Box Score The Valparaiso University football team outscored visiting Virginia Lynchburg 35-0 in the third quarter on its way to a comfortable 67-10 victory over the Dragons on a pleasant Saturday afternoon at Brown Field. Andy Waddle secured his first win as Valpo head coach in a game that saw the Beacons produce the program's highest single-game scoring output since 1958 and fourth highest in program history.
 
How It Happened

• Captain Mark Johnson (Nashville, Tenn. / Lipscomb Academy) made an early impact, securing an interception on Virginia Lynchburg's opening drive. The Beacons started their first possession of the season from midfield, and Mansaray did the rest, going 49 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage. A 2-point try failed, so the Beacons led 6-0 with 13:37 left in the first quarter.
• The Dragons had an extended possession due to Valpo muffing a punt, but the Beacons overcame that miscue when a strip sack by Gabriel Batres (Fairfield, Calif. / Angelo Rodriguez) helped the Brown & Gold take over at their own 22. That drive finished with Caron Tyler (Temecula, Calif. / Chaparral) connecting with Jay Melchiori (Marengo, Ohio / Highland [Marietta]) for a 13-yard touchdown to lift the lead to 13-0, which was the score through one quarter.
• A lengthy VUL drive resulted in a 36-yard field goal sent through the uprights to get the guests on the board at 13-3. Ryan Ricketti (Rocky River, Ohio / Rocky River) ripped off a 71-yard kickoff return, then Luke Scoma (Bellevue, Wash. / Bellevue) drilled a 43-yard field goal, helping Valpo boost the margin back to 13 at 16-3.
• The Beacons took over again after an interception by Nic Lendino (Naperville, Ill. / Neuqua Valley) and a 20-yard return to the VUL 5, then Mansaray did the rest with a 5-yard TD run to make it 23-3.
• Virginia Lynchburg cut the lead to 23-10 on a pick six. The Beacons got a field goal from Scoma from 31 yards out leading into halftime to make it 26-10 at the break.
• Keefe connected with Ricketti for 20 yards and then found Colin Hayes (Bloomington, Ill. / Bloomington Central Catholic) for a 17-yard touchdown on the first possession of the second half, lifting the lead to 33-10.
• A blocked punt by Marty O'Keeffe (Orland Park, Ill. / Brother Rice) was picked up by Frank Bartell (Park Ridge, Ill. / Maine South) at the 15 and ran in for a touchdown, building the lead to 40-10 at the 8:25 mark. Then a VUL fumble forced by Lendino set up a scoop-and-score for Anthony Feltrinelli (Westfield, Ind. / Westfield) to make it 47-10. The lead continued to grow when Dawaiian McNelly (Ceres, Calif. / Central Catholic [Wyoming]) ran for a 17-yard TD to put the score at 54-10 with 4:32 left in the third quarter, then Keefe had a 13-yard TD run that made it 61-10, which was the score through three quarters.
• Noah Long (Liberty Hill, Texas / Liberty Hill) ran for a 36-yard touchdown early in the fourth. The 2-point try failed, and 67-10 stood as the final.

Inside the Game

• The 67 points marked Valpo's highest scoring output since beating Indiana Central 78-0 on Nov. 8, 1958. Saturday marked the fourth-highest scoring output in program history with 110 vs. Lewis in 1923 first, 85 vs. Northwestern in 1920 second and the aforementioned 78 vs. Indiana Central in 1958 third.
• The 57-point margin of victory was Valpo's largest since that 1958 contest as well. Saturday was tied for the seventh-largest margin of victory in program history.
• Valpo picked up its first season-opening victory since 2022 and won a season opener for just the third time since 2007.
• Andy Waddle became the first Valpo head coach to win his first game since Stacy Adams started the 2005 season with a 17-3 victory at Wisconsin Lutheran. Waddle, the program's 19^th head coach, became just the sixth to win his Valpo head coaching debut.
• Batres had a team-high six tackles including an eye-popping four tackles for loss. His four TFL marked the most by any Valpo player since Trejuan Purty had five on Nov. 20, 2021 vs. Presbyterian. Batres had three sacks as well, becoming the first Beacon to do that since both Purty and Nick Prine did so in that game against the Blue Hose.
• The Beacons had 18 tackles for loss and eight sacks as a team. Valpo became the first team in the FCS nation with 18 tackles for loss since N.C. Central on Oct. 12, 2024 (also vs. VUL). That total led the FCS nation for team single-game TFL for all of last season. Valpo's18 TFL tied for the most by an FCS team in a single game since Oct. 12, 2019, when Sam Houston had 19 vs. Lamar.
• The eight sacks would have ranked tied for eighth nationally in a single FCS game last season. This marked Valpo's most sacks in a game since 10 on Nov. 6, 2021 vs. Presbyterian.
• Johnson made his first career interception, while Lendino's was his third.
• Mansaray finished a yard shy of his career high, rushing for 134 yards and two scores on 15 attempts. He is up to 15 career rushing touchdowns including 11 at Valpo. McNeely added six carries for 54 yards, and in total Valpo rushed for five touchdowns.
• McNeely had his third career TD run, while Keefe and Long each had their first.
• The Beacons rushed for 296 yards, the team's highest total since 298 on Nov. 6, 2021 vs. Presbyterian.
• Valpo picked up 409 yards of total offense while holding the Dragons to 161 total yards including just 25 on the ground. This marked the team's highest offensive output since 460 on Nov. 12, 2022 at Marist.
• Melchiori and Ricketti led the receivers with three grabs apiece, while Melchiori paced the squad with 41 receiving yards. Ricketti and Hayes both enjoyed their first collegiate TD grabs.
• Scoma went 2-for-2 on field goals with a long of 43 and 6-for-6 on PATs in his collegiate debut.

Postgame Press Conference
Click here for postgame press conference.
 
Up Next
Valpo (1-0) will look to make it back-to-back wins next week by hosting Adrian at 6 p.m. as part of the Popcorn Fest Finale at Brown Field. Tickets are available at tickets.valpoathletics.com.