Sports News: Fall 2001

Tuesday, September 4, 2001

MORAVIAN VS. KING'S FOOTBALL PREVIEW

1:00 p.m.; Saturday, September 8, 2001
Steel Field (c. 2,500); Bethlehem, PA

THE GAME: Moravian looks to open the 2001 season with a victory as the Greyhounds host King's College in a Middle Atlantic Conference Game. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m. at Steel Field.

THE COACHES: Scot Dapp (West Chester '73) is in his 15th season at Moravian, with a career record of 88-54-1 (.619). He enters the season 43rd 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.

King's coach Rich Mannello (Springfield '83) is in his ninth season at the school with an overall mark of 24-56-1 (.302).

THE SERIES: Saturday's meeting will be the 7th in the series with the series tied at 3-3. Moravian's last win in the series was in 1996 with a 14-12 win in Wilkes-Barre, a season-opening game. The Greyhounds' last win at home in the series was in 1995, a 31-0 win. King's has won the last two games in the series including last year's meeting, 17-14. All the games have been played since King's reinstated football in 1993.

LAST TIME THEY MET: In Wilkes-Barre last fall, the Monarchs' Matt VonTauhausen kicked a 30-yard field goal with 4:38 to play to give King's a 17-14 victory. Moravian had taken a 7-0 lead with 8:22 to play in the first quarter on a one-yard touchdown run by fullback P.J. Jankowicz and the extra-point by Josh Miller (Boyertown, PA/Boyertown HS). King's scored the next 14 points in the game, tying the contest with 8:24 left in the second quarter on a 13-yard scoring pass from quarterback Tom Pierantozzi to wide receiver Jim Pio. The Monarchs took the lead with 1:41 remaining in the third quarter on a 13-yard run by tailback Damon Saxon. The Greyhounds would tie the game with 8:40 left in the fourth stanza on a 23-yard strike from quarterback Charlie Bowden (Parlin, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial HS) to wide receiver Kevin Miltenberger (Carlisle, PA/Carlisle HS). Jankowicz led Moravian on the ground with 41 yards on 12 attempts while Saxon ran for 107 yards on 30 carries. Bowden completed 14 of 30 passes for 184 yards but was intercepted twice while Pierantozzi was seven for 17 for 92 yards. Moravian committed four turnovers in the game. Moravian wideout Jarod Rhinehart (Washington, NJ/Warren Hills Regional HS) caught six passes for 82 yards. Defensive end Dustin Collier led the Moravian defense with 14 tackles while Sean Frasier paced the King's defense with ten tackles.

SEASON OPENING GAMES: The Greyhounds will be looking for their second straight season opening victory. The Greyhounds defeated Delaware Valley College, 19-10, in Doylestown to open the 2000 season. Moravian's last season-opening win at home was in 1995 versus King's, 31-0, and the Greyhounds defeated King's, 14-12, in Wilkes-Barre to open the 1996 season.

SCOUTING KING'S: The Monarchs come to Bethlehem with an 0-1 record this season, falling to Hartwick College, 33-26, last Saturday on a touchdown pass in the final minute. Senior quarterback Tom Pierantozzi is back to lead the King's offense. Last weekend, Pierantozzi completed 10 of 22 passes for 182 yards. He had one pass intercepted and he was sacked twice. Pierantozzi did gain 57 yards rushing in the loss. Pierantozzi's top targets look to be senior wide receiver Jim Pio, who had five catches for 94 yards against Hartwick, and junior wideout Harry Dickey, who caught two passes for 45 yards. Senior tight end Merritt Carr had two receptions for 19 yards and will also be looked at in the passing game. King's did lose Middle Atlantic Conference leading rusher Damon Saxon, who gained 1,744 yards last season, but has a replacement ready. Senior Chris Shivery stepped into the tailback position last Saturday and gained 213 yards on 55 carries with two touchdowns. Freshman Bobby Nawrocki is handling the placekicking duties for the Monarchs and he was two-for-three on extra-points last week. Nawrocki is also King's punter and he averaged 32.2 yards on six punts versus Hartwick. The Monarchs defense will be led by junior defensive end Rubin Doster, a preseason All-American pick. Another strong player on the King's defense will be defensive end Steve Wilson, who had four tackles last Saturday. Senior cornerback Sterling Wilson led the Monarchs with five tackles against Hartwick. Junior safety Sean Frasier had three tackles and one interception last weekend.

YOUNG, BALANCED & EXPERIENCED 'HOUNDS: Of the 83 players on the Moravian roster, 30 are freshmen, 19 are sophomores and 25 are juniors. There are nine seniors on this season's squad and the Greyhounds return 39 letterwinners and 16 starters.

GREYHOUNDS IN THE MIDDLE ATLANTIC CONFERENCE: Beginning this season, the Middle Atlantic Conference will be an 11-team conference instead of two separate leagues. Moravian was selected to finish fourth in the MAC Preseason Coaches Poll this season while King's was picked sixth in the MAC poll. Widener University, which reached the NCAA semifinals last season, was again selected as the top team in the MAC.

BOWDEN TO LEAD THE 'HOUNDS OFFENSE: Junior quarterback Charlie Bowden (Parlin, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial HS) became just the third signal caller in school history to throw for over 2,000 yards in a season. Bowden completed 167 of 299 pass attempts for 2,237 yards, 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He threw for 343 yards on 24 completions in a loss to Widener University.

IN THE BACKFIELD: Sophomore tailback Tim Barlok (Bethlehem, PA/Bethlehem Catholic HS) will lead the running back corp this season. Barlok, a MAC Commonwealth All-Star First Team honoree, ran for 665 yards on 122 carries and eight touchdowns. He also grabbed 16 passes for 139 yards and two more touchdowns. Barlok's best game last season was at Susquehanna University when he ran for 197 yards on 22 carries with four touchdowns and a school record 95-yard touchdown run. Also returning is junior tailback Josh Fick (Emmaus/Emmaus HS), who had 130 yards and two touchdowns on 28 rushing attempts. Fick, who played some wide receiver last season after the Greyhounds suffered four injuries, caught 12 passes for 176 yards. Junior fullback Eric Gustafson (Collingswood, NJ/Collingswood HS), senior fullback Jerod Dobry (Pottstown, PA/St. Pius X HS) and sophomore tailback David Darmofal (Clarks Summit, PA/Abington Heights HS) will also see time. Darmofal had 50 yards on 17 carries while Gustafson had 11 yards on seven attempts.

THE WIDE RECEIVERS: The Greyhounds should be deep at the wide receiver position this fall. Bowden's top targets will be senior wide receiver Michael Abbate (South Plainfield, NJ/Bishop Ahr HS), a MAC Second Team All-Star last fall, who had 37 catches for 598 yards and five touchdowns, and junior wideout Jarod Rhinehart (Washington, NJ/Warren Hills Regional HS) with 32 receptions for 412 yards and one score. Abbate, a captain this fall, is recovering from a hand injury and will see time on defense this Saturday versus King's. Sophomore wide receiver Kevin Miltenberger (Carlisle, PA/Carlisle HS), who played in just six games before an ACL injury but had 23 catches for 228 yards and two scores, returns as does junior tight end Rick Kulp (Walnutport, PA/Northampton HS), who had 14 receptions for 285 yards and a score. Sophomore wideout Jeff Lowry (Catawissa, PA/Southern Columbia HS), who grabbed eight passes for 153 yards and a touchdown before a shoulder injury in the sixth game of last season, is also back.

OFFENSIVE LINE: Moravian has three starters back on the offensive line this season led by senior right tackle Matt Gray (Point Pleasant, NJ/Point Pleasant HS). Also back on the line are center sophomore Josh Zagorski (Morris Plains, NJ/Parsippany Hills HS) and junior left guard John Giacchi (Franklin, NJ/Pope John XXIII HS). Moravian's offensive line will average 6'0", 265 this season. The Greyhounds will need to fill a tackle position left vacant by the graduation of MAC Commonwealth Second Team All-Star Adam Smith and a guard position. Starting in those vacant positions will be freshman Andrew Leska (Coopersburg, PA/Southern Lehigh HS) and sophomore right guard Jeff Andruczyk (Hampton, NJ/Voorhees HS).

DEFENSIVE FRONT: The Greyhounds are switching to a 3-4 defense this season and have experience starting at all three defensive line positions. Senior defensive end John Kwiatkowski (Whitehall, PA/Whitehall HS) made 41 tackles last season with ten tackles for loss and five and a half sacks. Junior Tom Blackledge (Sellersville, PA/Pennridge HS) will start at the other defensive end position. Blackledge made 35 tackles last year with six tackles for loss. Juniors Pat Mancini (Milford, NJ/Delaware Valley Regional HS) and Brian Cascioli (Center Valley, PA/Southern Lehigh HS) will rotate at the nose tackle position. Mancini had 48 tackles a year ago with eight for loss while Cascioli had 32 tackles.

THE LINEBACKERING CORP: Moravian will also have plenty of experience in the new linebacking system. Starting at the inside linebacker positions will be juniors John Cupples (Allentown, PA/Allentown Central Catholic HS) and Bill Engler (Coopersburg, PA/Southern Lehigh HS). The duo was second and third on the Greyhound squad last year in tackles with Cupples, a captain this season, making 90 tackles with five for loss, and Engler collecting 70 tackles with seven tackles for loss and three and a half sacks. Sophomore Steve Maslanek (Stockholm, NJ/Vernon Township HS) saw action as a backup last fall and will start at one of the outside linebacker positions. Maslanek had 26 tackles. Junior Vince Cowlishaw (Chatham, NJ/Chatham HS) is moving from safety to the other outside linebacker position. Cowlishaw had 11 tackles in limited action last season.

THE DEFENSIVE BACKFIELD: The middle of the Greyhounds defensive backfield is intact this season with junior Jarrod Pence (Livingston, NJ/Livingston HS) back at the free safety position and senior Mike Wukitsch (Allentown, PA/Allentown Central Catholic HS) back at the strong safety spot. Pence made 70 tackles last season with a team high five interceptions while Wukitsch had 48 tackles, 11 pass break-ups and four interceptions. Moravian will have two new starters on the corners. Senior Jim McIntyre (Hackettstown, NJ/Hackettstown HS), who will also kick for the Greyhounds, had 15 tackles last season as a backup. Freshman Michael Miltenberger (Bellefonte, PA/Carlisle HS) will start on the other side. Sophomore John Panikiewsky (Carteret, NJ/Carteret HS) had 27 tackles last year as a reserve safety.

KICKING GAME: Senior Marc Roesch (Egg Harbor City, NJ/St. Augustine HS), who has handled the kickoffs the last two seasons, will do kickoffs again this season as well as the squad's punter. Roesch is taking the punting duties until sophomore John McLain (Belvidere, NJ/Belvidere HS) returns to the lineup. Senior Jim McIntyre will handle the extra-points and field goals after going 15 of 18 on extra-points last season. Backing up Roesch and McIntyre will be sophomore Joshua Miller (Boyertown/Boyertown HS).

SPECIAL TEAMS: Sophomore Tim Barlok and senior Michael Abbate will be the kickoff returners this season. Barlok averaged 21.0 yards on 22 returns last season. Sophomore Kevin Miltenberger will be the Greyhounds punt returner this season with help from junior Josh Fick. Junior Pat Sinclair (Wantage, NJ/High Point Regional HS), who will see time at linebacker, will be the long snapper while junior Jarrod Pence will be the holder for the Greyhounds.

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. Last year was the first time since 1996 that the Greyhounds did not play at least one overtime game.

WINNING WAYS: Moravian had 11 consecutive winning seasons-all under Coach Scot Dapp, from 1987 to 1997 and the squad has had 12 winning seasons in Dapp's first 14 years. The 11 straight winning seasons is the longest streak in school history. Dapp ranks third among Greyhound coaches in winning percentage.

ON THE AIRWAVES: For the fifth straight year, the Greyhounds football game will be aired on WGPA, Sunny 1100 AM. Phil May calls the play-by-play call with color commentary from Jim Wills and additional analysis from 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 King's SID Bob Ziadie at (570/208-5934).