bohannan has completed a pass to 17 different receivers this season. Sophomore Tahmir Barksdale leads the receiving corps with 27 catches for 271 yards, 33.9 yards per game, and two touchdowns. Nahsir Morgan caught his team-leading fifth touchdown two weeks ago and has nine catches this year for 212 yards. Senior John Davis is second with 13 receptions for 169 yards and a touchdown and tight end Isaiah Calhoun has three touchdown catches.
Barksdale, a 2019 All-American punt returner, leads the conference with 25 returns for 341 yards one return touchdown.
Senior Bobby Miller handles the punting duties and is seventh in the country with 40.5 yards per punt including 10 punts inside the 20-yard line and just two touchbacks.
SCOUTING THE COLONELS
Head Coach Jonathan Drach is in his third year at the helm as serves as the team's offensive coordinator as well as working with the quarterbacks. His team finished 8-3 overall and 6-2 in the MAC in 2019 and this year sit at 6-2 overall and 5-2 in conference, third place.
Drach's offense posts the most yards in the MAC with 407.3 per game including 181.3 rushing and 135.8 passing. In last week's loss at Lycoming, the Colonels managed just 92 rush yards on 30 attempts but went for 307 yards through the air. Wilkes turned the ball over three times in the game with two interceptions and one fumble lost. The Colonels scored first in that game but then surrendered 24-straight points and fell into a hole they could not climb out of as the Warriors held on late for the 30-27 win.
Senior quarterback Jose Tabora is fifth in the conference with 1,447 passing yards and fourth in completion percentage at 58% on 109-of188 passing. He has thrown 11 touchdowns to six interceptions and is the team's third leading rusher at 32 yards per game and 3.4 yards per attempt.
Sophomore tailback Kamaal Reed is third in the MAC in rushing with 74.3 yards per game, 6.8 yards per carry and four touchdowns. In the pass game, he has eight receptions with eight yards per grab and one touchdown. First-year Elijah Jules is another player to watch out of the backfield with 6.1yards per carry and a team-high five rushing scores. He also has 11 receptions for 138 yards this season.
Sophomore wideouts Nate Whitaker and Cory Peizer, and Jason Schweizerhof are features of the passing game. Whitaker leads the group with 27 receptions, 527 receiving yards and five touchdowns. Peizer has 19 receptions for 344 yards and three scores and Schweizerhof has 22 catches for 244 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensively, three players have 50 or more tackles led by sophomore linebacker Dante Gazzola's 55 tackles to go with four tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and two interceptions. His twin brother Nick Gazzola is right behind with 54 tackles, eight tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks. Another sophomore, defensive back Dylan Waick has 50 tackles this season and an interception to his credit.
As a unit, the defense has 21 sacks, five interceptions, and three fumbles recovered. They allow 135 yards per game on the ground and 163.4 yards through the air. Teams have scored eight touchdowns on the ground and another 10 in the passing game. Total, opponents average 298.4 yards per game and 18 points per game.
On special teams, Alex Orlando has been exceptional with 41.9 yards per punt on 25 punts and eight punts inside the 20-yard line. Justin Pollack is 2-for-4 on field goal opportunities with a long of 29 yards. Jules will handle the punt return duties and averages 12 yards per on 14 attempts while Whitaker goes for 28 yards per return on kickoff duties.
