READING, Pa. – Junior quarterback John Port passed for 306 yards and five touchdowns and senior receiver Jesse Dorais caught six passes for 185 yards and three touchdowns as Albright College defeated Lebanon Valley 37-21 in a Middle Atlantic (MAC) contest and LVC's season finale Saturday afternoon at Eugene C. Shirk Stadium.
Albright improved to 7-3 and 6-3 in the MAC with the win and will now hope for an ECAC bid. Lebanon Valley concluded the season 1-9 and 1-8 in conference play.
Port completed 18 of 31 passes, and his five touchdowns were just one short of Albright's single-game record.
Senior tailback Pete Henning (Souderton, Pa./Souderton) rushed for a game and season-high 167 yards, just two short of his career-high, on 29 carries to lead Lebanon Valley. He also eclipsed 1,000 yards for the season on his final rush of the game, which turned out to be a 14-yard touchdown run.
Freshman Dan Kelly (King of Prussia, Pa./Upper Merion) made his first collegiate start at quarterback for LVC and completed 8 of 34 passes for 47 yards.
Senior tight end Scott Marek (Nesquehoning, Pa./Panther Valley) had a game-high seven receptions and two touchdowns for 105 yards for LVC.
Albright wasted little time getting on the scoreboard after receiving the opening kickoff. On the team's first play from scrimmage, Port completed a 21-yard pass, then hit Dorais down the middle of the field for a 47-yard touchdown strike to put the Lions ahead 7-0 just 39 seconds into the game.
Lebanon Valley moved the ball 34 yards to the Albright-34 on the Dutchmen's first drive of the game, but a penalty and sack pushed LVC back to the Lion-47. Then on a Lebanon Valley third-and-23, Kelly had his pass picked off and returned for a touchdown. But an illegal block returned the ball to the Albight-39, and the Dutchmen would force the Lions to punt.
LVC was forced to punt on its next possession, and Nick Cushman returned the punt 35 yards to the Dutchmen-23. Two plays after a 17-yard run by Hubley, Port hit Dorais again, this time from 5 yards out, and the Lions led 14-0 with 5:44 left in the opening stanza.
Albright drove the ball 50 yards on its next possession but missed a 27-yard field goal on the second play of the second quarter.
Midway through the second stanza, junior Jarrod Way (Bedford, Pa./Chestnut Ridge) gave the Valley the ball at the Lion-27 after a 48-yard punt return. However, LVC was unable to take advantage of the long return, as sophomore Kevin Keller (Forest Hill, Md./Fallston) had a 43-yard field goal attempt bounce off the corner of the crossbar and the left upright.
The Lions tacked on a pair touchdowns in the final three minutes of the half. With 2:58 left, Port found freshman Michael Boles for a 15-yard touchdown pass, capping a 68-yard, eight-play drive. The march was highlighted by a 50-yard completion from Port to Dorais on third-and-20, which gave the Lions the ball at the LVC-28.
LVC fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Albright recovered at the Dutchmen-17. On the first play from scrimmage, Port threw his fourth touchdown pass of the game and his third to Dorais. The 17-yard scoring toss pushed Albright's lead to 27-0 with 2:37 left in the half.
Lebanon Valley's offense kicked into gear just before the end of the half, as Kelly directed a 10-play, 72-yard touchdown drive to pull LVC to within 27-7. Kelly hit Marek with a 2-yard touchdown pass with 25 seconds remaining and Albright took a 27-7 lead into the locker room.
Albright intercepted Kelly on the third play of the second half, and five plays later Kaplan kicked a 24-yard field goal to push the Lions' advantage to 30-7.
Port's fifth touchdown pass of the day, a 7-yard completion to Cushman with 12:06 left in the game, gave Albright a 37-7 lead.
Lebanon Valley scored its second touchdown of the day when Henning rushed in from 14 yards out with 6:59 left in the game, pushing his season rushing total over 1,000 yards. It was his fifth touchdown rush of the season.
After Albright punted on its next possession, sophomore quarterback Zach Buffington (Lykens, Pa./Upper Dauphin) led Lebanon Valley on an eight-play, 98-yard touchdown drive capped by a 13-yard touchdown pass to Marek. Buffington completed 5 of 6 passes on the drive, with the last four going to Marek.
Freshman Matt Murphy (Fallston, Md./Fallston) and senior linebacker Brian Andrewsky (Trenton, N.J./Steinert) recorded a game-high 10 tackles apiece for Lebanon Valley.
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