For the first time in 2023, the Delaware Valley University football team will play in front of its hometown fans as the 25th ranked, five-time defending conference champion, Aggies welcome the undefeated King's College Monarchs to town for a 1 p.m. kickoff inside James Work Memorial Stadium in Doylestown.
Tickets for the home opener are $5 and can only be purchased on-stie at the ticket booth outside the stadium. Ticket booths will open at 11 a.m. on Saturday. Parking is $5 for all vehicles. All parking and ticket purchases are cash only.
If you cannot make it to the game, you can watch it live on MACtv at gomacsports.tv/delvalaggies with DelVal's own Gordon Mann on the call! Live stats will be available via the official website of the Aggies – athletics.delval.edu.
Weather will be a variable of note this week as the forecast calls for rain and 10 – 15 mph winds at kickoff.
DelVal football remained in the national rankings for the 63rd consecutive week as the Aggies are slotted number 25 in both the D3football.com top-25 and the first release of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Coaches' Poll of the 2023 season.
Last week, DelVal extended its conference record win-streak to 46 games in-a-row with a 29-6 win over Eastern University in a memorable contest at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. The Aggies have not lost a game to a MAC opponent in nearly six years (October 22, 2016 at Stevenson).
DelVal and King's have one common opponent this season as both teams earned wins over the Albright College Lions (0-3). The Aggies beat Albright on the road, 41-10, while the Monarchs took care of the Lions at home last week, 56-0.
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SCOUTING THE AGGIES
Head Coach Duke Greco '03 and his staff improved to 84-14 (.857) overall and 75-8 (.904) in regular season games with last week's win over the Eagles.
The Aggies' running attack fueled junior running back Jay White to a career day to lead DelVal to the win. White reached career highs in rushing yards, total offense, and touchdowns as he ran for 194 yards and three touchdowns and caught a 56-yard touchdown pass to finish with 250 yards of total offense and four scores.
The defense was also stellar in the victory as they allowed just 56 yards of offense and two field goals in the first half. In the second half, the unit held the Eagles to seven yards gained until Eastern's final drive that went for 52 yards but ultimately ended after a sack by Shaun Balkcom at the DelVal 28 as time expired. The Aggies allowed just 1.9 yards per play in the game.
DelVal enters this game 2-1 overall with its lone loss coming in the season opener at 18th ranked SUNY-Cortland when the Red Dragons bested the Aggies, 42-10. Since then, Nick Brady's defense has allowed only eight points per game and 122.5 yards per game over the last two contests.
Senior linebacker Anthony Puntolillo was named the MAC Defensive Player of the Week this week for his performance in the win. He had a team-high nine tackles including 1.5 sacks. He is second on the team with 22 tackles this season and 2.5 sacks. Another senior linebacker, preseason All-American Nick Chapman, has 14 solo tackles and 28 total tackles this season with five tackles for loss to lead the team in all categories. Senior defensive end Jacquez Mabin ties Chapman with five tackles for loss and leads the squad with three sacks. Another lineman to watch is Balkcom who compliments the unit with 3.5 tackles and 1.5 sacks.
Sophomore cornerback Micah Bootman has been making plays all season and has the team's lone interception this year to go with three pass breakups and a blocked punt that he recovered in the end zone for a touchdown in week two.
DelVal is allowing 81 yards per game to opposing passing attacks while the run defense surrenders 142 yards per showing.
White, the reigning first team all-conference back, has highlighted the offensive attack as he posts 8.1 yards per carry and 118.3 yards per game. He has carried the ball 44 times for 355 yards and five touchdowns. Senior Kyle Powell and sophomore Jack Fallon join White in the back field and average over 20 yards per game.
Junior quarterback Louie Barrios IV, a first team all-MAC selection in 2022, has 24 rushing attempts for 69 yards and is a threat to run on every play. Through the air, he has completed 22-of-51 passes for two touchdowns and two interceptions. Senior quarterback Nick Arcaroli has been a versatile option so far this season as the offense features him in multiple packages. He has completed 5-of-6 passes with a touchdown.
The quarterbacks have found Jasiah Davis and Ryan Loughlin for six receptions and one touchdown apiece. Each wideout eclipsed the 100-yard mark for the season last week. Luan Avdijaj has caught four passes for 43 yards this year.
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SCOUTING THE MONARCHS
King's College football is under new leadership for the 2023 season as Skyler Fultz was announced as the team's new head coach after spending eight years as the team's offensive coordinator and quarterback's coach. Fultz succeeds Jeff Knarr who held the reigns for 13 seasons at King's. Fultz is boosted by an experienced roster that returns nine players that were listed as seniors in 2022. This week's two-deep has 18 seniors listed, while the defense returns all but three starters from 2022 including cornerback Teone Sherrod who returns after a breakout campaign in 2022, where he earned AFCA Division III Coaches' All-America First Team, D3football.com All-America Second Team, and D3football.com All Region 1 First Team honors. He returns to help lead the Monarchs secondary that led the MAC in interceptions.
King's is off to a 3-0 start this season with road wins over Wilkes (0-3) and Misericordia (0-3) to open the season and its most recent 56-0 triumph over Albright (0-3) in the Monarchs' home opener.
 King's outgained Albright, 440-111 in total offense last week and held the Lions to -2 yards passing on 4-of-18 completions with two interceptions. For the season, the defense allows 197.3 yards per game, with 104.3 yards per game passing, and 93 yards per game rushing. They have forced four turnovers with three interceptions and one forced fumble.
The Aggies will have their hands full with the King's defensive backfield as Sherrod is joined by senior defensive back Joe Carchio who has a team-high 21 tackles with 2.5 tackles for loss and senior safety Colin Hazelton who leads the squad with three tackles for loss. The Monarchs have six sacks through three games with senior lineman Jassiem Lettsome and Dallas Solomon leading the way with 1.5 each.
The Monarchs have scored 27 points, 42 points, and 56 points in the first three games of the season with a balanced attack that posts 219.7 yards per game through the air on 58-of-87 completions and 176.7 yards per game rushing on 117 attempts.
Senior quarterback Russell Minor-Shaw threw for 246 yards and four touchdowns last week and has 655 yards with 10 touchdowns and zero interceptions through three weeks. He has completed 57-of-78 passes, good for 73.8%. Shaw-Minor is also the team's leading rusher as he has 41 carries for 160 yards and two scores this year. He has handed the ball of to seven different players including Jayon Hailey who has 20 carries for 4.5 yards per attempt and Brennan Robinson who goes for 6.2 yards per carry on 19 attempts. While neither of those backs have scored yet, Shemar Ellis and Johnny Gilchrist have each broken the goal line twice.
Hailey, the sophomore back, is also the team's leading receiver with 14 catches for 179 yards and three touchdowns. Junior wide receiver Mike DiGregorio has two touchdowns and 11 receptions for 116 yards while senior Ryan McCombs has taken three of his seven receptions to the end zone. Six different receivers have five or more receptions this year.
On special teams, the King's punt return game is second in the MAC, averaging 15.1 yards per return on seven attempts for a conference-high 106 yards. In the kicking game, King's has attempted the most PATs in the MAC, going 17-for-18 through three weekends. They have yet to attempt a field goal.
Kickoff at James Work Memorial Stadium in Doylestown is at 1 p.m.
