Valparaiso University

Both before the game kicked off and throughout the contest, the Valparaiso University football team showed resilience in the face of adversity on Saturday afternoon.
 
After a rare nationwide ground stoppage postponed Friday's scheduled flight, the Beacons faced an early wake-up call and a long day of travel before arriving at Spec Martin Stadium in DeLand, Fla. for Saturday's game. The contest itself saw Stetson rally to take the lead on the final play of the third quarter, but through it all, the Beacons showed the fight that we've come to expect from head coach Andy Waddle's team.
 
Cedric Benning III (Baltimore, Md. / Episcopal [Dickinson]) had a game-tying touchdown run early in the fourth, then it remained deadlocked until Luke Scoma (Bellevue, Wash. / Bellevue) drilled a 28-yard field goal with all zeros on the clock to send Valpo to a 34-31 victory. Max Samuel (Edina, Minn. / Edina) blocked a kick and had 2.5 tackles for loss as part of another big game.
 
How It Happened

• The Hatters came out of the gate with a six-play, 75-yard drive that culminated with a 40-yard touchdown pass.
• The Valpo offense had a quick response, going nine plays and 53 yards on the first Beacon drive of the game. On third-and-13 from the Stetson 30, Devin Yeats (Hampshire, Ill. / Hampshire) caught a 19-yard pass from Keefe to move the chains. On the next play, it was Yeats from Keefe again for an 11-yard score to tie the game.
• The Hatters settled for a 38-yard field goal to take a 10-7 lead with 2:36 left in the first quarter. Valpo got those points back early in the second when Scoma sent one through the uprights from 22 yards out.
• The Valpo defense forced a punt as Samuel and Caleb Baczek (Libertyville, Ill. / Libertyville) combined for a sack on 3^rd-and-9 from the 26.
• A 37-yard catch by Chris Gundy (Smithfield, Va. / Smithfield) highlighted the next Valpo drive, as the Beacons moved the ball all the way to the Stetson 11 and were threatening for points before the Hatters made an interception.
• The defense got a quick stop, and then special teams came through with Samuel blocking a punt and Valpo recovering at the Stetson 24.
• The Beacons capitalized on the field position when Kam Fouty-Koonce (Baltimore, Md. / Episcopal [Dickinson]) caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from Keefe to make it 16-10. There was a fumble on the snap/hold exchange on the PAT, so the lead remained six with 1:49 left in the first half.
• A sack by Baczek and Jason Salman (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Thomas Jefferson [Marietta]) on third down brought a short-lived Stetson drive to a halt. Valpo had a chance to add points before halftime after a 20-yard catch by Colin Hayes (Bloomington, Ill. / Bloomington Central Catholic), but Valpo missed a 40-yard field goal try on the final snap of the first half, setting up the redemption moment that would take place on the final snap of the second half.
• Stetson outscored Valpo 21-8 in the third quarter, outgaining the Beacons 171-82 in that period after the Brown & Gold had dominated the first half. A 65-yard punt return touchdown gave Stetson a 17-16 lead with 8:58 left in the third. Valpo went back in front after using a balanced attack to march 65 yards on 12 plays, culminating with a Russell Tye (Cleveland, Ohio / Orange) 4-yard touchdown run and a 2-point conversion pass from Keefe to tight end Jackson Crawford (Lincoln, Neb. / Lincoln Southwest). Valpo led 24-17 with 3:05 left in the third.
• Stetson tied it with a 16-yard TD pass, then Valpo went three-and-out and Stetson scored on a 67-yard pass on the first play of their next drive and the final play of the third quarter, taking a 31-24 lead to the fourth.
• On Valpo's first drive of the fourth, Keefe completed a 34-yard pass to Marty O'Keeffe (Orland Park, Ill. / Brother Rice) on 3^rd-and-9, then Benning plunged in from 3 yards out to tie the game at 31.
• The game was still tied at 31 when Stetson went for it on a 4^th-and-3 from the Valpo 16. Samuel zipped into the backfield and blew up the play for a loss of one, forcing a turnover on downs.
• Gundy and O'Keeffe had catches for 27 and 20 yards, respectively, leading into the two-minute timeout. O'Keeffe's catch brought the ball to the 27, then Benning and Tye went to work to gain yards on the ground as the Beacons used up the majority of the remaining time. Valpo called a timeout with two seconds remaining, putting the game on the leg of Scoma, who was golden from 28 yards out to ignite a celebratory scene on the Valpo sideline.

Inside the Game

• Valpo racked up 457 yards of total offense, the team's highest total since 460 in 2022 at Marist.
• The Beacons featured a balanced attack, passing for 303 yards and rushing for 154. This marked the team's third-highest rushing total of the season and highest single-game passing total of the year.
• Valpo eclipsed 300 passing yards in a game for the first time since Oct. 29, 2022 at Dayton (323). Keefe passed for a career-high 303 yards, becoming the first Valpo QB to do so since Michael Appel Jr. on Oct. 29, 2022 at Dayton. Before that, it was Chris Duncan on Nov. 9, 2019 vs. Morehead State.
• Keefe completed 24 passes, tying his career high that occurred on Sept. 26 of this season vs. Butler.
• Benning ran for a career-high 98 yards on 18 carries, while Tye totaled a personal-best 40 yards on nine carries.
• Gundy had a career-high eight receptions for a career-high 122 yards. He's up to 99 career receptions for 1,257 yards. Gundy had the highest single-game receiving total by a Valpo player since Solomon Davis had 175 on Sept. 23, 2023 vs. Marist.
• O'Keeffe made six catches for 91 yards, both career highs.
• Yeats had six grabs of his own for 68 yards. The six catches equaled a personal best. The veteran trio of Gundy, O'Keeffe and Yeats combined for 20 catches in the win.
• Scoma increased his single-season total to 12 made field goals, climbing into the top 5 in program history. He is tied for second in program history alongside three others, most recently Brian Bartholomew in 2021. In next week's season finale, Scoma needs one made field goal to tie and two to break the program record of 13, set by Kevin Mackey in 1984.
• Valpo picked up its eighth blocked kick of the season, moving into sole possession of third in program history. In addition, Valpo took over sole possession of the Division-I national lead with the team's eighth blocked kick of the season. It was the squad's sixth blocked punt, leading Division I and tied for the NCAA lead.  
• Samuel recorded his second blocked kick of the season, becoming the 18^th player nationally with multiple this year. Samuel's blocked kick was the fifth of his career.
• Samuel had 2.5 tackles for loss and 0.5 sacks in the game. He's up to 20.5 TFL on the season and 9.0 sacks. Samuel is on the cusp of the program record for tackles for loss in a season, as he is 0.5 TFL behind Mike Gluszewski's 1991 record of 21.0. He climbed into sole possession of second with his big game on Saturday.
• By securing his ninth sack of the season, Samuel moved into a tie for fifth in program history. He is the first Valpo player to record nine or more sacks in a season since Mark Kaiser in 2000. Samuel is tied for fifth in program history in single-season sacks.
• Salman had a career-high nine tackles to lead the team, while Johnson added eight. Salman has accrued 16 stops over the last two games.
• Valpo went 7-of-16 on third down, while holding Stetson to 2-of-13. In addition, the Beacons were 3-for-3 on fourth down.
• Fouty-Koonce had his first career touchdown catch.
• Tye recorded his second career TD run, while Benning ran for his fifth score of the year.
• Yeats' TD catch was his second of the season and the fifth of his career.
• Valpo extended its head-to-head winning streak against Stetson to four, prevailing in the team's first visit to DeLand since 2018.
• Valpo clinched a record of .500 or better in league play for the first time since 2022.
• The Beacons clinched the program's highest overall win total since 2022.
• Valpo clinched the program's highest road win total since 2022.
• Valpo moved to within one win of clinching the program's first winning season since Spring 2021, first winning season in a full fall season since 2017 and the program's third winning season since 2003.
• The Beacons move to within one win of clinching the program's first winning season in league play since Spring 2021 and first in a full fall season since 2017.
• Head coach Andy Waddle secured the most wins by a Valpo head coach in his first or second season since 1978. Waddle owns the most by a first- or second-year coach since Bill Koch had five in his second season in 1978.

Thoughts from Head Coach Andy Waddle
On Overcoming Travel Obstacles: "We came to play a football game, and if the game didn't go our way, I was going to continue to tell everybody that it wasn't about the trip; it was about the guys on the field. Obviously, there were some extenuating circumstances, but the game still happened on the field, and our guys made just enough plays to come out victorious. Two or three years from now, no one would remember the details of the game; all they would remember is the W or the L, and I'm glad that they're going to be remembering the W."
 
On the Offense Stepping Up: "We needed them. We struggled a little bit more today defensively than we have in some other games, but at the same time, you have to give credit to Stetson's offense. They came in doing some really good things. We prepared mostly for #12, and 12 is a great player, but #16 adds a different element with the way he can run the ball and his athleticism. It was a different challenge for us. They executed some things that stressed our defense, but offensively we just kept answering the call. The game management at the end of the game was really good by our offensive staff and by Rowan at quarterback. They gave us the opportunity to win that game with a kick that we like and a guy that we believe in."  
 
Up Next
Valpo (5-5, 4-3 PFL) will close out the season next Saturday, Nov. 21 by hosting St. Thomas on Senior Day. The game will kick off at 1 p.m., with tickets available on tickets.valpoathletics.com.