Sports News: Fall 2001

Monday, October 29, 2001

MORAVIAN VS. SUSQUEHANNA FOOTBALL PREVIEW

1:00 p.m.; Saturday, November 3, 2001
Steel Field (c. 2,500); Bethlehem, PA

THE GAME: Moravian looks to win its fourth consecutive home game versus Susquehanna University in a Middle Atlantic Conference contest.  Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m. at Steel Field in Bethlehem.  Moravian's Hall of Fame Class of 2001 will be recognized during halftime.

THE COACHES: Scot Dapp (West Chester '73), who won the 90th game of his career three weeks ago, is in his 15th season at Moravian with a career record of 91-58-1 (.610).  He entered 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.

Susquehanna coach Steve Briggs (Springfield '84) is in his 12th season at the school with an overall record of 77-43 (.642).

THE SERIES: Saturday's meeting will be the 28th in the series with Moravian holding a 14-12-1 advantage.  The Greyhounds won last season's game 52-33 in Selinsgrove to snap a two-game winning streak by Susquehanna.  Moravian's last win at home came in 1997, a 31-24 victory.

LAST TIME THEY MET: In Selinsgrove last fall, tailback Tim Barlok (Bethlehem/Bethlehem Catholic HS) set a Moravian record with a 95-yard touchdown run in the Greyhounds 52-33 victory over Susquehanna.  Barlok finished the game with a season best 197 yards, the fifth best day in school history, on 22 carries and four rushing touchdowns.  Barlok also caught two passes for six yards and a score.  The Greyhounds erupted for 43 points in the second half after trailing 14-9 at the intermission.  Moravian also ran for 220 yards after halftime after having minus-three yards in the first two quarters.  Barlok got Moravian on the board with 19 seconds left in the first quarter on a nine-yard pass from quarterback Charlie Bowden (Parlin, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial HS)Bowden completed 16 of 24 passes for 233 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions.  After a pair of Susquehanna touchdowns, Moravian would score on a 25-yard field goal by Jim McIntyre (Hackettstown, NJ/Hackettstown HS) with 19 seconds left before halftime.  The Greyhounds would blow the game open in the third quarter with three touchdowns in the first 8:02.  Barlok scored the first two touchdowns on runs of 14 and seven yards.  Bowden completed a two-point conversion to wide receiver Jarod Rhinehart (Washington, NJ/Warren Hills Regional HS).  Moravian's third touchdown was a 12-yard pass from Bowden to wideout Michael Abbate (South Plainfield, NJ/Bishop Ahr HS).  McIntyre's extra-point gave the Greyhounds a 31-14 lead with 6:58 left in the third quarter.  After a Susquehanna score, Moravian would get the lead back to 38-20 on a two-yard touchdown run by Bowden.  The Greyhounds would add seven more points on a 24-yard run by Barlok and a McIntyre kick with 10:06 in the fourth quarter to take a 45-27 lead.  Barlok completed the game's scoring with his school record 95-yard scamper with 3:24 to play.  Cornerback Doug Joseph, linebacker John Cupples (Allentown, PA/Allentown Central Catholic HS) and cornerback Nate Pogue each had 11 tackles in the game and combined to break-up seven passes.

LAST WEEK: Moravian senior wideout Michael Abbate pulled down a 33-yard reception early in the second quarter for the 100th of his career, making him the fifth Greyhound in school history to catch 100 passes.  Abbate finished the game with six receptions for 111 yards and a touchdown but it wasn't enough as the Greyhounds fell to Albright College, 30-21, in Middle Atlantic Conference action and Albright's annual Pretzel Bowl.  Abbate is now fourth all-time with 105 receptions for 1,473 yards (fifth all-time) and he has 11 career touchdown receptions (fifth all-time).  Moravian jumped out to a 7-0 lead with 7:10 left in the first quarter on a ten-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Charlie Bowden to sophomore tailback Tim Barlok.  Senior Jim McIntyre made the extra-point.  Albright scored the next 16 points in the game with the first eight coming off an interception of Bowden to start the drive and the final two when the Lions blocked a punt attempt by senior kicker Marc Roesch (Egg Harbor City, NJ/St. Augustine HS).  Albright scored on its first possession of the second half to take a 23-7 lead with 13:25 left in the third quarter.  The Greyhounds cut Albright's lead to 23-15 with 7:42 remaining in the third quarter on a nine-yard touchdown scamper off the left side by sophomore tailback David Darmofal (Clarks Summit, PA/Abington Heights HS) and a run by Bowden for the two-point conversion.  Darmofal finished the game with 55 yards on ten carries while the Moravian running attack was led by Barlok, who had 97 yards, three more than his season total, on 23 carries.  The Lions extended their lead to 30-15 early in the fourth quarter.  Moravian kept itself in the game with a 22-yard pass from Bowden, who completed 15 of 34 passes for 159 yards, to Abbate.  A failed two-point conversion made the score 30-21 with 6:35 left to play in the fourth quarter.  Defensively for Moravian sophomore linebacker Bill Engler (Coopersburg, PA/Southern Lehigh HS) had 11 tackles.  Sophomore defensive back John Panikiewsky (Carteret, NJ/Carteret HS) had ten tackles while junior linebacker John Cupples (Allentown, PA/Allentown Central Catholic HS) added seven tackles with two for loss in the game.

SCOUTING SUSQUEHANNA: The Crusaders enter Saturday's game with an overall mark of 2-6 and a MAC record of 2-5.  Susquehanna is coming off a 24-6 loss to King's College.  Junior quarterback Mike Bowman leads the Crusaders on the field, having completed 120 of 247 passes for 1,527 yards with 11 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.  Bowman's top targets have been sophomore wide receiver Mark Bartosic, who has 57 receptions for 934 yards and nine scores, and junior running back Jon Dvorshak with 27 catches for 246 yards and three scores.  Junior wide receiver Tim Ronchi has added 21 receptions for 247 yards.  On the ground, freshman fullback Jason Eck leads Susquehanna with 460 yards on 123 carries with three touchdowns.  Dvorshak has added 327 yards on 65 carries with one score.  Junior defensive back Antonio Nash, who leads the team with four interceptions, handles the return duties for the Crusaders.  He has an average of 8.1 yards on 11 punt returns and an average of 20.4 on 17 kickoff returns.  Junior Dennis Kodack is averaging 36.3 yards on 35 punts this season with a long of 53 yards.  Junior Andy Nadler has made 14 of 19 extra-points this fall and three of eight field goals with a long of 36 yards.  Defensively for the Crusaders, senior linebacker Troy Sosnovik leads the squad with 91 tackles including 71 solo stops, 12 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles.  Sosnovik has three sacks this season while senior defensive end Dom DeSteno leads the Crusaders with four sacks.  Nash has added 59 tackles this season and he leads the Crusaders with 12 pass break-ups while junior linebacker Bill Heinzelmann has 50 tackles.  Kodack, who also plays strong safety, has 44 tackles, five for loss and two forced fumbles.

YOUNG, BALANCED & EXPERIENCED 'HOUNDS: Of the 83 players on the Moravian roster, 30 are freshmen, 19 are sophomores and 26 are juniors.  There are eight 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 is an 11-team conference instead of two separate leagues.  Moravian was selected to finish fourth in the MAC Preseason Coaches Poll this season while Susquehanna was picked third in the MAC poll.  Widener University, who reached the NCAA semifinals last season, was selected to win the MAC again this year.

MILESTONE WATCH: Senior wide receiver Michael Abbate is moving up the Moravian record books.  After catching six passes for 111 yards and a touchdown at Albright last weekend, Abbate now has 105 career receptions (fourth) and he needs just 16 catches to move into third all-time.  He is fifth in Moravian history with 1,473 yards and he needs just 105 yards to move into fourth.  Abbate is fifth all-time with 11 touchdown catches and he ranks second in career punt returns with 73 and career punt return yardage with 598 yards.  Junior wideout Jarod Rhinehart surpassed the 1,000-yard milestone versus Juniata.  Rhinehart has 1,041 yards (12th) on 77 career receptions (tenth).  Junior quarterback Charlie Bowden hit the 3,000-yard passing mark at Juniata as well and he is fifth all-time with 3,375 yards.  Bowden needs 188 yards to move into fourth place.  He has completed 263 (4th) of 503 (5th) passes with 23 touchdowns (4th).  Junior tailback Josh Fick (Emmaus, PA/Emmaus HS) needs just 90 yards to become the 17th Greyhounds to surpass the 1,000-yard rushing mark.  Fick has 910 yards on 149 carries with 16 touchdowns in his career.

MAC STATISTICAL RANKINGS: The Greyhound offense is currently ranked fourth in the MAC, averaging 371.3 yards per game.  Moravian is eighth in passing at 188.6 yards a contest, third in rushing offense at 182.7 yards per game and third in scoring offense at 27.9 points per game.  Defensively, the Greyhounds are sixth in total defense, allowing 363.6 yards an outing.  Moravian is fifth rushing defense, allowing just 118.4 yards per game, tenth in passing defense at 245.1 yards per contest and fifth in scoring defense at 23.1 points per game.  The Greyhounds are fifth in turnover margin at 0.00 per game.  Individually, quarterback Charlie Bowden is seventh in passing offense at 188.8 yards per game, seventh in pass efficiency at 102.4 and seventh in total offense at 185.0 yards per game.  Wide receiver Michael Abbate is eighth in punt return yardage at 6.0 yards per return.  Kicker Marc Roesch is ninth in the MAC in kick scoring at 2.0 points per game, eighth in extra-point percentage at 68.8 percent (11 of 16) and tenth in field goal percentage at 33.3.  Roesch is tied with cornerback/kicker Jim McIntyre for eighth in the MAC in field goals with 0.14 per game.  McIntyre is tied for first in field goal percentage at 1.000 and tied for fifth in fumbles recovered with two.  Linebacker John Cupples is fifth in tackles with 9.2 per game while sophomore linebacker Steve Maslanek (Stockholm, NJ/Vernon Township HS) is tied for seventh with six sacks.  Freshman safety Bill Skriletz (Coopersburg, PA/Southern Lehigh HS) is tied for fourth in forced fumbles with two while cornerback Jarrod Pence leads the MAC with 22 pass break-ups.

GREYHOUNDS IN THE NCAA: Junior defensive back Jarrod Pence leads the nation in pass break-ups while juniors John Cupples and Josh Fick are both ranked in the top 30 of the latest NCAA Division III Football Statistics released last Tuesday.  Pence leads the Middle Atlantic Conference and the country with 3.0 pass break-ups per game.  He has 17 pass break-ups and two interceptions this season in six games for Moravian.  Cupples is tied for 23rd in the nation with 2.2 tackles for loss per contest.  Cupples has 13 tackles for loss of 61 yards in six games.  Fick is tied for 26th in the country in scoring at 9.6 points per game despite missing last week's game with a knee injury.  In five games this season, Fick has scored eight touchdowns for 48 points.

BOWDEN LEADING THE 'HOUNDS OFFENSE: Quarterback Charlie Bowden completed 95 of 199 passes for 1,133 yards with nine touchdowns and eight interceptions for the Greyhounds.  Bowden, who has been sacked 12 times, has hit ten different receivers with a pass while 13 different Greyhounds have caught a pass this season.  Quarterback Will Seng has completed 11 of 18 passes for 187 yards and two touchdowns this season.  Seng has been intercepted twice but sacked just once.

IN THE BACKFIELD: Tailback Josh Fick, who has missed the last two weeks with a knee injury, leads the Greyhounds on the ground with 468 yards on 79 carries with eight touchdowns, including a 46-yard score.  Junior fullback Eric Gustafson (Collingswood, NJ/Collingswood HS) has added 201 yards on 42 attempts with two touchdowns.  Wide receiver Michael Abbate has added 105 yards on 19 carries with two touchdowns while tailback David Darmofal has 254 yards on 55 attempts with two scores.  Tailback Tim Barlok has 191 yards and two touchdowns on 47 attempts.

THE WIDE RECEIVERS: The Greyhounds have had 13 different players catch a pass this season, led by wideout Michael Abbate, who has 397 yards on 30 receptions and three touchdowns.  Sophomore wide receiver Jeff Lowry (Catawissa, PA/Southern Columbia HS) has 22 receptions for 263 yards and two scores while wideout Jarod Rhinehart has 18 catches for 240 yards and two touchdowns.  Sophomore wideout Kevin Miltenberger (Carlisle, PA/Carlisle HS) has six receptions for 38 yards while tailback Josh Fick has eight catches for 107 yards.  Tight end Rick Kulp has added five catches for 71 yards and two touchdowns.

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 two new starters on the line are freshman Andrew Leska (Coopersburg, PA/Southern Lehigh HS) and sophomore right guard Jeff Andruczyk (Hampton, NJ/Voorhees HS).

DEFENSIVE FRONT: Junior defensive end Tom Blackledge (Perkasie, PA/Pennridge HS) leads the Moravian front six with 26 tackles; nine for loss, three sacks and one fumble recovery.  Junior nose tackle Pat Mancini (Milford, NJ/Delaware Valley Regional HS) has added 25 tackles, one forced fumble, four tackles for loss and two and a half sacks.  Senior defensive end John Kwiatkowski (Whitehall, PA/Whitehall HS) has 26 tackles with eight behind the line of scrimmage and three and a half sacks while junior nose guard Brian Cascioli (Center Valley, PA/Southern Lehigh HS) has nine tackles with two stops coming for a loss and one sack.  Sophomore Justin Moyer (Allentown, PA/Salisbury HS) has nine tackles this season.

THE LINEBACKER CORP: Junior John Cupples leads the Greyhound defense with 64 tackles with 15 tackles for loss, four sacks, one interception, four pass break-ups, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble.  Sophomore Bill Engler has made 52 tackles this year with ten tackles for loss, three sacks, two pass break-ups, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble.  Sophomore Steve Maslanek has added 47 tackles including three pass break-ups, four and a half sacks and eight tackles for loss.  Maslanek has also recovered one fumble and forced another.  Junior Vince Cowlishaw (Chatham, NJ/Chatham HS) has 36 tackles, including eight for losses, two sacks, one forced fumble and four pass break-ups.

THE DEFENSIVE BACKFIELD: Junior Jarrod Pence has made 39 tackles this season with two for loss, two interceptions and a team high 22 pass break-ups.  Senior Jim McIntyre has 32 tackles, two fumble recoveries for four yards, two interceptions with 35 yards in returns and 12 pass break-ups while senior Mike Wukitsch (Allentown, PA/Allentown Central Catholic HS) added 20 tackles, two tackles for loss, three pass break-ups, a sack a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.  Sophomore John Panikiewsky  has 22 tackles this season with three for loss in four games.  Freshman Bill Skriletz (Coopersburg, PA/Southern Lehigh HS) has 32 tackles, seven pass break-ups, two interceptions with a 39-yard return and two forced fumbles.

KICKING GAME: Senior Marc Roesch is kicking off and punting for the Greyhounds this season.  He has had 37 kickoffs this year and he has been called on 40 times to punt.  Roesch averaged 31.0 yards per punt with a long of 44 yards with 11 of his punts placed inside the 20-yard line.  Roesch also kicked a career-long 40-yard field goal against King's College and is 11-for-16 on extra-points.  Senior Jim McIntyre made a 32-yard field against King's and he is four for six on extra-points.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Senior Michael Abbate has five kickoff returns for 156 yards, an average of 31.5 yards per return, with a long of 57 yards and he has 23 punt returns for 139 yards and a long of 14 yards.  Sophomore Dave Darmofal has 12 kickoff returns for 206 yards and a long of 35 yards.  Junior Josh Fick has returned seven kickoff for 141 yards and four punts for 13 yards with a long of seven 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.  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 John Makuvek

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 Susquehanna University SID Jim Miller at (570/372-4119).