Online Video
The game will be streamed live and for free on
LVCtv.
On the Radio
The game will be broadcast on the Flying Dutchmen Radio Network on WMSS 91.1 FM in Middletown and WWSM 1510 AM in Lebanon County. John Wilsbach and Brian Keyser will call the action. The game will be streamed live and for free on the TuneIn app, as well as at
WMSSFM.com and on GoDutchmen.com.
Weather Forecast
(
Forecast) A cold morning will give way to a beautiful afternoon, with temperatures reaching the high 60s after kickoff. Also, no rain in the forecast after LVC's last two games were contested in damp weather.
Going to the Game
(
Directions) Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for seniors, and $2 for non-LVC students. LVC students receive free admission.
Five Things
- Lebanon Valley is holding its annual Pink Game this afternoon as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, to remind female fans and family to be screened regularly for breast cancer.
- LVC is coming off a heartbreaking 27-24 defeat at Lycoming last weekend; the team's fifth loss in a row.
- Saturday's game is the fifth meeting all-time between the programs. The Dutchmen have never lost to Misericordia.
- Running back Brendon Irving rushed for a career-high 190 yards in a win over MU last fall. He needs 319 more to become LVC's career rushing leader.
- The Cougars rank last in the MAC in scoring defense and are allowing 43.4 points per game.
Series History
Saturday's game is just the fifth meeting all-time between the programs ... Lebanon Valley has won each of the previous four matchups … This is just the fifth year of Misericordia football … The Flying Dutchmen routed the Cougars 37-7 in Dallas last fall after defeating MU 31-14 in the team's first-ever trip to Mangelsdorf Field back in 2013 … LVC topped the Cougars 47-7 at Arnold Field in Misericordia's inaugural MAC game in 2012 - That contest was also the first football game played on artificial turf at Arnold Field … The Dutchmen earned a 44-16 Homecoming victory over MU in 2014; the last time the Cougars visited Annville … LVC's average margin of victory in the previous four meetings is an impressive 31.3 points per game.
Last Year
Lebanon Valley's rushing attack was on full display and the Flying Dutchmen stifled Misericordia's offense en route to a convincing 37-7 victory in the team's MAC opener at Mangelsdorf Field last fall.
Brendon Irving and
Jon Jones set career rushing marks with Irving totaling 190 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries and Jones rumbling for 95 yards and two scores on 19 carries.
Ryan Heim added a 49-yard touchdown run and
Tyler Cottle got LVC on the board first with a quarterback sneak from the one-yard line with 4:52 left in the first quarter. Jones capped a five-play, 75-yard, second quarter drive with a five-yard touchdown run set up by Irving's 43-yard dash one play earlier to make it 14-0 Dutchmen before following it up with a dominant 13-play, 78-yard scoring march that chewed up 5:10 on their ensuing possession. Irving rushed four times for 37 yards and Jones put an exclamation point on the drive with his second score of the day, this time from two yards out with just over a minute left to play in the first half. Irving finished off Lebanon Valley's opening drive of the third quarter with a seven-yard touchdown run and kicker
Marcus Brown pushed the lead to 30-0 with a 20-yard field goal late in the third quarter.
Ricky Feggins made his first pick of the game on the Cougars' next series and
Ryan Heim put things out of reach for good when he took a carry off right end and outran the entire MU secondary en route to a 49-yard touchdown in front of the LVC sideline with 4:12 left in the third. Misericordia's lone touchdown came in garbage time when Jeff Puckett found Mark McMaster from seven yards out with just over four minutes remaining. The Dutchmen defense limited Puckett to just 64 yards rushing and 147 yards passing, a large chunk of which came on a completed Hail Mary just before halftime.
Gashing 'Em
LVC's rushing attack racked up over 400 yards on the ground in the team's 30-point win a year ago. Lebanon Valley's offensive line mangled Misericordia up front and blew their Cougar counterparts off the line of scrimmage all day. The group opened holes for
Brendon Irving and
Jon Jones to run through for three quarters before giving way to the reserves with the game well in hand. In total, Dutchmen running backs Irving, Jones,
Ryan Fink,
Ryan Heim, and
Cyree Sutton-Ames combined for 413 yards on the ground, due much in part to the work of LVC's big uglies in the trenches.
Ending the Skid
The combination of a struggling Misericordia team paying a visit to Arnold Field and an offense that showed a pulse by posting its second-highest points total of the season last Saturday at Lycoming should give LVC a favorable chance to end its recent five-game losing skid this weekend. Add in the fact that the Dutchmen ground game, the team's bread and butter, had a field day in a 37-7 victory over the Cougars a year ago and Lebanon Valley could be sending its fans home happy for the first time since a 38-20 win over Wilkes on Sept. 10.
Last Week
Lebanon Valley erased a 21-point first-half deficit and claimed the lead late in the fourth quarter but couldn't hold the advantage down the stretch in the team's heartbreaking 27-24 loss at Lycoming on Saturday afternoon, Oct. 22. With 6:09 left to play,
Brendan Yetter recovered a Blake Bowman fumble caused by
Kyle Murray at the Lycoming 22-yard line. Four plays later,
Tyler Sterner connected with
Michael Gaval for the go-ahead touchdown from nine yards out, giving LVC its first lead of the day at 24-21 with 4:37 remaining. The Warriors avoided their third straight late-game loss by driving 75 yards in nine plays on the ensuing possession, capped by a 34-yard touchdown pass from Chase Whiteman to Nick Costello with 1:25 left to play. Devon Flynn's extra-point attempt was no good, giving the Flying Dutchmen a chance to get into field goal range in the closing moments. Sterner completed three passes on Lebanon Valley's next drive and moved the Dutchmen to Lycoming's 41-yard line with 26 seconds remaining. Facing a fourth and six, Sterner was picked off by Joe Pinzka at the 23-yard line on what proved to be LVC's final offensive play, ending what was a relentless second-half comeback effort.
Signs of Life
LVC's last five outings haven't provided a whole lot to write home about. Until the team's most recent effort, that is. While the result didn't end in LVC's favor, there was a lot to be encouraged about from the team's performance at Lycoming last Saturday. Quarterback
Tyler Sterner took over for starter
Tim Pirrone late in the second quarter and showed an ability to command the offense when playing from behind, while wide receiver
Michael Gaval turned in his strongest showing of the season by ending the afternoon as the first Dutchman to catch two touchdown passes in a game this season. Running back
Brendon Irving continued his upward trend and surpassed the 100-yard mark on the ground for the second time this season, while fellow backfield mate
Jon Jones returned from injury and rushed for 50 yards and his third touchdown of the year. Kicker
Marcus Brown connected on his third field goal of the year to remain perfect on attempts this fall and the defense responded well by forcing a key fourth-quarter turnover and holding the Warriors to just one score following the break after surrendering 21 points in the first half.
Pink Game
LVC is holding its annual Pink Game this afternoon as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, to remind female fans and family to be screened regularly for breast cancer. Baked goods and t-shirts will be sold, a football signed by Lebanon Valley players will be auctioned off, and donations will go to the American Cancer Society. A number of coaches, football players, and cheerleaders will be wearing pink sweatbands, bows, and ribbons.
Running Down History
The countdown continues. Thanks to back-to-back seasons racking up more than 1,000 rushing yards as a sophomore and junior, tailback
Brendon Irving joined former running back and current assistant coach Ben Guiles as the only LVC players to scamper for 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons. If Irving becomes the first player in program history to surpass the 1,000-yard mark three seasons in a row, he'll also overtake Guiles as LVC's all-time leading rusher. The senior recorded his second 100-yard rushing game of the season at Lycoming last weekend and currently ranks third all-time with 3,606 rushing yards. With three games remaining, Irving needs just 319 more to set the program's career record.
Climbing the Conference Ranks
A pair of Lebanon Valley skill position players currently find themselves ranked among the best in a couple Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) statistical categories.
Brendon Irving is second among the league's top rushers with 543 yards on the ground. He also ranks third among conference rushers with a 77.6 yards-per-game average. Wide receiver/kick returner
Michael Gaval ranks fourth among MAC return men with a 20.5 yards-per-attempt average. His 665 all-purpose yards total is also good enough to rank him fifth in the league.
Noting LVC's Offense
After struggling during a two-game stretch that saw the Dutchmen score just six points, LVC's offense performed much better against Lycoming last weekend. LVC makes its living on the ground and ranks second in the conference in rushing offense with a 201 yards-per-game average.
Brendon Irving is third among MAC running backs with 543 yards rushing on the year, and the rushing attack got a bit of a boost with the return of fellow tailback
Jon Jones from injury last week.
Tim Pirrone has started six of the team's seven games under center but it was
Tyler Sterner who threw a pair of touchdown passes in his first significant action of the season last week.
Michael Gaval is the team's leading receiver with 18 catches for 202 yards and two touchdowns.
Dylan Berberick is the team's top tight end as he's pulled in four receptions for 81 yards and a touchdown. LVC will look to cut down on the turnovers as well. The Dutchmen have thrown 11 interceptions and lost seven fumbles on the season.
Noting LVC's Defense
The Dutchmen defense is surrendering nearly 30 points per game; an average that the unit has to improve upon if the team is to end its recent five-game losing streak. LVC is allowing 383.4 yards of total offense per contest and has forced just seven turnovers through seven games. The unit is allowing 198.7 rushing yards per game, while surrendering 184.7 yards through the air. Cornerback
Spencer Moser is the team's leading tackler with 46 stops. He's also added one tackle for loss, an interception, and six pass breakups. Strong safety
Kyle Murray has recorded 45 stops to rank second on the team. He's also added five breakups, 1.5 tackles for loss, and a forced fumble.
Tommy Garner leads all Dutchmen linebackers with 32 tackles and he also has one interception and one pass breakup on the year. Fellow linebacker
Alex Trujillo is the team's sacks leader with two, while defensive end
Guy Zimmerman leads the team with 3.5 tackles for loss. Linebackers
Tom Gallagher and
Dylan Lobach have each forced a fumble this season, with defensive lineman
Adam Wagaman and safety
Brendan Yetter making the recoveries.
Noting LVC's Special Teams
LVC's most potent special teams' weapon through the first six games has proven to be return man
Michael Gaval. He is averaging 20.5 yards per kick return and has racked up 472 total return yards on 23 attempts. Kicker
Marcus Brown has seen limited action but is perfect on his three field goal attempts from 25, 22, and 28 yards out, respectively. Brown has also proved valuable on kickoffs, as he's averaging nearly 60 yards per kick with three of his five attempts resulting in touchbacks. Punter
Spencer Moser has pinned opponents inside their own 20-yard line on six occasions and forced five fair catches on the season. Kickoff specialists
Nick Bentz and
Nick Newton are both averaging more than 50 yards per attempt, with Bentz adding a pair of touchbacks. The Dutchmen have also blocked two extra-point attempts this fall, with
Dylan Lobach and
Anthony Jenkins registering one block apiece.
Scouting Misericordia
Misericordia has struggled through its first seven games and currently ranks dead last in the MAC in both total offense (251.9 yards per game) and total defense (499.9 yards allowed per game). Quarterback Brandon Leap has thrown for 979 yards and eight touchdowns, while completing 54.7 percent of his passes this fall. Sam Gillison has pulled in 26 receptions for 377 yards and four touchdowns, while Colton Pyne has racked up a team-high 30 cathces for 344 yards and two scores. The Cougars boast a three-headed backfield corps of sorts, with Ryan Kurtz, Clayton Vleck, and Robin Custodio combining for 452 rushing yards and five touchdowns on the year. Linebacker Noah Bard is the team's leading tackler with 58 total stops. He's added three tackles for loss, a sack, and a pass breakup. Fellow linebacker Anthony Rand-Willever has a tendency to make plays in the backfield, as he leads the MU defense with six tackles for loss. The Cougars have turned the ball over nine times this fall and are currently minus-two in turnover margin.
Points To Be Had
It's been a tough season for Misericordia's young football program, as the Cougars have yet to win a game this fall. More troubling is the fact that MU has allowed opponents to score 40-plus points in six of its seven outings this year, including surrendering more than 50 points to Widener in a 51-9 loss last weekend. Misericordia is allowing an average of 43.4 points per game this year.
Who's Next?
The Dutchmen travel to FDU-Florham for their final road game of the season on Saturday afternoon, Nov. 5.
