ANNVILLE, Pa. – John Port threw for 246 yards and three touchdowns, and Nick Cushman caught 12 passes for 165 yards as Albright defeated Lebanon Valley 37-13 in the Middle Atlantic Conference finale for both teams Saturday afternoon at Arnold Field.
Albright (7-3, 6-3 MAC) will now hope for an ECAC bid. Lebanon Valley (4-6, 3-6 MAC) concluded the season with its best record since finishing 4-6 in 2000.
Adam Hubley added 99 yards on 28 carries for Albright.
The Lions yielded 406 yards of total offense, but forced the Dutchmen into five second-half turnovers, including four interceptions. Albright piled up 472 total yards.
Albright, which won its 10th straight game against LVC, never trailed after scoring the game's first 21 points.
Sophomore quarterback Dan Kelly (King of Prussia, Pa./Upper Merion) passed for a career-high 353 yards and two touchdowns for the Dutchmen. Junior receiver Luke Rendine (West Milford, N.J./West Milford Township) grabbed 10 passes for 127 yards, both career-highs, while freshman receiver Adam Brossman (Lebanon, Pa./Lebanon) had six catches for 119 yards and two touchdowns. Senior receiver Dave McCullough (New Cumberland, Pa./Red Land) added seven receptions for 70 yards.
Kelly finished the season with 18 touchdown passes, just two short of Lebanon Valley's single-season record.
Albright received the opening kickoff and drove to Lebanon Valley's 21-yard line before turning the ball over on downs. However, the Dutchmen were forced to punt on the ensuing drive after moving the ball 39 yards to the Albright-40.
The Lion offense went on to score on its next three possessions. Port drove his team 80 yards on 12 plays, capped by a 13-yard touchdown pass to Hubley, to give Albright a 7-0 with 4:28 left in the opening quarter. LVC went three-and-out on its possession, and a season-long 55-yard punt by sophomore Dan Stauffer (Swedesburg, Pa./Upper Merion) rolled into the end zone for his second touchback. But the Lions went 80 yards again, this time scoring on a 21-yard strike from Port to Steve Mocey with 14:20 left in the first half.
Another three-and-out forced the Dutchmen to punt for the third time in a row to open the game, and Albright capitalized again on the defensive stop. Hubley rammed his way in from one yard out on third-and-goal, finishing a 60-yard drive and giving the Lions a 21-0 advantage with 8:39 to go in the stanza.
Lebanon Valley drove to the Albright-27 on its next possession, but an incomplete pass on fourth-and-seven game the Lions the ball back. However, the Dutchman defense forced Albright to go three-and-out, and LVC responded with an 11-play, 88-yard touchdown drive. Kelly completed 4 of 6 passes and ran for 15 yards on the drive, highlighted by a 19-yard pass to Brossman with 51 seconds remaining in the half.
The Dutchmen continued to move the ball in the second half, but had three of its first four drives thwarted by interceptions. LVC received the second-half kickoff and went 71 yards on eight plays before Kelly had a pass intercepted in the end zone on first-and-goal from the Albright-6.
Stauffer gave the ball right back to LVC when he picked off a pass for his fifth interception of the season, and after a 24-yard return the Dutchmen took over at the Lion-30. But Kelly had another pass intercepted on a third-and-20, and Albright's Steve Butler returned it 11 yards to midfield.
Nine plays later, Dustin Kaplan kicked a 25-yard field goal for the only points of the third quarter, giving Albright a 24-7 lead with 7:22 left in the stanza.
After forcing the Dutchmen to punt for the fourth time, Albright took over at the LVC-41 with 13:39 left in the game following Kelly's third interception of the game. The Lions took advantage of the turnover, with Port hitting Steve Mocey from four yards out nine plays later for his third touchdown of the game, giving Albright a 31-7 lead with 10:14 remaining.
Lebanon Valley took the ensuing kickoff and put together its best possession of the game, as the Dutchmen went 83 yards on seven plays, highlighted by a 47-yard touchdown pass from Kelly to Brossman with 7:31 to go. Kelly's two-point conversion fell incomplete, making it 31-13.
The Dutchmen attempted an onside kick and recovered, but the ball did not travel far enough for LVC to gain possession. Lebanon Valley forced the Lions to turn the ball over on downs, but the Dutchmen's fifth turnover of the game, this one a fumble, gave Albright the ball at the LVC-41. Eight plays later, Hubley ran it in from nine yards out to set the final score.
Junior safety Jimmy Holzman (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial) led all players and tied a career-high with 13 tackles while sophomore tackle Joe Tomtishen (Ringtown, Pa./North Schuylkill) added a career-high 10 tackles.
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