MADISON, N.J. -- The Lebanon Valley College Dutchmen exploded for 28-unanswered,second-half points to fly past the FDU-Florham football team 63-21 on Saturday afternoon at Robert T. Shields Field.

The Devils (0-8, 0-7 MAC) trailed 21-14 at the break, however, the Dutchmen (3-5, 3-4 MAC) came out firing on all cylinders in the second stanza to pull away with the comfortable victory.

FDU-Florham junior quarterback Tyler Maurer (West Milford, N.J.) completed 24-of-38 passes for 295 yards but was intercepted four times in the loss. Freshman wide out Malik Pressley (Sayreville, N.J.) hauled in seven passes for 108 yards and running back Anthony Ognibene (Chester, N.Y.) made a game-high nine receptions for 77 yards in the contest. For Pressley, it is the third time he has eclipsed the 100-yard mark this season.

The Dutchmen attack was led by sophomore Brendan Irving's 23-carry, 165 yard effort, that resulted in two rushing scores. This is the third-straight contest that Irving has amassed 100+ yards. Lebanon Valley quarterback Brian Murphy tossed for 190 yards and four touchdowns in the game and hooked up with Tyler George on two of those scores.

FDU-Florham stopped the Dutchmen on their first drive and put together their own promising drive with their first possession of the game. Maurer completed first-down passes to Pressley, Ognibene, Joe LeBlanc (Linden, N.J.) and James Ognibene (Chester, N.Y.) as the Devils advanced into Dutchmen territory. Unfortunately, the drive abruptly ended when Maurer's 3rd-down pass was intercepted by Lebanon Valley's D.J. Johnson at the Dutchmen 36-yard line. 

After each team punted, the Dutchmen advanced into Devils territory thanks to a 22-yard rush by Murphy. Murphy then rolled out and hit Travis Saylor for a 21-yard strike and gave the Dutchmen a 7-0 advantage.

The Devils countered with a 12-play, 68 yard drive that culminated in a 15-yard touchdown pass by Maurer to James Ognibene, which evened the score at 7-7. On their next possession, the Dutchmen regained the lead when Irving used an excellent cutback move to break free for a 34-yard touchdown run.

Both teams suffered a series of miscues on the ensuing possessions. A lateral attempt by the Dutchmen resulted in a fumble recovery for Devils defensive end Bill Medve (Randolph, N.J.) at the Lebanon Valley 25-yard line. Two plays Maurer hit Pressley for a promising gain but in an effort to gain more yardage Pressley fumbled and the Dutchmen recovered at their own 15-yard line. 

FDU-Florham's defense forced a three-and-out and then sophomore linebacker Cristian Paez (Ridgefield, N.J.) blocked Lebanon Valley's punt, which set the Devils up with prime field position at the Dutchmen 20-yard line. Following an 18-yard hookup from Maurer to Pressley, Ognibene plunged into the end zone from two-yards out and tied the game at 14-14.

Late in the half, a Lebanon Valley interception gave them the ball at their own 30-yard line. With 38 ticks until halftime. the game appered to be heading into the break knotted up. However, a pass interference and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on FDU-Florham gave the Dutchmen life and they capitalized. With six seconds to go and the ball at the Devils 14-yard line, the Dutchmen decided to forego the field goal attempt and it paid off as Murphy narrowly found George in the back corner of the end zone with no time remaining, which gave Lebanon Valley a 21-14 edge at intermission.

The momentum carried over and junior linebacker Kevin Antol intercepted Maurer, which gave the Dutchmen prime real estate at the FDU-Florham 25-yard line. After a series of first-down rushes by Irving, Murphy connected with George from seven-yards out to increase the lead to two scores.

Following a Devils fumble and a shanked punt, the Dutchmen broke the game open when Murphy tossed his fourth touchdown of the day, this one a 30-yard dart to Darryl Sweeper that ballooned Lebanon Valley's lead to 35-14. Maurer cut the deficit back to three scores with a one-yard touchdown scamper but the Dutchmen scored the final 21 points of the game to seal the victory. 

Defensively, Chris Fitzgerald (Ridgefield Park, N.J.) and Rob Savacool (New Vernon, N.J.) made 11 and 10 stops respectively to lead the Devils defense. In addition to his 70 receiving yards, Ognibene added 13 carries for 66 yards on the ground.

Next up for the Devils:
FDU-Florham heads to Doylestown, Pa. next Saturday, November 8th to take on Delaware Valley College at 1 p.m.