Montclair, NJ – Sophomore running back Denzel Nieves (South Orange, NJ, Columbia) rushed for 162 yards and two touchdowns however the quarterback-receiver tandem of Delaware Valley's Aaron Wilmer and Rasheed Bailey proved too much as the Red Hawks dropped their season opener 30-20 at a warm and humid Sprague Field on Saturday.

Nieves scored on a runs of 42 and 29 yards in the second half as Montclair State battled back from a 13-point halftime deficit only to drop its third straight season opener. The Red Hawks are now 45-34-5 in season-opening contests.

Wilmer, who posted the second-best passing game in Delaware Valley history, completed 22-of-36 attempts for 394 yards and two touchdowns with Bailey being on the receiving end of 11 completions for 216 yards and one score. Bailey tied the DVC single-game record with his 11 catches.

The Aggies (1-0), who gave new head coach Duke Greco his first career win, jumped on top 7-0 on their second possession of the game. After a punt put DVC at its own 19, Chris Smallwood pulled in a 10-yard pass from Wilmer who then connected with Tyler Bing moving the ball to the Aggies' 32. Wilmer then found tight end Stephen Greco (no relation to the head coach) down the seam for a 68-yard touchdown giving Delaware Valley a 7-0 lead with 10:26 to play in the opening quarter.

Defense would rule the next part of the game as both teams were held in check while each came up with a big play in the second quarter.

The Aggies drove 39 yards to the Montclair State 28 early in the second period before stalling out. Brandon Snyder came on to attempt a 45-yard field goal however Kevin Bless (Edgewater, NJ, Paramus Catholic) broke through the line to block the attempt as the Red Hawks took possession at its own 42.  Montclair would use that momentum with its first offensive threat. Ryan Davies (Lanoka Harbor, NJ, Howell) connected with Nick Cassetta (Lodi, NJ, Lodi) on a 23-yard game to the DVC 35 and running back Tariq Turner (Manasquan, NJ, Manasquan) bulled his way to the 20 following a 15-yard carry in which he carried a host of would-be tacklers. After getting to the 11, MSU faced a 4^th-and-1 but the Aggies defense came up with the stop to end the drive.

Delaware Valley turned that momentum shift into points with an 87-yard drive that included an 18 and 43-yard completions to Bailey wrapped around a 21-yard reception by Greco. Montclair's defense would hold at the 2 forcing the Aggies to settle for a 19-yard field goal by Snyder for a 10-0 lead with 2:35 remaining.

It would get better for Aggies as Romaine Evans forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff that was recovered by Donyae Moody at the Montclair 44. Delaware Valley turned that into points as Snyder connected from 27-yards out giving the visitors a 13-0 lead at halftime.

Delaware Valley outgained MSU 284-105 in the first half, but the Red Hawks quickly turned that advantage around in the second half starting with the opening kickoff. Davies converted a key third-down hitting Malcolm Robinson (Bayonne, NJ, Bayonne) for 23-yards out to the MSU 46. Nieves put the ball into Aggie territory with a nine-yard run before ripping off a 45-yard touchdown run making the score 13-6 after MSU missed the extra point.

After a defense stop on DVC's next possession, the Red Hawks moved into scoring territory again as Nieves rushed four times for 34 yards. Montclair faced a 3^rd-and-1 at 12 but linebacker Frank Law came up with a sack on Davies for the Red Hawks into a 33-yard field goal attempt that sailed wide left. Again the MSU defense came up with a three-and-out and Montclair answered with short drive that ended with Nieves' second TD run, a 29-yarder that tied the game at 13-13 with 4:15 left in the third.  
The Aggies countered with a 6-play, 70-yard drive to regain lead. Wilmer hit Greco with a 30-yard completion and later ended the drive with a five-yard run putting Delaware Valley back on top with 20-13 with 2:13 left.

The back-and-forth continued on the Red Hawks' next touch of the football as Robinson made a brilliant catch with a defender draped on him along the left sideline for a 42-yard touchdown strike knotting the game at 20-20 nine seconds into the start of the fourth.

Two possessions later, DVC took the lead for good at Snyder hit from 37-yards out with 8:09 remaining before Bailey added a 52-yard TD reception with 5:54 left for the final margin.

Smallwood rushed for 61 yards and also had six receptions for 38 yards while Greco totaled 119 yards receiving in his three catches. Law and Danny Wynne led the defense with eight tackles apiece with Rashaad Lighty recording two of the Aggies' four sacks in the game.

Davies went 14-of-27 for 167 yards with Robinson pulling in five for 83 yards. Clinton Coffey (Roselle, NJ, Roselle) had three receptions. Linebackers Michael Klimek (Cranford, NJ, Cranford) and Michael Tenpenny (Iselin, NJ, John F. Kennedy) had eight tackles each with C.J. Conway (Folsom, NJ, Hammonton) posting seven along with a pass breakup.

Delaware Valley outgained Montclair State 487-361.

Montclair State will look to get back on the winning track next Saturday, September 13 when it heads to the road to Newport, RI to face Salve Regina University at 12:00 pm.