DELAWARE VALLEY USES 20-POINT SURGE TO OUTDISTANCE KING'S, 34-19
WILKES-BARRE – Junior quarterback Mike Isgro threw four touchdown passes for the second weekend the Delaware Valley College football team broke open a close game in the third quarter with 20 unanswered points as the 16th-ranked Aggies opened Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) play with a 34-19 victory at King's College Saturday at Robert L. Betzler Fields..
The win was the third straight for the Aggies as they improved to 3-1 on the season. The Monarchs fell to 1-3.
Delaware Valley would push across the first score of the game after a short punt gave the Aggies the ball at the King's 39. Isgro engineered an eight-play drive to find the end zone. After advancing to the Monarch four-year line and facing a third-and-three, Isgro found Joe Gionfriddo alone in the end zone for the touchdown. Shane Toohey added the extra point for a 7-0 advantage with 3:20 remaining in the first quarter.
In the final seconds of the first quarter, a Matt Cook fumble was recovered by the Monarchs' Tom Tulaney at the Delaware Valley 38. King's drove to the seven-yard line where Olayinka Soda would hit fullback Doug Mucha out of the backfield for a touchdown pass. However, the extra-point sailed wide right and the Aggies kept the lead at 7-6 with 11:06 remaining in the first half.
Delaware Valley responded on the ensuing possession as Isaiah Hall had a 32-yard kickoff return to his own 44. Two plays later, fullback Butch Whiteside broke free up the middle for a 35-yard run to the King's 13. The Aggies then faced a third-and-17 from the 20, but Isgro hit an open Chad Peterman on a post pattern for the touchdown. Toohey's kick upped the advantage to 14-6 with 7:26 to go before the intermission.
It remained a 14-6 ballgame at the half, but on the first possession of the third quarter, Delaware Valley turned the ball over at midfield when Christian Becker recovered an Isgro fumble. King's used seven plays to drive to the Aggie one-yard line. On second-and-goal, Phillip Shaw plunged into the end zone for his first career touchdown at King's. Andrew DeRito's point-after pulled King's to within two at 14-12 with 7:42 remaining in the third quarter.
The Aggies responded with a 12-play, 71-yard drive. After moving to the King's 39, Delaware Valley faced a critical fourth-and-one play, but Whiteside came through with a two-year run to keep the drive alive. Isgro then scrambled for 11 yards while a facemask penalty on the play moved the ball to the Monarch 13. After a one-yard rush by Cook, Isgro picked up eight more on a designed run. Facing a third-and one, Isgro tossed his third touchdown pass of the day, a four-yarder to tight end Brad Emmons. Toohey's extra-point made it a 21-13 ballgame with 44 seconds left in the third.
Delaware Valley held on defense and took over on its own 18. The Aggies advanced to their 49 on a 16-yard scramble by Isgro. Matt Cook then broke free and raced 50 yards before being knocked out of bounds at the King's one-yard line. Cook got the call again and plunged into the end zone to pad the Aggie lead. Edwyn Edwards would block Toohey's extra-point blocked to leave the score at 27-13 with 9:36 to go in the contest.
Delaware Valley then put the game away when Soda lofted a pass down the right sideline but the ball sailed over the hands of wide receiver Mike Verbitski and into the arms of Aggie defender Anthony Byers at the Delaware Valley 42.
Five plays later, Isgro hit Peterman for a short pass and the junior wide receiver broke a tackle to race 34 yards for an Aggie score. Toohey added the kick for a 34-13 advantage with 4:19 left.
King's would then go on a 12-play, 88-yard drive, keyed by a 19-yard pass to Bob Lane, who broke several tackles to reach the two-yard line. On third down from the one-yard line, Shaw plunged into the end zone with 1:16 left in the contest. The two-point conversion failed, bringing the final score of the game to 34-19..
Isgro finished the game completing 12-of-15 passes for 139 yards, while tossing for touchdown passes of four, 20, four, and 34 yards in the game. He also rushed for 57 yards on 13 carries, avoiding potential King's sacks on a number of occasions. Cook finished the game with 17 yards on 23 carries and one score. Dan Heiland caught four passes of 48 yards while Peterman finished the day with three receptions for 63 yards and two touchdowns.
Soda, meanwhile, completed 18-of-24 passes for 226 yards with one touchdown and one interceptions. Verbitski made four catches for 68 yards while Lane added four receptions for 43 yards and one touchdown. King's was held to just 47 rushing yards on 36 carries, led by Soda with 26 yards on 16 carries.
Delaware Valley outgained King's 359-346 in total yards, but held a crucial 222-117 advantage in the second half.
King's was led on defense by Matt Rhodes with a game-high 13 tackles, including two tackles for loss. Tulaney added ninetckles while Shane McNamara and Justin Zlotek chiped in with six each.
A live statistical and play-by-play feed was available on the Internet at the following link:
King's will return to action Saturday, October 11 when the Monarchs host defending MAC champion Widener University at 1:00 p.m. at Betzler Fields.
