Sports News: Fall 2001

Monday, November 12, 2001

MORAVIAN AT FDU-MADISON FOOTBALL PREVIEW

1:00 p.m.; Saturday, November 17, 2001
Robert T. Shields Field (c. 4,000); Madison, NJ

THE GAME: Moravian looks to finish the 2001 season with a .500 record as the Greyhounds play their final Middle Atlantic Conference contest of the season at FDU-Madison.  Saturday's game was originally scheduled for September 15, 2001 but was postponed by FDU-Madison.  Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m. at Robert T. Shields Field in Madison, New Jersey. 

THE COACHES: Scot Dapp (West Chester '73) is in his 15th season at Moravian with a career record of 92-59-1 (.609).  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.

FDU-Madison coach Bill Klika (Colgate '67) is in his 25th season at the school with an overall mark of 69-153-1 (.312).

THE SERIES: Saturday's meeting will be the 7th in the series with the Greyhounds owning a 5-1 lead.  Moravian won last season's meeting, 36-13, and the Greyhounds won the first four meetings in the series.  FDU-Madison's only victory came in 1999 with a 13-10 win, the last time the two squads played in Madison, NJ.

LAST TIME THEY MET: In Bethlehem last fall, the Greyhounds jumped out to a 16-0 halftime lead and the squad led 23-0 before winning 36-13.  Running backs Frank Starner and Tim Barlok (Bethlehem, PA/Bethlehem Catholic HS) each gained 54 yards with one touchdown and fullback P.J. Jankowicz had 32 yards and a touchdown to become the seventh player in Moravian history to surpass the 2,000-yard career rushing mark.  Quarterback Charlie Bowden (Parlin, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial HS) completed 16 of 23 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns, both to Jankowicz, who led the receivers with 73 yards on three catches.  Running back Ed Cracchiolo led FDU-Madison with 65 yards on 14 carries with one touchdown.  Quarterback Mark Pollifrone completed seven of 12 pass attempts for the Devils for 85 yards.  Wideout Keith O'Hara had three catches for 42 yards for FDU-Madison.  On the defensive side of the ball, the Greyhounds were led by linebacker John Cupples (Allentown, PA/Allentown Central Catholic HS) who had ten tackles.  Defensive end Dustin Collier had five tackles, a sack, a fumble recovery and an interception for Moravian.  Linebacker Tom Pouliot led the FDU-Madison defense with 11 tackles with one for loss.

LAST WEEK: Senior wide receiver Michael Abbate (South Plainfield, NJ/Bishop HS) caught a touchdown pass and ran for another score and junior cornerback Jarrod Pence (Livingston, NJ/Livingston HS) was named the Moravian Most Valuable Player of the game as he added three interceptions to tie the school record while leading the Greyhounds to a 17-7 non-conference victory over rival Muhlenberg College.  Moravian got on the board with 1:31 to play in the second quarter on a 20-yard field goal by senior Marc Roesch (Egg Harbor City, NJ/St. Augustine Prep HS)Roesch's field goal capped a 24-play, 68-yard drive that consumed 12:02 of the second quarter.  The Mules hurt themselves on the drive, committing three pass interference penalties on long third downs, including one in the end zone to give the Greyhounds three automatic first downs to keep the drive alive.  On the second play of the ensuing drive for Muhlenberg, the Mules' quarterback threw his first interception, which was grabbed by junior nose tackle Pat Mancini (Milford, NJ/Delaware Valley Regional HS).  Moravian junior quarterback Charlie Bowden needed just four plays to get the Greyhounds in the end zone before the first half expired.  On third and ten from the 37-yard line, Bowden found Abbate in the end zone.  A Muhlenberg defender knocked the ball away from Abbate but he stuck his hands behind his head to make the touchdown catch.  Senior Jim McIntyre (Hackettstown, NJ/Hackettstown HS) made the extra-point to give the Greyhounds a 10-7 lead with 34 seconds left in the first half.  Moravian scored the final points of the game with 5:47 remaining in the third quarter when Abbate ran an 11-yard reverse off the right side of the offensive line for a touchdown.  McIntyre's kick set the final score at 17-7 Moravian.  Moravian had gained possession for the touchdown drive on Pence's second of his three interceptions in the game.  For the Greyhounds, who ran 74 plays for 237 yards, sophomore tailback Tim Barlok had 66 yards on 24 carries to move with 27 yards of 1,000 in his career.  Junior fullback Eric Gustafson (Collingswood, NJ/Collingswood HS) had 21 yards on seven carries while sophomore tailback David Darmofal (Abington Heights, PA/Clarks Summit HS) added 20 yards on ten carries.  Bowden completed nine of 20 passes for 113 yards while junior wide receiver Jarod Rhinehart (Washington, NJ/Warren Hills Regional HS) had four receptions for 32 yards.  Abbate caught two passes for 51 yards to give him 111 receptions (fourth all-time) for 1,619 yards (third all-time) and 13 touchdowns (third in school history).  Defensively for the Greyhounds, Pence led the squad with seven tackles, three interceptions and a forced fumble.  Junior defensive lineman Tom Blackledge (Sellersville, PA/Pennridge HS) had five tackles with three for loss.  McIntyre and junior linebacker Steve Maslanek (Stockholm, NJ/Vernon Township HS) each had interceptions in the game.

SCOUTING FDU-MADISON: The Devils enter Saturday's game with an overall mark of 1-8 and a MAC record of 1-7.  FDU-Madison is coming off a 25-7 loss at Delaware Valley College.  Sophomore quarterback Michael Passero leads the Devils on the field, having completed 61 of 180 passes for 732 yards, with three touchdowns and ten interceptions.  Junior wide receiver Quadir Muhammed has been the top target with 23 receptions for 322 yards and one score.  Senior wideout Frank Urhin has 16 catches for 286 yards and two touchdowns.  Junior running back Ed Cracchiolo leads the FDU-Madison rushing attack with 950 yards and ten touchdowns on 223 yards.  Sophomore running back Jerelle Douglas and junior quarterback Sharif Youseff handle the return duties.  Douglas has six punt returns for 26 yards and 16 kickoff returns for 350 yards while Youseff has 17 kickoff returns for 266 yards and five punt returns for 21 yards.  Junior defensive back Eric Eickhorst is the Devils' place kicker and he as made nine of 12 extra-points and his only field goal attempt this season.  Freshman punter Anthony Blasi is averaging 33.5 yards per punt this season.  Defensively for FDU-Madison, senior defensive lineman Ken Freeman has 80 tackles with 20 for loss, seven sacks, five pass break-ups, two forced fumbles and two blocked kicks.  Junior defensive back Frank Nolasco has added 74 tackles with five for loss, seven pass break-ups, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries.  Freshman safety Steve Butler leads the Devils with three interceptions while junior linebacker Mike Biancella has 62 tackles with ten for loss.

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 FDU-Madison was picked tenth.  Widener University, who reached the NCAA semifinals last season, was selected to win the MAC again this year.

MAC HONORS: Junior safety Jarrod Pence, was named the Middle Atlantic Conference Defensive Player of the Week after leading the Moravian defense that forced Muhlenberg into seven turnovers in a 17-7 Moravian win.  Pence led the Greyhounds with seven tackles and had three of Moravian's six interceptions to tie the school record for a single game.  Pence also caused a fumble as the Greyhound defense held Muhlenberg to 186 yards below its season average, allowing just 186 yards in the game.  Pence was named Moravian's MVP of the annual Moravian-Muhlenberg contest as voted on by the media in attendance.

MILESTONE WATCH: Senior wide receiver Michael Abbate is moving up the Moravian record books.  After catching two passes for 51 yards and a touchdown at Muhlenberg last weekend, Abbate now has 111 career receptions (fourth) and he needs just nine catches to move into third all-time.  He is third in Moravian history with 1,589 yards and he needs 336 yards to move into second.  Abbate is third all-time with 13 touchdown catches and he ranks second in career punt returns with 79 and career punt return yardage with 657 yards.  Junior wideout Jarod Rhinehart surpassed the 1,000-yard milestone versus Juniata.  Rhinehart has 1,091 yards (12th) on 83 career receptions (ninth).  Junior quarterback Charlie Bowden hit the 3,000-yard passing mark at Juniata as well and he is fifth all-time with 3,510 yards.  Bowden needs just 54 yards to move into fourth place.  He has completed 274 (4th) of 530 (5th) passes with 24 touchdowns (4th).  Sophomore tailback Tim Barlok needs just 27 yards to become the 17th Greyhound to surpass the 1,000-yard rushing mark as he has 973 career yards on 207 attempts with ten touchdowns.  Junior tailback Josh Fick (Emmaus, PA/Emmaus HS) needs just 90 yards to reach 1,000.  Fick has 910 yards on 149 carries with 16 touchdowns in his career.

MAC STATISTICAL RANKINGS: The Greyhound offense is currently ranked seventh in the MAC, averaging 347.8 yards per game.  Moravian is eighth in passing at 172.8 yards a contest, fourth in rushing offense at 175.0 yards per game and sixth in scoring offense at 25.1 points per game.  Defensively, the Greyhounds are seventh in total defense, allowing 349.8 yards an outing.  Moravian is fourth rushing defense, allowing just 115.4 yards per game, tenth in passing defense at 234.3 yards per contest and fifth in scoring defense at 23.3 points per game.  The Greyhounds are seventh in turnover margin at -0.11 per game.  Individually, quarterback Charlie Bowden is eighth in passing offense at 158.4 yards per game, eighth in pass efficiency at 99.7 and eighth in total offense at 157.5 yards per game.  Wide receiver Michael Abbate is eighth in punt return yardage at 6.8 yards per return and tenth in all-purpose yardage with an average of 110.9 yards per contest.  Kicker Marc Roesch is eighth in the MAC in kick scoring at 1.9 points per game, eighth in extra-point percentage at 68.8 percent (11 of 16) and tied for fifth in field goal percentage at 50.0.  Roesch is tied  for sixth in field goals per game at 0.22  while cornerback/kicker Jim McIntyre is tied for ninth in the MAC in field goals with 0.11 per game.  McIntyre is tied for first in field goal percentage at 1.000, fourth in extra-point percentage at 80.0 (eight of ten) and tenth in kick scoring at 1.2 points per game.  Linebacker John Cupples is eighth in tackles with 8.6 per game.  Junior cornerback Jarrod Pence leads the MAC with 34 pass break-ups and he is tied for seventh with 0.56 interceptions per game with five picks on the season.

BOWDEN LEADING THE 'HOUNDS OFFENSE: Quarterback Charlie Bowden completed 106 of 226 passes for 1,267 yards with ten touchdowns and ten interceptions for the Greyhounds.  Bowden, who has been sacked 13 times, has hit ten different receivers with a pass while 13 different Greyhounds have caught a pass this season.  Quarterback Will Seng has completed 20 of 34 passes for 288 yards and three touchdowns this season.  Seng has been intercepted three times and sacked just three times.  Seng has run 12 times for 31 yards and one score.

IN THE BACKFIELD: Tailback Josh Fick, who has missed the last four 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.  Tailback Tim Barlok has 308 yards and two touchdowns on 85 attempts while tailback David Darmofal has 339 yards on 76 attempts with two scores.  Junior fullback Eric Gustafson (Collingswood, NJ/Collingswood HS) has added 246 yards on 54 attempts with two touchdowns.  Wide receiver Michael Abbate has added 119 yards on 25 carries with three touchdowns.

THE WIDE RECEIVERS: The Greyhounds have had 13 different players catch a pass this season, led by wideout Michael Abbate, who has 513 yards on 36 receptions and five touchdowns.  Sophomore wide receiver Jeff Lowry (Catawissa, PA/Southern Columbia HS) has 24 receptions for 275 yards and two scores while wideout Jarod Rhinehart has 24 catches for 290 yards and two touchdowns.  Sophomore wideout Kevin Miltenberger (Carlisle, PA/Carlisle HS) has seven receptions for 45 yards while tailback Josh Fick has eight catches for 107 yards.  Tight end Rick Kulp has added eight catches for 107 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 leads the Moravian front six with 40 tackles; 15 for loss, four sacks and one fumble recovery.  Junior nose tackle Pat Mancini has added 35 tackles, one forced fumble, one interception, six tackles for loss and three sacks.  Senior defensive end John Kwiatkowski (Whitehall, PA/Whitehall HS) has 37 tackles with ten behind the line of scrimmage and five 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 77 tackles with 17 tackles for loss, four sacks, one interception, four pass break-ups, one fumble recovery and two forced fumbles.  Sophomore Bill Engler (Coopersburg, PA/Southern Lehigh HS) has made 65 tackles this year with ten tackles for loss, three sacks, two pass break-ups, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble.  Sophomore Steve Maslanek (Stockholm, NJ/Vernon Township HS) has added 56 tackles including five pass break-ups, five and a half sacks and nine tackles for loss.  Maslanek has also recovered one fumble and forced another.  Junior Vince Cowlishaw (Chatham, NJ/Chatham HS) has 45 tackles, including eight for losses, two sacks, one forced fumble and four pass break-ups.  Freshman linebacker Shaun Nelson (Bethlehem, PA/Bethlehem Catholic HS) has contributed 25 tackles in his debut season with three for loss, a half a sack two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.

THE DEFENSIVE BACKFIELD: Junior Jarrod Pence has made 50 tackles this season with two for loss, five interceptions and a team high 34 pass break-ups.  Senior Jim McIntyre has 39 tackles, two fumble recoveries for four yards, three interceptions with 35 yards in returns and 14 pass break-ups while senior Mike Wukitsch (Allentown, PA/Allentown Central Catholic HS) added 27 tackles, three tackles for loss, one sack, five pass break-ups, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.  Sophomore John Panikiewsky (Carteret, NJ/Carteret HS) has 30 tackles this season with four for loss, one forced fumble and one fumble return of 26 yards in six games.  Freshman Bill Skriletz (Coopersburg, PA/Southern Lehigh HS) has 34 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 44 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 two for four on field goals and 11-for-16 on extra-points.  Freshman Bill Skriletz has punted eight times in the last two weeks with an average of 29.9 yards.  Senior Jim McIntyre made a 32-yard field goal against King's and he is eight for ten on extra-points.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Senior Michael Abbate has six kickoff returns for 176 yards, an average of 29.3 yards per return, with a long of 57 yards at Widener and he has 29 punt returns for 198 yards and a long of 23 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.  Sophomore Tim Barlok has added 119 yards on seven kickoff returns with a long of 22 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 Fred Harris

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Please contact SID Mark Fleming, either at Moravian's sports information office (610/861-1472) or at home (610758-8721) or FDU-Madison SID W. Scott Giglio at (973/443-8965).