DOYLESTOWN (Pa.) – The 10^th ranked Delaware Valley University football team will play in front of its hometown fans for the first time since November of 2019, when it kicks off against the Montclair University Red Hawks on Saturday, September 11 at 1 p.m.

The Aggies and the Red Hawks have met 17 times before including twice since 2014. Montclair owns an 11-5-1 record in that time, but the Green and Gold captured the last two victories. In 2014, the Aggies defeated the Red Hawks, 30-20, on the road, and held on for a 27-24 win on their home turf the next year.

Seventh year head coach Duke Greco and staff are 6-0 in home openers and own an overall record of 60-11 (.843). Greco is seven wins away from becoming the program's all-time leader in wins among head coaches. With a convincing, 57-6, victory at Kean University last Friday night, the Aggies moved up two spots to number 10 in the D3football.com top-25 poll.

SCOUTING THE AGGIES

The DelVal defense that ranked among the best in the country in 2019 proved it did not skip a beat as it held the Cougars to just 56 yards of offense, five first downs, and six points, with five forced turnovers, in the season-opener. Kean finished the game with -4 yards of rushing with three fumbles lost, and 60 yards passing with two interceptions. DelVal ran 81 plays in the game compared to just 50 for the visitors.

Senior linebacker Anthony Tedesco, a first-team all-conference honoree, led the defense with eight total tackles and a tackle for loss while fellow linebacker Yusuf Aladinov finished with three tackles, 1.5 TFL, a sack, and two fumble recoveries.

The Aggies defensive backfield has been a no-fly zone for teams trying to pass on the veteran unit, led by senior All-American corner, Justin Harris, who had five tackles and half a tackle for loss against Kean. Juniors Jamir Prevard and Blaine Netterman also roam the secondary and each recorded their first interception last week. Senior Dontae Mason rounds out the group and contributed a pair of tackles and pass break-up in the win.  

On the other side of the ball, the offense racked 479 yards of total offense with the offensive line led by senior all-conference honorees Corey Schriver and Jeremy Adams, paving the way for a total of 287 rushing yards on 50 attempts (5.7 avg.). Through the air, the Aggies went for 192 yards and three scores.

 

Donte Simmons, got his senior year started with his first career 100-yard rushing game as he toted the ball 24 times for 112 yards and three touchdowns. 

Senior Quarterback, DaQuan Bohannan made his first start as an Aggie and went 11-for-26 for 124 yards and a touchdown. On the ground he ran four times for 28 yards with a long carry of 12. Casey Decker relieved Bohannan in the fourth quarter and completed 4-of-5 attempts for 68 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Dez Austin led the receiving corps with 54 yards and a touchdown on two receptions. All-American specialist Tahmir Barksdale had four catches for 39 yards and Tavian Dorsey and Jaelyn Gaither each hauled in a touchdown pass.

On special teams, Barksdale had four punt returns for 54 yards with a 24-yard return as his best mark. Kicker Pat Moran connected on a 23-yard field goal and was 2-for-2 on PATs. Jack Hughes connected on 6-of-4 PATs and had three punts for an average of 39.3 yards with one punt inside the 20-yard line.

SCOUTING THE RED HAWKS

Montclair State is coming off a devastating defeat at RPI in its season-opener last Saturday. RPI got on the board first with a 74-yard drive just before the end of the half, but in the third, the Red Hawks scored three defensive touchdowns to go ahead, 20-7, after three. The home team got the ball with 2:05 on the clock, trailing by six, and used 10 plays for 83 yards to find the end zone with 18 seconds left in regulation to win the game, 21-20.

The Red Hawk defense allowed 331 yards of offense to RPI, but just 39 yards on the ground compared to 292 yards and three touchdowns on 24-of-49 passing. The unit forced four fumbles and recovered just one, but that one went 92 yards the other way, in the hands of linebacker Seamus Nelson, for six points.

Linebacker Michael Stefkovich and defensive back Jalen Harris each had interception returns for touchdowns. Stefkovich finished with six tackles including half a sack, and Harris added five tackles and two pass break-ups. Ray Brennan led the defense with nine tackles, half a sack, and a forced fumble.

Montclair State managed 152 yards of total offense on 54 plays, an average of just 2.8 yards per play. It ran the ball 32 times for 101 yards with two fumbles lost and went for 51 yards on 12 completions with an interception through the air. The offense failed to score.

Quarterback Ja'Quill Burch was 12-for-22 passing for 51 yards and an interception with his longest completion being 17 yards. On the ground, Abellany Mendez had 20 carries for 55 yards with a long run of nine yards, and Makai Mickens toted the ball eight times for 37 yards. Clarenc Wilkins and Eric Cowan caught three passes for 20 a combined 20 yards.

Mile Djordjiovski had nine punts with an average of 32.4 yards and a long of 41 with three punts inside the 20-yard line.