DOYLESTOWN, Pa. – Delaware Valley football opened its home schedule with a 100-yard kickoff return touchdown by Wyatt Younes and held on for a 24-21 win over Albright College on Saturday afternoon.
The Lions got the ball to start the game, but after a first down, their drive stalled following an ineligible man downfield penalty, forcing a punt. Mike Galasso got things going with passes of 19 and 22 yards to Mike Dunn and Joel Perez. After a 10-yard rush by Justin Brown, Galasso found open space up the middle for a 10-yard touchdown run. Brendan Hazell hit the PAT to give DelVal a 7-0 lead. The Aggies forced a three-and-out, which included a two-yard tackle for loss by Maurice Beverly II and Aiyah Garland. DelVal marched into Albright territory and, on fourth-and-three, Galasso connected with Perez for an 18-yard gain. Zyaire Goffney-Fleming then broke out for a 14-yard touchdown run, and Hazell again hit the PAT to give the Aggies a 14-0 lead with 3:14 left in the first quarter.
DelVal had the ball again to start the second quarter and drove into the red zone, but Galasso's pass into the end zone was intercepted by Foster. The Lions worked their way down the field, helped by a 15-yard penalty on DelVal. Smith broke multiple tackles and found the end zone to cut the Aggies' lead in half. Perez and Brown then worked the ball down to the ALB 41, but Galasso was intercepted again, this time by Evans. The DelVal defense responded by forcing a three-and-out, highlighted by a pass breakup from CJ Partridge.
Off the second-half kickoff, Wyatt Younes took the ball out of the end zone and returned it 100 yards for a touchdown to give the Aggies a 21-7 lead. The DelVal defense got off the field quickly on Albright's next possession, stopping the Lions near midfield, but the Aggies went three-and-out on their ensuing possession. Albright then put together a 14-play, 71-yard drive. The Lions reached the DVU 3, where DelVal forced a fourth down, but Roberts found Clemons in the end zone to cut the lead to 21-14. Before the quarter expired, Perez caught a 39-yard pass followed by a seven-yard reception to move the Aggies into the red zone.
After a few short gains, the DelVal offense stalled, but Swiatek connected on a 16-yard field goal to extend the lead to 24-14. The Aggies' defense then forced a three-and-out, with stops from Thomas Arcaroli and Jo'Zyiah Brown. Following a 35-yard reception by Dunn, Galasso was sacked before Brown was taken down for a loss, forcing a punt. On the ALB 20, Roberts connected with Rothberg for a 58-yard gain. On third-and-long, Roberts then picked up a first down with a 10-yard run. After two more short rushes, Roberts scored from the DVU 1 to make it a three-point game with 4:55 remaining. The Aggies faced third-and-13 on their next possession but were bailed out by a facemask penalty with Galasso looking for Perez over the middle. Brown then found space to the left for a 20-yard gain, but his progress was stopped at the ALB 30. DelVal intentionally took a delay of game penalty before punting the ball away.
The Lions immediately picked up a first down on a 14-yard run by Smith, followed by a 10-yard reception from Petcher. A series of short gains moved Albright to midfield before Roberts connected with Rothberg again for an 18-yard gain. Younes and Garland made stops to set up third-and-eight. Albright appeared to have a chance to tie the game with a field goal, but an illegal substitution penalty nullified the attempt. The penalty resulted in a 10-second runoff, ending the game with DelVal on top, 24-21.
Following the victory, DelVal football improved to 2-1 overall and 2-0 in MAC action. The Aggies will remain home next Saturday, September 26, when they host Eastern University at 12 p.m.
