#13 Aggies Cruise Past Lebanon Valley, 38-6
DOYLESTOWN (PA) -- Delaware Valley College senior quarterback Mark Hatty tied a school record by tossing five touchdown passes as the 13th-ranked Aggies cruised to a 38-6 victory over visiting Lebanon Valley College in the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) opener for both teams.
It was a meeting of the top two teams in the conference's preseason coaches' poll, but Delaware Valley (3-1) took command in the early going as it scored 21 points in the first quarter and held a 28-0 advantage before the Flying Dutchmen (1-3) hit the scoreboard.
The Aggie offense notched 501 yards on the day with Hatty leading the way. He completed 19 of 30 passes for 269 yards, including scoring throws of 16, 28, 12, 1 and 25 yards. He tied the single-game record held by Jim Smith (1968 vs Lock Haven), current offensive coordinator Duke Greco (2000 vs Albright) and Adam Knoblauch (2003 vs Susquehanna).
Meanwhile, the Aggie defense yielded just 140 yards (45 rushing, 95 passing) and recorded six sacks and three interceptions. The unit has now allowed just 34 points over the first four games with 21 coming in the team's four-point setback at No. 3 Wesley College.
Delaware Valley wasted no time as Isaiah Hall took the opening kickoff and returned it 48 yards to the Lebanon Valley 45-yard line. The offense drove the ball down to the 16 when Hatty hit fullback/tight end Vincent Lochetto in the end zone for the score. Jake Sobchak tacked on the extra-point for a 7-0 lead just 3:05 into the contest.
The Flying Dutchmen went three-and-out and an 18-yard punt return by Dan Heiland put the ball back in Lebanon Valley territory at the 43. Matt Cook ran for 15 yards on the first play and Hatty then found Heiland for a 28-yard touchdown. Sobchak's boot made it a 14-0 ballgame with 9:43 left in the quarter.
Lebanon Valley was forced to punt again after just three offensive plays and the Aggies took over on their own 45-yard line. Eight plays later, they had a second-and-goal from the 12 when Hatty drilled a pass to Joe Gionfriddo in the end zone for a 21-0 lead just 12 minutes into the game.
The Flying Dutchmen advanced the ball to the Delaware Valley 23 when quarterback Colt Zarilla was intercepted by linebacker Chris James to end the threat. The Aggies quickly moved downfield and lined up for a field goal when a bad snap led to a short run and a turnover on downs at the nine-yard line.
However, Lebanon Valley gave the ball right back to Delaware Valley as, on third-and-eight, Zarilla was picked off by cornerback Terrance Osborne who returned it 27 yards to the 15. The Aggies advanced to the one-yard line when Hatty faked a handoff and found Lochetto wide open for the touchdown. Sobchak hit the extra-point for a 28-0 Aggie lead with 6:25 to go before the intermission.
The teams exchanged punts and the Flying Dutchmen took over on their own 26 with 3:06 on the clock. They marched 74 yards on 15 plays and were aided by a trip of Aggie penalties. The drive culminated in an eight-yard touchdown pass from Zarilla to Kevin Green with just two seconds remaining. However, Brittany Ryan's extra-point attempt was partially blocked by Kyle Gesswein to leave it a 28-6 score going into the break.
Delaware Valley increased the lead on its first possession of the second half as a six-play, 85-yard drive was capped by Hatty tying the school mark with a 25-yard score to Gionfriddo. Sobchak added the extra-point and the sophomore kicker later booted home a 25-yard field goal in the fourth for the 38-6 final.
Heiland caught a career-high seven passes for 119 yards and his first touchdown of the season. Rod Blango added three receptions for 54 yards. Both Gionfriddo and Lochetto finished with two catches apiece with all of the grabs resulting in scores.
Cook carried the ball 17 times for 94 yards and, in the process, became Delaware Valley's all-time leading rusher. The three-time all-conference honoree upped his career total to 3,549 yards to move past 2006 graduate Steve Cook (no relation – 3,530 yards) for the top spot. Matt Cook also owns the all-time marks for carries (771), 100-yard rushing games (17), rushing touchdowns (33), overall touchdowns (35) and points (210).
Defensively, Garrett Wooters finished with five tackles and 2.5 sacks while Mike Jaskowski had seven stops and 1.5 sacks. Jim DiLisio and Amadeus Hall also added sacks on the afternoon. Chris Vega had the team's third interception of the day while Ryan McCullough recorded a team-high nine tackles.
Zarilla was 8-for-17 for 98 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions for Lebanon Valley. Blair Ransom netted 25 yards on six carries while the leading rusher in the MAC, Ben Guiles (154.0 avg) managed just 10 yards on seven rushes. Jason Gigous led the defense with eight tackles.
