Box Score The Misericordia University football team took another step forward in a 42-17 loss to Delaware Valley, Saturday afternoon at Mangelsdorf Field.

Actually, the Cougars took several steps forward as they rushed for 370 yards, including 159 from sophomore quarterback Jeff Puckett.

Robin Custodio added 96 yards and Frank Santarsiero had 82 yards and a touchdown.

After falling behind 35-3, the Cougars dominated the third quarter as they controlled the ball for more than 10 minutes and put together two long scoring drives to get within 35-17.

Juwan Petties-Jackson returned the second half kickoff for 24 yards to the Misericordia 31 yard line.

Puckett and Santasiero combined for a pair of first downs to put the ball near midfield and Petties-Jackson made an over-the-shoulder catch along the right sideline for a 32 yard gain and a first down at the Delaware Valley 16 yard line.

On second down, Puckett went off left tackle and bounced outside for a 14-yard gain to cap off a 69-yard scoring drive just 2:18 into the third period.

The MU defense forced a punt on the next series and the Cougars took over on their own seven yard line.

Custodio helped move the ball out to the MU 40 where the Cougars faced a third-and-six.  Puckett rolled to his right and pump-faked a Del Val defender before pulling the ball down and scampering 16 yards for a first down in Aggie territory.

Facing third-and-12 from the Del Val 42, Puckett hit Kurt Kowalski for a six-yard gain and used a strong second effort on a seven yard run on fourth down for another MU first down.

The Cougars converted another fourth down when Puckett connected with Petties-Jackson on a quick out to the Del Val 16 and Santarsiero raced around the right edge for a 16-yard touchdown to finish off a 93-yard scoring drive.

Misericordia blocked a Delaware Valley field goal attempt on the opening drive, but the Aggies got the ball right back when the Cougars fumbled on their first play from scrimmage.

Del Val made the mistake hurt as they went 23 yards in four plays to take a 7-0 lead less than three minutes into the game.

The Aggies took advantage of another Cougars turnover as they forced a fumble on fourth down near midfield on the next drive.

Delaware Valley went 43 yards in just six plays to take a 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter.

The Cougars got on the board on their next possession with Puckett and Custodio sharing much of the load on the ground.

Custodio picked up nine yards on a key third down play to move the ball to the Aggies nine-yard line.

The Del Val defense stiffened and the Cougars settled for a 20-yard field goal from Pat Newins.

The Aggies added a touchdown late in the first quarter and scored twice in the second quarter to take a 35-3 lead into halftime.

Petties-Jackson had six catches for 51 yards and had 159 all-purpose yards for the Cougars.

Ben Camacho, Phil Arnold and Rob Hart led the MU defense with six tackles each.

Tyler Hessert and Brandon Salazar both had a tackle for loss and Kevin Bagasevich had a blocked field goal and a fumble recovery.

Misericordia (0-2, 0-1 MAC) will travel to Lycoming, Saturday.