DOYLESTOWN, Pa. – A pick-six by junior James Gillespie gave the Union College football team a huge momentum boost going into halftime, and the Garnet Chargers never looked back in a 24-16 win over #25 Delaware Valley University in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament on Saturday afternoon at James Work Memorial Stadium.
With the win, Union (10-1) moves on to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the eighth time in program history and reaches the 10-win plateau for the sixth time. The Garnet Chargers will travel to #7 Johns Hopkins, 62-20 winners over Western Connecticut State University on Saturday, next weekend for the second round.
Gillespie put together another strong game on defense, adding four tackles to his two picks and a touchdown, marking the second time this season he has intercepted two passes in a game. Seniors Nathan Sullivan and Jimaar Edwards added a team-best seven tackles apiece as the defense limited Delaware Valley to 243 yards of offense and stopped the Aggies four times on fourth down.
"We've known all year that we have one of the best defenses in the nation and we proved that today," said Gillespie. "We're going to keep proving it throughout this whole thing."
Offensively, senior Donovan Pacatte finished 18-of-30 for 201 yards and a touchdown, with sophomore Landers Green catching five balls for a team-best 75 yards and a score. On the ground, junior Jonathan Anderson paced the team with 85 yards on 25 carries against a stout Aggies defensive line.
Union won the game despite a season-high five turnovers, as three fumbles and two interceptions allowed Delaware Valley (9-2) to stay in the game much longer than should have been necessary.
"We didn't play our best game," said head coach Jon Poppe. "I think that was obvious. A tremendous amount of grit and fight, I think that's what our guys showed. They gutted it out and overcame some adversity throughout the game and came up with a win to advance."
Union wasted no time getting on the board with a 10-play, 76-yard march down the field. After a loss on first down, three straight plays of at least 10 yards set the Garnet Chargers up at the Delaware Valley 30-yard line. A key third-down conversion to senior Kevin Rabacs put Union in a goal-to-go situation, and a five-yard run by senior Michael Fiore on first down gave the visitors a 7-0 lead.
The visitors drove down the field again on both of their next two drives, but a fumble inside the five-yard line and a missed field goal saw the Garnet Chargers come away with nothing to show for it. The Aggies then found paydirt on their opening drive of the second quarter, as a three-yard rush by Louie Barrios IV put Delaware Valley on the board; however, a missed PAT kept Union in front.
The game changed completely late in the second quarter, with Union getting 10 points in the final 30 seconds. Union took advantage of excellent field position after a botched DelVal punt and junior Max Gluck converted a 36-yard field goal to extend the lead 10-6 with 30 seconds remaining. The Aggies opted not to take a knee and ran a 12-yard play on first down, but the second play proved to be disastrous for the home team as Gillespie picked off a pass near midfield and ran it back 52 yards for a touchdown and a 17-6 halftime lead.
Union again left points on the board on their only drive of the third quarter thanks to another red-zone fumble, but the defense stopped the Aggies on fourth down on their only full drive of the third quarter. The team then buckled down to force a 21-yard field goal on a big goal-line stand early in the fourth, despite DelVal having first-and-goal at the six-yard line.
The defense made yet another fourth-down stop to get the ball back soon after, Union iced the game with a six-play, 58-yard drive that was capped by a 35-yard touchdown strike from Pacatte to Green that made it a 24-9 lead with 5:58 on the clock.
The Garnet Chargers attempted to close out the game with its next drive, but another red-zone miscue resulted in a 90-yard scoop-and-score by Micah Bootman that put the score at 24-16 with under a minute remaining. However, Sullivan easily recovered the subsequent onside kick and Union finished the game in victory formation for its 10th win of the season.
Union will face another nationally ranked foe for the first time ever next weekend, when the team heads to Baltimore to take on Johns Hopkins.
"We're just ecstatic to be here and proving the selection committee right," added Poppe. "Obviously we're advancing, so they chose the right team and now we just have to keep fighting along. We'll celebrate this, enjoy this tonight, and get working on Hopkins tomorrow."
Union Advances to Second Round with 24-16 Win over #25 Delaware Valley
/seasons/2023/boxscores/20231118_9bll.xml
2023
Union
24
Delaware Valley
16
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Union (10-1) | 7 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
| No. 25 Delaware Valley (8-2) | 0 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 16 |
Nov 18, 2023