College Football Preview: Delaware Valley University Aggies

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- There are very few college football programs that are as consistently good as the one at Delaware Valley University.

The Division III Aggies, who call Doylestown home, went 9-2 last season (7-2 in the Middle Atlantic Confrence, good for a tie for second) and beat Muhlenberg in the Centennial-MAC Bowl Series, taking part in the post-season for the 13th time in the last 14 seasons.

DelVal is the pick to win the Middle Atlantic Conference in 2017 in the preseason coaches' poll and head coach Duke Greco is happy with how camp is going.

"We're excited so far," he tells KYW Newsradio. "Our group's looking pretty good. We're two weeks in, so we're kind of ready to go, waiting for that first contest against Wesley next week."

Last season, the Aggies held opponents to 14.5 points a game and Greco fully expects his team to be just as hard, if not harder, to score against in 2017.

"Our defense is leading the way," he says. "We have a bunch of starters back. We have great talent through the secondary, linebacker corps and up front. So really excited about our defense, they were excellent last year and we expect them to be dominant this year."

A key player on that defense is senior safety Shawn Miller who intercepted a team high five passes a year ago, earning all-MAC first team honors.

"Shawn brings great leadership and he has a lot of great intangibles about him," Greco says.

On offense, the Aggies will be led by quarterback Dashawn Darden. The junior is a Cardinal O'Hara product and last season he threw for 1,850 yards and 18 touchdowns while rushing for 501 yards and eight more scores, leading DelVal to an average of 35.4 points a game.

"It's his offense now," Greco says. "He gets it. He's really, really intelligent and I'm excited to see what he does with it. I'm going to give him the keys this year and it's going to be his to run with and I'm excited for him."

That season opener for the Aggies with Wesley will be on Thursday night, August 31st, in Doylestown and it will be a battle between two of the premier football programs in the region.

"We were fortunate to get the W last year (21-14 in Dover)," Greco says. "I'm sure they're ready for redemption and we're just ready to play."