Nov 26, 2022
DOYLESTOWN, Pa. – Senior quarterback Andrew Ihle (Apex, N.C./Middle Creek) threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more as No. 14 Randolph-Macon dropped a thrilling 39-32 contest at Delaware Valley on Saturday afternoon in the Second Round of the NCAA Championship.
The Basics:
Score: Delaware Valley 39, Randolph-Macon 32
Location/Venue: Doylestown, Pa./Robert A. Lipinski Field at James Work Memorial Stadium
Records: Randolph-Macon 11-1, Delaware Valley 12-0
How it Happened:
- The R-MC defense forced DelVal to punt on its first possession. The Yellow Jackets picked up one first down but turned the ball over on downs at the DV31. The Yellow Jacket defense again held the Aggies to three-and-out and forced another punt. R-MC picked up one first down and a punt by sophomore Kyle Ihle (Apex, N.C./Middle Creek) put the ball at the DV5. DelVal had a long TD run and converted the two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead with 3:40 remaining in the first period.
- The Yellow Jackets used 13 plays to move to the DV8. Ihle hit a 25-yard field goal to make it 8-3 with 10:27 left in the second quarter.
- The Aggies drove to the RM11 and settled for a 28-yard field goal to take an 11-3 lead with five minutes left until halftime.
- Andrew Ihle hit senior David Wallis (Cedar Point, N.C./Croatan) on a 64-yard touchdown pass to pull R-MC within one at 11-10 with four minutes remaining.
- DelVal scored on a long TD pass to go up 18-10 with one minute left.
- Andrew Ihle found senior Zach Bowman (Midlothian, Va./Manchester) on a 32-yard scoring pass to make it 18-16 with 25 seconds left. Junior Brecht Heuchan (Tallahassee, Fla./Maclay) connected with senior Joey Hunt (Olney, Md./Sherwood) on the two-point conversion to level the score at 18-18 at intermission.
- R-MC picked up one first down on its first possession. Kyle Ihle's punt was fumbled and Bowman recovered on the DV7. Andrew Ihle scored from one yards out as the Yellow Jackets took their first lead at 25-18 with 10:48 remaining in the third period.
- Freshman safety Alex Biddle (Ashburn, Va./Broad Run) had an interception that gave R-MC the ball on the DV23. Andrew Ihle scored from three yards out to give the Yellow Jackets a 32-18 advantage with 2:54 left in the third quarter.
- The Aggies responded with a touchdown to narrow the gap to 32-25 with 14:13 remaining in the fourth period. DelVal tied the game with a TD with 4:07 left and registered the game-winner with 24 seconds left to make the final 39-32.
By The Numbers:
- R-MC collected 288 yards of total offense, with 174 through the air and 114 on the ground. The Aggies' opponents averaged 171 yards of offense coming into the game.
- Andrew Ihle completed 3 of 7 passes for 102 yards and two touchdowns. He carried 15 times for 13 yards and two TDs.
- Wallis had two catches for 68 yards and one score.
- Senior Nick Hale (Vinton, Va./William Byrd) rushed 20 times for 88 yards.
- Junior linebacker Jackson Deaver (Fayetteville, N.C./Terry Sanford) led the R-MC defense with 14 tackles. He had 2.5 tackles for loss and one quarterback sack.
- The Yellow Jackets held the ball for 33:43, compared to 26:17 for DelVal.
For The Record:
- R-MC ended the season with 11 wins for the first time in program history. The Yellow Jackets won nine games in a season nine times.
- The Yellow Jackets had their win streak snapped at 17 games. The program record is 19, from 1967-69.
- The 32 points by the Yellow Jackets were their lowest point total of the season. DelVal averaged surrendering less than six points per game.