UNION (Nj.) – The Delaware Valley University football team kicked off its 2019 season with a 42-0 triumph on the road at Kean University on Friday night as senior quarterback Anthony Fontana accounted for four touchdowns in his first career start.
On the opening drive of the game, Fontana found senior wide-out Juwan Manigo down the sideline for a 26-yard gain to put DelVal in the red zone. The Aggies worked the ball inside the five for a first and goal, but were stuffed on four straight downs by the Cougars defense.
Kean took over at its own one-yard line, and on the very next play, returning All-American defensive end Michael Nobile recorded his first highlight of the year. Quarterback Anthony Broccoletti handed the ball off to his tailback, but Nobile had already exploded through the line to record the safety five yards into the end zone for the first DelVal score of 2019.
The Aggies received the ball after the safety and needed just 17 seconds to get back to pay dirt as Fontana hit his fullback Nate Pauls down the seam for a 50-yard strike to make it 9-0.
On the next possession, Fontana dropped back and found his returning All-American tight end Dan Allen across the middle and the senior powered into the end zone for his first score of the year to put DelVal up, 16-0, with 1:20 left in the first. The Aggies defense held Kean to -10 yards on nine plays through the first 15 minutes.
DelVal's first drive of the second quarter stalled inside Kean territory, but senior cornerback Rashiek Harvard got the ball back as he picked off a Cougars' pass along the sideline for of his first career interception.
The Aggies missed a 41-yard field goal on their ensuing possession, but the defense got the ball right back as junior transfer Justin Harris got his first interception in the Green and Gold and returned it 44 yards to the Cougars' 10-yard line. On the next play, Fontana scampered around the left side and in for another DelVal touchdown to make it a 23-0 game where it stayed until the second half.
The defense held Kean to just 28 total yards of offense with -31 yards in rushing in the first half. Nobile had five tackles in the half, 4.5 of which were recorded in the backfield.
The Cougars got the ball to start the second half and went just 11 yards on six plays before Fontana and Allen hooked up again, this time for a 59 yard catch-and-run down the right sideline to put DelVal up, 30-0.
The Aggies next drive spanned 5:36 and went for 89 yards on 11 plays. Fontana highlighted the possession with an impressive play-action fake and bootleg run for 27 yards to the Cougars four-yard line. That setup the first rushing touchdown of the year for senior tailback Mario Nigro to make it a 37-0 game.
Kean tacked on a late one-yard rushing touchdown by senior Jesse Asare to spoil the shutout and make it a 37-7 final.
Fontana impressed in his first start as he threw for three touchdowns and rushed for another. He completed 6-of-8 passes for 205 yards and racked up a game-high 90 rushing yards on 10 carries. Allen caught three passes for 97 yards and two scores and Manigo caught two for 56 yards. Five different backs carried the ball led by 32 yards on three carries from freshman Ezekial Ennis.
The Aggie defense allowed just 126 yards of total offense and held the Cougars to -9 yards rushing while forcing two turnovers. Nobile led the squad with eight tackles including 6.5 for loss and half a sack. Kenyonn Jones, Dontae Mason, and Blaine Netterman each recorded six tackles.
Broccoletti was 12-for-20 for 76 yards and Tyrae Taylor, who also saw significant time at quarterback, completed 4-of-10 passes for 59 yards and one pick. Receiver Myles Toppin caught seven passes for a game-high 102 yards. Defensively, Dante Capozzoli led all players in the game with 11 tackles.
Next Saturday, the Aggies will look to avenge last season's opening-night loss at Wesley as they welcome the Wolverines to Doylestown for a 1 p.m. kick-off.