Lebanon Valley College Athletics

DALLAS, Pa.— Senior quarterback Owen Strouse delivered a career performance, throwing for five touchdowns and 337 yards as the Lebanon Valley College football team won its second consecutive game and trounced Misericordia, 41-21, in Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) play on Halloween at Mangelsdorf Field.

Strouse, who completed 21 of 29 passes, became the first Dutchman to throw for five touchdowns since Dan Kelly accomplished the feat in 2006. The five-touchdown performance is tied for second in the program's record books. The last time an LVC quarterback passed for more than 300 yards was Leo Kyte against Widener in 2012.

Strouse showed composure throughout the game, but maybe none more than in the third quarter after the Cougars cut the LVC lead to 27-14. 

Facing third-and-six on his own 37, Strouse heaved the ball 31 yards down the field to Noah Hoff, to sustain the drive. Four plays later Strouse delivered a 16-yard touchdown strike to Harrison Delissaint. Connor Hazel's extra point pushed the advantage to 34-14.

Misericordia muffed the ensuing kickoff, and LVC's Malachi Stewart pounced on the ball on the Cougars' 27-yard line. On the very next play, Strouse launched a missile to Ethan Heisey for the LVC touchdown. Heisey had his own career day, finishing with seven receptions for 190 yards, the most yards by an LVC receiver since Tim Picerno in 2011 and fifth best in program history.

First Half Highlights

The Lebanon Valley College offense erupted for 27 points in the first half, while the defense clamped down on the Cougars.

With the ball inside the 10-yard line on LVC's second possession of the game, Strouse moved the Dutchmen steadily down the field with completions to Delissaint and Heisey and handoffs to Jayden Stanfield. Near midfield, Strouse dropped back and found Heisey over the middle for a 53-yard touchdown to open the scoring. 

After the LVC defense held the Cougars to a three-and-out, the Dutchmen started their next drive on their own 23-yard line. Strouse connected with five different receivers, including a 27-yard pass to Delissaint that placed LVC inside the red zone. Rushes by Stanfield and Strouse brought LVC inside the five. On the next play, Strouse passed to Hoff for a three-yard touchdown, and Hazel added the extra point to build the lead to 13-0 with two minutes left in the opening quarter.

LVC (2-6, 2-5 MAC) extended its lead early in the second quarter when a Misericordia miscue on a punt gave the Dutchmen the ball at midfield. Stanfield handled the bulk of the work on this drive, with runs of 39 and 10 yards before leaping into the end zone from one yard out and pushing the score to 20-0.

Another three-and-out forced by the Dutchmen defense brought Strouse, Stanfield, and company back onto the field with 7:15 to go in the second quarter. Between Strouse's arm and Stanfield's legs, LVC charged down the field and capped a nine-play, 77-yard drive with Hoff's second touchdown catch of the day.

Misericordia (5-3, 4-3 MAC) put its first touchdown on the board and then was driving across midfield in the closing minutes of the half before Kaies Handy delivered a huge sack on second down and John Klein pressured the quarterback to an incompletion on third down and forced a punt. The Dutchmen defense limited Misericordia to less than 100 total yards of offense in the first half.

Inside the Box

• Stanfield carried 29 times for 91 yards and a touchdown and caught four passes for 19 yards.
• Heisey became the first Dutchman to amass 500 receiving yards in a season since Tyler George and Darryl Sweeper in 2014.
• Hoff, who finished with five catches for 63 yards, scored the first two touchdowns of his LVC career.
• Jacob Karkoska topped LVC's defensive stats with six tackles, including a sack.
• J.D. McCallion made five stops and added an interception. John Klein also had an interception.
• LVC amassed 452 yards of total offense and scored more than 40 points for the second consecutive week.
• The LVC defense did not allow Misericordia to convert a third down on 13 attempts.

Up Next
Lebanon Valley will travel to FDU-Florham on Saturday, Nov. 7.

Stay Connected
Be sure to follow @lvcathletics on Instagram, X, and Facebook for the most in-depth coverage of LVC Athletics.