The Moravian College football team looks to challenge for the 2009 Centennial Conference Championship during its third season as an associate member of the league with the return of 13 starters and 55 letterwinners from last year’s 8-3 team. The Greyhounds were tied for second in the Centennial Conference and hosted the 2008 ECAC Division III Southwest Bowl, falling to nationally-ranked Salisbury University, 21-17.

The Greyhounds, under the direction of head coach Scot Dapp in his 23rd season, will play the same two non-conference opponents this season with the season opener at Susquehanna University on September 5th and a home game versus Lebanon Valley College on September 19th. Coach Dapp became the all-time winningest head coach in Moravian history in 2007 with his 123rd career victory in Moravian’s Centennial Conference opening win over McDaniel College.

Coach Dapp returns seven starters on the offensive side of the ball and a wealth of experience but will need to find a starting quarterback during preseason camp. Moravian's only returning quarterback is senior Patrick Weiss (Gilbertsville, PA/St. Pius X), who completed five out of nine passes for 43 yards with one touchdown and one interception against Ursinus College, and he also saw action at McDaniel College.

In the backfield, senior running back Ryan Rempe (Dickson City, PA/Mid-Valley HS) ran for 727 yards and seven touchdowns on 178 carries with 165 of those carries in the last four games of the 2008 season. Rempe, pictured at right, had a 63-yard carry last fall against Muhlenberg College and had three straight 100-yard games. Senior running back Anthony Falco (Succasunna, NJ/Roxbury HS) is the only other returning running back after gaining 13 yards on four carries last season.

The Greyhounds have five players returning that caught a pass last year led by junior wide receiver Shawn Sylvainus (Nazareth, PA/Nazareth HS), who had 17 receptions for 259 yards after missing the first five games of the year with an injury. Senior tight end Brian Dencker (Boonton, NJ/Boonton HS), pictured at left, also had 17 receptions for 182 yards and two touchdowns and caught two two-point conversion passes a year ago. Junior wide receiver Alex Hersch (Macungie, PA/Emmaus HS) had 13 receptions for 182 yards and a touchdown while sophomore tight end Mike Zanoni (Bethlehem, PA/Freedom HS) added one reception for two yards. Rempe contributed three catches for 13 yards.

On the offensive line, senior Andrew Grando (Whiting, NJ/Manchester Township HS) and junior Daniel Cancelliere (Succasunna, NJ/Roxbury HS) are back with Grando as the only returning All-Conference player for the Greyhounds. Sophomore Nicholas Marzuoli (Easton, PA/Easton HS) and junior Matthew Washer (Ogdensburg, NJ/Pope John XXIII HS) saw plenty of playing time last season while senior Kyle Passarelli (Princeton, NJ/Montgomery HS) gives Moravian five experienced players on the line that will average 6-3, 275.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Greyhounds bring back six starters and are also deep with experienced players. Moravian returns four defensive linemen led by junior Allen Petros (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty HS), pictured at right, who had 37 tackles with 12 and a half for loss, five and a half sacks, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery in his first year for the Greyhounds. Junior defensive end Michael McClarin (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty HS) had 29 tackles, two tackles for loss, a half a sack, a pass break-up and three fumble recoveries with a return of 23 yards versus Susquehanna University. Sophomore defensive lineman Seth Payne (Collingswood, NJ/Collingswood HS) had 13 tackles, two tackles for loss and two pass break-ups while junior defensive lineman Jacob Millen (Whitehall, PA/Whitehall HS) added five tackles, a forced fumble and a pass break-up.

Moravian is also deep at the linebacker spots with seven experienced players back. Junior linebacker Anthony Carney (Bethlehem, PA/Bethlehem Catholic HS , pictured at bottom left, had 60 tackles, which is tied for the most of a returning player in 2009, four tackles for loss, an interception with a 16-yard return versus Muhlenberg, a sack, a fumble recovery and two pass break-ups. Senior linebacker Derek Protasiewicz (Whippany, NJ/Whippany Park HS) contributed 29 tackles with two sacks, two tackles for loss and two forced fumbles. Junior linebacker Michael Crann (Columbia, NJ/North Warren HS) had nine tackles to go with a forced fumble while senior linebacker Jayson Williams (Collingswood, NJ/Collingswood HS), who missed six games with an injury, had four tackles, a sack, a tackle for loss, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble. Sophomore linebacker Philip Bortz (Allentown, PA/Parkland HS) had two tackles and a fumble recovery before an injury sidelined him after the season opener while senior linebacker Michael Bishop (Nazareth, PA/Bethlehem Catholic HS) contributed eight tackles and a fumble recovery.

Junior cornerback Daniel Burley (Easton, PA/Easton HS) leads the returning defensive backs after contributing 60 tackles last year, tied for the most of a returning player this fall, with two tackles for loss, four interceptions, 13 total passes defended, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Senior defensive back Brad Bodine (Mt. Bethel, PA/Bangor HS) had 44 tackles, three tackles for loss, a sack, two interceptions including a 33-yard return against Franklin & Marshall College and five passes defended while senior defensive back Kyle Krupa (Ashley, PA/Hanover HS) added 11 tackles last fall for the Greyhounds. Sophomore defensive back David Wacker (Parkton, MD/Hereford HS) contributed nine tackles, a fumble recovery and a blocked field goal in the first overtime at Juniata College last season while sophomore defensive back Thomas Dailey (Easton, PA/Notre Dame HS) had eight tackles.

Special teams will be a spot that coach Dapp and his staff will sort out during camp with both the punter and place kicker positions up for grabs. Sophomore kicker Ian Heck (Easton, PA/Easton HS) had six kickoffs last season with an average of 57.7 yards per kick to push opponents near their own 12-yard line. Heck did not attempt an extra-point on field goal last fall. Junior Eric Dzinengelski (Coatesville, PA/Chestnut Hill Academy) has been the back-up punter for two seasons but has yet to punt in a game.

Hersch had returned nine kickoffs for 144 yards, 16 yards per return, and 18 punts for 113 yards, an average of 6.3 yards a return last season. Rempe had six kickoff returns for 208 yards including an 82-yard return for a touchdown at Gettysburg College and four tackles on special teams while sophomore running back Philip Redline (Jim Thorpe, PA/Jim Thorpe HS) returned one kickoff for six yards. Falco had eight tackles on special teams and a kickoff return for nine yards while Zanoni had two tackles on special team. Sophomore linebacker Douglas DiMattia (Cedar Grove, NJ/Cedar Grove HS) had three tackles on special teams and is serving as the team’s long snapper on punts.

Coach Dapp will have a speed option for kickoff returns this fall as junior defensive Eric Woodruff (Brodheadsville, PA/Pius X HS) returns to the squad. Woodruff didn't play football last season but had eight kickoff returns for 165 yards to go with eight tackles and five passes defended as a freshman in 2007. Woodruff won the 2009 NCAA Division III Outdoor National Championship in the 200-meter dash, and he was fifth in the nation in the 100-meter dash to earn All-American honors.

During camp, coach Dapp will work in 43 new faces with the 55 returning players as the Greyhounds prepare for their third season of competition in the Centennial Conference.