ANNVILLE, Pa. – Senior running back Michael Gandy rushed for a game-high 148 yards, including 136 in the first half, and Widener University broke the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) record for points in one game with a 74-17 victory over Lebanon Valley College on Saturday afternoon in MAC action at Arnold Field.
The Pioneers' 74 points eclipsed the previous MAC record of 70 points set by Susquehanna University in 1994 and Franklin & Marshall College in 1974. It was also the first time in school history that Widener has scored over 70 points.
Widener first-year head coach David Wood picked up his first career victory with the win.
Junior quarterback Mike Lomas threw for 191 yards and five touchdowns on 13-of-21 passing for Widener (1-1, 1-1 MAC) while sophomore running back Darren Shaw ran for 70 yards and three touchdowns. Junior wide receiver Tyreak Saviour caught six passes for 74 yards.
Widener surged to a 39-10 halftime lead, then outscored the Valley 35-7 in the second half.
The Pioneers, who out-gained LVC 456-305 in total yards, scored 38 points off turnovers.
Senior running back Pete Henning (Souderton, Pa./Souderton) rushed for 51 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries for Lebanon Valley (1-2, 1-1 MAC) while junior Jarrod Way (Bedford, Pa./Chestnut Ridge) caught five passes for 57 yards. The Flying Dutchmen used four different quarterbacks and sophomore Zach Buffington (Lykens, Pa./Upper Dauphin) threw for a team-high 103 yards and one touchdown on 9-of-16 passing.
Widener never trailed after scoring on its opening possession. The Pioneers drove 32 yards on four plays and Shaw rushed in from four yards out to put Widener on top 7-0 with 11:16 left in the opening quarter. Lebanon Valley cut it to 7-3 with 7:56 to go in the opening stanza after a Kevin Keller (Forest Hill, Md./Fallston) 20-yard field goal capped a nine-play, 59-yard Dutchman drive. The march was highlighted by a 39-yard completion from senior
Roger Poorman (Ephrata, Pa./Ephrata) to junior Dave McCullough (New Cumberland, Pa./Red Land) on a third-and-eight.
After LVC turned the ball over on downs with 4:23 to go in the quarter, Widener put together an eight-play, 65-yard drive that resulted in another four-yard touchdown run by Shaw to put the Pioneers up 14-3 with eight seconds left in the first quarter.
Lebanon Valley punted on its first possession of the second quarter, and on the Pioneers first play from scrimmage Lomas found receiver Bo Fischer for a 30-yard touchdown pass. Widener intercepted Lebanon Valley on the Dutchmen's next two possessions and converted the turnovers into 10 points. A Lomas 20-yard touchdown pass and a 35-yard field goal by Frank Vinci put the Pioneers on top 31-3 with 8:27 left in the first half.
The Dutchmen cut the gap to 31-10 after Buffington led the Valley on an 11-play, 69-yard drive, capped by a 15-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Luke Rendine (West Milford, N.J./West Milford Township). But the Pioneers were quick to answer, as Gandy ran in for a 5-yard touchdown run with 1:20 to go in the half to give Widener a 39-10 halftime lead.
Two LVC fumbles led to a pair of Widener touchdowns over the opening 3:01 of the second half as the Pioneers lead ballooned to 53-10. The Dutchmen stopped the bleeding momentarily when Henning bulled into the end zone from one yard out with 8:05 remaining in the third quarter to conclude a 12-play, 54-yard LVC drive.
Later in the quarter, a LVC interception gave the Pioneers the ball at the Dutchmen-19, and two plays later Lomas threw his fifth touchdown pass of the day and Widener led 60-17 after three quarters of play.
Shaw's third touchdown, a 25-yard run with 8:06 left in the game, made it 67-17 in favor of the Pioneers, and LVC fumbled on its first play from scrimmage on the ensuing drive. Four plays later, Raymond Keshel scored Widener's record-breaking touchdown on a 12-yard run.
Freshman Dan Stauffer (Swedesburg, Pa./Upper Merion) led all players with seven tackles for Lebanon Valley.
The Flying Dutchmen return to the gridiron next Saturday when they visit Moravian College at 1 p.m. in another MAC contest.
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