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).
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