READING, Pa. – The Albright Lions football team suffered a 55-7 loss to #15 Delaware Valley on a humid Homecoming Saturday afternoon at Shirk Stadium in their MAC opener.
 
With the loss, the Lions drop to 0-3 on the season and 0-1 in MAC play. Meanwhile, the nationally-ranked Aggies improve to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in conference play.
 
Senior quarterback Jimmy Lahay got the start at quarterback for the Lions and went just 2-of-9 for 15 yards and one interception. Sophomore quarterback Todd Shelley led Albright in passing by going 9-of-24 for 101 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions after playing the entire second half. Junior Will Dogba led the Lions in rushing as he carried the ball 10 times for 39 yards, while sophomore Tony Thorpe tallied 36 yards on 15 carries. Sophomore Malik Bootman recorded 36 yards receiving and three catches with one touchdown to pace the Albright receivers. The Aggies held senior Mike Jordan to just 31 yards on three catches.
 
The Lions opened with the ball to start the game, but went three-and-out after three Thorpe carries got stopped got them a yard short of the first down. The Aggies made quick work on their first drive as they went 53 yards in just five plays to take a 6-0 lead at the 10:47-mark of the first quarter. Delaware Valley extended their lead on the second play of the Lions ensuing drive as Justin Harris ran a 53-yard interception back for a touchdown to make it 13-0. Albright drove into Aggie territory for the first time in the game on their next drive before eventually being forced into a punt on 4^th down from the Aggie 43 yard line. The Aggies drove into Lions territory again on their next drive as they got as far as the Lions 27-yard line. A holding penalty halted the drive and forced the Aggies to punt.
 
A three-and-out forced the Lions to punt deep in their own territory, and give the Aggies the ball at their own 46. Delaware Valley scored five plays later to make it 20-0 at the 11:46-mark of the second quarter. The Aggies struck again following another Lions three-and-out when quarterback Anthony Fontana found a wide open Aaron Nelson for an 89-yard touchdown to bring the score to 27-0 at the 9:10-mark of the second quarter. Delaware Valley was set up in good field position on their next drive following a 37-yard punt return, and would score four plays later on a nine-yard pass to make it a 34-0 game with 6:23 left in the first half. The Aggies added one more score on their final drive of the second quarter on a one-yard run following a nine-play 62-yard drive to make it a 41-0 game at halftime. Albright was held without gaining a first down in the entire second quarter.
 
Albright forced a punt on the Aggies opening possession of the second half before being involved on a crazy play on the first play of their first offensive drive of the second half. Shelley was intercepted by Jamir Prevard, but he was stripped of the ball before crossing the goal line on the return by Bootman, and the Lions would get the ball right back on a touchback after senior offensive lineman Marc-Antony Ocasio recovered the ball in the end zone. The Lions would get their initial first down in two quarters on their ensuing drive following pass interference call, but would not go further following a sack on second down. The Aggies drove to the Albright 11-yard line after starting in good field position, but handed the ball back to the Lions after fumble on a handoff that was recovered by senior linebacker Ya'Meer Lowery. Delaware Valley fumbled for a third-straight time on a punt return after Lowery forced and recovered a fumble. However, Albright again went three-and-out which set up an Aggies touchdown on their ensuing drive to make it 48-0 at the 3:55-mark of the third quarter. The Lions went on their longest drive of the game on the next offensive possession as they drove to the Aggies 19-yard line. Freshman Lucas Roselli hauled in a 23-yard pass from Shelley to set the Lions up inside the red zone.
 
Unfortunately for the Lions, Shelley was picked off in the end zone by Rashiek Harvard on the first play of the fourth quarter. However, Harvard attempted a return on the interception and backed the Aggies up by making it just out to the three-yard line. A three-and-out followed by a 28-yard punt set the Lions up to break the shutout as Shelley found a wide open Bootman in the left side of the end zone to make it a 48-7 game with 12:30 left in regulation. Delaware Valley scored one last touchdown on its ensuing drive to bring the score to its final at 55-7.
 
Sophomore Sam Viera and freshman Kyle Komanitsky led the Lions with nine tackles each, and each had 1.0 TFL. Lowery finished with six stops (four solo), 1.0 TFL, forced one fumble, and recovered two fumbles. The two fumble recoveries match a single-game program record that was achieved last by Steve Barroso in 2015 against Salisbury.
 
Fontana led the Aggies in passing by going 10-of-14 for 184 yards and three touchdowns, while Nelson finished with 133 yards on just two catches. Michael Nobile led the Aggies defense with eight tackles (four solo), 2.0 TFL, and 0.5 sack. Nobile leads all of Division III football in tackles for loss.
 
The Lions will return to action on Saturday, October 5^th as they will travel to face FDU-Florham at 12 p.m. to continue MAC play.