Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Gaffney, Halpin on D3football.com Team; LVC Ranked In Lambert Poll

Frank Gaffney (Photo by Tim Flynn '05)
D3football.com Team of the Week
ECAC Lambert Meadowlands Poll


ANNVILLE, Pa. - The accolades continue to pour in for Lebanon Valley College football this season, with Frank Gaffney and Zach Halpin earning D3football.com Team of the Week honors and the Dutchmen appearing in the first ECAC Lambert Meadowlands poll.
Gaffney and Halpin accounted for seven of LVC's 10 sacks in a 14-7 win over #24 Lycoming on Saturday. It's Gaffney's third appearance in four weeks on the D3football.com Team of the Week, and the first for Halpin, who was also named the BSN and MAC defensive player of the week.

Meanwhile, LVC has also appeared in the first edition of the ECAC Lambert Meadowlands poll, coming in fourth as the only MAC team in the rankings. LVC is behind three unbeaten teams: Hobart, Johns Hopkins, and St. John Fisher. The poll ranks teams from among ECAC members in the Northeast.

Gaffney had a game-high 11 tackles and three sacks against Lycoming, including four tackles for a loss. Two of his sacks came on Lycoming's final drive, hitting Tyler Jenny consecutively on second- and third-down to back the Warriors out of LVC territory and into a fourth-and-41 situation. He became LVC's single-season sack leader (13.0, most in NCAA Division III this year), in only week 6.

Halpin had a career-high four sacks among six tackles, generating four hurries and multiple hits on Jenny. Two of his sacks came on third down, including a crucial stop in a goal line stand by LVC with Lyco getting first and goal at the 3. He led a Dutchmen line that allowed only 50 yards rushing.