The 15^th ranked Delaware Valley University football team will travel to King's College on Saturday for its first Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) game of the 2022 season as it looks to defend its four-straight conference championship titles and its MAC record 36 game win-streak.

The Aggies enter conference play a perfect 2-0 overall after a pair of non-conference triumphs to start the season. In week one, DelVal played host to an unfamiliar opponent in Westminster College and came away with a 22-8 win. Last week, in the first road game of the season, the Green and Gold traveled to Montclair Stated University and defeated the Red Hawks, 14-6.

DelVal football came into the 2022 season ranked 15^th in the D3football.com top-25 poll. It moved up one spot to number 14 after the week one victory before settling back into the 15^th spot after week two.

A win over the Monarchs on Saturday would be the team's 37^th MAC win in a row, a streak that dates back to October 22, 2016. The Aggies were slated as the top team in the league by unanimous decision according to the preseason coaches' poll.

Since the league shifted to one conference to play for a MAC title in 1983, no program has ever won five straight conference championship titles, according to the league's official record book.

Eighth-year head coach Duke Greco, coaching in his seventh season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is the program's all-time winningest coach with an astounding record of 72-12 overall and an .857 win-percentage. Greco, a 2003 graduate of DelVal, and his staff are 65-7 in regular season games and 55-5 against MAC opponents.

Defensive coordinator Nick Brady is back for his 13^th season on the coaching staff after leading the top defense in the country last season and earning Division III Coordinator of the Year honors form Footballscoop.com. 

King's enters this weekend 1-0 after an early bye week followed by a 17-10 win over Hartwick College on the road last Saturday. This week's game will be the home opener for the Monarchs and homecoming weekend at King's.

 

SCOUTING THE AGGIES

Delaware Valley returned just four starters on offense and four starters on defense from last year's championship team. All four of the returners on the defensive side of the ball, Yusuf Aladinov, Blaine Netterman, Anthony Nobile, and Michael Nobile, were named preseason All-Americans coming into this year. Together, they've combined for seven first team all-MAC, six all-region, and three All-America honors.

Through two games the four seniors have led another stingy defensive effort that has surrendered just 14 points and 349 total yards (174.5 yards per game). The Aggies allowed 51.5 yards per game on the ground and 123 yards per game through the air. They have forced eight turnovers in two games via five fumble recoveries and three interceptions. In total, the unit has forced eight fumbles through two weeks.

DelVal is the fourth best team in the country, amongst teams that have played two games, at getting off the field on third down as its opponents have converted just 3-of-22 attempts (.136).

Junior linebacker Ahmad Jones leads the team with 12 tackles this season to go with two tackles for loss and a sack. He forced two fumbles last week at Montclair and had a team-high eight tackles.

Another junior linebacker, Nick Chapman, along with Netterman, have nine tackles on the season. Chapman forced and recovered a fumble near the Red Hawk's goal line that setup an Aggie touchdown last week.  

Aladinov and Michael Nobile each have seven tackles on the season and two tackles for loss. Nobile has a team-best two sacks this season and needs just two more to set a new program record for career sacks.

Cole Kitchen, Tyler Fulmore, and Anthony Puntolillo each have eight tackles this year and combined for three tackles for loss. Kitchen and Puntolillo each have an interception to their credit.

Offensively, DelVal averages 18 points through two games and have shown a balanced attack that posts 135 yards per game rushing and 105 yards per game passing. The team has only turned the ball over two times with one interception against in each game.

Junior quarterback Louis Barrios, who transferred in prior to this season, has started both games and completed 24-of-56 passes for 199 yards and two touchdowns. He's carried the ball 19 times for 34 yards with one rushing score.

Junior Tahmir Barksdale, a two-time All-America wide receiver has a team-high 12 receptions this year for 63 yards and an average of 31.5 yards per game. He's run the ball nine times for another 73 yards and a touchdown.

Sophomore tailback Jay White is the squad's leading rusher with 38 carries for 138 yards and a touchdown. Wide receiver Nahsir Morgan has ta team-high 77 receiving yards on six receptions with one touchdown through two games and five other players have at least one reception this year.

Seniors Bam Bannavti and Kieren Saunders anchor the offensive line that also features three first-year starters.

Senior Pat Moran handles the punting duties and averages 35.9 yards per punt on 14 attempts with two boots over 50 yards and four punts inside the opponent's 20 yard line. Nick Choi is 1-for-1 on field goal attempts with a successful 22-yard kick in week one.

 

SCOUTING THE MONARCHS

Head Coach Jeff Knarr in his 13^th season at the helm has his Monarchs off to a 1-0 start after a 17-10 win over Hartwick last week. King's returns 28 seniors from last year including seven who returned for their fifth year of eligibility. 17 of the 28 returners are listed on this week's two-deep including 13 projected starters. King's was picked to finish eighth in the MAC Preseason Coaches' Poll among the 11 conference schools.

The Monarchs trailed the Hawks 10-0 after the first half, but scored 17 unanswered in the second to earn the win. Quarterback Tyler Moore found Tyler Carey for a 34-yard touchdown to open the scoring, Shemar Ellis ran in a one-yard touchdown to give the Monarchs a 14-10 lead, and Kyle Prescavage connected on a 41-yard field goal to cap the scoring.

King's ran the ball 29 times for 38 yards and Moore, the fifth-year quarterback, completed 21-of-31 passes for 233 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Victor Taylor, a first-year halfback got a team-high 11 carries and went for 34 yards. Carey led the receivers with 84 yards and Michael DiGregorio hauled in six passes for 41 yards as six different players registered a reception.

Senior defensive back Joseph Carchio led the team with seven tackles and had an interception while Dallas Solomon, a senior on the defensive line, picked up five tackles including four tackles for loss and two sacks with a forced fumble. King's won the turnover battle 4-2 as they forced four interceptions.

Anthony Prato handled the punting duties in week one and averaged 41.8 yards on four tries with a long of 55 yards. DiGregorio was the return man and he racked up a 32-yard punt return and a 54-yard kick return.

Kickoff at McCarthy Stadium in Wilkes-Barre is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday.