DOYLESTOWN (Pa.) – The nationally-ranked, and five-time defending conference champion, Delaware Valley University football team will make its fifth-straight NCAAA appearance this weekend when it hosts Gallaudet College in the first round of the 2022 playoffs on Saturday.
Kickoff at Robert A. Lipinski Field at James Work Memorial Stadium in Doylestown is slated for 12 p.m. The game will be broadcasted on MACtv and live stats can be found on the official website of the Aggies.
DelVal earned its fifth consecutive Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) championship after posting its second perfect 10-0 regular season and its fifth-straight undefeated conference slate. With last week's 34-7 triumph at Widener, the Aggies extended their conference win-streak to 44 games. The 44-game win-streak is the longest in the MAC's 64-year history of football and dates back to October 22, 2016.
DelVal football is 12-10 all-time and 10-7 at home in NCAA playoff games. During last year's playoff run, the Aggies defeated Anna Maria College, 62-10, at home before falling to 13th ranked Muhlenberg at home, 14-0, in the second round.
Head Coach Duke Greco, the second winningest active coach in the NCAA, is 5-4 in the NCAA Playoffs and 3-3 at home. All-time, Greco holds an 80-12 record and a .870 win-percentage that is second behind Ryan Day, Head Coach of Ohio State, and his 44-4 record and .917 win-percentage.
DelVal and Gallaudet have met 15 times on the gridiron with the Aggies owning a 14-1 record in the series. The teams have not played each other since 1966 when DelVal defeated the Bison, 48-0. Gallaudet's last win over the Aggies was a 14-13 victory in 1958.
SCOUTING THE AGGIES
The 2022 DelVal football team finished the regular season ranked eighth in the nation according to the American Football Coaches' Association (AFCA) coaches' poll and 14th in the D3football.com top 25. The Aggies also finished as the number one ranked team in Region I according to NCAA.com.
When the MAC office announced the 2022 all-conference teams earlier this week, DelVal football was represented by 16 different student athletes at 17 different positions with 14 first teamers, two second teamers and one honorable mention. The Aggies also took home two major awards with senior defensive end Michael Nobile earning Defensive Player of the Year honors and Greco named Coach of the Year.
DelVal is once again led by one of the best defenses in the country that features four preseason All-Americans and seven first team all-conference honorees. The Aggies rank inside the top-10 in the country in seven different categories this year:
Total defense, 179.7 yards per game allowed, ranked 3rd
Scoring defense, 6.5 points per game allowed, ranked 3rd
3rd down defense, 23.4% conversions against, ranked 4th
Pass efficiency defense, 83.82 against, ranked 6th
Red zone defense, 52.9% conversions against, ranked 7th
Passing defense, 119.6 yards per game allowed, ranked 7th
Rushing defense, 60.1 yards per game allowed, ranked 10th
Michael Nobile earned the third MAC Defensive Player of the Year honor of his career and leads the team this season with 12.5 sacks which ranks fifth in all of Division III. His 16 tackles for loss is tied for the most on the team and tied-33rd in the country. For his career, Nobile has 48.5 sacks, the most in program history and is only five sacks shy of tying the all-time Division III record of 53.5 set by Mike Czerwien (Waynesburg) in 2007. Nobile has 6.5 tackles for loss and five sacks in his last two games.
The defense will show multiple looks between 3-4 and 4-3 sets. They have allowed just eight touchdowns through 10 games this season with three rushing and five over the air.
Joining Nobile up front is his twin brother Anthony Nobile and reigning MAC Defensive Player of the Year Yusuf Aladinov. Aladinov is tied with Michael with 16 tackles for loss this season and has five sacks to go with a team-high 14 quarterback hurries and a total of 50 tackles. Anthony Nobile anchors the middle of the line and has 26 tackles this season with three sacks, five TFL, two fumble recoveries and an interception.
The linebacking corps features three all-conference players including first teamers Ahmad Jones and Anthony Puntolillo, second teamer Nick Chapman, and a key contributor in Tyler Fulmore. Chapman and Jones are tied for theam-lead with 56 tackles and combined for 11.5 tackles for loss. Puntolillo has 48 tackles this season with 7.5 tackles for loss, an interception and a forced fumble. Fulmore has accounted 39 tackles and four tackles for loss.
The defensive backfield is led by team captain Blaine Netterman and his 44 tackles and two interceptions this season. Netterman became the first player in program history to earn four first team all-conference selections. His fellow safety Cole Kitchen was also a first team honoree and is among the team leaders with 56 tackles, three tackles for loss and an interception.
Offensively the Aggies feature a balanced pro-style attack led by first team all-conference quarterback Louie Barrios IV and a host of five other first teamers and seven all-conference players in total.
Barrios has thrown for 1,600 yards this season and 17 touchdowns on 108-of-189 passing and just five interceptions. Additionally, he is the team's second leading rusher with 334 yards and eight touchdowns on 72 attempts.
Sophomore tailback Jay White has amassed 936 yards and eight scores on 163 attempts with an average of 93.6 yards per game. He has three 100-plus yard rushing games this season including a career-high 217 yards in a win over Lebanon Valley.
The pass catchers are led by junior Tahmir Barksdale who already has five all-conference accolades to his name- three as a receiver, and two as a returner – including a pair of first team nods this season. He has twice as many receptions as any other Aggie this season with 42 for 591 yards and four touchdowns. Barksdale is joined by all-conference honorable mention Nahsir Morgan and his 20 catches for 340 yards and five touchdowns. In total, Barrios has hit nine different receivers for touchdowns this year and has completed a pass to 13 different players.
The all-conference honorees leading the blockers include senior offensive lineman Bam Bannavti and fullback Walt Truxell who each took home first team honors for the second consecutive year, and sophomore offensive lineman Justin Roman, a second team member.
Barksdale is the program's all-time leader in punt return touchdowns, but has yet to break one this year. He did in first team all-conference honors for the second time as he took 21 punts for 216 yards this season.
Senior Pat Moran will handle the punting duties and averages 33.48 yards per boot this season with three kicks over 50 yards and 10 placed inside the opponent's 20-yard line. In the kicking game, Nick Choi is 30-for-38 on extra point attempts and 1-for-1 on field goal tries with a make from 22 yards.
SCOUTING GALLAUDET
The Gallaudet Bison punched their ticket to the 2022 NCAA Playoffs by claiming the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) championship. The Bison finished the year 7-2 overall and 5-1 in ECFC play and swept the league's major awards this season. This is Gallaudet's second ECFC title and first NCAA Playoff appearance since 2013.
The Bison have found success by using run-heavy attack that looks similar to a triple option offense. Through 10 games, the team has thrown the ball just 82 times with 38 completions and five interceptions. They average just 67.3 yards per game passing, but have used the pass game to find the end zone seven times.
The running attack has produced 340.7 yards per game, and 2,460 total yards on nearly 500 attempts this year.
Brandon Washington is the do-it-all quarterback/wide receiver that earned ECFC Offensive Player of the Year for the Bison. He began the year as a wideout and finished as the team's leading receiver with 14 catches for 263 yards and three touchdowns. He was also the team's leading rusher with 162 carries for 950 yards and eight touchdowns, and he completed 10 passes this season for 144 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions.
Four players in total have over 50 carries this season. Dre'Vaughn Mackall is listed as a fullback and has 97 carries for 569 yards with four touchdowns and Mikka Harvey averages 7.9 yards per carry and has found pay dirt three times.
Jaylen Johnson's 11 receptions and 217 receiving yards ranks second on the team. He has also scored three times.
The defense will show multiple looks, but the base is a 3-4 set. They surrender 26.9 points per game and 324 yards per game with teams finding success through the air at 191.7 yards per game passing and another 132.2 yards per game on the ground. In nine games, the unit has recorded 22 sacks, 13 interceptions, and eight fumble recoveries.
Sophomore linebacker Jacob Hartman was the league's Defensive Player of the Year and led the team with 69 tackles, 17.5 tackles, for loss, and five sacks with two forced fumbles and an interception. First-year defensive back Andrae Green has a team-high three interceptions and seven pass breakups this season to go with 14 tackles. Laron Thomas is a senior defensive back that has 56 tackles this season and two interceptions while linebackers Stefan Anderson and Rodney Burford Jr. have each accounted for 3.5 sacks and combined for 17 tackles for loss this year.
On special teams, Gallaudet has sent punter Jonathon Waterman out 31 times. He averages 34.5 yards per punt with six inside the opponent's 20 yards line. Waterman will also handle the kicking duties and has made 7-of-12 field goals including a long of 45 yards.
Senior Eric Gregory is the leading return man with an average of 26.2 yards per return including an 89-yard return touchdown.
THE BRACKET
The winner of this game will advance to the second round to play the winner of Randolph-Macon and SUNY-Cortland. That game will be played at Randolph-Macon this Saturday at noon. The 32-team playoff bracket will culminate with the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, the national championship game, in Annapolis, Maryland on December 16, 2022.
DETAILS
Kickoff is slated for 12 p.m. at Robert A. Lipinski field. All tickets for the event must be purchased at the gate and will cost $8 for admission, but $4 for students of Gallaudet or DelVal with student ID. Parking at DelVal costs $5 and is cash only.
