DOYLESTOWN (Pa.) – The six-time defending Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) champion Delaware Valley University football team finished another perfect conference slate and extended its winning streak against MAC opponents to 53 games, with its 23-6 triumph over Widener University in the regular season finale on Saturday.
It was the 41st playing of the annual Keystone Cup rivalry game between the Aggies and the Pride, and DelVal came out on top for the eighth time in a row.
The Aggies finished the regular season 9-1 overall and 9-0 in MAC play. It is the program's sixth-straight undefeated season in conference games.
By virtue of the conference championship title, DelVal earned its sixth consecutive berth to the NCAA Division III playoffs. The team will gather on campus tomorrow to learn who and where it will play in the first round on Saturday, November 18th at noon.
The defense led the way in this game, holding Widener to just 81 yards of offense, -42 yards rushing, and racking up seven sacks and three interceptions.
After a scoreless first quarter, cornerback C.J. Williams got the Aggies going when he intercepted a pass from Chase Diehl and returned it 18 yards to the Pride 11. Four plays later, DelVal executed a quarterback sneak to get Louie Barrios IV into the endzone. Mike Bartley's extra point kick made it 7-0, Aggies.
Later in the second, Jack Fallon ripped off a 24-yard run to get the Aggies out near midfield and Barrios hit senior Ryan Loughlin over the middle for another 24 gain to get DelVal down to the Widener six-yard line. On 3rd-and-goal from the five, Barrios threaded a pass to first year Mike Bartley in the end zone to put the Aggies up, 14-0.
The second half was much of the same as the Pride struggled to move the ball and DelVal's special teams and defensive units were able to keep them pinned deep in their own territory. Nick Arcaroli was stellar in his punting duties as he pinned Widener inside its own 20-yard line seven times and inside its own 10-yard line five times. He had four consecutive punts in the second half that landed inside the 10.
One of the punts led to a DelVal safety as Jacquez Mabin brought down Diehl in the end zone to make it 16-0. The Pride got on the board moments later when Jacob Kopelman stepped in front of a Barrios pass and returned the interception 52 yards for a touchdown. Widener's two-point conversion failed, and the Aggies maintained a 16-6 advantage they would not relinquish.
Mabin finished with 1.5 sacks and senior linebacker Anthony Puntolillo recorded a team-high eight tackles with three TFL and two sacks. Fellow senior linebacker Nick Chapman had six stops including two in the backfield and a pass breakup at the line of scrimmage. Williams, Micah Bootman, and Xavier Mourey each had an interception and senior Dame Smith recovered a fumble on a muffed punt.
DelVal ran the ball 55 times for 158 yards led by Fallon's 85 yards on 26 carries. Fallon scored on a two-yard run in the fourth quarter. Loughlin led the receivers with two grabs for 27 yards and Cullen had the one five-yard touchdown reception.
Before the game, DelVal football honored its 15 seniors with a special senior day ceremony on the field. The class helped the program to an astounding 43-5 overall record including a perfect 33-0 record against the MAC in their four years.
Follow @dvuaggies on social media or visit athletics.delval.edu tomorrow after 5 p.m. to find out who and where the DelVal football team will play next weekend in the first round of the NCAA Playoffs.
