Valparaiso Blocks Two Punts, Beats Presbyterian 24-7 at Brown Field

Special teams is usually the part of the broadcast where people go get a snack. At Brown Field on Saturday, it was the whole show.

Valparaiso blocked two Presbyterian punts, turned both into touchdowns, and beat Presbyterian 24-7 in a Pioneer Football League game that the Blue Hose controlled for long stretches on paper and never controlled on the scoreboard. Presbyterian ran 21 more plays. Presbyterian ran for 226 yards. None of it mattered, because the Beacons kept getting the ball inside the PC 15 without having to earn a single yard.

Both teams leave at 4-4 overall and 3-2 in the PFL. Only one of them leaves feeling good about it.

Two blocks, two short fields

The tone got set on the opening possession. Presbyterian went three-and-out, with redshirt junior linebacker Max Samuel sacking the quarterback on third down. Then fifth-year senior Alex Goworowski got a hand on the punt, and Valpo took over at the PC 15.

Three plays later, Cedric Benning III plunged in from a yard out. It was 7-0 with 12:05 still on the first-quarter clock, and Valpo's offense had gained 15 yards to get there.

Early in the second quarter, the Beacons showed they could do it the long way too. Quarterback Rowan Keefe hit Isaac Tran for 59 yards, and Russell Tye finished the five-play, 90-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown run, the first score of his college career. That made it 14-0 with 12:19 left in the half.

By then, Presbyterian had lost starting quarterback Landon Sharpe to a first-quarter injury. Junior Max Holtzclaw ran the offense the rest of the way.

Presbyterian's punch back

To its credit, Presbyterian did not fold. Goworowski notched a third-down sack and PC failed on a fourth-and-14 from the Valpo 19, but the Blue Hose defense found its own big play on the next series.

Keefe had just connected with redshirt freshman Ashton Allen on a 69-yard catch and run, the longest Valpo completion of the season and the program's longest pass play since 2018. Valpo was at the PC 10 and thinking about a three-touchdown lead. Then Noah Taylor came free on second-and-10, stripped Keefe, and Jalyn Turner recovered.

Holtzclaw took it from there. He led a 14-play, 91-yard march that ate 3:04 and finished it himself, keeping the ball on a 2-yard run with 56 seconds left in the half. Suddenly it was 14-7.

Keefe answered with five quick completions to reach field goal range, but the try at the gun drifted wide left. Halftime: 14-7, momentum leaning Presbyterian.

The turning point: lightning strikes twice

The third quarter was a slog. With 5:54 left in the quarter, outside linebacker Debo Hall jarred the ball loose on an 11-yard Valpo gain and Gerald Danner recovered at midfield.

Valpo got it right back. Sophomore linebacker Micah Markley picked off a pass and returned it 25 yards to the 50, the first interception of his career. The Beacons then turned it over on downs, but their defense forced another punt, and this is where the game really broke open.

Samuel came through the line and blocked it. Valpo set up at the PC 14. Five plays later, Keefe kept it for a 1-yard touchdown run with 13:43 left in the game, and the lead was 21-7.

Two blocked punts, two touchdowns, 29 total yards of offense needed to cash them in. That is the game in a sentence.

Presbyterian still had chances. It put together an extended drive late, but Samuel and Jason Salman combined for a sack on third-and-14 from the Valpo 21, an eight-yard loss made worse by a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Blue Hose. That set up a fourth-and-37 from the Valpo 44, which is not a real down and distance so much as a cry for help. It fell short.

Luke Scoma then drilled a career-long 48-yard field goal with 5:37 to play. PC turned it over on downs again on its next long drive, and Valpo ran out the clock.

The players who decided it

Samuel was everywhere. Two sacks, a blocked punt and a constant presence in the backfield. He now has 8.5 sacks and 17 tackles for loss on the season and has recorded a sack in five straight games.

Goworowski matched him with a career-high 11 tackles to go with his blocked punt, the fourth of his career. Together, the two blocks gave Valpo seven blocked kicks this season, tied with fellow PFL member Marist for the FCS lead, and five blocked punts, which leads the country outright.

Keefe had his best day throwing the football, finishing 21 of 29 for a career-high 275 yards. His completions went to 10 different receivers, with Marty O'Keeffe catching a career-high five passes for 44 yards.

For Presbyterian, Holtzclaw deserves real credit for stepping in cold. He ran 20 times for 102 yards, threw for 116 more and scored the team's only touchdown. Hall led the defense with nine tackles and a forced fumble, and rookie Tymaries Durant added a nine-yard sack on Valpo's final drive, extending his streak of games with a tackle for loss to six.

The stats that matter

Presbyterian finished with 357 total yards to Valpo's 379. In a vacuum, that looks like a close game. The difference was where the drives started and how they ended.

The Blue Hose converted 2 of 14 third downs, and their average distance on third down was eight yards. PC also went 2 for 5 on fourth down and committed 11 penalties for 78 yards. Its five second-half drives ended in two punts, a turnover and two failed fourth downs. No points.

That last part is becoming a Valpo habit. The Beacons have now shut out their opponent in the second half in three of their last four games, holding Morehead State, Drake and Presbyterian scoreless after halftime.

And Presbyterian came in throwing the ball well, ranked 25th nationally in passing offense at 250.7 yards per game. Valpo held it to 131 through the air. You can find every number in the official box score (opens in a new tab).

What it means

For Valpo, this is real progress. The Beacons have now doubled their win total from last season, secured their most PFL wins since 2022 and won three of their last four league games. They are 3-1 at Brown Field, the first time the program has been 3-1 or better through four home games since 2017. The full rundown is in Valpo's recap (opens in a new tab).

It is also a little revenge. Presbyterian beat Valpo 43-14 in Clinton last November on the way to a 10-2 season, and this year's Blue Hose arrived on a three-game winning streak with a 3-1 league record.

Six PFL teams have three conference wins with about a month left, and Presbyterian is one of them. But the margin for error is gone, and so, possibly, is its starting quarterback. Sharpe's status became the biggest question for the Blue Hose.

Next on the schedule for Presbyterian was a Halloween homecoming game against Butler at Bailey Memorial Stadium. Valpo has a bye before visiting Dayton on Saturday, Nov. 7.

The last word

Coaches love to say special teams is a third of the game. On Saturday, that undersold it.

Presbyterian outrushed Valpo by more than 120 yards and ran 21 more plays and still lost by 17. Valpo's offense scored two touchdowns on drives of 15 and 14 yards because Goworowski and Samuel did what special teams units dream about. The Beacons are not a finished product, but they have won three of four, which is more than anyone could say about them a year ago.

Sources: Valparaiso Athletics recap and box score, and FOX Carolina. More college football coverage on Undrafted.

Photos: Valpo Athletics.