DOYLESTOWN, Pa. – Delaware Valley football celebrated senior day with a 28-7 Keystone Cup victory over Widener, marking the Aggies' 10th straight win over the Pride.
An unnecessary roughness call on the opening kickoff set DelVal up at midfield, and the Aggies immediately capitalized. A 20-yard grab by Alex Rufe and a 13-yard run by Justin Brown set up a 4th-and-goal at the WID1, where Mike Galasso punched it in behind his offensive line. Branden Hazell's PAT made it 7-0. After forcing a quick four-and-out, the Aggies lined up as if going for it on 4th down, but Galasso pooched a punt down to the Widener 1-yard line. Another defensive stand set up a strike to Alvaro Lora for 35 yards, and moments later Galasso found Gavin Migliori for an 11-yard score to double the lead. Widener crossed into Aggie territory for the first time late in the quarter, but Micah Bootman intercepted Olsen. DelVal answered with 18-yard gains from both Kahir Thompson and Brown.
The Aggies' momentum slowed in the second quarter as Galasso was intercepted twice—once to start the period and once after a holding call then another call pushed DelVal backward 15 yards. Widener again threatened, but Andrew Vernieri and James Mahana combined on a tackle for loss before Vernieri intercepted Olsen on the next play to end the drive.
After halftime, Widener benefited from an Aggie pass interference flag on Owen Suah, and new quarterback Leszczynski hit Herr for a 36-yard touchdown to break the shutout. DelVal answered quickly as Rufe took a short pass 57 yards, leading to Migliori's second touchdown—this time a 7-yard grab—to restore a 21-7 lead. Mahana added a sack on Leszczynski at midfield to force another punt.
Early in the fourth, Migliori fumbled after a catch, but Suah erased the turnover with an interception on the next series. Widener regained possession when Galasso couldn't handle a low snap, but Bootman halted the drive with his second pick of the day, returning it 26 yards to the WID29. Brown followed with an 8-yard burst and then caught a pass in the flat, beating defenders for an 18-yard touchdown to extend the advantage to 28-7. Two Widener incompletions later, Taji Hubbard intercepted Leszczynski and returned it 33 yards. Brady Beres closed out the win with a key fourth-down run to drain the clock.
Delaware Valley improves to 7-3 (7-2 MAC) and will host a Centennial–MAC Bowl game next Saturday, Nov. 22.