Lebanon Valley rained on the Misericordia University football team's home opener, handing the Cougars a 37-7 defeat before a larger crowd, Saturday afternoon at Mangelsdorf Field.

The Dutchmen got on the board first late in the first quarter and added two second quarter scores to take a 21-0 halftime lead.

LVC scored three times in the third quarter to put the game out of the reach and Mark McMaster scored his first career TD for MU early in the fourth period.

Mark Rainey led the Cougars with 77 yards rushing on just seven carries, including a 43-yard run in the fourth quarter.

Puckett was 14-21 for 147 yards passing, including five completions for 53 yards to McMaster.  Tyler Rowe had two catches for 53 yards.

After Lebanon Valley returned the opening kickoff to midfield, the MU defense got off to a hot start as Kevin Bagasevich broke up a deep pass on second down.  Bagasevich came up even bigger on the next play with an interception and the Cougars took over deep in their own end.

Ryan Kurtz picked nine yards on first down and Puckett rambled for 17 yards to move to the 30 yard line.

McMaster caught a quick out for an eight yard gain and a four-yard run by Kurtz gave the Cougars a first down near midfield, but the drive stalled and the Cougars were forced to punt.

The Dutchmen put together a 75-yard drive that took nearly six minutes to take a 7-0 lead with 4:52 to play in the first quarter.

After an MU three-and-out, the Dutchmen went 75 yards in just four plays for a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter.
 
On the ensuing drive, Puckett went 15 yards on first down to near midfield and hit Colton Pyne for another first down into LVC territory.
 
Puckett gained 14 yards on a draw play to move to the LVC 32, but the Dutchmen eventually held on fourth-and-two and marched 78 yards for a score and a 21-0 lead with 1:03 left in the half.
 
McMaster had an 11 yard reception on second down and Tyler Rowe hauled in a tipped ball at the Leb Val 11-yard line as time expired.
 
Lebanon Valley forced an MU punt on the opening series of the second half and went 60 yards in nine plays to take a 27-0 lead midway through the third quarter.
 
Puckett hit McMaster for 23 yards on first down to the Lebanon Valley 45 yard line and connected with Juwan Petties-Jackson for what appeared to be a 55-yard TD pass on the next play.
 
The score was negated, however, by an MU penalty and back-to-back infractions set up a second-and-47 for the Cougars.  A mishandled snap on the ensuing punt gave Lebanon Valley the ball inside the MU 10 and they converted a field goal for a 30-0 lead.
 
LVC picked off a Puckett pass near midfield on MU's first play from scrimmage and Ryan Heim went 49 yards for a TD and 37-0 lead on Leb Val's first play.
 
Following a Lebanon Valley punt deep into MU territory, Mark Rainey closed out the third quarter with a 14-yard run for a first down at the MU 23.
 
Randy Custodio's seven-yard reception on third down gave MU a first down and Klayton Kelly had an 11-yard gain set up fourth-and-one at the Misericordia 43 yard line.
 
Puckett gained seven yards to midfield and Rainey raced down the left sideline inside the LVC 10.
 
McMaster got the Cougars on the board on the next play.
 
Brandon Salazar led the MU defense with 12 tackles, including nine solo stops.
 
Misericordia will host Delaware Valley, Saturday.