Bridgewater, Va.- The Bridgewater Eagles’ historic football season came to an end with a 30-22 loss to the Delaware Valley Aggies. The Eagles were coming off their first Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Championship since 2005. The Aggies were coming off their third straight Mid Atlantic Conference (MAC) title. 

The Aggies took the first possession and drove 78 yards to the end zone. The drive was capped by a 13-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Anthony Fontana to junior wide receiver John Davis. The Eagles responded quickly with a 87-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Senior Jarrod Denham to tie the game 7-7. 

Delaware Valley started to move the ball on their next possession, the Eagles defense stood strong on a 3rd and 1 to force a punt. The Eagles’ first offensive possession appeared to end shortly, but the Eagles converted on a 4th and 1 on their own 31 to keep the drive alive. They drove the ball down the field and took their first lead of the game on a 1-yard touchdown run from senior quarterback Jay Scroggins.

The Aggies jumped offside on the extra point attempt and the Eagles took advantage and went for two, but came up empty. The Eagles led 13-7. 

Towards the beginning of the second quarter, the Aggies drove the ball down the field again to the Eagles five yard-line. On fourth-and-goal, the Eagles defense stopped Fontana and the offense with a 15-yard sack, strip, and a fumble recovery by freshman defensive end Preston Turner. 

Both teams left their drives empty handed for the rest of the half. The Eagles ended their drives with a punt and a missed field goal by senior kicker Logan Weis. Fontana threw two interceptions to end their drives, one to senior linebacker Gary Ramey, Jr., and the other to junior cornerback Chase Rosenthal.

The second half began with a trio of field goals to make it 19-10 in favor of the Eagles. Weis made 32- and 39-yard field goals while Aggies senior kicker Nick Rustaino made a 27-yard attempt. 

Fontana responded to the deficit with a 48-yard touchdown pass to senior running back Mario Nigro to close the gap to 19-17. 

After an Eagles punt, the Aggies took their first lead since the first quarter with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Fontana to Davis. After trailing 23-19, Scroggins lead the Eagles down the field, but threw an interception to sophomore defensive back Blaine Netterman at the Aggies 24 yardline. 

The Eagles defense made up for the turnover with a stop, getting their offense the ball back with 4:40 left in the game. On the first play of the drive, Scroggins fumbled and senior defensive lineman Vincent DiLeo took it to the end zone to give the Aggies a 30-19 lead. 

After the turnover, Scroggins and the offense lead a quick drive that lead to a 42-yard Weis field goal to shorten the Aggies’ lead to 30-22. The Eagles attempted an onside kick to keep their hopes alive, but the Aggies recovered and ran out the clock to move on in the playoffs. 

The Aggies will play the Wesley Wolverines in the next round of the D3 Playoffs.