Doylestown, Pa. (November 7, 2026) — Alvernia football (5-4, 5-3 MAC) was blanked in the second half by the Delaware Valley University Aggies (7-2, 7-1 MAC) on Saturday afternoon in a clash that featured the highest-powered offense in the MAC, with the Aggies taking on the most stubborn defense in the MAC in the Golden Wolves.
The Golden Wolves hopped out to an early lead just five minutes into the contest as Sawyer Esbenshade connected with James Bermudez for an 18-yard score. The Aggies quickly answered off a special teams blunder to take a 7-6 lead. After they extended the lead to 14-6, Adonis Dixon ripped off a 26-yard touchdown run that put the game within one heading into halftime. The Golden Wolves were shut out in the second half as the Aggies scored 14 unanswered points to claim the victory over the Golden Wolves.
How It Happened:
- Delaware Valley won the coin toss and opted to face the Golden Wolves offense first. Sawyer Esbenshade and the Golden Wolves offense took the field with the gusting winds in their face to kick off their opening drive.
- Esbenshade connected on the first play with his reliable tight end, Adonis Akande, on a 14-yard gain to move the sticks for the Golden Wolves. Delaware Valley would force a punt from the Golden Wolves, where John Dzielawa would rough Kevin Carotenuto and extend the Golden Wolves' opening drive on the Aggies' own 43-yard line. The Golden Wolves would then go three-and-out and pin the Aggies inside their own 10.
- On the second play from scrimmage, the Aggies would attempt a deep ball, but Jimmy Zamena picked up his second interception of the season and set the Golden Wolves offense up in prime position to take a lead. With 51 yards to the end zone, Esbenshade and company put together a nine-play drive to take their first lead of the game. To cap off the drive, Esbenshade completed an 18-yard pass to running back James Bermudez, who took an angle route the distance to give the Golden Wolves the lead. The following point-after attempt into the wind was missed by the Golden Wolves to make it 6-0.
- The battle between the MAC's highest-scoring offense and the MAC's most stubborn defense favored the Golden Wolves, who forced a three-and-out on the ensuing drive. However, a special teams mistake gave the Aggies the ball on the Golden Wolves' one-yard line with a prime opportunity to tie the game. Delaware Valley punched it in and took a 7-6 lead.
- The Golden Wolves' following drive went for 17 plays and 57 yards, leading to a 34-yard field goal attempt that was missed, giving the Aggies the ball with a chance to take the lead. On the ensuing drive, the Aggies were held to a fourth-and-three on their own 46-yard line and rolled the dice on a fake punt that gave them a new set of downs with 7:05 remaining in the half. The Aggies would convert on a 17-yard pass to extend their lead to 13-6. The point-after attempt would make it 14-6.
- Alvernia would take over on its own 31-yard line with just over four minutes remaining in the half. The Golden Wolves sparked a nine-play, 69-yard touchdown drive to cut the Aggies' lead down to one. Running back Adonis Dixon accounted for 42 of the Golden Wolves' yards on the ground, which included a 26-yard touchdown run through the middle of the Delaware Valley defense. With just under a minute remaining, the Golden Wolves cut the Aggies' lead to one and went into the half trailing by one point.
- Since they deferred, the Aggies got the ball to start the second half and capped off an eight-play, 70-yard touchdown drive with a two-yard touchdown pass from Mike Galasso to Joel Perez.
- The first drive of the half for the Golden Wolves mirrored the opening drive of the game when Delaware Valley roughed the kicker again on a punt attempt. Off the back of the second second chance, the offense stalled and punted the ball back to the Aggies.
- Both teams exchanged punts back and forth, which led to another Golden Wolves drive. The Golden Wolves utilized a 10-play, 56-yard drive to threaten deep into Aggie territory, but Esbenshade threw a pass into the end zone on a fourth-and-18 that was intercepted to give the ball back to the Aggies.
- After a nearly six-minute, 20-yard drive, the Aggies punted the ball back to the Golden Wolves, who were desperate for a response from the offense. The ensuing drive came down to a fourth-and-two run play that the Aggies blew up and turned the Golden Wolves over on downs.
- The Aggies cemented the victory on the next drive when they went 62 yards in four plays, one of which was an explosive 39-yard rushing touchdown from the Aggies' running back, Dayshon Jackson.
- Now down two scores, the Golden Wolves were unable to answer, and Delaware Valley kneeled the ball out to claim the 28-13 victory.
Inside the Box Score:
- The Aggies out gained the Golden Wolves 303-240 in total yards. Adonis Dixon led the Golden Wolves in rushing yards with 83 of their 100 total rushing yards.
- Sawyer Esbenshade completed 15 of 27 attempts for a touchdown and one interception and broke the single-season passing touchdown record, which was previously set at 12 in a season by Colin Payne in 2023.
- Adonis Akande led the way for the Golden Wolves with seven receptions for 46 yards. Behind him was Zakai Smullen with three receptions for 40 yards.
- Adonis Dixon and James Bermudez were the two touchdown scorers for the Golden Wolves today, with Bermudez taking an 18-yard angle route to the house and Dixon scoring on a 26-yard touchdown right before the first half ended.
- Jimmy Zamena anchored the defense with two pass breakups and one interception.
- LJ Aldas topped the Golden Wolves in tackles with seven, followed by Dante Walker, who recorded six.
- This is the first time all season the Golden Wolves offense has been held scoreless in the second half of a game.
Up Next:
- The Golden Wolves will travel to Stevenson University for their regular-season closer in a game that is shaping up to be a big one, as the Golden Wolves and Mustangs are competing for seeding in the MAC/Centennial Bowl Race. Kickoff is set for 1:00 PM in Owings Mills.
