Delaware Valley 27 King's 0

DOYLESTOWN – Jake Sheffield accounted for 155 yards of all-purpose yardage and Mike Isgro completed 12-of-16 passes doe 181 yards and three touchdowns as host Delaware Valley College posted a 27-0 victory over King’s College in the Middle Atlantic Conference opener for both teams Saturday at James Work Memorial Field in Doylestown.

With the win, Delaware Valley improved to 1-3 overall and, more important, 1-0 in the MAC. King’s meanwhile, fell to 0-4 overall and 0-1 in conference play.

The game played out similar to the Monarchs three previous losses as King’s failed to convert on a number of scoring chances that would ultimately prove costly.

King’s would miss out on a golden opportunity on the first possession of the game when the Monarchs drove to the Delaware Valley 11-yard line. The dive would stall, however, and Tim Lust’s 22-yard field goal attempt sailed wide to keep the Monarchs off the scoreboard.

On the Aggies ensuing possession, Delaware Valley took advantage of a second-down pass interference penalty for a first down at its own 35.  On second-down, quarterback Mike Isgro would avoid a sack and hit Joel Foreman for an 18-yard gain to the King’s 42. On third-and-nine Isgro found Jake Sheffield for 10 more yards and a first down at the Monarch 31.  Two plays later Isgro hooked up with Mike Barainyak for a 25-yard touchdown for the first score of the day. Steve Giovacchini added the point after to give Delaware Valley a 7-0 lead with 4:37 remaining in the first quarter.
 

Delaware Valley would hold and took over at the King’s 38 following a short Monarch punt. On a fourth-and-seven play from the Monarch 35, Tom Tulaney would come with his sixth sack of the year to end the scoring threat.
 

King’s, however, would give the ball right back when Searfass fumbled after being sacked as the Aggies Sean Raftery recovered at the Monarch 46.  Runs of eight and nine yards by Jake Sheffield moved the ball to the King’s 29.  On third-and-seven from the 20, Isgro found a wide-open Sheffield at the two-yard line for an Aggie score. Giovacchini made good on the extra-point kick as Delaware Valley took a 14-0 lead with 11:33 remaining in the half.

The Monarchs would attempt to answer when Searfass avoided a third-down sack and scrambled for 13 yards to the Monarch 49. On third-down, Searfass was flushed from the pocket and was intercepted by Aggie linebacker Kyle Reuter at the Delaware Valley 38.

The Aggies would promptly march downfield where it reached the Monarch 23. But the drive would stall and a 39-yard field goal attempt by Giovacchini was short, giving King’s possession at its own 20.

On second down, Searfass would find Rick Ritter for 17 yards to the Monarch 37. A six-yard pass to Bob Lane was followed by an 11-yard completion to Brandon Murray to the Aggie 46. On a third-and-one from the 37, Jones was stopped at the line of scrimmage for no gain. On fourth down, Jeff Field would pick up six yards and a first down to the 31. Facing a fourth-and-13 from the Aggie 34, Searfass would connect with Ritter, but the Monarch freshman was tackles five yards tackled shy of the first down at the 29 as Delaware Valley took over on downs. The Aggies would run out the final 0:25 of the half to take a 14-0 lead at the break.

In the second half, King’s would take over at its own 14-yard line after forcing an Aggie punt on the opening possession of the second half. Searfass would connect with Ritter for 19 yards to the Monarch 28. Jeff Field would add carries of seven and six yards for a first down at the King’s 41.  The Monarchs would eventually move to the Delaware Valley 40, but Searfass’ pass to Ritter on third down was batted down by an Aggie defender to force a Monarch punt.

King’s defense would hold and forced an Aggie punt, giving the Monarchs excellent field position at its own 47. Jones would carry for six yards before Searfass connected with Murray for 14 yards to the Aggie 33. Ritter would then break free for a 15-yard catch to the Delaware Valley 18. After Jones rushed for five yards, Searfass found Mucha for three yards on a screen pass to set up a third-and-two at the 10. Field appeared to pick up the first down but the spot was a yard short as King’s faced a fourth-and-one play from the nine. From there, Field was stuffed at the line for a one-yard loss as the Aggies kept the Monarchs off the scoreboard.

The Aggies would take advantage on the ensuing possession when it droved 49 yards to the King’s 41. On the next play Cook would break free and raced down the left sideline into the end zone to extend the lead.   Giovacchini would kick the extra-point to up the Delaware Valley led to 21-0 with 13:13 left in the contest.
 

King’s would again move the ball downfield as an 11-yard pass to Murray, a pass interference penalty and a 15-yard pass to Lane moved the ball to the Aggie 37. But again the Aggie defense would hold firm and forced a fourth-and-five from the 35. From there, Searfass found Maloney but the Monarch tight end was stopped a yard short of the first down as Delaware Valley once again take over on downs.
 

The Aggies would put the game away on the ensuing possession with a 10-play, 71-yard scoring drive, keyed by a 44-yard pass from Isgro to Sheffield and capped by a two-yard scoring toss to tight end Brad Emmons. The conversion was blocked as the Aggies would up the score to 27-0 with 4:13 remaining.

Delaware Valley would out gain King’s 356-to-310 in total yards while the Monarchs posted 21 first downs to 18 for the Aggies. King’s, however, was limited to 80-yards on the ground and was just 7-of-18 in third-down conversions.

Searfass equaled his own school-record for single-game completions, converting 26-of-39 passes for 230 yards with an interception and was sacked six times while being harassed much of the game.  Ritter posted a career-high nine catches for 117 yards while Maloney and Murray chipped in with five and four catches respectively. Jones led King’s runners with 48 yards on 18 carries, while Field added 37 yards on 10 carries in his first action since an injury in the Monarchs’ season-opening loss to St. John Fisher.

Cook also enjoyed a strong game for Delaware Valley, rushing for 100 yards on 13 carries.
 

Senior linebacker Tore Alaimo led the King’s defense with 21 tackles, tying the mark set by Chad Ormond versus Albright in 1996. With Delaware Valley running 55 offensive plays, the Monarch standout was involved in an astounding 38.2 percent of the King's defensive plays

King’s returns to action next week with another MAC game against Widener University at 1:00 p.m. in Chester.