Monday, October 7, 2002

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

JUNIATA COLLEGE EAGLES, 4-1 (3-1 MAC)

1:00 p.m.; Saturday, October 12, 2002
Steel Field (c. 2,500); Bethlehem, PA

THE GAME: Moravian will try win its second straight game and get past the .500 mark for the season in a Middle Atlantic Conference game versus Juniata College. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m. at Steel Field in Bethlehem, PA.

THE COACHES: Scot Dapp (West Chester ’73) is in his 16th season at Moravian, with a career record of 95-61-1 (.608). 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.

Juniata coach Kevin Burke (Gettysburg ’90) is in his fifth season at the school with an overall mark of 21-24 (.467).

THE SERIES: Saturday’s meeting will be the 48th in the series with Juniata owning a 24-21-2 lead. The Eagles won last season 39-35 but Moravian has owned the series recently with a 7-4-1 record in the last 12 games. The series has had a history of close games with a streak of five straight years in which the game ended in a regulation tie from 1995 until 1999. Four of those games went to overtime and three won by Moravian. The Greyhounds last win was in 1999 in Huntingdon with a 38-37 overtime triumph.

LAST TIME THEY MET: In Huntingdon last fall, the Greyhounds had a 35-6 lead but suffered a 39-35 loss to Juniata in MAC action. Moravian jumped out to a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter on a 12-yard run by tailback Josh Fick (Emmaus, PA/Emmaus HS), who had 83 yards on 26 carries, and the extra-point by senior Marc Roesch. The score was setup by a 24-yard interception return by cornerback Jim McIntyre. Moravian extended the lead to 14-0 on a 17-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Charlie Bowden (Parlin, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial HS) to wide receiver Michael Abbate. Juniata kicked a pair of second quarter field goals before the Greyhounds scored again. With 19 seconds before halftime, Bowden hit wide receiver Jeff Lowry (Catawissa, PA/Southern Columbia HS) on a nine-yard scoring strike. The Greyhounds extended the lead to 28-6 with 8:18 left in the third quarter when Fick had a three-yard touchdown run. Fullback Eric Gustafson (Collingswood, NJ/ Collingswood HS) finished with a career high 121 yards on 14 carries. Bowden, who completed 22 of 39 passes for 220 yards but was intercepted twice, connected on his third touchdown pass when he hit wide receiver Jarod Rhinehart (Washington, NJ/Warren Hills Regional HS) with a seven-yard pass. The touchdown gave the Greyhounds a 35-6 lead but the Eagles would score the final 33 points of the game. Linebacker Bill Engler (Coopersburg, PA/Southern Lehigh HS) paced the Greyhound defense with 11 tackles while safety Bill Skriletz (Coopersburg, PA/Southern Lehigh HS) had eight tackles and two pass break-ups.

LAST GAME: Sophomore wide receiver Jed Warsager (Andover, NJ/Newton HS) returned the opening kick 98 yards for a touchdown and Moravian never looked back in a 41-21 victory over Lebanon Valley College in MAC action. Freshman Nate Strohl (Coplay, PA/Whitehall HS) added the kick to give the Greyhounds a 7-0 lead. Warsager finished the game with 175 return yards on three kickoff returns. The Greyhounds next score was a 50-yard scoring pass from senior quarterback Charlie Bowden to senior tight end Rick Kulp (Walnutport, PA/Northampton HS). Senior tailback Josh Fick became the 17th player in Moravian history to reach 1,000 career yards rushing with 10:55 left in the second quarter. The Greyhounds would add their third touchdown 1:55 after Fick’s milestone on a 26-yard scoring pass from Bowden to freshman wide receiver Ben Hawkins (Belmar, NJ/Manasquan HS). Bowden completed eight of 17 passes for 172 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Moravian would score three more point before halftime on a 19-yard field goal by Strohl. Strohl also had the have the first points of the second half with a 32-yard field goal. Fick scored on a one-yard touchdown run with 10:49 left in the fourth quarter. He finished the game with 39 yards on 12 carries. The Greyhounds finished off the scoring on a 46-yard touchdown run by Hawkins. Senior cornerback Jarrod Pence (Livingston, NJ/Livingston HS) and junior safety John Panikiewsky (Carteret, NJ/Carteret HS) led the Moravian defense with eight tackles each. Senior defensive back Paul Block (East Hanover, NJ/Hanover Park HS) had three pass break-ups.

SCOUTING JUNIATA: The Eagles come into Saturday's game with a record of 4-1 on the season and a 3-1 slate in the MAC. Juniata is led on the field by sophomore quarterback Greg Troutman, who has completed 116 of 235 passes this season for 1,196 yards with seven touchdowns and three interceptions. Junior running back Craig Moshier has been his top target with 27 receptions for 161 yards and a score while senior wideout Nate Leach has 26 catches for 318 yards and three touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Andrew Raup has added 24 receptions for 379 yards and two scores. Moshier also leads the Eagles' ground attack with 438 yards and seven touchdowns on 93 carries while Troutman has 184 yards and two scores on 54 carries. Senior defensive back Paul Evans is averaging 10.9 yards per punt return while junior running back Jimmie Gray has an average of 20.4 yards on kickoff returns. Senior kicker Dusty Lehr has made 17 of 20 extra-point and five of eight field goal attempts this season and he is averaging 41.1 yards per punt with a long of 56 yards. Defensively for Juniata, freshman linebacker Peter Thomas leads the squad with 55 tackles including five for loss and an interception. Evans leads the team with four interceptions and he has added four pass break-ups and three fumble recoveries. Freshman defensive back Stephen Parsons has 43 tackles and two interceptions this fall while senior linebacker Matt Wharton has 42 tackles with eight for loss and three sacks. Senior defensive lineman Fred Taber leads Juniata with 12 tackles for loss and seven sacks among his 30 tackles. Senior linebacker Jason Stouffer has contributed 41 tackles with nine for loss and three sacks.

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 Juniata was picked fifth with each team receiving one first place vote. 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 fourth in the MAC in total defense, allowing 324.0 yards per game. The squad is 11th in passing defense at 253.5 yards per game and the defense is third in rushing yards allowed at 70.5. The Greyhounds are sixth in points allowed at 23.8 per game but the squad is ninth in points scored per game at 20.5. Offensively, Moravian is tenth in the MAC at 289.5 yards per game. The Greyhounds are ranked seventh in rushing offense at 124.8 yards per game and eighth in passing offense at 164.8 yards per game. Moravian is tenth in turnover margin with a -1.0 per game average as the Greyhounds have committed 16 turnovers while forcing 12 turnovers. Individually, junior tailback David Darmofal (Clarks Summit, PA/Abington Heights HS) is ninth in the MAC in rushing, averaging 47.8 yards per game. Senior quarterback Charlie Bowden is seventh in yards per game at 152.8 yards per game and he is seventh in pass efficiency at 101.2 and eight in total offense at 136.2 yards per game. Junior wide receiver Kevin Miltenberger (Carlisle, PA/Carlisle HS) is eighth in the MAC in punt returns with an average of 8.0 yards while senior tailback Josh Fick is tenth at 5.3 yards per return. Junior wide receiver Jed Warsager is second in kickoff returns, averaging 28.8 yards a return with one touchdown. Junior punter John McLain (Belvidere, NJ/Belvidere HS) is second in punting at 40.4 yards per kick. Freshman wide receiver Ben Hawkins is tied for seventh in scoring touchdowns with 6.0 points per game. Freshman Nate Strohl is tied for first in PAT percentage at 100.0 percent, tied for first in field goals per game at 1.0, tied for third in field goal percentage at 80.0 and fourth in kick scoring at 5.2 points per game. Junior cornerback Nate Pogue (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty HS) is second in interceptions at 0.75 per game while senior linebacker John Cupples (Allentown, PA/Allentown Central Catholic HS) is tied for tenth in tackles at 8.0 per game.

NCAA STATISTICS: Junior punter John McLain was ranked 35th in the nation in punting, senior linebacker Vince Cowlishaw (Chatham, NJ/Chatham HS) was tied for 14th in the country in forced fumbles and the Moravian defense was ranked in the top 40 of the NCAA Division III football statistics released last week. McLain was averaging 38.6 yards per punt and he had punted 20 times with five punts of over 50 yards. Cowlishaw had forced two fumbles in Moravian’s three games for an average of 0.67 forced fumbles per game. The Greyhounds were 29th in rushing defense, only allowing 78.3 yards per contest.

MILESTONE WATCH: Senior wideout Jarod Rhinehart surpassed the 1,000-yard milestone last season. Rhinehart has 1,240 yards (11th) on 94 career receptions (sixth). Rhinehart needs eight receptions to move to fifth and 25 yards to move into ninth. Senior quarterback Charlie Bowden is also moving up the record books. He has completed 324 (fourth) of 640 (fourth) passes for 4,267 (fourth) yards with 30 touchdowns (fourth). Bowden needs 1,264 yards, 92 completions, 149 attempts and five touchdowns to move into third in each category. Senior tailback Josh Fick became the 17th Greyhound to reach 1,000 yards rushing in the game at Lebanon Valley. Fick has 1,028 yards on 188 carries with 17 touchdowns in his career.

BOWDEN LEADING THE ‘HOUNDS OFFENSE: Senior quarterback Charlie Bowden has completed 39 of 93 passes for 611 yards with six touchdowns and eight interceptions this year. Junior Will Seng (Allentown, PA/William Allen HS) has completed three of seven passes for 25 yards while freshman Jerry Venturino (Hopatcong, NJ/Hopatcong HS) has completed one of two attempts for 23 yards.

IN THE BACKFIELD: Junior tailback David Darmofal leads the Greyhounds with 191 yards and a touchdown on 46 carries. His 100-yard game against FDU-Florham was the first of Darmofal's career. Senior fullback Eric Gustafson has picked up 108 yards on 23 carries while sophomore fullback Bill Carasia (Fair Haven, NJ/Rumson-Fair Haven HS) has 63 yards on 17 carries. Senior tailback Josh Fick has 118 yards and a touchdown on 39 attempts while freshman Kevin Lukich (Ogdensburg, NJ/Wallkill Valley) has 24 yards on seven carries.

THE WIDE RECEIVERS: Senior tight end Rick Kulp has pulled down a team high nine passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns while freshman wideout Ben Hawkins has six receptions for 180 yards and three scores. Senior wide receiver Jarod Rhinehart and junior wideout Kevin Miltenberger have both caught eight passes this season with Rhinehart gaining 118 yards and Miltenberger picking up 96 yards. Junior wide receiver Jeff Lowry has four catches for 56 yards while junior tailback David Darmofal has four receptions for 39 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 (Perkasie, PA/Pennridge HS) leads the Hounds up front defensively with 24 tackles including 11 for loss and one of Moravian's eight sacks. Sophomore defensive end Shawn Nelson (Bethlehem, PA/Bethlehem Catholic HS) has added 12 tackles with four for loss and two fumble recoveries while senior nose tackle Pat Mancini (Milford, NJ/Delaware Valley Regional HS) has nine stops with three for loss and a pair of fumble recoveries. Sophomore lineman Kevin McLaughlin (Philadelphia, PA/Northeast Catholic HS) has added five tackles.

THE LINEBACKER CORPS: Senior John Cupples leads the defense with 32 tackles. Cupples also has one and a half sacks, two pass break-ups, two forced fumbles and seven tackles for loss. Senior Bill Engler has 26 tackles and one fumble recovery while senior Vince Cowlishaw has added 21 tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles, two pass break-ups and four tackles for loss. Junior Steve Maslanek (Stockholm, NJ/Vernon Township HS) has 18 tackles with four for loss while freshman Richie Cline (Union Beach, NJ/Keyport HS) has added ten tackles, one and half a sack, a forced fumble and six tackles for loss.

THE DEFENSIVE BACKFIELD: Junior safety John Panikiewsky leads the Moravian defensive backs with 31 tackles. He has added five tackles for loss, one sack, a fumble recovery, two pass break-ups and an interception. Senior cornerback Jarrod Pence has made 20 tackles and four pass break-ups and an interception while junior cornerback Nate Pogue has added 16 tackles and three interceptions and three pass break-ups. Sophomore rover Bill Skriletz has 18 tackles, two for loss, a sack, an interception and six pass break-ups while senior Paul Block has contributed six tackles and four pass break-ups

KICKING GAME: Freshman Nate Strohl is nine-for-nine on extra-points in his collegiate debut and four-for-five on field goal attempts with a career-long of 43 yards against Widener. Strohl has made his last four field goal attempts. Junior John McLain has been called on to punt 23 times this season and he is averaging 40.4 yards per kick with six punts over 50 yards, one of 60 yards and four downed inside the 20.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Junior Jed Warsager has returned 11 kickoffs for 317 yards after his three returns for 175 yards at Lebanon Valley. Warsager's 98 yard touchdown return broke Ralph Eltringham’s record of 95 yards set on October 2, 1965 at Wilkes. Sophomore Cody Hendershot (Bangor, PA/Bangor HS) has three kickoff returns for 64 yards. Senior Josh Fick has made six punt returns for 32 yards and three kick off returns for 50 yards while junior Kevin Miltenberger has six punt returns for 48 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 this year'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.