Sports News: Fall 2002

Monday, September 30, 2002

MORAVIAN COLLEGE GREYHOUNDS, 1-2 (1-2 MAC)

LEBANON VALLEY COLLEGE FLYING DUTCHMEN, 0-4 (0-3 MAC)

1:30 p.m.; Saturday, October 5, 2002
Arnold Field (c. 4,000); Annville, PA

THE GAME: Moravian will try to snap a two-game losing streak in a Middle Atlantic Conference game at Lebanon Valley College. Kickoff is slated for 1:30 p.m. at Arnold Field in Annville, PA.

THE COACHES: Scot Dapp (West Chester ’73) is in his 16th season at Moravian, with a career record of 94-61-1 (.606). He entered the season 45th 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.

Lebanon Valley coach Mike Silecchia (Mansfield ’78) is in his fifth season at the school with an overall mark of 8-36 (.182).

THE SERIES: Saturday’s meeting will be the 57th in the series with Lebanon Valley owning a 28-27-1 lead. Moravian has won the last two meetings, 34-20 last fall and 19-6 in Annville in 2000 while the Flying Dutchmen's last win was a 24-13 decision in 1999.

LAST TIME THEY MET: In Bethlehem last fall, tailback Josh Fick (Emmaus, PA/Emmaus HS), making the first start of his collegiate career, ran for two touchdowns in the first 6:27 of the game to lead Moravian to a 34-20 victory over Lebanon Valley. Fick, who was named to the MAC Honor Roll, scored on a three-yard run on Moravian’s first offensive play. Jon McCann blocked a Flying Dutchmen punt attempt on the 20-yardline and linebacker Steve Maslanek (Stockholm, NJ/Vernon Township HS) recovered it on the three to setup Fick’s score. Fick finished the game with 125 yards on 19 carries and three receptions for 45 yards. After an incompletion to start the next drive, Fick had runs of 52, one and one yards to score. The Greyhounds extended the lead to 21-0 on a 36-yard touchdown run by tailback David Darmofal (Clarks Summit, PA/Abington Heights HS). Moravian scored on the opening drive of the second half on a 27-yard scoring strike from quarterback Charlie Bowden (Parlin, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial HS) to wideout Jeff Lowry (Catawissa, PA/ Southern Columbia HS). Bowden completed 17 of 33 passes for 210 yards in the game with two scores and three interceptions. Lowry caught six of those passes for 82 yards. The Greyhounds scored their final touchdown was a 13-yard pass from Bowden to wide receiver Jarod Rhinehart (Washington, NJ/Warren Hills Regional HS). Linebacker John Cupples (Allentown, PA/Allentown Central Catholic HS), who was named to MAC Honor Roll, led the Moravian defense with 15 tackles. Cornerback Jarrod Pence (Livingston, NJ/Livingston HS) had ten tackles while linebacker Bill Engler (Coopersburg, PA/Southern Lehigh HS) added nine tackles and one and a half of Moravian’s seven sacks in the game. Safety Bill Skriletz (Coopersburg, PA/Southern Lehigh HS) had two interceptions.

LAST GAME: Moravian saw Widener University score ten points in the final 5:55 of regulation and the only points of overtime for a 27-20 victory over the Greyhounds in MAC action. On Moravian’s possession in overtime, the Hounds faced a fourth-and-15 when senior quarterback Charlie Bowden completed a 17-yard pass to junior wideout Jeff Lowry for a first down. Moravian faced another fourth down and needed three yards. Bowden ended up running the ball and after a measurement, was less than four inches shy of the first down, ending the game. The Greyhounds had a 13-3 halftime lead. Moravian’s first points came on a 29-yard field goal by freshman Nate Strohl (Coplay, PA/Whitehall HS) with 3:25 left in the first quarter. Moravian retook the lead with 5:38 remaining before the half when Strohl hit a 43-yard field goal. The Greyhounds would extend their lead to 13-3 with 1:26 left in the first half when junior tailback David Darmofal caught a 17-yard pass from Bowden. The Greyhounds scored again with 8:53 to play in regulation when Bowden found freshman wideout Ben Hawkins (Belmar, NJ/Manasquan HS) open down the sideline for a 51-yard touchdown. Defensively, junior strong safety John Panikiewsky (Carteret, NJ/Carteret HS) had nine tackles with one for loss while junior cornerback Nate Pogue (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty HS), senior linebacker John Cupples and senior defensive lineman Tom Blackledge (Perkasie, PA/Pennridge HS) each made seven tackles. Cupples had Moravian’s only sack in the game while Pogue had an interception.

SCOUTING LEBANON VALLEY: The Flying Dutchmen come into Saturday's game with a record of 0-4 on the season. Lebanon Valley lost to FDU-Florham, 34-14 last weekend. Senior quarterback Dallas Noll has completed 25 of 66 passes for 295 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions while senior Jim Lawlor has completed 18 of 38 attempts for 214 yards and a touchdown for Lebanon Valley. Junior tight end Scott Marek leads the team with 14 receptions for 196 yards while junior wideout Kristian Castro has 12 catches for 140 yards. Junior tailback Pete Henning has grabbed 11 balls for 105 yards while sophomore wide receiver Dave McCullough has seven catches for 140 yards and two scores. Henning leads the Flying Dutchmen on the ground with 328 yards on 72 carries with one touchdown. Henning is also averaging 11.0 yards per punt return and 24.6 yards per kickoff return. Freshman kicker Kevin Keller is six-for-seven on extra-points and one-for-three on field goal attempts and he is averaging 34.7 yards per punt on 30 kicks. On defense, sophomore linebacker Adam Frantz has a team high 46 tackles while junior linebacker Eric Miller has 36 stops. Sophomore safety Brian Oberdick has contributed 32 tackles with one interception while sophomore defensive end Lucas Robinson leads the team with seven tackles for loss and four sacks among his 12 tackles. Junior defensive end Donald Carter has 26 tackles, one interception and three forced fumbles. Senior linebacker Chris Molite has added 28 tackles.

YOUNG, BALANCED & EXPERIENCED ‘HOUNDS: Of the 96 players on the Moravian roster, 44 are freshmen, 16 are sophomores and 14 are juniors. There are 22 seniors on this season’s squad, the largest number in years and the most ever for head coach Scot Dapp, and the Greyhounds return 42 letterwinners and 18 starters.

GREYHOUNDS IN THE MIDDLE ATLANTIC CONFERENCE: Beginning last season, the Middle Atlantic Conference became an 11-team conference instead of two separate leagues. Moravian was selected to finish sixth in the MAC Preseason Coaches Poll this season while Lebanon Valley was picked ninth. Widener, which reached the NCAA quarterfinals last season, was again selected as the top team in the MAC.

THE MAC STATISTICAL RANKINGS: The Greyhounds are ranked third in the MAC in total defense, allowing 315.0 yards per game. The squad is ninth in passing defense at 236.7 yards per game and the defense is fourth in rushing yards allowed at 78.3. The Greyhounds are seventh in points allowed at 24.7 per game but the squad is tenth in points scored per game at 13.7. Offensively, Moravian is tenth in the MAC at 250.7 yards per game. The Greyhounds are ranked eighth in rushing offense at 96.0 yards per game and eighth in passing offense at 154.7 yards per game. Moravian is eighth in turnover margin with a -1.0 per game average as the Greyhounds have committed 12 turnovers while forcing nine turnovers. Individually, junior tailback David Darmofal is ninth in the MAC in rushing, averaging 53.7 yards per game. Senior quarterback Charlie Bowden is seventh in yards per game at 146.3 yards per game and he is tenth in pass efficiency at 90.9 and tenth in total offense at 125.7 yards per game. Junior wide receiver Kevin Miltenberger (Carlisle, PA/Carlise HS) is eighth in the MAC in punt returns with an average of 6.4 yards while senior tailback Josh Fick is tenth at 5.3 yards per return. Sophomore tailback Cody Hendershot (Bangor, PA/Bangor HS) is fourth in kickoff returns with an average of 21.3 yards per return while junior wide receiver Jed Warsager (Andover, NJ/Newton HS) is tenth in kickoff returns, averaging 17.8 yards a return. Junior punter John McLain (Belvidere, NJ/Belvidere HS) is third in punting at 38.6 yards per kick. Freshman Nate Strohl is tied for first in PAT percentage at 100.0 percent, tied for fourth in field goals per game at 0.67, sixth in field goal percentage at 66.7 and tied for sixth in kick scoring at 3.7 points per game. Junior cornerback Nate Pogue is tied for third in interceptions at 0.67 per game.

MILESTONE WATCH: Senior wideout Jarod Rhinehart surpassed the 1,000-yard milestone last season. Rhinehart has 1,210 yards (11th) on 93 career receptions (sixth). Rhinehart needs nine receptions to move to fifth and 55 yards to move into ninth. Senior quarterback Charlie Bowden is also moving up the record books. He has completed 316 (fourth) of 623 (fourth) passes for 4,095 (fourth) yards with 28 touchdowns (fourth). Bowden needs 1,436 yards, 100 completions, 166 attempts and seven touchdowns to move into third in each category. Senior tailback Josh Fick needs just 11 yards to reach 1,000. Fick has 989 yards on 176 carries with 16 touchdowns in his career.

BOWDEN LEADING THE ‘HOUNDS OFFENSE: Senior quarterback Charlie Bowden has completed 31 of 76 passes for 439 yards with four touchdowns and six interceptions this year. Junior Will Seng (Allentown, PA/William Allen HS) has completed two of five passes for ten yards.

IN THE BACKFIELD: Junior tailback David Darmofal leads the Greyhounds with 161 yards and a touchdown on 40 carries. His 100-yard game against FDU-Florham was the first of Darmofal's career. Senior fullback Eric Gustafson (Collingswood, NJ/Collingswood HS) has picked up 55 yards on 15 carries while sophomore fullback Bill Carasia (Fair Haven, NJ/Rumson-Fair Haven HS) has 58 yards on 14 carries. Senior tailback Josh Fick has 79 yards on 27 attempts while freshman Kevin Lukich (Ogdensburg, NJ/Wallkill Valley) has ten yards on four carries.

THE WIDE RECEIVERS: Senior wide receiver Jarod Rhinehart and junior wideout Kevin Miltenberger have both caught seven passes this season with Rhinehart gaining 88 yards and Miltenberger picking up 62 yards. Senior tight end Rick Kulp (Walnutport, PA/ Northampton HS) has pulled down six passes for 58 yards and a touchdown while freshman wideout Ben Hawkins has five receptions for 154 yards and two scores. Junior wide receiver Jeff Lowry has three catches for 48 yards while junior tailback David Darmofal has three receptions for 22 yards and a touchdown.

OFFENSIVE LINE: Senior Josh Zagorski (Morris Plains, NJ/Parsippany Hills HS), a 2001 Middle Atlantic Conference All-Star and center, anchors the offensive line, which returns three of five members from last season. Zagorski was also named to the Don Hansen’s Football Gazette Division III Preseason All-American Third Team. Also back on the front line will be senior John Giacchi (Franklin, NJ/Pope John XXIII HS) and sophomore Andrew Leska (Coopersburg, PA/Southern Lehigh HS). Seniors Tim Deily (Quakertown, PA/Quakertown HS) and Marc Zimmerman (Macungie, PA/Emmaus HS) fill the open positions in the line. The quintet gives the Greyhounds a formidable line, averaging 6’0” and 255 pounds.

DEFENSIVE FRONT: Senior defensive end Tom Blackledge leads the Hounds up front defensively with 20 tackles including eight for loss and one of Moravian's seven sacks. Sophomore defensive end Shawn Nelson (Bethlehem, PA/Bethlehem Catholic HS) has added 10 tackles with three for loss and two fumble recoveries while senior nose tackle Pat Mancini (Milford, NJ/Delaware Valley Regional HS) has five stops and a fumble recovery.

THE LINEBACKER CORPS: Senior John Cupples leads the Greyhound defense with 27 tackles. Cupples also has one and a half sacks, two pass break-ups, two forced fumbles and six tackles for loss. Senior Bill Engler has 21 tackles on the year and one fumble recovery while senior Vince Cowlishaw (Chatham, NJ/Chatham HS) has added 15 tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles, two pass break-ups and three tackles for loss. Junior Steve Maslanek has 17 tackles on the season with three for loss while freshman Richie Cline (Union Beach, NJ/Keyport HS) has added eight tackles, half a sack and four tackles for loss.

THE DEFENSIVE BACKFIELD: Junior safety John Panikiewsky leads the Moravian defensive backs with 23 tackles. He has added five tackles for loss, one sack, a fumble recovery, and an interception. Panikiewsky also has one pass breakup. Senior cornerback Jarrod Pence has made 12 tackles and four pass break-ups while junior cornerback Nate Pogue has added 12 tackles and two interceptions. Sophomore rover Bill Skriletz has 15 tackles, two for loss, a sack, an interception and six pass break-ups.

KICKING GAME: Freshman Nate Strohl is five-for-five on extra-points in his collegiate debut and two-for-three on field goal attempts with a career-long of 43 yards against Widener. Junior John McLain has been called on to punt 20 times this season and he is averaging 38.6 yards per kick with five punts over 50 yards and three downed inside the 20.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Junior Jed Warsager has returned eight kickoffs for 142 yards while sophomore Cody Hendershot has three kickoff returns for 64 yards. On punt returns, senior Josh Fick has made six returns for 32 yards while junior Kevin Miltenberger has five run backs for 32 yards.

OVERTIME ‘HOUNDS: Moravian has played a total of eight overtime games since the NCAA instituted the rule for the 1996 season and is 5-3 all-time in the extra-session including last week's loss to Widener. The Greyhounds hadn't played an overtime game since October 16, 1999 versus Juniata College.

WINNING WAYS: Moravian had 11 consecutive winning seasons—all under Coach Scot Dapp, from 1987 to 1997 and has had 12 winning seasons in Dapp’s 15 years. The 11-straight winning seasons is the longest in school history. Dapp ranks third among Greyhound coaches in winning percentage.

ON THE AIRWAVES: For the sixth 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.