Sports News: Fall 2000

November 6, 2000

MORAVIAN VS. MUHLENBERG FOOTBALL PREVIEW

1:00 p.m.; Saturday, November 11, 2000
Steel Field  (c. 2,500); Bethlehem, PA

THE GAME: Moravian looks to win its fourth straight game in a non-conference game with rival Muhlenberg College on Saturday, November 11th.  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 88-53-1 (.623).  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.

Muhlenberg coach Mike Donnelly (Ithaca '75) is in his fourth season at the school with an overall record of 19-20 (.487).

THE SERIES: Saturday's meeting will be the 49th in the series with Moravian holding a 29-17-2 advantage.  The Greyhounds, however, have lost the last two games to the Mules by a combined score of 85-40.  Saturday's game will be the 100th anniversary of the first two contests between Moravian and Muhlenberg, both played in 1900.  The schools played to a 0-0 in Allentown and Moravian won a 30-0 decision in Bethlehem.

THE LAST TIME THEY MET: In Allentown last fall, the Greyhounds ended their season with a 52-26 loss to the Mules.  After falling behind, 7-0 early in the game, Moravian tied the score on a 29-yard pass from quarterback Rob Petrosky to wide receiver Mike Buscio.  The Mules would score the next 21 points before Moravian scored on a one-yard run by Petrosky.  Muhlenberg's Joshua Carter, who had already scored three times in the game, took the ensuing kickoff 78 yards for a touchdown.  The Mules would add one more touchdown in the second quarter to make the halftime score 42-13.  Muhlenberg would only score one touchdown and a field goal in the second half as Moravian scored two touchdowns on runs by running back Josh Fick (Emmaus/Emmaus HS), one of 19 yards and the other of 55 yards.  Petrosky was 13 of 30 in the game and his touchdown pass tied the Moravian career record of 48.  Wide receiver Jarod Rhinehart (Washington, NJ/Warren Hills Regional HS) had four catches for 98 yards while Fick led the ground attack with 85 yards on five carries.  Running back P.J. Jankowicz (Belle Mead, NJ/ Hillsborough HS) had 74 yards on 23 carries.  For Muhlenberg, quarterback Michael McCabe completed 17 of 31 passes for five touchdowns and Carter had three receptions for 87 yards and two scores.  Safety Steve DiRenzo made 14 tackles for the Greyhounds while Joseph Gmitter had nine tackles for the Mules.

LAST WEEK: Freshman tailback Tim Barlok (Bethlehem/Bethlehem Catholic HS) scored on a six-yard touchdown run with 1:11 left in the game to give the Moravian College football team a 28-21 Middle Atlantic Conference victory over Wilkes University last Saturday.  The Greyhounds, who trailed 14-0 after the first quarter and committed seven turnovers in the game (three interceptions and four fumbles), improved to 6-3 on the season and clinch the squad's first winning season since 1997.  The win was Moravian's second straight over Wilkes after a 28-22 overtime victory in 1999.  Wilkes, which was fourth in the nation in total defense at 202 yards per game, allowed the Greyhounds 102 yards on the ground (48 more than its average) in the game and 342 yards in total offense, 140 yards more than the Colonel defense season average.  The Greyhounds held Wilkes to 41 yards on the ground and 303 yards overall.  The Colonels had a 14-0 lead before the Greyhounds would score.  Moravian would get on the scoreboard on an 18-play, 84-yard drive that took over half of the second quarter.  Sophomore quarterback Charlie Bowden (Parlin, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial HS) scored on a one-yard touchdown run with 3:15 left in the second quarter.  Junior Jim McIntyre (Hackettstown, NJ/Hackettstown HS) made the extra-point.  Bowden, who completed 21 of 37 passes for 240 yards, was not sacked in the game but was intercepted three times.  The Greyhounds would score the next 14 points in the game after a scoreless third quarter.  Freshman tailback Dave Darmofal (Clarks Summit/Abington Heights), who had fumbled into the end zone earlier in the game, scored on a one-yard run with 14:29 left in the fourth quarter.  Moravian started its drive on the one yard line after a 21-yard interception return by sophomore cornerback Nate Pogue (Bethlehem/Liberty HS).  Pogue would also make an interception on Wilkes' final play of the game to preserve the win.  After Moravian fumbled inside the ten yard line on its next drive, the Greyhounds held Wilkes to minus five yards on its drive.  After the second sack of the game by senior defensive end Dustin Collier (Easton/ Freedom HS) put Wilkes on the Wilkes two yard line with a fourth and 15, junior wide receiver Michael Abbate (South Plainfield, NJ/Bishop Ahr HS) returned the punt 29 yards for a touchdown to give Moravian a 21-14 lead with 9:47 left in the game.  Abbate also caught eight passes for 90 yards in the game.  Wilkes would drive down the field on the next possession and tie the contest again at 21-21.  The Greyhounds were forced to punt on their next drive and the two teams traded turnovers before Wilkes had to punt with 1:50 left in regulation.  Abbate returned the punt seven yards to the Wilkes 38 yard line and the Colonels were called for a personal foul-face mask penalty, which gave Moravian the ball 23 yards from the end zone with 1:40 to play.  Bowden threw a pair of incomplete passes before he hit freshman wide receiver Ed Hughes (Bethlehem/Bethlehem Catholic HS) for a 15-yard pass to the Wilkes eight yard line.  Barlok took two carries to give Moravian the lead with the second rush of six yards putting the Greyhounds ahead for good.  Barlok led the Moravian rushing attack with 46 yards on 18 carries.  The Moravian defense was led by 15 tackles from sophomore linebacker John Cupples (Allentown/Allentown Central Catholic HS).  Senior linebacker J.D. Rhinehart (Washington, NJ/Warren Hills Regional HS) added ten tackles, one tackle for loss and an interception while Collier had 12 tackles with his two sacks, three tackles for loss and a fumble recovery.

MAC ACCOLADES: Senior defensive end Dustin Collier was named the Middle Atlantic Conference Defensive Player of the Week for his performance last week in the Greyhounds 28-21 win over Wilkes University.  Collier made 12 tackles, six solo stops, with three for loss of 24 yards and two sacks for a loss of 18 yards in the contest.  Collier's second sack put the Colonels on the Wilkes two yard line and forced Wilkes to punt, which was returned by junior Michael Abbate for a touchdown.  Collier also had one fumble recovery in the game, one of four turnovers Moravian forced.

SCOUTING MUHLENBERG: The Mules come to Bethlehem on Saturday with a 7-2 overall record and after a 30-26 victory over Hartwick College last weekend.  Muhlenberg has a potent offense, which is scoring 29.6 points per game and racking up 422.4 yards per contest.  Senior quarterback Michael McCabe leads the Mules on the field and has completed 154 of 278 passes for 2,168 yards with 19 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.  McCabe's top target has been junior wide receiver Joshua Carter.  Carter has grabbed 58 passes for 994 yards and 13 touchdowns.  Carter is also the Mules' return man with 15 kickoff returns for an average of 25.3 yards per return and 31 punt returns with an average of 14.1 yards a run back.  Senior fullback Jim DePreta has caught 27 passes for 220 yards while freshman running back Matt Bernardo has 21 receptions foe 271 yards and two scores.  On the ground, sophomore Anthony Wolfsohn, who is out for the season with an injury, leads the Mules with 734 yards on 131 carries.  Bernardo has gained 458 yards on 96 attempts with ten touchdowns.  Junior running back Kamali Roberts has 57 rushes for 228 yards.  Senior James Barski handles the punting duties for Muhlenberg and is averaging 36.2 yards per punt.  Senior kicker Michael Dickerson has made 16 of 18 extra-points this season and is three-of-eight on field goal attempts while sophomore kicker Chris Reed is 16 of 17 on extra-points and three-for-nine on field goals.  The Muhlenberg defense is led by junior linebacker Doug Folger, who has 78 tackles with nine for loss of 26 yards and a half sack.  Senior defensive back Mwaura Muroki has 66 tackles with two for loss and six pass break-ups while junior free safety Erik Hammar has 57 stops with five for loss.  Senior defensive end David Jones leads Muhlenberg with seven sacks and two forced fumbles while senior cornerback Mike Burke has team highs with nine pass break-ups and seven interceptions, one returned for a touchdown.

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 is fourth the Middle Atlantic Conference in scoring defense, allowing just 21.1 points per game.  The Moravian defense also ranks second in rushing (104.6 yards per contest), seventh in passing (220.9 yards per game), fourth in total defense (325.4 yards per game), fourth in pass defense efficiency (107.60) and third in turnover margin (+0.56 per game).  The Greyhounds are a +5 in takeaway/giveaway this season.  On offense, the Greyhounds are sixth in scoring (26.1 points per game), seventh in rushing (117.3 yards per game), fourth in passing (229.3 yards per game), fourth in total offense (346.7 yards per contest) and fourth in pass efficiency (125.28).  Sophomore safety Jarrod Pence (Livingston, NJ/Livingston HS) is third in the MAC with 0.62 interceptions per game while sophomore safety Mike Wukitsch and senior linebacker J.D. Rhinehart are tied for fourth at 0.44 interceptions per game.  Senior cornerback Doug Joseph (Allentown/Parkland HS) is tied for fourth in kickoff returns with 22.8 yards a run back and sixth in punt returns at 9.5 per return.  Sophomore quarterback Charlie Bowden ranks fourth in pass efficiency at 128.39, fourth in passing at 220.8 yards per game and fifth in total offense at 209.1 yards per contest.  Freshman Tim Barlok is sixth in kickoff returns at 22.1 yards per return, sixth in rushing per game with an average of 65.6 yards a contest, fifth in all-purpose yardage at 122.0 yards a game, seventh in scoring at 6.0 points per contest and seventh in touchdown scoring at 6.0 points per contest.  Freshman punter Alex Myshak (Lake Ariel/North Pocono HS) is sixth in punting at 32.8 yards per kick.  Junior Michael Abbate is eighth in receiving yards per game at 65.9 yards a game, ninth in receptions per game at 4.00, ninth in punt returns at 8.6 yard per return and tied for ninth in touchdown scoring at 4.7 points per game.  Junior kicker Marc Roesch (Egg Harbor City, NJ/St. Augustine HS) ranks seventh in field goals per game (0.22) and tenth in kick scoring at 1.1 points per game.  Junior Jim McIntyre is fifth in extra-point percentage at 88.2 percent (15 of 17 kicks) and ninth in scoring at 2.0 points per game.

POLL POSITION: Moravian was selected to tie for fifth in the MAC Commonwealth preseason poll this season and will finish in second place.

BOWDEN LEADS THE 'HOUNDS OFFENSE: Sophomore quarterback Charlie Bowden has completed 151 of 267 passes this season for 1,987 yards and 13 touchdowns with nine interceptions, however, Bowden has been sacked 28 times this season.  Bowden, who needs just 13 yards to become the third Moravian quarterback to throw for 2,000 yards in a season, threw for 343 yards against Widener University, which was the sixth highest game total in Moravian history and the first 300-yard game since 1997.  Senior quarterback Jed Moyer (Dresher/Upper Dublin HS) has completed six of 12 passes for 77 yards and one interception this fall.  Moravian's quarterbacks have been sacked 31 times this fall.

IN THE BACKFIELD: Freshman Tim Barlok leads the squad with 590 yards on 110 attempts and seven touchdowns.  Barlok has had two 100-yard games since getting into the starting line-up including a 197-yard, four touchdown performance at Susquehanna.  Senior tailback P.J. Jankowicz, who became the seventh player in Greyhound history to reach 2,000 career yards against FDU-Madison, has 226 yards and three touchdowns on 79 carries this season.  Sophomore tailback Josh Fick, who has been converted to wide receiver for the rest of the season, has 25 carries for 118 yards and one touchdown this year.  Senior fullback Frank Starner (Nazareth/Nazareth HS) has added 160 yards on 49 carries and one touchdown.  Freshman Dave Darmofal has contributed 62 yards and a touchdown on 16 attempts.

THE WIDE RECEIVERS: The Greyhounds have had 13 players catch a pass this season but have four receivers suffering from injuries.  Freshman Kevin Miltenberger (Carlisle/Carlisle HS), who suffered a torn ACL against Juniata, has 23 receptions for 228 yards and two touchdowns.  Junior wideout Michael Abbate leads the team with 36 catches for 593 yards and five touchdowns while sophomore wide receiver Jarod Rhinehart has grabbed 28 aerials for 373 yards.  Freshman wide receiver Jeff Lowry (Catawissa/Southern Columbia HS), who suffered a broken collarbone in the Juniata game, has eight receptions for 153 yards and a score.  Sophomore tight end Rick Kulp (Bethlehem/ Northampton HS) has 12 catches for 248 yards and a touchdown while senior P.J. Jankowicz has 12 receptions for 136 yards and two touchdowns.  Freshman Tim Barlok has grabbed 13 passes for 89 yards and two scores.  Sophomore Josh Fick has nine catches for 114 yards.

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) moved 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) moved into the starting role in the other guard position.  Sophomore Josh Zagorski (Morris Plains, NJ/Parsippany Hills HS) is the starting center.

DEFENSIVE FRONT: Senior defensive end Dustin Collier leads the Greyhounds front four with 62 tackles with five and a half sacks, 11 tackles for loss, five pass break-ups, three fumble recoveries and one interception. Junior defensive tackle John Kwiatkowski (Whitehall/Whitehall HS), who missed last week's game with a concussion, has added 41 tackles, ten for loss and a team high five and a half sacks.  Sophomore defensive tackle Pat Mancini (Milford, NJ/Delaware Valley Regional HS) has added 43 tackles, including six for loss, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery while sophomore defensive end Brian Cascioli (Center Valley/Southern Lehigh HS) has 28 tackles with two for loss and one sack.  Cascioli, who has a safety and a fumble return of 30 yards, also blocked a punt against Lebanon Valley College and earned a 36-yard return for recovering the block.  Sophomore defensive end Tom Blackledge (Sellersville/Pennridge HS) has 33 tackles with five for loss; two and a half sacks and one forced fumble.

THE LINEBACKER CORP: Senior J.D. Rhinehart leads the Greyhound defense with 84 tackles including 12 for loss, three and a half sacks, four interceptions, six pass break-ups and two forced fumbles.  Sophomore Bill Engler (Coopersburg/Southern Lehigh HS) has 70 tackles this season with seven for loss and three and a half sacks.  Sophomore John Cupples has added 79 tackles this fall with four for loss and one interception.  Freshman Steve Maslanek (Stockholm, NJ/Vernon Township HS) has 23 tackles this season with two tackles for loss, two sacks, a fumble recovery and a partially blocked a punt against King's.

THE DEFENSIVE BACKFIELD: Sophomore safety Jarrod Pence has made five interceptions this fall to lead the Greyhounds and he has added 63 tackles, two forced fumbles, eight pass break-ups and one fumble recovery, which he returned 29 yards for a touchdown against Lebanon Valley.  Senior cornerback Doug Joseph has three interceptions to go along with 54 tackles and 21 pass break-ups.  Junior safety Mike Wukitsch (Allentown/Parkland HS) has 41 tackles; four interceptions and 11 pass break-ups while sophomore cornerback Nate Pogue has 57 tackles, 18 pass break-ups and two interceptions.  Freshman safety John Panikiewsky (Carteret, NJ/Carteret HS) has 24 tackles this season after 12 at King's in his first collegiate start.  Junior Jim McIntyre blocked a punt against King's and has 15 tackles this fall.

KICKING GAME: Junior Marc Roesch, who is handling kickoffs, 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 (Boyertown/Boyertown HS) is five for seven on extra-points and he missed his only field goal attempt.  Junior Jim McIntyre has made 15 of 17 extra-point attempts this year and a 25-yard field goal.  Freshman Alex Myshak is the Greyhounds punter and is averaging 32.8 yards per kick with a long of 45 yards against Widener.  Myshak has punted 44 times this fall.  Freshman John McLain (Belvidere, NJ/Belvidere HS) punted twice against FDU-Madison with a long of 50 yards but he also had two punts blocked.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Freshman Tim Barlok has 19 kickoff returns for 419 yards while junior Michael Abbate has returned 15 punts for 129 yards and one touchdown.  Senior Doug Joseph has 17 kickoff returns for 387 yards and ten punt returns for 95 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.

WINNING WAYS: Moravian had 11 consecutive winning seasons-all under Coach Scot Dapp, from 1987 to 1997.  That streak is the longest in school history and the Greyhounds have had winning seasons in 12 of Dapp's 14 years as head coach.  Dapp ranks third among Greyhound coaches in winning percentage.

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 and Chuck Hixson.

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 Muhlenberg SID Mike Falk at (484/664-3232).