The Delaware Valley University football team is prepared for a homecoming contest against the visiting Wilkes University Colonels on Saturday, October 22 at Robert A. Lipinski Field in Doylestown, as the 14th/10th ranked Aggies look to stay undefeated while the Colonels attempt to pull into a tie for first place in the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) standings.
The nationally ranked DelVal football team moved up two spots in the latest D3football.com top 25 to number 14 and remained at number 10 in the latest American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Coaches' Poll. This comes after the Aggies went to Lebanon Valley College last week and handed the Dutchmen their first conference loss of the season in a 34-10 triumph.
DelVal struck with big plays in last week's win as it scored four touchdowns via plays of 25 yards or greater, including three which went for over 40-yards. The Aggies wasted no time getting on the board as sophomore quarterback Louie Barrios IV broke free for a 44-yard touchdown run on the second play of the game. DelVal built a 14-3 lead at halftime and used a heavy ground attack to pull away with the 24-point win.
Sophomore tailback Jay White led the Aggies with a career-best 217 rush yards as he averaged 12.8 yards per attempt on 17 carries and found pay dirt twice.
A win this weekend would be the 14th straight homecoming victory for DelVal football and its 42nd straight win over a MAC opponent. The last time the Aggies lost to a conference team was exactly six years from Saturday – October 22, 2016.
Wilkes and DelVal will meet on the gridiron this weekend for the 60th time in their respective history. The Colonels own a 32-27 advantage in the series, but the Aggies each of the last five by a combined score of 179-34. Wilkes last win came in 2015, a 12-7 decision in Wilkes-Barre.
In this year's MAC preseason coaches' poll, the Aggies received all of the first place votes while the Colonels were voted fifth out of 11 conference teams.
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SCOUTING THE AGGIES
With last week's victory over the Lebanon Valley College Dutchmen, head coach Duke Greco and his staff earned their 60th win over MAC opponents in 65 tries, and their 70th regular season game out of 77. All time, including postseason, the Aggies are 77-12 over seven seasons with Greco at the helm. A 2003 graduate of DelVal, Greco became the program's all-time winningest coach after last year's homecoming game, a 31-3 win over Lycoming.
This season DelVal football has conference wins over King's, Misericordia, Stevenson, Lycoming, and Lebanon Valley with a combined score of 148-23 over the five games.
The 2022 Aggie defense, under 2021 Coordinator of the Year Nick Brady, is once again among the top-ranked units in Division III football. They rank second in the nation in total defense with 169.9 yards per game allowed and third in points allowed with just 5.3 permitted a game. Against the run, the defense is first in the MAC and 13th in the nation with 56.7 yards against per showing. The squad also ranks first in the MAC in passing defense, and fifth in the nation, with 113.1 yard per game against. The third down defense is sixth in the county and the best in the MAC as opponents convert just 23.1-percent of the time.
Netterman, a three-time all-MAC first team member and one of four preseason All-Americans on the defense, recorded a season-high 11 tackles last week. Over the past two weeks he has 14 tackles, three pass breakups, and one interception. For his career he has 12 interceptions and is just two away from third all-time in program history.
Three senior defensive lineman round out the preseason All-Americans in Yusuf Aladinov, Anthony Nobile and Michael Nobile. The trio has combined for 83 tackles, 26.5 tackles for loss, and 15.5 sacks. Aladinov leads in the TFL department with 12, Michael has a team-best 7.5 sacks, and Anthony has recovered two fumbles and has an interception this season.
Earlier this year, Michael Nobile became the program's all-time sack leader when he surpassed Kyle Gesswein's mark of 39 set in 2010. Nobile currently sits at 43.5 career sacks and 85 career tackles for loss in 37 career games, the most among all active players in college football across all divisions.
On the other side of the ball, the offense returned three all-conference starters in senior full back Walt Truxell, junior wide receiver Tahmir Barksdale, and senior left tackle Bam Bannavti. Senior center Kieren Saunders is another player with significant experience on the offensive line.
DelVal ranks second in the league with 26.3 points scored per game. After last week's dominance in the run game, the Aggies now lead the MAC with 180.3 rush yards per game. Their 156.4 pass yards per showing ranks seventh in the league.
White, the sophomore tailback, was named the MAC Offensive Player of the Week after his career-day last week. He also earned a spot on the D3football.com Team of the Week for the first time in his career. This season he has totaled 672 yards, six rushing touchdowns, and 5.8 yards per attempt.
Barrios is tied with White for the team in lead in rushing touchdowns and has added 11 touchdowns through the air. His season totals include 1,041 passing yards, 229 rushing yards, and 17 total touchdowns.
The Aggies have 11 different receivers with a reception this season, led by two-time All-American Tahmir Barksdale. The junior has 33 receptions this year for 339 yards and two touchdowns including a catch-and-run that he took 61 yards for a score last week. Barrios has found nine different receivers for a touchdown this year.
On special teams, senior Pat Moran handles the punting duties and averages 34 yards per punt on 37 attempts with three boots over 50 yards, eight punts inside the opponent's 20, and a long punt of 57 yards. Sophomore Nick Choi went 4-for-5 on extra point kicks last week and is 1-for-1 on field goal attempts with a successful 22-yard kick in week one.
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SCOUTING THE COLONELS
Head Coach Jonathan Drach, in his third season at the helm of the Colonels, has Wilkes in a tie for second place in the MAC this season with a 4-1 record in league play, matching King's College and Lebanon Valley.
The Colonels are coming off a 28-0 blanking of Misericordia last week and have three other league wins over Widener (44-20), Albright (27-0) and Alvernia (35-14). Their lone loss came in week three at Lebanon Valley, a 24-19 setback.
Wilkes' multiple set offense has led them to the top mark in the league ranks in scoring offense (33.5 ppg.), total offense (418.8 ypg.), and passing offense (240.7 ypg.), and second in rushing offense (178.2).
Sophomore quarterback Isaiah Rodriguez leads the MAC in various passing categories, as he ranks first in passing yards (1390), average yards per game (231.7), completion efficiency (163.1), and is tied for first in passing touchdowns (11). He is also the only quarterback in the league with no interceptions against. Last week against Misericordia, he played two and half quarters and completed 15 of 19 passes on the day for 204 passing yards and a touchdown.
Junior running back Elijah Jules is coming off a 128-yard, three touchdown performance against the Cougars last week. He had 20 attempts and 121 yards in the first half of that game alone. He ranks second in the MAC with 592 yards for the season and leads the league with nine rushing scores. First-year tailback Ben Contella backs up Jules and carried the ball seven times for 35 yards last week.
Nate Whitaker, a senior wide receiver has a team-high 21 catches for 392 yards and five touchdowns this season. Sophomore Devin Higgins follows with 18 receptions for 265 yards and a score. Jules has eight receptions out of the backfield and averages 21.25 yards per catch. In total, 13 different players have caught a pass for the Colonels this year.
The Wilkes defense is second behind DelVal in the MAC this season with 13.2 points per game allowed, 132.3 pass yards against, and 249.3 total yards against per game. Last week, the unit forced the turnovers against Misericordia with two interceptions and a fumble. Senior defensive lineman Brandon Holcomb leads the team with 56 tackles to go with two tackles for loss. He is joined on the line by junior Angel Ramos who has a team-best seven tackles for loss and four sacks with 38 total tackles. Kellen Redmond rounds out the defensive line and has six tackles for loss with two sacks and 31 tackles.
Senior John Washington and sophomore Leroy Marshall each have two of the team's seven interceptions this year.
On special teams, Alex Orlando has punted 16 times for an average of 37.4 yards per attempt with a long of 48 yards and one punt inside the 20-yard line. Nick Volpone is 3-or-5 on field goal attempts with a long of 31 yards and is 20-for-22 on PAT kicks.
The Aggies and the Colonels homecoming contest is slated for a 1 p.m. kickoff at Robert A. Lipinski Field in Doylestown on Saturday, October 22. Â
