Box Score READING (Pa.) – The 24th-ranked Delaware Valley University football team travelled to Alvernia University for a Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) tilt and came away with a 28-12 victory to improve to 4-1 overall and extend its conference record win-streak to 48 league wins in-a-row.
The Golden Wolves fell to 0-5 overall and 0-4 in league play.
DelVal was outgained, 64-29, in total yards through the first quarter but neither team found the end zone.
Early in the second quarter, with Alvernia at the Aggies' 24-yard line, DelVal got stops on third-and-one and fourth-and-one to force the turnover on downs. Ahmad Jones made the stop in the backfield on fourth down.
On the ensuing drive, the offense put together a 7 minute, 55 second drive that went for 74 yards and concluded with a four-yard touchdown run by senior Kyle Powell. Mike Bartley's extra point made it 7-0 DelVal with 1:48 left in the first half. The Aggies ran the ball 11 times for 69 yards on the drive.
Alvernia took the kickoff and returned it near midfield and on thid-and-10 completed a deep pass to Joseph Perkins at the DelVal 11-yard line. On the final play of the half, the Golden Wolves faced a 4th-and-4 from the 5-yard line and threw a pass to the endzone that was broken up nicely by DelVal's junior cornerback Rafael Torres to keep Alvernia off the board.
The Aggies took their 7-0 lead into the halftime break. The Golden Wolves managed 141 yards on 29 plays compared to 117 yards on 30 plays for DelVal. The Aggies gained 101 rushing yards on 19 carries and held Alvernia to 23 yards on 14 attempts.
With DelVal set to receive the second half kickoff, Alvernia attempted an on-side kick, but it was recovered by the Aggies and the offense began their drive at the Golden Wolves 30-yard line. Facing 3rd-and-goal from the 12, Louie Barrios IV looked for senior Ryan Loughlin in the end zone but the pass was intercepted by Taron Gale and returned 30 yards.
Another 3-and-out got the ball back to the offense quickly and this time they capitalized. The Aggies ran the ball 10-straight times for 65 yards and a touchdown. Jack Fallon finished the drive with a one-yard touchdown run up the middle to give DelVal a two-touchdown lead.
Moments later, on Alvernia's second play of its next drive, senior linebacker Ahmad Jones intercepted a pass at the line of scrimmage and returned it to the Golden Wolves' 31-yard line. DelVal needed just three run plays to score again as Fallon ran in his second of the game from seven yards out. Bartley's third PAT made it 21-0 Aggies.
Alvernia quickly responded with two touchdowns on two consecutive plays to pull within one. First quarterback Colin Payne hit junior wide receiver Dachan Thompson for a 75-yard catch and run touchdown. After a DelVal fumble at its own goal line, Alvernia recovered it and Payne walked into the end zone on the first play to make it a 21-12 game. The Golden Wolves missed the PAT on the first score and failed on a two-point conversion on the next.
The third quarter ended with DelVal maintaining its nine-point advantage.
Alvernia's next drive was sparked by a 36-yard diving reception by Joseph Perkins, but eventually ended after a missed 36-yard field goal and the Aggies took over leading by nine with 10 minutes left in regulation.
DelVal's drive was halted by a fumble at the Alvernia 20-yard line and the Golden Wolves took over with 4:58 to play trailing by nine. The Aggies defense got back-to-back sacks from Anthony Puntolillo and Jacquez Mabin, and then Puntolillo picked off the third down pass to turn the ball over again.
Luan Avdijaj capped the scoring with a 22-yard rushing touchdown to make it a 28-12 game.
The Aggies finished the game with 238 rushing yards on 53 attempts and added 39 receiving yards on 5-of-16 completions from Barrios. Alvernia racked up 320 yards of offense including 268 passing yards and just 45 rushing yards.
The Aggie defense forced two interceptions and got the to the quarterback for four sacks including three individually by Mabin who finished with six tackles. Puntolillo had an interception to go with 10 tackles and a sack. Nick Chapman added eight tackles.
Fallon eclipsed the 100-yard mark for the first time as an Aggie as he went for 109 yards on 22 carries with two scores. Barrios ran the ball 13 times for 55 yards, Avidjaj ran four times for 38 yards and a touchdown, and Kyle Powell ran 10 times for 26 yards and a touchdown. Shawn Cullen led the receivers with three receptions for 23 yards.
Alvernia's Joseph Perkins had 117 receiving yards on five receptions and Dachan Thompson had three for 90 yards.
DelVal will play its fifth road game in the last seven weeks next Saturday when it travels to FDU-Florham for a 12 p.m. kickoff against the 2-3 Devils.
