BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Moravian College bolted to a 28-7 halftime lead, then shut out Lebanon Valley in the second half en route to a 42-7 Greyhound victory on Saturday afternoon at Steel Field in Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) action.
The Greyhounds snapped a two-game losing streak to improve to 2-2 overall and in the MAC. LVC dropped its second straight game to fall to 1-3 and 1-2 in MAC play.
Dave Darmofal led the Greyhounds with 70 yards and two touchdowns on the ground while Chris Jacoubs added 61 yards rushing. Jerry Venturino threw for 158 yards on 7-of-14 passing.
Moravian rushed for 279 yards and held LVC to 135 yards on the ground.
Junior receiver Jarrod Way (Bedford, Pa./Chestnut Ridge) had a big day for the Valley, as he caught 12 passes for 126 yards. Way's 12 receptions were the most since Jason Lutz's 13 catches in 1993.
Senior quarterback Roger Poorman (Ephrata, Pa./Ephrata) threw for 120 yards on 11-of-20 passing while playing the first half. Sophomore Zach Buffington (Lykens, Pa./Upper Dauphin) played most of the second half and completed 12-of-23 passes for 87 yards.
Senior Pete Henning (Souderton, Pa./Souderton) ran for a game-high 74 yards for LVC while sophomore Jimmy Holzman (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial) led the Valley with 10 tackles.
Lebanon Valley forced Moravian to go three-and-out on the first drive of the game, but Henning dropped the ensuing punt, which was recovered by the Greyhounds at the LVC-10. Two plays later, Darmofal trotted six yards into the end zone to put the Greyhounds up 7-0.
The Flying Dutchmen answered quickly, however, when on their next possession, Poorman hit Way for a 60-yard touchdown strike. The play marked a career-long pass for Poorman and a career-long reception for Way.
Later in the quarter, the Valley moved the ball 46 yards on eight plays to the Moravian-26, but the drive stalled when LVC turned the ball over on downs.
The Flying Dutchmen stopped the Greyhounds on their last two drives of the first quarter and the scoreboard read 7-7 after the opening stanza.
Poorman completed 8-of-10 passes for 111 yards in the first quarter while Way caught five passes for 93 yards.
Moravian went to the ground in the second quarter and promptly managed a nine-play, 93 yard drive that ended with a 17-yard touchdown pass from Venturino to Jeff Lowry. That play was the Greyhounds' lone pass of the drive.
On Moravian's next possession, the Greyhounds drove 54 yards on 10 plays, all but one of which were rushes, in 4:59 and took a 21-7 lead after a Darmofal 3-yard touchdown jaunt.
Moravian forced LVC to punt with 1:24 left in the opening half, and two plays later Venturino found Shawn Martell on the left sideline for a 77-yard touchdown pass.
The Greyhounds ran for 155 yards on 30 carries in the first half, with Darmofal chewing up 68 of those yards.
Lebanon Valley turned the ball over on downs on its first possession of the second half, and Moravian came back with a six-play, 61-yard drive, highlighted by an amazing 27-yard pass from Venturino to tight end Chad Opdyke. Venturino appeared to be wrapped up on the right sideline by a crowd of LVC defenders for a sack, but escaped and fired a pass across his body to a wide-open Opdyke, who rumbled down the field to the LVC-26. Jacoubs ran in for a 19-yard touchdown two plays later.
Buffington led the Flying Dutchmen 41 yards on 16 plays on the ensuing drive. The Valley converted two fourth downs along the way, including a fourth-and-one from the Dutchman-48. The Valley was unable to capitalize on the drive, however, as Kevin Keller's (Forest Hill, Md./Fallston) 30-yard field goal attempt was blocked.
LVC stopped Moravian on its next three possessions, but the Dutchmen were unable to capitalize on any of their defensive stops.
Lebanon Valley was in the midst of a seven-play drive late in the quarter when lightning halted the game 45 minutes. On the first play after the delay, Buffington had a pass intercepted on a second-and-10 from the LVC-49 on the final play of the third quarter.
The Dutchmen were unable to advance beyond the Moravian-41 any of their final three possessions, and the Greyhounds tacked on a one-yard touchdown run with 3:49 left in the game.
Lebanon Valley returns to action next Saturday when it hosts Delaware Valley College at 1 p.m. during Oktoberfest.
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