×

No. 22 Delaware Valley defense will test Lycoming

As Mike Clark breaks down film of an opponent’s defense, he takes notes on tendencies, the amount of time team’s pressure, and the down-and-distance situations it puts an offense into.

As he tallied up his numbers after watching film of Delaware Valley, he noticed opponents faced second-and-long against the Aggies more than they faced second-and-short or second-and-medium combined. It’s an issue he knows he and the Lycoming offense are going to have to deal with when they play 22nd-ranked Delaware Valley this afternoon in a key Middle Atlantic Conference game.

An Aggies defense which lost nine starters from a team which allowed just over 10 points per game last season has yet to receive the memo it should have taken a step back. Delaware Valley leads the MAC in scoring defense (19 points per game), total defense (287.6 yards per game), and third-down conversion percentage (25.4 percent).

“It’s not just that there’s more third-and-longs, I will say there are significantly more,” said Clark, who is 4-6 in his career against Delaware Valley. “We have to get them blocked a little bit. We have to get the ball started.”

The getting them blocked part is what will be most difficult for Lycoming’s offensive line today. Delaware Valley is second in the MAC in tackles for loss this year with 47 and averaging better than nine per game. Former Temple walk-on Michael Nobile is tied for the national lead with 15 1/2 tackles for loss already. And two other Delaware Valley defenders are averaging better than one tackle for loss per game.

Christian Snowden is one of two returning starters from last year’s defensive unit which helped the Aggies reach the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament. The all-MAC selection has seven tackles for loss. And fellow Temple walk-on Anthony Nobile has six tackles for loss.

It’s a formidable front the likes of which the Warriors haven’t since Widener had an All-America front in 2015. And handling that defensive line will be the key to whether Lycoming falls to .500 this season, or keeps its MAC championships alive with a win.

“That’s the key. Can you get their front blocked?” Clark said. “Their linebackers are really solid. (Vincent) DiLeo played down last year and they moved him back to linebacker. They’re just solid everywhere else. They’re not super complicated, but they weren’t complicated last year. They’re just good.”

“It’s definitely a difficult group to play against. Word is a couple of them were from Temple, but we’re not worried about that,” Lycoming tight end Mike Mulvihill said. “We’re playing against one of the best D-lines in the league every day at practice right now. So we feel prepared for anything.”

Lycoming’s bye last week gave Clark and the coaching staff some extra days to prepare for Delaware Valley, but the bye was even more important to get some banged up players healthy. Starting running backs Keith Batkowski and Jacob Fimbres will both play today. Kick returner and receiver Tyjah During is back, as is linebacker Jarrell Payne and there’s a good chance receiver Brock Zollicoffer will return from a concussion.

The lone key injured player not returning this week for Lycoming is defensive back D.J. Boyd, who is still dealing with an injured hamstring.

But it’s the return of Fimbres and Batkowski which could prove to be most valuable today. Without both of them, the Warriors ran for just 73 yards against FDU-Florham. Although Len Wyda had a solid day in a loss to King’s, the run game just wasn’t the same. And it’s going to be that run game which will be key to avoiding the first-down problems which have plagued the four teams to lose to Delaware Valley this year.

“We’re getting some guys back completely healthy, myself included,” Mulvihill said. “(The bye) helped us bring back the pieces we started with and shows coach Clark the optimism we started with.”

“We’ve got a good enough plan. We want to be successful on offense, and in the games we’ve been successful, we’ve run the ball reasonably well. I think we have a good plan to run the ball. Now we have to be able to execute.”

The biggest adjustment for Lycoming this week was preparing for Delaware Valley’s 3- defense. It’s just not as common for them to see as are the four-down fronts from the rest of the league. Lycoming struggled to run the ball against FDU-Florham’s three-down front in Week 4, but it played that game without both Batkowski and Fimbres.

Mulvihill said having already played against a three-man front has given he and the Warriors’ offensive line the base knowledge of how to approach it. They’re also ready to handle when the Aggies shift from a three-man to four-man defensive front occasionally.

“It’s a little different, but at the same time, how we coach our blocking schemes sets us up to be successful anywhere,” Mulvihill said. “We’re prepared for it. We feel confident with our running schemes.”

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today