Valparaiso, Ind. - Rob Giancola caught a single-game school record four touchdowns and David Macchi tied a school mark with five touchdown passes as Valparaiso (5-3, 2-0 PFL North) took sole possession of first place with a 41-34 victory over San Diego (5-2, 1-1 PFL North). Giancola also shattered Valpo records for single-season touchdown receptions with 15 and the career mark for touchdown receptions with 28. The junior from Whiting, Ind./HS also tied the school record for most points in a game with 24. Macchi also eclipsed the Crusaders' single-season mark for touchdown passes with 23.
The victory is the second straight for Valpo, while San Diego saw its five-game winning streak snapped.
The game, which included four lead changes and one tie, featured numerous offensive highlights. After San Diego grabbed a 27-20 lead in the third quarter on Evan Harney's 78-yard touchdown run, Giancola and Macchi took control of the contest with three unanswered touchdown aerials. The Crusaders tied the game at 27-27 with 3:28 left in the third quarter on a spectacular catch and run by Giancola. The 6'1", 215-pound wide receiver caught a five-yard pass from Macchi, ran toward the sideline and turned the corner before cutting inside and scampering into the end zone for a 58-yard score.
After the Toreros and Crusaders each had drives end in punts, Valpo's defense came up with a big play as defensive end James Riker recovered San Diego quarterback Eric Rasmussen's fumble at the San Diego 29-yard line early in the fourth quarter. On the third play of Valpo's next possession, Giancola made a leaping catch of a Macchi pass in the back of the end zone for a 20-yard touchdown to give the Crusaders a 33-27 advantage with 11:41 remaining. The touchdown reception, which broke two records, was the 27th of Giancola's three-year career, eclipsing the previous school record of 26 held by Dan Bogar (10981-84) and Mike Healey (1982-85). The scoring pass was the 22nd of the campaign for Macchi, who bested his own school mark set last season. On the day, Macchi completed 23 of 39 passes for 430 yards.
Valpo's defense came through again on San Diego's next series, forcing the Toreros' seventh punt of the game. After four plays, including a 14-yard reception by Kenny Keil, Macchi found Giancola down the left sideline for a 55-yard touchdown with 7:32 left to extend the lead to 41-27. The scoring catch was Giancola's Pioneer Football League-leading 15th of the season. Giancola, who set a school-record last week with 275 receiving yards in a win over Dayton, finished with 196 yards on six receptions.
San Diego, which was riding a five-game win streak, cut its deficit to 41-34 on Harney's fourth touchdown of the game, a five-yard run. Harney, who entered the game as the PFL's second-leading rusher, had a huge game, running for 208 yards and three touchdowns on 33 carries. A sophomore, Harney also caught a 35-yard touchdown pass from Rasmussen.
Valpo took nearly three minutes off the clock with a seven-play drive before a Ryan Bateman punt gave San Diego one last opportunity. Following a 22-yard pass, Valpo's defense pressured Rasmussen into two straight incompletions. Rasmussen then completed an 8-yard pass on third down before tossing an incompletion on a fourth-and-two situation. The Toreros had used all of their timeouts on the previous defensive series and Valpo ran out the remaining 1:02.
On the first play of the game, Valpo's Chris Daniels made his team-leading sixth interception of the season at the San Diego 39-yard line. Andrew McCawley completed a seven-play drive with a 30-yard field goal. Rasmussen then hooked up with Harney for a 35-yard touchdown to give the Toreros a 7-3 lead. Four possessions later, Harney plunged in from 1-yard out to increase the USD lead to 14-3.
Macchi responded with two long touchdown passes. The senior from San Jose, Calif./Willow Glen connected with Kevin Knutson for a 52-yard touchdown early in the second quarter to cut San Diego's lead to 14-10. Seven minutes later, he found Giancola open for a 47-yard touchdown to give the Crusaders a 17-14 lead. Giancola's first touchdown broke Valpo's single-season mark of 11 held by himself (2002), Bogar (1984) and Healey (1985).
San Diego's Adam Hannula, who caught a game-high 10 passes for 123 yards, snagged a 14-yard pass from Rasmussen as the Toreros regained a 21-17 lead. Valpo cut its deficit to 21-20 on McCawley's 37-yard field goal with no time remaining. The field goal was made possible due to a personal foul penalty by San Diego on a field goal attempt that failed with :02 remaining.
Valpo finished with 449 total yards, while San Diego amassed 472. The Toreros rushed for 205 yards and Rasmussen passed for 267. San Diego had 22 first downs to 21 for the Crusaders. Knutson tied Giancola with a team-high six catches for 115 yards. Keil caught four passes for 59 yards. Matt Van Daele led Valpo with 57 rushing yards on 14 carries. Rasmussen completed 22 of 39 passes for 267 yards and two touchdowns.
The Toreros return home for two straight games against Marist (Oct. 25th; 7 pm) and Butler (Nov. 1st; 7 pm).
