BY JEFF FALK
READING – Pride. Camaraderie. The possibility of extending the season. A chance to stick it to your rival. The Lebanon Valley College football team had a lot of motivation, both internal and external.
And besides 6-4 is much better remembered than 5-5.
On a chilly Saturday afternoon at Alright College’s Shirk Field, the Flying Dutchmen’s up-and-down football season came to a head, with a 28-14 loss to their home-standing rival Lions. After falling into a turnover-induced 21-0, first-quarter deficit, Lebanon Valley couldn’t sustain the momentum required to come all the way back.
With the result, the Flying Dutchmen closed out their 121st season of football at .500, and 5-4 in the Middle Atlantic Conference. Albright improved to 8-2 overall and 7-2 in the MAC.
LVC has now met Alrbright on the gridiron 97 times, more than any other opponent. The Lions now lead the all-time series 61-33-3.
“This was a big game,” said Lebanon Valley head coach Joe Buehler. “They (his players) practiced hard all week. They wanted one more win, a lot. When you play Division Three football, you’re playing for the love of the game. They wanted to win it for each other. They wanted one more week together. They love being together.
“We faced two opponents this season that were really good, and we weren’t there yet,” continued Buehler. “The other three losses, we felt like we played with them. Everytime you get to be around young men like these, it’s a great season. It’s (coaching) the best job you can have.”
Down three touchdowns at the break, Lebanon Valley put the Lions on their heels in the third quarter.
The Flying Dutchmen drove the second-half kickoff 60 yards in 12 plays and 4:41 to capture some momentum, with a 14-yard scoring collaboration between quarterback Tyler Sterner and receiver Tim Pirrone. The drive was kept alive by Sterner’s 18-yard hook-up with Lebanon High product Jeremy De La Cruz, on a fourth-down-and-eight play.
Then with 1:37 left in the third quarter, the Flying Dutchmen climbed to within 21-14, on Steve Salerno’s six-yard touchdown run. Mixing the run and the pass, LVC marched 82 yards in 15 snaps.
“Another word for momentum is emotion,” said Buehler. “The swing of emotion, our team feeds off of it. But when you’re not making plays, it’s hard to have emotion. Our kids stuck with it. They didn’t give up.
“The team we just played is 8-2,” Buehler continued. “They’re a good football team. But as I leave this football field, I think we’re just as good.”
But LVC was never able to get over the proverbial ‘hump’, and fully put the pressure on the Lions.
With 6:11 to go, Albright put the Flying Dutchmen away with quarterback Alec Vignola’s 37-yard touchdown toss to Mike Jordan. The score was set up by yet another LVC turnover, this one an interception.
“Just in general, turnovers have been our strength all year,” said Buehler. “We’ve done a good job with them. But today couldn’t have gone any worse. The ball did not bounce our way. There were a couple of times they put the ball on the ground and we didn’t come up with it. That’s football. Sometimes that’s how life goes too.
“Our defense was awesome, We played great defense,” Buehler added. “We’re senior-led on that side of the ball, and we had guys step up. I’ll miss seeing some of those guys play football.”
Lebanon Valley fumbled away its first three possessions, and each time the Lions cashed the takeaway in for a touchdown. Albright grabbed a 7-0 lead 3:57 in a one-yard Kyle Dickerson run.
But the one that really stung came on the Flying Dutchmen’s ensuing possession, when it appeared they were poised to knot the score at seven. Lion Kyven Jones turned the turnover around, and into a 98-yard fumble recovery for the touchdown that made it 14-0.
“We live on running the football and the play-action we get out of it,” said Buehler. We rely on it. We are not a fast, vertical team. We’re more of a methodical team. I told them (his players) at halftime, ‘We’ve just got to get one score at a time’. On any given day, this team is as good as that team.”
Lebanon Valley actually out gained Albright 307 total yards to 269. The Flying Dutchmen gained 221 of those yards through the air, and they limited the Lions to just 22 yards on the ground.
Starner completed 22 of his 45 pass attempts, while Pirrone hauled in nine balls for 100 receiving yards. The Flying Dutchmen turned the ball over a total of five times.
“They were a great group,” said Buehler of his seniors. “They played passionately. They embodied what we’re looking for for Lebanon Valley College football. Our future is very bright. There’s a bunch of freshmen chomping at the bit to show what they can do.”
To purchase images in this article email jkfalk2005@yahoo.com, or to view more go to https://lebanonsportsbuzz.com/photo-gallery/.
Albright 28, Lebanon Valley 14
Team Statistics
Team Statistics
| Game Stats |
LVC |
ALBFB |
| Total Yards |
307 |
269 |
| Pass Yards |
221 |
247 |
| Rushing Yards |
86 |
22 |
| Penalty Yards |
2-15 |
8-76 |
| 1st Downs |
19 |
14 |
| 3rd Downs |
7-16 |
5-16 |
| 4th Downs |
1-3 |
0-0 |
| TOP |
28:30 |
31:30 |
Scoring Summary
| 1ST QUARTER |
11:03 – ALBFB – Dickerson,Kyle 1 yd run (Goetz,Kevin kick ), 5 plays, 25 yards, TOP 2:20
|
0 |
7 |
07:26 – ALBFB – Jones,Kyven 98 yd fumble recovery (Goetz,Kevin kick )
|
0 |
14 |
00:44 – ALBFB – Cordero,Milton 6 yd pass from Lahay,Jimmy (Goetz,Kevin kick ) 10 plays, 79 yards, TOP 4:50
|
0 |
21 |
| 3RD QUARTER |
10:11 – LVC – Tim Pirrone 14 yd pass from Tyler Sterner (Marcus Brown kick ) 12 plays, 60 yards, TOP 4:41
|
7 |
21 |
01:37 – LVC – Steve Salerno 6 yd run (Marcus Brown kick ), 15 plays, 82 yards, TOP 6:10
|
14 |
21 |
| 4TH QUARTER |
06:11 – ALBFB – Jordan,Mike 37 yd pass from Vignola,Alec (Goetz,Kevin kick ) 4 plays, 55 yards, TOP 2:13
|
14 |
28 |
Lebanon Valley College Football
All-Time Year-By-Year
| Year |
Record |
| 1897 |
0-2-0 |
| 1898 |
3-5-2 |
| 1899 |
4-5-0 |
| 1900 |
3-7-0 |
| 1901 |
1-7-0 |
| 1902 |
8-5-0 |
| 1903 |
6-4-1 |
| 1904 |
3-5-0 |
| 1905 |
4-5-0 |
| 1906 |
1-5-1 |
| 1907 |
0-6-0 |
| 1908 |
0-7-0 |
| 1909 |
5-4-0 |
| 1910 |
0-7-0 |
| 1911 |
2-7-0 |
| 1912 |
4-4-1 |
| 1913 |
5-5-0 |
| 1914 |
6-2-0 |
| 1915 |
4-4-1 |
| 1916 |
5-4-1 |
| 1917 |
3-4-0 |
| 1918 |
2-0-0 |
| 1919 |
1-5-2 |
| 1920 |
4-4-0 |
| 1921 |
2-6-1 |
| 1922 |
4-5-0 |
| 1923 |
4-4-1 |
| 1924 |
5-2-2 |
| 1925 |
2-3-3 |
| 1926 |
4-4-0 |
| 1927 |
2-5-1 |
| 1928 |
2-5-2 |
| 1929 |
2-6-1 |
| 1930 |
4-6-0 |
| 1931 |
4-4-0 |
| 1932 |
4-4-0 |
| 1933 |
5-2-2 |
| 1934 |
3-4-1 |
| 1935 |
6-4-0 |
| 1936 |
3-5-0 |
| 1937 |
4-4-0 |
| 1938 |
6-2-0 |
| 1939 |
6-3-0 |
| 1940 |
3-5-0 |
| 1941 |
4-3-1 |
| 1942 |
4-3-1 |
| 1943 |
no season |
| 1944 |
no season |
| 1945 |
no season |
| 1946 |
4-3-1 |
| 1947 |
5-2-1 |
| 1948 |
5-3-1 |
| 1949 |
5-3-0 |
| 1950 |
4-4-0 |
| 1951 |
7-3-0 |
| 1952 |
4-3-0 |
| 1953 |
5-2-0 |
| 1954 |
0-7-0 |
| 1955 |
2-6-1 |
| 1956 |
1-7-0 |
| 1957 |
3-3-0 |
| 1958 |
4-3-1 |
| 1959 |
5-3-0 |
| 1960 |
7-2-0 |
| 1961 |
6-1-0 |
| 1962 |
5-3-0 |
| 1963 |
4-3-0 |
| 1964 |
4-4-0 |
| 1965 |
5-3-0 |
| 1966 |
2-6-0 |
| 1967 |
3-5-0 |
| 1968 |
4-4-0 |
| 1969 |
6-2-0 |
| 1970 |
5-3-1 |
| 1971 |
5-4-0 |
| 1972 |
4-5-0 |
| 1973 |
2-5-2 |
| 1974 |
5-4-0 |
| 1975 |
6-3-0 |
| 1976 |
3-6-0 |
| 1977 |
3-6-0 |
| 1978 |
5-4-0 |
| 1979 |
5-4-0 |
| 1980 |
0-8-1 |
| 1981 |
4-5-0 |
| 1982 |
2-7-0 |
| 1983 |
2-7-1 |
| 1984 |
1-9-0 |
| 1985 |
0-10-0 |
| 1986 |
2-8-0 |
| 1987 |
2-8-0 |
| 1988 |
3-6-1 |
| 1989 |
6-4-0 |
| 1990 |
4-6-0 |
| 1991 |
6-3-1 |
| 1992 |
7-3-0 |
| 1993 |
5-5-0 |
| 1994 |
3-6-0 |
| 1995 |
3-7-0 |
| 1996 |
1-9-0 |
| 1997 |
0-10-0 |
| 1998 |
1-9-0 |
| 1999 |
2-8-0 |
| 2000 |
4-6-0 |
| 2001 |
1-9-0 |
| 2002 |
1-9-0 |
| 2003 |
1-9-0 |
| 2004 |
4-6-0 |
| 2005 |
2-8-0 |
| 2006 |
6-4-0 |
| 2007 |
4-6-0 |
| 2008 |
6-4-0 |
| 2009 |
9-2-0 |
| 2010 |
6-5-0 |
| 2011 |
8-3-0 |
| 2012 |
6-4-0 |
| 2013 |
8-3-0 |
| 2014 |
3-7-0 |
| 2015 |
5-5-0 |
| All |
428-559-37 |
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