WILKES-BARRE (Pa.) – The 15th ranked Delaware Valley University football team played its first Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) game of the 2022 season and earned its 37th straight league victory with a 26-6 triumph over the King's College Monarchs.
The Aggies improved to 3-0 overall while the Monarchs dropped to 1-1 and 0-1 in conference play.
After a scoreless first quarter, DelVal pieced together a 16-play, 85-yard drive capped by a four-yard touchdown run by quarterback Louie Barrios IV. Nick Choi's successful point after attempt made it 7-0 with 13:35 to play in the half. Luan Avdijaj highlighted the drive with a 20-yard catch and run on third down to put the Aggies in King's territory.
The Monarchs countered on their next possession as they drove 50 yards on 14 plays and Kyle Prescavage drilled a 42-yard field goal to make it a 7-3 game with eight and a half minutes on the second quarter clock.
Facing a 3rd-&-9 near the end of the first half, Barrios completed a pass over the middle to Jahaire Johnson for 22 yards to the King's 30-yard line. On the next play, Barrios hit Tahmir Barksdale for 12 more yards to put the Aggies in the red zone, and later, Jay White punched in a one-yard touchdown run to give DelVal a 13-3 lead with 1:47 left in the second quarter. The scoring drive spanned 4:03 and went 68 yards on 10 plays.
The Aggies maintained a 13-3 lead at the half and held a 159-76 edge in total offense. DelVal ran the ball 24 times for 83 yards in the half and completed eight passes for 76 yards. The defense held the home team to just 17 yards on 14 runs and 59 yards on eight completions.
It remained a 10-point game until late in the third quarter. After a punt, the Aggies started at their own 30-yard line and White took a handoff 28 yards on the first play and into Monarch territory. On 3rd-&-9 from the King's 41, Barrios found first-year wide out Dillon Shamanow for a 25-yard gain. Four plays later, on fourth down, Avdijaj finished a tough run by diving into the end zone for a nine-yard score to five DelVal a 20-3 lead with 1:41 left in the third. The scoring drive went 70 yards on eight plays and spanned 4:29.
On the Monarch's first drive of the fourth quarter, quarterback Tyler Moore fumbled a snap and senior Blaine Netterman scooped up the ball and sprinted 75 yards the other way for a touchdown to put the Aggies ahead, 26-3, with 12:15 left in regulation.
Prescavage added another long field goal, this one from 41 yards, with 10 minutes left in regulation to make it a 26-6 game. Neither team threatened the rest of the way and DelVal secured the 20-point victory.
Barrios completed 11-of-14 passes for 105 yards and ran the ball seven times for nine yards a touchdown. Nick Arcaroli relieved Barrios in the fourth quarter and completed 3-of-4 passes for 43 yards including a 35-yard pass down the sideline to Barksdale.
White carried the ball 17 times for 81 yards and a touchdown, Avdijaj had three runs for 13 yards and a score, and Barksdale ran the ball three times for six yards.
Defensively, Ahmad Jones had a game-high 11 tackles and five different players had five or more including Yusuf Aladinov who finished with five including 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks. Anthony Nobile had one sack and three quarterback hurries and Michael Nobile had half a sack and three tackles.
Moore completed 15-of-32 passes for 107 yards and Victor Taylor had 11 runs for 25 yards. Tyler Carey and Joe Herman had five receptions a piece with 43 and 41 yards, respectively. Dylan White led the defense with 10 tackles and Mike Karycinski had six tackles, one tackle for loss, and a forced fumble. Each team had one turnover via fumbles.
DelVal football will return home next Saturday to take on the Misericordia University Cougars at 1 p.m.
