DOYLESTOWN (Pa.) – The Delaware Valley University football team fell to visiting Union College, 24-16, in the first round of the NCAA Division III football playoffs on Saturday, ending another successful campaign for the program.
The Aggies finished the season with a 9-2 overall record and champions of the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) for the sixth year in a row as they ran through league play with a perfect 9-0 mark. The senior class never lost a conference game in their four years and helped the team extend its MAC-record win streak against conference opponents to 53 games in a row. This was the program's sixth straight appearance in the NCAA Playoffs.
The Garnet Chargers made their way to the playoffs by virtue of a Pool C (at-large) bid. They finished the regular season 9-1 overall and second in the Liberty League behind Ithaca College. They will advance to play Johns Hopkins next Saturday in the second round of the playoffs.
Union got the ball to start the game and marched down the field with a 10-play, 76-yard drive capped by a five-yard touchdown run by Michael Fiore to make it 7-0.
On DelVal's opening drive, Louie Barrios IV had a third-down pass tipped and intercepted by James Gillespie near midfield. The Garnet Chargers moved into the red zone again, but a fumble at the one-yard line gave the Aggies the ball back and kept it to a one score game. Jacquez Mabin forced the fumble and recovered it.
Union maintained a 7-0 lead after one quarter and missed a 42-yard field goal early in the second. DelVal got on the board with their first possession of the second quarter as it went 75 yards on 10 plays and Barrios found the end zone with a three-yard run. A missed PAT kick made it 7-6 with eight minutes to play in the first half.
The Aggies forced their second turnover of the half when cornerback Rafael Torres intercepted a pass at the Union 41-yard line. Four plays later, facing a 4th-and-2, DelVal took a shot to the end zone but the pass was dropped and the visitors took over.
With Union threatening again near the end of the half, cornerback Micah Bootman halted the drive with an interception in the end zone. After DelVal failed to convert a first down, the Garnet Chargers converted a 36-yard field goal to make it a 10-6 game with 25 seconds left in the half. The visitors extended their advantage with a 50-yard pick-six by Gillespie in the waning seconds of the half and Union took a 17-6 lead into the break.
Early in the second half DelVal's defense came up with another forced fumble at the goal line to stay within striking distance and keep it an 11-point game. Early in the fourth the Mike Bartley connected on a 21-yard field goal for the Aggies to make it a 17-9 game with 12:15 left in regulation.
Union put the game away with a 35-yard touchdown pass from Donovan Pacatte to Landers Green that made it 24-9 with 5:47 left in regulation. The Aggies tacked on a 90-yard fumble recovery touchdown by Bootman in the waning seconds for the 24-16 final.
