WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Freshman safety Jeff Ochoa, junior defensive tackle Kevin Krause, and a host of Dutchmen defensive players tackled Lycoming quarterback Glenn Smith at the LVC 1-yard line on the final play of the game as Lebanon Valley defeated the Warriors for the first time ever, winning 15-9 in a Middle Atlantic Conference game Saturday afternoon at David Person Field.
Lebanon Valley (4-4, 3-4 MAC) had lost its previous 21 meetings against Lycoming (3-3, 3-3 MAC).
The Warriors, who scored their points on three Mike Monastra field goals, have now failed to score an offensive touchdown against the Dutchmen over the last two meetings between the two teams. In last season's 7-6 Lycoming victory, the Warriors scored their lone touchdown on a fumble return.
The Dutchmen's 4-4 mark is their best record through eight games since they opened the 1993 season 4-4 en route to a 5-5 year.
Trailing 15-9, Lycoming forced the Dutchmen to punt, and the Warriors took over at their own 41 with 1:38 left. Smith then put together a magnificent drive, completing five straight passes to move Lycoming to the LVC-7. After an incomplete pass, the Dutchmen were flagged for a pass interference penalty on another incompletion, giving the Warriors a first-and-goal at the 2-yard line with thee seconds left. After a LVC timeout, Smith ran a quarterback draw and was tackled a full yard shy of the end zone as time expired, setting off a wild Dutchman celebration at midfield.
Junior receiver Adam Brossman came through with another outstanding performance for the Valley, catching a pair of touchdown passes from senior Dan Kelly. With his final catch of the day, a 7-yard touchdown reception that gave the Dutchmen a 13-9 lead with 4:28 left, he became Lebanon Valley's career leader in receiving yardage, surpassing the former record of 2,364 set by Brian Wassell '91. Brossman now holds Lebanon Valley career records for touchdown receptions (30), points (188), and receiving yards (2,367).
Following Brossman's final touchdown, senior tailback David Ochoa ran in a two-point conversion, setting the final score.
Brossman finished with 49 yards on five receptions while Kelly was held to 83 yards on 8-of-20 passing. Freshman tailback Charlie Parker rushed for 31 yards on 10 carries for the Dutchmen.
John Seese rushed for 96 yards on 23 carries for Lycoming.
The Warriors converted an interception into a field goal to take an early 3-0 lead. Facing a third-and-19 from the Lycoming-49, Kelly had his pass picked off by safety Ryan Repko, who returned the ball 23 yards to the Warrior-48. Lycoming then drove 28 yards to the LVC-19 before Monastra came to kick a 36-yard field goal, making it 3-0.
Neither team was able to generate much offense during the rest of the quarter, as the two sides combined for only three first downs over the opening 15 minutes.
In the second quarter, the Warriors appeared to have something going when they drove 51 yards to the LVC-16. But that's when Smith was intercepted in the end zone by junior safety Russell DeStefano. But after DeStefano returned it to the Dutchman-1, LVC was forced to punt with 6:34 to go in the half.
Lycoming gave the Dutchmen the ball back on downs shortly thereafter, as Smith was sacked by sophomore defensive tackle Daryl Buck at the LVC-41 on a fourth-and-eight. However, Lebanon Valley returned the favor two plays later when Parker had the ball stripped on a rush, and the Warriors recovered at the Dutchman-41.
Lycoming ate up the final 3:10 of the half on an 11-play drive, and the Warriors upped their lead to 6-0 when Monastra booted a 33-yard field goal 10 seconds before the intermission.
The Warriors out-gained Lebanon Valley 140-34 in total yards in the opening half.
After receiving the second-half kickoff, Lycoming was forced to punt, and the Dutchmen took their first lead of the game when Brossman caught an 8-yard touchdown reception, tip-toeing on the edge of the right side of the end zone for the score. Highlighting the drive were back-to-back big plays, as Kelly hit senior fullback John Smith for a 16-yard pickup on second-and-11, and Parker rushed for 13 yards to put the Dutchmen at the Lycoming-30. Then on a fourth-and-11, Kelly found Brossman for a 13-yard gain to the Warrior-18.
An 8-yard Kelly to Scott Klein pickup set up Brossman's touchdown, and freshman Josh Evans knocked through the extra point to make it 7-6.
Lycoming threatened to retake the lead late in the quarter, as the Warriors drove 66 yards on 12 plays to the LVC-7, but Monastra missed on a 23-yard field goal with 2:08 to go in the stanza.
After the Warriors forced the Dutchmen to go three-and-out on the ensuing possession, Lycoming put together another drive, this time going 40 yards on 10 plays, capped by Monastra's third field goal of the day, a 29-yarder with 9:43 left in the game.
Lebanon Valley had some tricks up its sleeve on its game-winning drive, which was started by a 32-yard kickoff return from junior Clint Vinju that set up LVC at the Dutchman-36.
Lebanon Valley faced a third-and-2 at the Warrior-46 when Kelly, flushed out to the left side of the pocket, hit Smith for a 10-yard gain. Two plays later, Kelly hauled in a halfback throw-back from Parker and took off down the left sideline for a 23-yard run. Two plays later, sophomore receiver Sean Donovan sprinted 14 yards on a reverse to the 2-yard line. Then on third-and-goal at the 7, Brossman caught his record-breaking, game-winning catch on a lob pass from Kelly in the back right corner of the end zone.
Lycoming threatened on the ensuing drive, moving to the LVC-38, but that's where sophomore defensive end Brian Drew forced his second fumble of the day, which was recovered by senior cornerback Keith Comrey. But the Warriors forced the Dutchmen to punt, setting up Lycoming's final drive.
Junior linebacker Don Burton, making a homecoming of sorts after transferring from Lycoming this season, led all players with 14 tackles. Sophomore linebacker Brian Cottone added nine tackles for the Dutchmen.
Brossman punted six times for 242 yards, averaging 40.3 yards per kick, while Vinju returned three kickoffs for 88 yards.
Lebanon Valley takes its bye week before returning to action on Saturday, Nov. 4 when it hosts Moravian College on Senior Day. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
[Photo - Junior receiver Adam Brossman, who had two touchdown catches and broke Lebanon Valley's career record for receiving yardage in the Dutchmen's 15-9 win over Lycoming on Saturday]
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