September 25, 2000

MORAVIAN VS. WIDENER FOOTBALL PREVIEW

THE GAME: Moravian looks win its fourth game of the year in its third straight Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth game when the Greyhounds host Widener University on Saturday, September 30th. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m. at Steel Field in Bethlehem, PA.

THE COACHES: Scot Dapp (West Chester ’73) is in his 14th season at Moravian, with a career record of 85-50-1 (.629). He entered the season 42nd in winning percentage among NCAA Division III active coaches. Dapp has earned Coach-of-the-Year accolades from the MAC three times including Co-Coach of the Year honors in 1997 and has led the ’Hounds to two appearances in the NCAA playoffs.

Widener coach Bill Zwaan (Delaware ’79) is in his fourth season at the school with an overall record of 25-10 (.714).

THE SERIES: Saturday’s meeting will be the 54th in the series with Widener holding a 32-21 advantage. The Pioneers won last season’s game 40-14 while Moravian’s last win in the series was three years ago in Chester, 27-24 in overtime. Widener was victorious in the last game in Bethlehem in 1998 by the score of 45-13.

LAST TIME THEY MET: In Chester last fall, Moravian fell to Widener by the score of 40-14. The Pioneers jumped out to 13-0 first quarter lead on a one-yard touchdown run by Randy Wilson and a 34-yard pass from quarterback Mike Granato to Mike Coleman. The Greyhounds cut the lead to 13-7 in the second quarter on a nine-yard pass from Rob Petrosky to fullback Frank Starner (Nazareth/Nazareth HS) and the extra-point by Kevin Smith. Widener would score the next 27 points in the game. Granato connected on a 73-yard pass with Matt Giello and a 20-yard score to Coleman before Wilson ran in from two yards out. Sean Selover scored the final touchdown for the Pioneers on a one-yard run. Mike Gavaghan was four for five on extra points in the game. Petrosky finished the scoring for Moravian in the fourth quarter with an 18-yard touchdown to wide receiver Jarod Rhinehart (Washington, NJ/Warren Hills Regional HS). Petrosky completed 16 of 29 passes for 153 yards for the Greyhounds while Granato connected on 12 of 24 aerials for 269 yards. Defensively for Moravian, linebacker Phil Black had 11 tackles while Widener’s Steve Varrasse made seven stops.

LAST WEEK: Sophomore quarterback Charlie Bowden (Parlin, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial HS) completed 15 of 29 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Moravian College football team to a 19-6 victory over Lebanon Valley College. For the Greyhounds, the defense helped control the ball for Bowden and the offense. Moravian forced four turnovers in the game and intercepted three passes for the third straight contest this season. The defense, which dropped five more possible interceptions in the game, came into the game leading the MAC in scoring defense and improved on that number by allowing just the six points to the Flying Dutchmen. Sophomore safety Jarrod Pence (Livingston, NJ/Livingston HS) got Moravian on the board with 10:42 remaining in the first quarter when he scooped up a fumble at the Lebanon Valley 29 yard line and returned it untouched for a touchdown. Senior linebacker J.D. Rhinehart (Washington, NJ/Warren Hills Regional HS), who had 13 tackles in the game, a sack and an interception, forced the fumble on the play. Junior Marc Roesch (Egg Harbor City, NJ/St. Dominic HS) had his extra-point attempt blocked. Roesch would also miss two field goals in the game. Sophomore defensive lineman Brian Cascioli (Center Valley/ Southern Lehigh HS) blocked a punt on the possession prior to Pence’s fumble return and recovered it at the 15 yard line but the Greyhounds could only muster a Roesch field goal attempt. Bowden and the Greyhound offense got the ball with 2:02 remaining in the second quarter and for the third straight week, Bowden led the offense down the field for a touchdown just prior to the half. Saturday, Bowden connected on a 44-yard touchdown pass to freshman wide receiver Jeff Lowry (Catawissa/Southern Columbia HS). However, after a holding penalty, Bowden was off the mark on a two-point conversion attempt to make the score 12-3 at the half. Lowry caught three passes for 64 yards in the game. Bowden would complete the scoring in the game with 4:45 left in the fourth quarter when he hit junior wide receiver Michael Abbate (South Plainfield, NJ/Bishop Ahr HS) for a nine-yard score. Freshman kicker Josh Miller (Boyertown/Boyertown HS) made the extra-point to set the final score at 19-6. In addition to Rhinehart’s 13 tackles, sophomore linebacker Bill Engler (Coopersburg/Southern Lehigh HS) had 10 tackles and a sack. Senior cornerback Doug Joseph (Allentown/Parkland HS) had seven tackles and two interceptions for 34 yards while sophomore linebacker John Cupples (Allentown/Allentown Central Catholic HS) had ten tackles. On offense, senior running back P.J. Jankowicz (Belle Mead, NJ/ Hillsborough HS) had 14 carries for 32 yards to move him within 82 yards of 2,000 in his career. Jankowicz also grabbed four passes for 46 yards while freshman wideout Kevin Miltenberger (Carlisle/Carlisle HS) had three receptions for 41 yards. Freshman Tim Barlok (Bethlehem/Bethlehem Catholic HS) had three kickoff returns for 78 yards and seven carries for nine yards.

SCOUTING WIDENER: The Pioneers also enter the game on Saturday with a 3-0 record. Widener will be playing its first MAC Commonwealth contest of the year. The Pioneers have scored over 50 points the last two weeks, defeating Delaware Valley, 57-7 last Saturday, and up-ending MAC power Lycoming College 50-49 in double overtime two weeks ago. Senior quarterback Mike Granato leads the Pioneer offense with a MAC leading 156.62-pass efficiency rating. Granato has completed 35 of 82 passes for 823 yards and 11 touchdowns but he has thrown six interceptions. Junior wide receiver Mike Coleman, the MAC Offensive Player of the Week this week, has 14 receptions for 491 yards and eight touchdowns. Junior receiver Jim Jones has 17 catches for 292 yards and four scores. Freshman tailback Mike Ambrose leads the Widener ground game with 247 yards on 44 carries and one touchdown while sophomore tailback Michael Gandy has 133 yards on 29 attempts. Freshman place kicker Paul Ragan connected on 14 of 15 extra-points and he is two-for-two on field goals. Sophomore punter Christian Kearns is averaging 29.1 yards per punt but he has only been called on ten times this season. Junior strong safety T.J. Hess leads the Pioneer defense with 32 tackles and he has one interception. Sophomore free safety Billy Walsh, the MAC Defensive Player of the Week, has 30 tackles, six pass break-ups and three interceptions, which all came last week against Delaware Valley to set the Widener record. Junior linebacker Mark Del Tin has 29 tackles this year with a team high six tackles for loss while senior defensive tackle Duke Sparrow has a team high two sacks to go along with 19 tackles.

YOUNG, BALANCED & EXPERIENCED ‘HOUNDS: Of the 75 players on the Moravian roster, 25 are freshmen, 30 are sophomores and 13 are juniors. There are seven seniors on this season’s squad and the Greyhounds returns 35 letterwinners and 14 starters.

GREYHOUNDS IN THE MAC: The ’Hounds defense leads the Middle Atlantic Conference in scoring defense, allowing just 11.0 points per game. The Moravian defense also ranks third in rushing (81.3 yards per contest), third in passing (193.7 yards per game), second in total defense (275.0 yards per game), first in pass defense efficiency (74.65) and first in turnover margin (+2.0 per game). The Greyhounds are a +6 in takeaway/giveaway this season. On offense, the Greyhounds are sixth in scoring (21.7 points per game), sixth in rushing (108.7 yards per game), seventh in passing (219.7 yards per game), eighth in total offense (328.3 yards per contest) and fifth in pass efficiency (127.48). Sophomore safety Jarrod Pence and senior cornerback Doug Joseph are tied with two others are tied for the lead in the MAC with 1.0 interceptions per game. Joseph ranks third in punt returns at 14.0 yards per return and he is ninth in kickoff returns with 20.0 yards a run back. Senior linebacker J.D. Rhinehart is tied for fifth in interceptions at 0.67 interceptions per game and tied for second in the conference with 11.3 tackles per game. Sophomore quarterback Charlie Bowden ranks fourth in pass efficiency at 131.62, seventh in passing at 197.3 yards per game and eighth in total offense at 195.3 yards per contest. Freshman wide receiver Kevin Miltenberger (Carlisle/Carlisle HS) is tied for sixth in the MAC with 5.0 receptions per game while freshman Tim Barlok is second in kickoff returns at 24.6 yards per return and tenth in all-purpose yards at 90.3 yards per game. Freshman punter Alex Myshak (Lake Ariel/North Pocono HS) is sixth in punting at 33.9 yards per kick. Junior Michael Abbate is ninth in punt returns at 5.3 yards a return and tied for eighth in scoring at 6.0 points per game. Junior kicker Marc Roesch is tied for second in field goals per game (1.0) and tied for third in points per game (5.0).

POLL POSITION: Moravian was selected to tie for fifth in the MAC Commonwealth preseason poll this season while Widener University was picked to tie for first in the MAC Commonwealth with Susquehanna University. Lycoming College was again selected as the top team in the MAC.

BOWDEN LEADS THE ‘HOUNDS OFFENSE: Sophomore quarterback Charlie Bowden has completed 45 of 82 passes this season for 592 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions. Senior quarterback Jed Moyer (Dresher/Upper Dublin HS) has completed five of eight passes for 67 yards this fall.

IN THE BACKFIELD: Sophomore tailback Josh Fick (Emmaus/Emmaus HS) has 20 carries for 100 yards and one touchdown this year while freshman Tim Barlok has 91 yards on 18 attempts. Senior tailback P.J. Jankowicz needs just 82 yards to become the seventh Greyhound player to run for 2,000 yards in a career and 117 attempts to set the school record. Jankowicz has 79 yards and a touchdown on 32 carries this season. Senior fullback Frank Starner has added 33 yards on 17 carries.

THE WIDE RECEIVERS: The Greyhounds have had ten players catch a pass this season led by freshman Kevin Miltenberger, who has 15 receptions for 139 yards and one touchdown. Junior wideout Michael Abbate has eight catches for 158 yards and two touchdowns while sophomore wide receiver Jarod Rhinehart has grabbed five aerials for 95 yards. Sophomore tight end Rick Kulp (Walnutport/Northampton HS) has five catches for 82 yards. Senior tailback P.J. Jankowicz has six catches for 53 yards while freshman wide receiver Jeff Lowry has three receptions for 64 yards and a score.

OFFENSIVE LINE: Moravian has three starters back on the offensive line this season including senior tackle Adam Smith (Allentown/Parkland HS). Smith will anchor the line which averages 6’0", 253. Junior Matt Gray (Point Pleasant, NJ/Point Pleasant HS) is moving from center to the other tackle position. Junior Jon Williams (Allentown/Parkland HS) returns to one guard spot while sophomore John Giacchi (Franklin, NJ/Pope John XXIII) will move into the starting role in the other guard position. Sophomore Josh Zagorski (Morris Plains, NJ/Parsippany Hills HS) will be the starting center.

DEFENSIVE FRONT: Junior defensive tackle John Kwiatkowski (Whitehall/Whitehall HS) leads the Greyhounds front four with 15 tackles and one sack. Sophomore defensive tackle Pat Mancini (Milford, NJ/Delaware Valley Regional HS) has added 14 tackles, including two for loss, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. Senior defensive end Dustin Collier (Easton/Freedom HS) has ten tackles while sophomore defensive end Brian Cascioli has 13 tackles with one for loss. Cascioli also blocked a punt last weekend and earned a 36-yard return for recovering the block. Sophomore defensive end Tom Blackledge (Sellersville/Pennridge HS) has ten tackles with three for loss and one sack.

THE LINEBACKERING CORP: Senior J.D. Rhinehart leads the Greyhound defense with 34 tackles including five for loss, two and a half sacks, two interceptions, three pass break-ups and two forced fumbles. Sophomore Bill Engler has 30 tackles this season with four for loss and one and a half sacks. Sophomore John Cupples has added 19tackles this fall.

THE DEFENSIVE BACKFIELD: Sophomore safety Jarrod Pence has made three interceptions this fall to lead the Greyhounds and he has added 25 tackles, one forced fumble, six pass break-ups and one fumble recovery, which he returned 29 yards for a touchdown against Lebanon Valley. Senior cornerback Doug Joseph also has three interceptions to go along with 23 tackles and eight pass break-ups. Junior safety Mike Wukitsch (Allentown/Allentown Central Catholic HS) has 14 tackles, one interception and six pass break-ups while sophomore cornerback Nate Pogue (Bethlehem/Liberty HS) has 13 tackles and seven pass break-ups.

KICKING GAME: Junior Marc Roesch is four of seven on extra-points and two of five on field goal attempts this season. Roesch has made field goals of 28 and 33 yards. Freshman Josh Miller made the first extra-point attempt of his career last week at Lebanon Valley. Freshman Alex Myshak is the Greyhounds punter and he is averaging 33.9 yards per kick with a long of 43 yards.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Freshman Tim Barlok has seven kickoff returns for 172 yards while junior Michael Abbate has returned three punts for 16 yards while. Senior Doug Joseph has three kickoff returns for 60 yards and three punt returns for 42 yards. Sophomore Josh Fick has returned two punts for 52 yards.

OVERTIME ‘HOUNDS: Moravian has played a total of seven overtime games since the NCAA instituted the rule for the 1996 season and is 5-2 all-time in the extra-session.

THE LAST TIME FOR A 3-0 START: Moravian’s last 3-0 start to a season was in 1988 when the team went 4-0 to start the year and that squad ended the season in the NCAA playoffs.

ON THE AIRWAVES: For the fourth straight year, the Greyhounds football game will be aired on WGPA, Sunny 1100 AM. Phil May will handle the play-by-play call with color commentary from Jim Wills.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Please contact SID Mark Fleming, either at Moravian’s sports information office (610/861-1472) or at home (610/758-8721) or Widener SID Susan Fumagalli at (610/499-4436).