DOYLESTOWN (Pa.) -- Delaware Valley University football, the 11th ranked team in the nation according to the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Coaches' poll and the 14th ranked team according to D3football.com, hosts Misericordia University this Saturday at 1 p.m. for a Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) tilt as the Aggies look to improve to 4-0.  

Also on the line for DelVal is the program's 37-game conference win streak that dates back to October 22, 2016. Since the MAC started sponsoring football in 1958, no program has ever won more consecutive games against conference opponents.  

The Aggies opened MAC play last weekend at King's College where they dismantled the Monarchs with a convincing 26-6 victory in which they outgained the host team 270 yards to 146. Prior to starting league play, DelVal defeated Westminster College (Pa.), 22-8, at home in week one, and got by Montclair State with a 14-6 road win.  

In the 2022 MAC preseason coaches' poll, the Aggies were picked to win the league and collected all 10 first place votes while the Cougars were slotted ninth with 31 points. DelVal football has won four-straight league championship titles for the second time in program history and looks to become the first program to win five-in-a-row since the league shifted to one conference to play for a MAC title in 1983. 

Eighth-year head coach Duke Greco, coaching in his seventh season due to the COVID-19 pandemic that canceled the 2020 campaign, is the program's all-time winningest coach with an astounding record of 73-12 overall and an .859 win-percentage. Greco, a 2003 graduate of DelVal, and his staff are 66-7 in regular season games and 56-5 against MAC opponents.  

Defensive coordinator Nick Brady returned for his 13th 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.   

Misericordia comes into this weekend 2-1 overall after defeating Albright College, 27-21, in its MAC opener last weekend. The Cougars dropped their season opener, 17-14, at Alfred State before getting by Keystone College with a 38-20 win in their week two home opener. 

SCOUTING THE AGGIES 

The Delaware Valley depth chart features just three 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. 

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 side of the ball.  

Through three games, Nick Brady's defense has posted a league best 165 yards per game allowed and just 6.7 points per game against. On the ground, teams are gaining just 47.3 yards per game while the Aggies permit just 117.7 yards per game via the pass. The unit has forced nine turnovers in three games via six fumble recoveries and three interceptions and it has gotten to the quarterback eight times for sacks. Additionally, they have permitted a league-best 10.3 first downs per game and hold opponents to 6-for-39 (15.4%) on third downs. On fourth down attempts, teams are 4-for-7 (57.1%) against the Aggies. 

Junior linebacker Ahmad Jones leads the team with 23 tackles this season to go with two tackles for loss, a sack, and two forced fumbles. His led the defense in tackles in each of the last two games, including last week's career-high 11 tackles in the win over King's.  

DelVal rotates four primary linebackers and they all rank in the top-5 in tackles on the team. Junior Nick Chapman has 15 tackles with a forced fumble and a fumble recovered, while senior Tyler Fulmore and junior Anthony Puntolillo each have 14 tackles and combined for 4.5 tackles for loss.  

Aladinov has a team-high 5.5 tackles for loss and three sacks with five quarterback hurries through three games. At the other end of the line, Michael Nobile has 10 tackles, 2.5 sacks and four hurries. Nobile is up to 38.5 sacks for his career and needs just one more to pass Kyle Gesswein for the program's all-time record.  

Defensive tackle Anthony Nobile has a team-best six quarterback hurries and two passes batted down to go with his two tackles for loss, one sack and one fumble recovery. Safetys Netterman and Cole Kitchen have combined for 27 tackles and two turnovers. Kitchen had a diving interception at Montclair State while Netterman picked up a fumble and returned it 76 yards for a touchdown last week.  

Offensively, DelVal has posted 62 points through three games and continue to show a balanced attack that posts 130.7 yards per game rushing and 119.3 yards per game passing. The team has only turned the ball over three times with one fumble lost and two interceptions.  

Junior quarterback Louis Barrios, who transferred in prior to this season, had his best start as an Aggie last week as he completed 11-of-14 passes for 105 yards and a rushing touchdown. He's completed 50-percent (35-70) of his passes this season for 304 yards with two touchdown passes. He's carried the ball 26 times for 43 yards with two rushing scores.  

Junior Tahmir Barksdale, a two-time All-American returner will line up all over the field for the offense. He has a team-high 19 receptions this year for 129 yards and has run the ball 12 times for another 79 yards and a touchdown.  

Sophomore tailback Jay White is the squad's leading rusher with 55 carries for 219 yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore wide receiver Luan Avdijaj hauled in a 20-yard reception last week and carried the ball three times for 13 yards. He found the end zone on an end-around play last week for his first career touchdown.   

Senior Pat Moran handles the punting duties and averages just shy of 35 yards per punt on 20 attempts with two boots over 50 yards, five punts inside the opponent's 20, and a long punt of 55 yards. Nick Choi is 1-for-1 on field goal attempts with a successful 22-yard kick in week one. Barksdale has not seen many return opportunities. His longest return through nine attempts went for just 10 yards.  

SCOUTING THE COUGARS 

Head Coach John Davis is in his second season with the Cougars and posted a 3-6 record in his first year. His team has scored 79 points through three games led by a rush attack that posts 269 yards per contest and has found the end zone seven times. The passing game goes for 128 yards per game with one touchdown. 

Last week, in the win over Albright, the Cougars came away with a six-point victory after an exciting back-and-forth affair. Misericordia held a 21-7 lead in the third quarter before the Lions scored two quick touchdowns to tie the game heading into the fourth. A pair of field goals from Nicholas Neidlinger in the final stanza secured the 27-21 win. The Cougars scored a pair of special team touchdowns including a 74-yard kickoff return by Eric Jeffries and an 88-yard blocked field goal return from Ian Rogers. Their other touchdown came on a 40-yard run by Carlos Artson. 

Through three games, the Cougars have turned the ball over 10 times with seven interceptions and three fumbles lost. They have turned other teams over just three times with two interceptions and one fumble recovered.  

Sophomore Tamar Sample and senior Dallas Engel have seen time at quarterback, with Sample playing the entire game last week against Albright. Sample is 21-for-46 for 256 yards with four interceptions and no touchdowns. He has carried the ball 13 times for 40 yards.  

Senior Michael Gawlik is the team's leading rusher with 54 carries for 315 and two touchdowns. His longest run this year is 44 yards. Three other players have carried the ball more than 20 times including Dominic Caruso who has 28 carries for 116 yards and a touchdown, and Matt Maransky who's gone for 209 yards on 25 attempts with a score.  

No receiver for the Cougars has more than 100 yards through three games. Owen McGuffey leads the way with five receptions for 98 yards with the lone receiving touchdown. 

Defensively, junior linebacker Eric Glass has a team-best 20 tackles with one sack and senior defensive back Justin Moreno has 17 tackles with four tackles for loss, two sacks, and a forced fumble. Senior linebacker T.J. Prather is another player to watch – he has 3.5 TFL and two sacks this season. First-year defensive back Tim hill leads the team with two interceptions. 

Kicker Nicholas Neidlinger has converted 3-of-5 field goal attempts including a long of 43 yards.  

Kickoff at Robert A. Lipinski field at James Work Memorial Stadium in Doylestown is set for 1 p.m.