Lebanon Valley 28, Misericordia 13

LVC Offensive Starters
Sterner QB, Irving RB, Lysczek FB, Gaval WR, Saylor WR, Berberick TE, Kingshill LT, Stover LG, Weller C, Werner RG, Van Horn RT

LVC Defensive Starters
Maguire DE, Johnson DT, Donlan DT, Zimmerman DE, Garner OLB, Trujillo ILB, Gallagher OLB, Moser CB, Yetter FS, Murray SS, Gilger CB

MU Offensive Starters
Krisiak QB, Custodio RB, Pyne WR, Gillison WR, Dieter WR, Rhoads TE, Robertson LT, Johnson LG, Watson C, Hendershot RT

MU Defensive Starters
Dickerson DE, Santorelli DT, Anderson DE, Aquino LB, Kelly LB, Bard LB, Rand-Willever LB, Ulysse CB, Rainey S, Murray S, Donaldson CB

How It Happened
Lebanon Valley excelled in all three phases in its 28-13 victory over Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) foe Misericordia at Arnold Field on Saturday afternoon, Oct. 29, ending a five-game skid in the process.

The Flying Dutchmen (2-6, 2-5 MAC) set the tone early when they marched 68 yards in 15 plays on their opening drive and getting on the board first when Ryan Fink took a handoff from Tyler Sterner, found a crease, and dashed six yards for a touchdown at the 8:04 mark.

It was more of the same on LVC's second drive when the offense marched 80 yards in nine plays, keyed by a Brendon Irving 23-yard scamper and capped by Fink's second touchdown run of the afternoon, this time from two yards out with 3:06 remaining in the first quarter.

The Cougars (0-8, 0-7 MAC) cut the deficit in half midway through the second quarter when MU quarterback Jeff Krisiak connected with Josh Dieter in the corner of the end zone when the receiver made a tough touchdown catch against good coverage at the 7:21 mark.

Misericordia made another clutch play when the special teams unit thwarted LVC's ensuing 12-play drive when Moses Ulysse blocked a Marcus Brown 32-yard field goal attempt to keep the deficit to one score heading into halftime.

Tom Gallagher came up huge and made the first big play of the second half for the Dutchmen defense when he ended MU's opening drive of the second half by sacking Krisiak on a fourth-down attempt from LVC's 24-yard line, giving the ball back to an offense that made the Cougars pay on the ensuing possession.

Sterner hooked up with Michael Gaval over the middle for 29 yards, Irving rushed for 16 yards two plays later, and Jon Jones walked untouched into the end zone on the drive's final play from four yards out to increase Lebanon Valley's lead to 21-7 with 7:54 left in the third quarter.

Misericordia's first drive of the fourth quarter ended when Tommy Garner picked off Krisiak along the LVC sideline, stopping the Cougars as they moved deeper into Dutchmen territory. Irving made them pay two plays later when he sprinted through a hole in the line, fought off a hamstring cramp, and went 79 yards to score his first touchdown of the season.

Gallagher made another great play to shut down an MU drive deep in LVC territory when he made a diving interception of a Krisiak attempt at the Dutchmen 19-yard line with 7:21 remaining.

The Cougars added a late touchdown in garbage time but Jacob Whitfield burst through the middle and blocked Matt Dinnocent's extra-point attempt before the Dutchmen took over and ran out the clock to secure their second victory of the season.

Let's See That Again
The highlight of the day belonged to Brendon Irving, as the senior tailback scored his first touchdown of the season in interesting fashion on Saturday afternoon. Two plays after Tommy Garner picked off an MU pass, Irving burst through the center of the Cougar defensive line and sprinted past the Misericordia secondary en route to the goal line. Despite tweaking a hamstring near the MU 20-yard line, the MAC's second-leading rusher pressed on and was tackled while falling into the end zone to complete LVC's longest scoring play of season.



Inside the Numbers
- LVC has now defeated Misericordia in every matchup between the teams since MU started its football program in 2012.
- The Dutchmen racked up 308 yards and four touchdowns on the ground against the MAC's worst rushing defense.
- Brendon Irving had the best day of his senior campaign, rushing for 174 yards and a touchdown on just 14 carries.
- Ryan Fink rushed for 49 yards and a pair of scores, while Jon Jones added 40 yards and a touchdown.
- Tyler Sterner continued to impress in a small sample size, throwing for 94 yards on 8-13 passing. He showed poise and mobility in the pocket and had a touchdown pass called back on a penalty.
- Michael Gaval made three catches for 50 yards and tight end Patrick Clark added two receptions for 23 yards.
- Kyle Murray made a team-high 11 tackles for LVC, including eight solo stops.
- Tim Schumacher added seven tackles, including 1.5 TFL, and a quarterback hurry.
- Tom Gallagher came to play as the linebacker made seven tackles, including one sack and a pair of tackles for loss to go along with an interception and a quarterback hurry.
- Jermaine McQueen forced a fumble on a strip sack and Mike Gilger led the way for the secondary with a pair of pass breakups.

Who's Next?
The Dutchmen travel to FDU-Florham for their penultimate game of the season next Saturday afternoon, Nov. 5.