For the third-straight week, the Delaware Valley University football team will take to the road as the 24th-ranked Aggies travel to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to face the Eastern University Eagles at 1 p.m. inside historic Franklin Field on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania.
It is the second time in three weeks that DelVal football faces an unfamiliar foe as it meets first-year program Eastern for the first time in school history. After years of consideration, the Eagles announced their start-up program in the fall of 2021 with the 2023 season marking their inaugural campaign.
All fans traveling to the game should be aware of the Parking and Tailgating information before arriving. Ticket information for the game can be found here.
If you cannot make it to the game, you can listen to DelVal's own play-by-play coverage courtesy of Gordon Mann here. Or, you can watch Eastern's live broadcast and follow along with live stats.
The Aggies have been ranked in the national polls for 62 consecutive weeks and maintained their spot at number 24 in the latest D3football.com top 25 poll after last week's convincing 41-10 triumph at conference foe Albright College.
The win over the Lions extended DelVal football's Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) record win-streak to 45 games with its last loss in league play occurring almost six years ago (October 22, 2016, at Stevenson).
SCOUTING THE AGGIES
Head Coach Duke Greco '03 and his staff improved to 83-14 (.856) overall and 74-8 (.902) in regular season games with last week's victory over Albright.
In the win, DelVal racked up 413 yards of total offense with 284 yards rushing and 129 yards passing. The defense held the Lions to just 80 yards passing and 60 yards through the air.
Junior tailback Jay White, a 2021 first team all-conference honoree, and the offensive line led the way as White ran for 112 yards and two touchdowns for an average of seven yards per carry. Senior Kyle Powell broke off a 51-yard run that set up a nine-yard rushing touchdown for Elijah Williams and sophomore Jack Fallon pitched in a rushing touchdown as part of his eight carries for 45 yards.
First team all-MAC quarterback Louie Barrios IV averaged 7.7 yards per run on seven attempts for 54 total rushing yards. Through the air, he completed 5-of-15 passes for 129 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
DelVal turned the ball over on its first drive and Albright took advantage by converting a 35-yard field goal to open the scoring and take a 3-0 lead. The Aggies responded by scoring 41 consecutive points on six touchdowns. They led 28-3 at halftime and maintained a 41-3 advantage late into the fourth quarter. Sophomore wide receiver Jasiah Davis had the longest play of the game when he streaked down the sideline, caught a deep pass from Barrios and took it 67 yards to pay dirt.
Special teams showed up when sophomore Micah Bootman blocked a punt and recovered it in the end zone for another Aggie touchdown.
Through two games, DelVal has ran the ball 69 times and thrown the ball 40 times with near identical production as the offense averages 170.5 yards per game on the ground with four touchdowns and 162.5 yards per game throwing with three scores.
White is averaging 6.4 yards per carry on 25 attempts this season with two touchdowns and Fallon has 11 carries for a 4.9 average and a touchdown. Barrios has completed 16 passes to 10 different receivers with White and Luan Avdijaj leading the group with four receptions. Davis, along with senior Ryan Loughlin, and sophomore Dillon Shamanow each have touchdown receptions of 39 yards or more.
Defensively, preseason All-America linebacker Nick Chapman has double-digit tackles in each of the first two games and leads the team with 22 total tackles. Senior defensive end Jacquez Mabin has a team-best four tackles for loss and two of the team's six sacks this season. The Aggies have 18 total tackles for loss in two contests. Linebackers Ahmad Jones and Anthony Puntolillo are key contributors, and each have 13 tackles this season. Bootman has the team's lone turnover forced this year with an interception in week one at SUNY-Cortland.
Opposing quarterbacks have completed 50-percent (22-44) of passes for an average of just 4.43 yards per game against DelVal's defense. Running attacks are averaging 179.5 yards per game and 3.9 yards per attempt.
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
Eastern is riding high after claiming a historic first win for the program in its home opener against Alvernia last week. After an extended pregame lightning delay, the Eagles shocked the Golden Wolves with a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns in the final eight minutes to earn a 30-24 come-from-behind victory.
Alvernia struck first by intercepting a pass at the Eastern 12-yard line and scoring on a run up the middle on the very next play. The Eagles responded nicely with a 38-yard return on the kickoff followed by a 41-yard catch and run by Josh Barlow that set up a six-yard rushing touchdown by back-up quarterback Kamar Cosby.
The Golden Wolves scored on their next drive, but Eastern tacked on a safety and a 17-yard touchdown reception from Sabor Stevens to Eddie Swinton to take a 16-1 lead at halftime. Alvernia outscored the Eagles, 10-0, in the third to take a seven-point lead into the final stanza.
With just over six minutes to play in the fourth, Sabor connected with Justin Nikolopoulos for a 60-yard touchdown strike to tie the game. The defense forced a three-and-out on the next drive and the offense marched down the field for a 74-yard touchdown drive to take the lead. Alvernia threatened on its final possession as it worked its way into the red zone, but a clutch interception on a fourth down play by Zaire McLaurin ultimately sealed the victory for the Eagles.
Eastern used a balanced attack in the win but found little success on the ground as it averaged just 3.2 yards per carry on 31 attempts to finish with 98 yards. Stevens, the starting quarterback, threw for 273 yards on 15-of-33 passing with two touchdowns and an interception. Cosby, a hybrid quarterback/running back completed his only pass attempt for 41 yards and ran six times for 18 yards and a touchdown. Stevens was not a threat to run in the game as he had just two attempts and fumbled once.
Six different players caught a pass including the 5-foot-11 sophomore Swinton who had six for 88 yards, and the 5-foot-9 first-year Nikolopoulos who had four for 92 yards. Each wideout caught a touchdown. Andre Gilmore and Josh Barlow had big plays with receptions of 61 and 41 yards, respectively.
5-foot-9, 220-pound sophomore Arise Ceide led the ground attack with nine carries for 45 yards and a touchdown while the compact back, 5-foot-5 Josh Barlow, had nine attempts for 30 yards.
Defensively, Eastern is allowing 32 points per game, and has been susceptible to passing attacks as opponents rack up 348 yards per game on 53-percent completions with six touchdowns. The Eagles are surrendering 428.5 yards per game of total offense.
Junior defensive back Gashawn Moody has a team-best 19 tackles in two games including 2.5 tackles for loss an interception and a forced fumble. Sophomore linebacker Kamare Watson leads the way with 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks to go with 13 tackles.
In week one, the Eagles dropped a 41-21 decision at The College of New Jersey.
