FOOTBALL: Delaware Valley University 60, FDU-Florham 7
DOYLESTOWN (PA) – Delaware Valley University racked up 528 yards of total offense while allowing just 133 as the ninth-ranked Aggies remained undefeated with a 60-7 rout of host FDU-Florham in a Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) game on Friday night.
The win lifted DelVal to 5-0 overall and 4-0 in the conference. The Aggies are a half-game ahead of Albright College in the standings with the Lions set to play at King's College on Saturday. A win by Albright would set up the big showdown of undefeated teams at Albright next Saturday, October 21 (1 p.m.).
DelVal had 233 yards on the ground and 295 yards in the air on 73 plays. Thirty of the plays resulted in first downs. On the defensive side of the ball, the Aggies allowed just 78 yards until late in the fourth when the Devils (1-4, 0-4) had a 50-yard run. FDU-Florham managed just 29 yards passing and were forced to punt 12 times.
After forcing the Devils on a three-and-out, DelVal took over at the FDU-Florham 38-yard line. Six plays later, the Aggies were at the two for a first-and-goal. LaQuille Nesbitt took the handoff on a jet sweep and found the end zone. The extra-point attempt failed, leaving the score at 6-0 just five minutes in.
DelVal had a fumble on its next drive and FDU-Florham took over at the Aggie 47. However, the defense pushed the Devils back three yards on three plays and they were forced to punt from midfield and DelVal took over at its own 11. On the first play, quarterback Dashawn Darden hit tight end Dan Allen over the middle and he went 73 yards to the FDU-Florham 16. Later in the drive, Devauntay Ellis scored from a yard out and Pat Moran added the point-after for a 13-0 Aggie lead with 1:57 left in the opening quarter.
The next DelVal drive saw another big pass play to a tight end as, this time, Ryan Norton, hauled in a 54-yard pass to the Devil 22. Then on the first play of the second quarter, Darden hit Khalil Roane out of the backfield for a 22-yard touchdown and a 20-0 advantage.
DelVal upped the lead to 27-0 when Darden hit Marquis Ellis for a five-yard touchdown pass with 7:17 left in the first half. FDU-Florham got on the board with 1:45 left on a two-yard touchdown pass from Jagger Green to Malik Pressley following an interception that set up a short field.
However, DelVal came right back and went on a five-play, 63-yard drive that took just 61 seconds and was capped by Darden's third touchdown toss of the night, an 11-yard strike to Norton with 37.6 seconds left for a 34-7 lead.
The Aggies scored twice in the first eight minutes of the second half for a 47-7 advantage. Darden's fourth scoring pass was to Roane from 17 yards out while Khalil Steward had a two-yard touchdown run. Backup quarterback Anthony Fontana then added a pair of rushing touchdowns, one in the third and one in the fourth, for the 60-7 final.
Darden completed 16 of 20 passes for 271 yards and four touchdowns. Allen had three grabs for 106 yards while Norton had two catches for 65 yards and a score. Roane caught three out of the backfield for 52 yards and two trips to the end zone. Devauntay Ellis ran the ball 16 times for 80 yards and one touchdown. Defensively, Jamir Prevard, Kahleel Pettey and Bert Robinson had five tackles apiece to lead a balanced attack that had 27 different players notch a tackle.
Green, who threw for 593 in FDU-Florham's season-opening win over The College of New Jersey, managed just 29 yards on 12-for-33 passing. Pressley caught eight passes for 38 yards and a score. Alnzaizr Blackman had 98 yards on 12 rushes, including the 50-yarder late in the game. Isaiah Turner made 18 stops and had one interception for the Devils.