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In the last two meetings between King’s and Delaware Valley, the teams have battled in tight contests decided by a total of 10 points.

That trend looks like it will continue this evening at 7 when the Monarchs travel to Doylestown to take on the Aggies in just the second night football game ever played at Delaware Valley.

Delaware Valley is not the powerhouse it used to be just a few years ago when it claimed four straight MAC titles starting in 2008. Gone is record-setting quarterback Aaron Wilmer — who signed a contract in the CFL — and wide receiver Rasheed Bailey, who was in camp with the Philadelphia Eagles.

While the passing game has taken a big hit, the Aggies have been churning out the yards on the ground with three backs, who are averaging 235.3 rushing yards per game. Robert Cleveland, Armani Fuller and Devauntay Ellis all are closing in on 200 rushing yards this season complimenting first-year QB Danny Farley.

“If you can run the football, that opens up anything you want to do and you’re a hard team to stop if you can run the ball, and DelVal proved that last week that they can run the ball,” King’s coach Jeff Knarr said. “They’re trying to establish the run and make it easier to throw and go from there.

“Hopefully we can control the run and make them throw where they haven’t had the success they haven’t had in the past. And maybe that helps us on Saturday.”

Not new anymore

The two newest programs to enter the MAC square off this week in Maryland when Misericordia travels to face Stevenson.

The Cougars, now in their fourth year, see the Mustangs, who are currently playing in their fifth season since inception.

Both programs seem like they are established now. Stevenson enters the contest with a mention in the AFCA Division III Coaches Poll with a 3-0 record and 2-0 in the MAC. The Mustangs have won six games in a row dating back to last season, while winning 11 of their last 14.

Stevenson has been excelling this year thanks to a dominant defense. The team leads the country with 18 sacks, and is second in the nation with nine interceptions, while being third in fumble recoveries with seven. With those numbers, the Mustangs have a plus-12 turnover margin to tie for first in the nation, while allowing just 12.3 points per game.

Misericordia meanwhile, is also long past the troubles of being a new program. The Cougars are averaging nearly 200 yards per game on the ground, good for third in the MAC led by quarterback Jeff Puckett, who is second in the league with 343 yards, and is tied for the most rushing touchdowns in the conference with four.

In terms of total offense, the Cougars rank higher in the MAC than the Mustangs with 356.7 yards per game to Stevenson’s 319.7. The Cougars are also second in the MAC in pass defense giving up just 126.7 yards per game.

Where Misericordia is lacking is rushing defense as it is allowing a whopping 364.o yards per game, which ranks 230 in the country among 233 Division III teams.

Misericordia (0-2 MAC, 0-3 overall) at Stevenson

When: 3 p.m. Saturday at Mustang Stadium, Owings Mills, Md.

Cougars team leaders: QB 463 yards, 2TD, 2int, 59.2 completion percentage, 343 rushing yards, 4TD; RB Mark Rainey 137 yards; WR Tyler Rowe 10 rec, 96 yards, 1TD; Mark McMaster 14 rec, 164 yards, 1TD; Hunter Pates 28 tackles; Kevin Bagasevich 11 tackles, 1INT

Mustangs team leaders: QB Jeff Farrah 554 yards, 7 TD, 3int, 47.2 completion percentage; RB Kiandre Burrell 187 yards, 0 TD; WR Seth Jordan 10 rec, 233 yards, 3TD; Brady Kempa 27 tackles; Cory Pietrzyk 5 sacks; Antonio Johnson 4 int

Pregame Stat: Stevenson’s 18 sacks this season are more than MAC foes FDU-Florham, Wilkes, Albright, Delaware Valley, Lebanon Valley and Misericordia combined.

***

King’s (1-1 MAC, 1-2 overall) at Delaware Valley (1-1, 2-1)

When: 7 p.m. Saturday at James Work Memorial Stadium, Doylestown

Monarchs team leaders: QB Tom Hehre 372 yards, 1TD, 6int, 51.1 completion percentage; RB Gabe Brown 202 yards, 2TD; WR Mike Palmer 15 rec, 166 yards, 2TD; Bobby Russell, Anthony Martuccio 1 INT each; Michael Martina 21 tackles, 5 sacks

Aggies team leaders: QB Danny Farley 519 yards, 0TD, 2int, 53.6 completion percentage; RB Ellis Devauntay 199 yards, 1TD; Eric Shorter 12 rec, 152 yards; Matt Smith 33 tackles; Rashaad Lighty 2 sacks; Bobby Marterella 1 int

Pregame Stat: Tonight’s game is just the second in the history of the current stadium at Delaware Valley. The only other time the Aggies played a night game there was last year when they played Wilkes in a shootout won by DelVal 54-35.

By Dave Rosengrant

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Reach Dave Rosengrant at 570-991-6398 or on Twitter @tldrosengrant