MADISON (Nj.) – The 24th ranked Delaware Valley University football team earned its 49th consecutive Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) victory in a row and improved to 5-1 and overall and 5-0 in conference play as they defeated FDU-Florham on the road, 20-0.
The Devils fell to 2-4 overall and 1-3 against MAC teams.
The Aggies got the ball to start the game and called upon running back Jack Fallon to get them going. The sophomore from Doylestown ran seven times for 45 yards and bulldozed into the end zone from one yard out to put DelVal on the board just five minutes into the game. The Aggies ran the ball nine times on the drive and threw one pass that resulted in a pass interference en route to the early 7-0 lead.
On FDU's first drive, facing 3rd-and-9, Xavier Mourey pressured the quarterback, Rafael Torres deflected the pass, and senior Anthony Puntolillo intercepted it and returned it 14 yards to the Devils' 36-yard line. After a 16-yard run by Fallon, junior quarterback Louie Barrios IV faked a handoff and sprinted to the pylon for a 14-yard score and a 13-0 Aggie lead in the first quarter.
After gaining just 21 yards and two first downs in the first quarter, FDU's first drive of the second started at its own one-yard line thanks to a terrific punt by senior Nick Arcaroli. The Aggies stopped them on three plays and got the ball back at the Devils 40-yard line after a five-yard punt return by Luan Avdijaj.
On the second play of the drive, Fallon broke through the middle of the line and sprinted 33 yards down to the FDU eight-yard line. Three plays later, Fallon punched in his second touchdown of the first half to put DelVal on top, 20-0. That drive put Fallon over 100 yards rushing for the game.
Late in the half, with 1:04 left on the clock, The Aggies got the ball back at the Devils' 47. Barrios took a quarterback draw for 15 yards and then hit Dillon Shamanow over the middle for 20 yards to the FDU 12. On third down, Barrios scrambled but the wet ball slipped out of his hand and the Devils recovered deep in their own territory with 17 seconds left and the half ended with the Aggies holding a 20-0 lead.
DelVal outgained the hosts 222 yards to 65 yards and held the Devils to five first downs. FDU ran the ball 19 times for 18 yards while the Aggies went for 173 yards on the ground on 26 attempts.
It was a quiet third quarter until the final minute when DelVal mishandled the snap on a punt and the Devils recovered at the Aggies 11-yard line. FDU let the clock run out on the third quarter, and on the first play of the fourth quarter, facing 3rd-&-8, the Devils picked up six yards on a reception and were tasked with a 4th-&-2 inside the DelVal five. Quarterback Ryon Thomas rolled to his left and was pressured by the entire defensive line and his pass was incomplete. The Aggies took over leading 20-0 with 14:15 left in the game.
DelVal moved the ball near midfield with 43 yards on five runs but was forced to punt. A Nick Chapman tackle for loss and a Jacquez Mabin sack put FDU in a 4th-and-20 at their own 43. Ahmad Jones made the stop on fourth down and the offense took over inside Devils' territory.
The Aggie defense had seven sacks in the game with Balckom and Mabin getting credit for 1.5 each. The defensive line duo also had two tackles for loss a piece and combined for 16 tackles. Chapman led the unit with 14 tackles, a sack, and three tackles for loss while Puntolillo finished with seven tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, a sack, and the interception. They held FDU to 44 rushing yards on 40 attempts and just 117 yards of offense and nine first downs. The Aggies earned their second shutout of the season.
The offense racked up 227 yards on the ground for their fifth-straight game of 200 or more yards rushing. Fallon averaged 6.3 yards per carry and ran for 145 yards and two touchdowns while Barrios went for 83 yards and a touchdown on 12 runs. A faulty snap on the last drive of the game took 14 rushing yards away from Barrios' total.
