Reading, Pa. (Nov. 9, 2024) - Lebanon Valley College (4-5, 4-4) used a 17-point second half to down Alvernia University (0-9, 0-8), 23-10, in MAC Football action on Saturday afternoon at Alvernia.

The Golden Wolves held the Dutchmen out of the end zone in the first half, with Lebanon Valley taking a 6-0 lead into the half off of two made field goals by Tim Kissinger.

Alvernia received the ball to open the second half and went on a 50-yard drive that resulted in a 31-yard field goal by Gage Thomas to put Alvernia on the board, 6-3, with 10:54 to play in the third.

After a trading of drives, Lebanon Valley strung together a 63-yard touchdown drive to take a 13-3 lead with 2:25 to play in the third. The Dutchmen were poised to settle for their third field goal of the day, but Alvernia was hit with a running into the kicker penalty, giving the Dutchmen a fresh set of downs. Lebanon Valley needed just one play to take advantage, and scored on a 22-yard touchdown pass.

Later in the fourth quarter, the Dutchmen extended it to a 20-3 lead with 10:31 to play on a four-yard rush up the middle after taking over on a short field. 

Alvernia had to punt away its next possession, but the Golden Wolves got the ball back on a fumble recovery that was forced out by Stefan Rich. Alvernia took back over on its own 49-yard line with 6:02 to play.

Joseph Sarjoo found Zach Ayers on a 7-yard connection to start the drive, and got an additional 15 yards on an unnecessary roughness call against the Dutchmen. Two plays later, Sarjoo found Ayers again on 25 yard gain to put Alvernia on the nine yard line heading in. On 3rd and 9, Sarjoo connected with Dachan Thompson just inside the left pylon of the end zone to make it a 10-point game, 20-10, with 4:29 to play.

Alvernia attempted an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff, but Lebanon Valley caught it clean out of the air and returned it back to the Alvernia 21 yard line. That drive resulted in a Dutchmen field goal for the 23-10 lead. 

The Golden Wolves worked their way down into the red zone on their next drive, but turned the ball over on downs on 4th and 10 from the LVC ten. The Dutchmen ran out the clock from there for the 23-10 win.

Inside the Box Score

• Colin Payne went 8-for-11 for 111 yards. Joseph Sarjoo went 6-for-16 for 85 yards and a touchdown.
• Andrew Simmons rushed for 31 yards, and Ozmere Jones had 11 rushing yards and 19 receiving yards.
• Both Michael Williams and Dachan Thompson had three receptions each. Williams went for 56 yards and Thompson went for 45 yards and a touchdown.
• Defensively, McCabe Piavis finished with a team-high 12 tackles. Delva Jean-Baptiste had six tackles, including two for a loss. 
• Stefan Rich had eight tackles and a forced fumble. Ta'Jier Burrus had one tackle and one interception. 
• Alvernia finished with 216 yards of offense to Lebanon Valley's 311. The Dutchmen had nearly 36 minutes of possession time to Alvernia's 24:08.

Up Next

• Alvernia closes out the 2024 season next week hosting Misericordia on November 16th. The Cougars are 3-6 overall and 2-6 in MAC play. They are coming off a 56-17 loss to Stevenson earlier today.