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READING, Pa. - After a high-intensity first quarter, the Aggies of Delaware Valley College erased the Lions 3-0 lead scoring 35 straight points to take a 42-17 Middle Atlantic Conference win Saturday afternoon at Shirk Stadium on senior day. The win secured the Aggies their third straight MAC title and second straight trip to the NCAA Division III tournament.

The Lions got off to a great start against their conference rivals. A fumble recovery by Keith Bruno on Delaware Valley's opening drive would eventually result in a John Whelan 26 yard field goal. Looking to respond the Aggies began to drive up the field on their second possession. However, that drive came to an abrupt end when Bruno intercepted a Mark Hatty pass deep in Albright territory.

Unlike their first turnover, the Lions were unable capitalize offensively. Albright's defense neutralized the Aggies throughout the first quarter, but it was in the second quarter that the Aggies offense came to life.

With 28 unanswered points before the half, Delaware Valley quickly found themselves in control of Saturday's contest. Hatty, who threw for 272 yards on the afternoon, wasted little time in the second quarter. The senior capped off a 13 play, 79 yard drive, which started late in the first, with a 14 yard touchdown pass to Vince Lochetto.

From there Matt Cook added a six yard touchdown run to make it 14-3 in favor of the green and gold. Unable to stop the bleeding, Hatty threw for two more TD's before the first half came to an end.

After the halftime break and holding a 28-3 lead, the Aggies found the end zone late in the third on an Isaiah Hall 19 yard run. Showing no signs of quit freshman quarterback TJ Luddy stepped in, and carried the red and white up the field.

The Bethlehem native, connected with junior Sean Caldwell Jr. on a 20 yard touchdown pass with just over two minutes to play in the third. Luddy was solid in only his fourth appearance of the season. On 8 of 11 passing, Luddy threw for 83 yards and one touchdown.

Needing to close the gap on the scoreboard as soon as possible, Albright pulled off a trick play to add two more points to their cause. Instead of kicking the extra point, Whelan threw the ball to a wide open Ivan Cerkez to make it 35-11.

Hoping to keep that momentum going, the Lions attempted an on-sides kick. That attempt did not go as planned, and gave the Aggies great field position. Delaware Valley did not waste the opportunity and scored their final TD of the afternoon just 45 seconds into the fourth quarter.

Albright's final touchdown was an unexpected one to say the least, as Devron Clark returned the Aggies 48 yard kick off, 78 yards for an Albright touchdown. In his first appearance this season, Clark returned three kicks for a combined 103 yards.

On the day, the Lions totaled 193 yards of offense, while Delaware Valley, who leads the MAC in all offensive categories, combined for 489 yards of offense. In the red zone, Delaware Valley was a perfect 6-for-6, and was 4-for-9 on third-down conversions, and 2-for-2 on fourth downs.

Luddy and sophomore Adam Galczynski threw for 122 yards on 14 of 28 passing. Josan Holmes rushed from 52 yards on 15 carries. Caldwell totaled 39 yards on five catches. Defensively, Joe Arneth led the Lions with 12 stops. Mark Bergery recorded 11 tackles on top of forcing one fumble. Michael Rice recorded Albright's second interception, and it was Don Gould who recovered the Aggies second fumble.

Football will close out the regular season next Saturday at Lebanon Valley College. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. from Annville.