Delaware Valley’s Devin Estevez carries the ball during the football game at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Scranton on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton’s Ben Campbell catches the pass during the football game at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Scranton on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Delaware Valley’s Trey Newton catches the ball before Scranton’s Kamani Sterling reaches him during the football game at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Scranton on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton’s Merci Deiu moves to block Delaware Valley’s Chris Devaney during the football game at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Scranton on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Delaware Valley’s defense crushes in on Scranton’s ball carrier Ismael Salazar during the football game at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Scranton on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Delaware Valley’s Noah Delo attempts to stop Scranton’s Brody Coyle’s pass during the football game at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Scranton on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton’s Kamani Sterling celebrates with teammate Ben Campbell after Sterling scored a touchdown during the football game at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Scranton on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Delaware Valley’s Donald Outer (25) hugs teammate Colin McGarvey (8) after McGarvey scored a touchdown during the football game at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Scranton on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton’s marching band performs during the football game at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Scranton on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Delaware Valley’s Teegan Handy and James Dabney celebrate after Dabney scored a goal during the football game at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Scranton on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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Delaware Valley’s Devin Estevez carries the ball during the football game at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Scranton on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
SCRANTON — With only a few days to put a heartbreaking loss behind them, Delaware Valley players worked through their disappointment, regained focus and put their final regular-season game in the win column.
Senior quarterback Colin McGarvey completed 11 of 16 passes for 164 yards and a touchdown and had a rushing touchdown, as the fifth-ranked Warriors scored all of their points in the first half in a 49-19 win over Scranton on Thursday night in a Lackawanna Football Conference Division I game.
Delaware Valley, which lost to North Pocono, 28-21, in overtime in Week 9 and was denied a chance at the division championship, evened its record at 5-5 overall and 4-2 in the division. The Warriors are the No. 3 seed and will play at either Pittston Area or Abington Heights in the first round of the District 2 Class 5A semifinals.
“I think on Monday, because we had this game on Thursday, we had to switch up our practice schedule, and we were a little lackluster and a little down on ourselves,” McGarvey said. “By Wednesday, we were back up. We needed to make a significant impact and prepare for the playoffs.”
Scranton (2-8, 0-6), led by senior quarterback Brody Coyle who threw for 235 yards and three touchdowns, will also play in the postseason. The Knights are the No. 3 seed in the District 2-4 Class 6A semifinals and will play at Williamsport, the No. 2 seed and the District 4 representative, on Oct. 31.
Delaware Valley built a 49-6 lead in the first half.
After a bad snap on a punt by Scranton, Delaware Valley took over at the 5 for its first possession. It took Mike Iuzzolino one play to score a touchdown and get the Warriors’ top-ranked offense going.
On their next possession, Iuzzolino ripped off runs of 12 and 11 yards, and McGarvey finished the drive with a 3-yard touchdown.
Devin Estevez put a charge into the Delaware Valley running game with a 32-yard run, and he finished with a 5-yard touchdown and a 21-0 lead with 3:56 left in the first quarter.
McGarvey launched a deep pass that Trey Newton hauled in for a 37-yard gain, and two plays later, Iuzzolino burst through the middle of the defense for a 26-yard touchdown. Iuzzolino’s night was over after six carries and 56 yards, which gave him 1,207 yards this season.
Newton’s night also ended early, and he finished with five catches for 70 yards. The sophomore has 110 catches for 1,254 yards in his two seasons as a starter.
Delaware Valley’s defense forced another punt and limited Scranton to 11 total yards in its first 18 plays. McGarvey hit Donald Outer for 27 yards, and Estevez scored his second touchdown of the half, giving the Warriors a 35-0 lead.
“Once things got rolling, we kept pushing,” said Estevez, who finished with 73 yards on five carries. “We split the work and trusted our guys up front. I was running through holes untouched. I would rather not take credit for my yards because I was untouched.
“We just wanted to build some momentum and get young guys into the game and give them a chance to play.”
Scranton got into scoring position when Coyle hit Ben Carpenter for 48 yards to the Delaware Valley 11. But the Knights turned the ball over when Kamani Sterling took a powerful hit that jarred the ball loose and sent it through the end zone for a touchback.
Delaware Valley threatened to score again, but Giovanni Garcia had an interception in the end zone. Scranton capitalized when Coyle hit Chris Delsantro for 24 yards, Sterling for 14 and Campbell for a 32-yard touchdown.
Then, Delaware Valley responded when McGarvey connected with James Dabney for a 27-yard touchdown. On the final play of the half, Lucas Purdan recovered a fumble and ran for a 31-yard touchdown.
Reagan Decker finished the half going 7 for 7 on extra points and had six touchbacks on kickoffs.
“Last week, we knew that we underperformed in the passing game,” said McGarvey, who now has 1,592 yards and 17 touchdowns this season. “We came out, and normally we script the first 10 plays, and a lot of them are running plays. Tonight, they were mostly pass plays. We knew we had to get the passing game back up and running.”
Delaware Valley’s backups lost a pair of fumbles in the second half.
Coyle had a touchdown pass of 33 yards to Campbell, who had four catches for 126 yards, and his final touchdown throw to Sterling for 36 yards to give the Knights some momentum heading into the playoffs.
Originally Published: October 23, 2025 at 11:01 PM EDT