Monday, November 4, 2002

MORAVIAN COLLEGE GREYHOUNDS, 6-2 (6-2 MAC)

SUSQUEHANNA UNIVERSITY CRUSADERS, 4-4 (4-3 MAC)

1:00 p.m.; Saturday, November 9, 2002
Nicholas A. Lopardo Stadium (c. 3,500); Selinsgrove, PA

THE GAME: Moravian will try extend its winning streak to six consecutive games and earn head coach Scot Dapp his 100th career victory in a Middle Atlantic Conference contest at Susquehanna University. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m. at Nicholas A. Lopardo Stadium in Selinsgrove, PA.

THE COACHES: Scot Dapp (West Chester ’73) is in his 16th season at Moravian, with a career record of 99-61-1 (.618). 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.

Susquehanna coach Steve Briggs (Springfield ’84) is in his 13th season at the school with an overall mark of 83-47 (.638).

THE SERIES: Saturday’s meeting will be the 29th in the series with Moravian holding a 14-13-1 advantage. Susquehanna captured a 41-14 victory last fall in Bethlehem while the Greyhounds won the last time the two schools met in Selinsgrove, 52-33, in 2000.

LAST TIME THEY MET: In Bethlehem last fall, Moravian committed seven turnovers in a 41-14 loss to Susquehanna University in MAC action. The Crusaders converted four of those seven turnovers into touchdowns including three in the first half. After falling behind 21-0 in the first half, Moravian finally got on the board in the third quarter on a one-yard run by quarterback Will Seng (Allentown, PA/William Allen HS). Jim McIntyre added the extra-point to cut the Susquehanna lead to 21-7. Seng came into the game in the second quarter after starter Charlie Bowden (Parlin, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial HS) completed just two of seven passes for 21 yards with two interceptions. Moravian scored its final touchdown with 7:22 remaining in the contest on a 22-yard pass from Seng to wide receiver Michael Abbate and McIntyre adding the extra-point to cut Susquehanna’s lead to 35-14. Seng completed eight of 14 passes for 94 yards in relief of Bowden but he was intercepted once. Abbate grabbed four passes for 65 yards to go over 1,500 yards, just the fifth player in Moravian history to reach 1,500 yards with 1,568 yards on 109 career receptions. On the ground for the Greyhounds, tailback David Darmofal (Clarks Summit, PA/Abington Heights HS) ran for 65 yards on 11 carries while tailback Tim Barlok added 51 yards on 14 attempts. Defensively for the Greyhounds, defensive lineman Tom Blackledge (Sellersville, PA/Pennridge HS) had nine tackles with three for loss and two half sacks while linebacker John Cupples (Allentown, PA/Allentown Central Catholic HS), linebacker Bill Engler (Coopersburg, PA/Southern Lehigh HS) and defensive lineman John Kwiatkowski each had eight tackles. Junior defensive back Jarrod Pence (Livingston, NJ/Livingston HS) added six pass break-ups in the game.

LAST GAME: Moravian had its defense score a pair of touchdowns as the Greyhounds earned a 28-7 Homecoming victory over Albright in MAC action. The Greyhounds jumped on the scoreboard before the offense even took the field as senior cornerback Jarrod Pence picked up a fumble and returned it 53 yards for a touchdown. Freshman kicker Nate Strohl (Coplay, PA/Whitehall HS) added the first of four extra-points to give Moravian a 7-0 with 12:25 to play in the first quarter. On the play, Moravian senior linebacker John Cupples forced the fumble. Senior quarterback Charlie Bowden capped a 12-play, 50-yard second quarter drive with a one-yard touchdown run. On the drive, Bowden picked up a pair of long third down conversions on with a ten-yard pass and a 21-yard scamper. Senior tailback Josh Fick (Emmaus, PA/Emmaus HS) led the Moravian rushing attack, which gained 149 yards on 52 carries, with 50 yards on 18 carries. Late in the second quarter, Bowden completed an 18-yard pass to senior wideout Jarod Rhinehart (Washington, NJ/Warren Hills Regional HS), the 100th of Rhinehart’s career. Bowden completed eight of 21 pass attempts for 107 yards and he rushed for 16 yards on nine carries while Rhinehart caught three balls for 50 yards. Four plays into the following drive, Moravian junior cornerback Nate Pogue (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty HS) returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown to give the Greyhounds a 21-0 lead with 38 seconds left in the first half. The Greyhounds fumbled on the first play of the third quarter and Albright would score its only points two plays later to cut Moravian’s lead to 21-7. Moravian forced seven turnovers including a pair of interceptions by junior safety John Panikiewsky (Carteret, NJ/Carteret HS). The Greyhounds capitalized on Albright’s sixth turnover with Bowden rushing for his second score on a one-yard dive. Cupples led the Moravian defense with 11 tackles in the game while Pogue had five tackles. Senior defensive tackle Tom Blackledge and sophomore defensive end Shawn Nelson (Bethlehem, PA/Bethlehem Catholic HS) each had two sacks in the game. Blackledge finished with eight stops while Nelson had five tackles.

SCOUTING SUSQUEHANNA: The Crusaders come into Saturday's game with a record of 4-4 and a 4-3 slate in the MAC. Susquehanna is coming off a 22-21 loss at King's College last Saturday. The Crusaders are led on the field by senior quarterback Mike Bowman, who has completed 130 of 238 pass attempts for 1,818 yards with 16 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Bowman's top targets have been junior wide receiver Mark Bartosic, who has caught 59 passes foe 1,011 yards and 13 scores, and senior wideout Tim Ronchi, who has 33 catches for 363 yards. Sophomore halfback Chris Ross leads the Crusader rushing attack with 425 yards and one touchdown on 76 carries while sophomore fullback Jason Eck has gained 397 yards and scored 14 times on 91 carries. Senior cornerback Antonio Nash is Susquehanna's kick return and he is averaging 9.1 yards per punt return and 27.4 yards per kickoff return. Nash is also one of three Crusaders with two interceptions this season. Senior Andy Nadler is 18 of 23 on extra-points and three of four on field goal attempts this season while freshman Dwight Swaney is seven-for-seven on extra points. Senior Dennis Kodak handles the punting duties and he is averaging 34.9 yards per punt. Defensively for the Crusaders, Nash and sophomore linebacker Larry Cannon both had 51 tackles to lead the squad. Senior linebacker Bill Heinzelmann has added 45 tackles this season. Junior defensive end Adam Summers leads the Crusaders with five sacks and he has added eight tackles for loss.

MAC HONORS: Moravian senior linebacker John Cupples was named to the Middle Atlantic Conference Weekly Honor Roll for his performance last week in Moravian's 28-7 victory over Albright College.

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 Susquehanna was picked fourth. Widener, which reached the NCAA quarterfinals last season, was again selected as the top team in the MAC.

MAC STATISTICAL RANKINGS: Moravian is ranked fourth in the MAC in total defense, allowing 317.1 yards per game. The squad is tenth in passing defense at 247.2 yards per game and the defense is second in rushing yards allowed at 69.9. The Greyhounds are third in points allowed at 18.1 per game and the squad is sixth in points scored per game at 25.5. Offensively, Moravian is tenth in the MAC at 305.1 yards per game. The Greyhounds are ranked fifth in rushing offense at 160.6 yards per game and ninth in passing offense at 144.5 yards per game. Moravian is tied for fifth in turnover margin with a 0.12 per game average as the team has committed 25 turnovers while forcing 26 turnovers. Individually, junior tailback David Darmofal is eighth in rushing, averaging 56.2 yards per game. Senior quarterback Charlie Bowden is eighth in passing yards per game at 138.5 yards per game and Bowden is eighth in pass efficiency at 112.1 and ninth in total offense at 142.1 yards per game. Junior wide receiver Kevin Miltenberger (Carlisle, PA/Carlisle HS) is tied for fifth in punt returns with an average of 8.0 yards. Sophomore wide receiver Jed Warsager (Newton, NJ/Andover HS) is third in kickoff returns, averaging 26.5 yards a return with one touchdown. Junior punter John McLain (Belvidere, NJ/Belvidere HS) is second in the MAC in punting at 39.7 yards per kick. Freshman Nate Strohl is third in kick scoring a 5.1 points per game, tied for second in field goals per game at 0.88, second in field goal percentage at 77.8 and seventh in PAT percentage at 83.3 percent. Junior cornerback Nate Pogue leads the MAC in interceptions at 0.75 per game and he is tied for first in pass break-ups with 16 while senior cornerback Jarrod Pence is tied for eighth at 0.38 interceptions per game and tied for first in pass break-ups with 16. Junior safety John Panikiewsky is also tied for eighth in interceptions at 0.38 per game while senior defensive lineman Tom Blackledge is third in tackles for loss with 2.38 per game. Senior linebacker John Cupples is tied for fourth in tackles at 9.2 per game and Cupples leads the conference with five forced fumbles.

NCAA STATISTICS: Moravian had eight players ranked and the Greyhounds’ defense is ranked in the top 40 in the eighth release of the NCAA Division III football statistics for the 2002 season. Moravian’s highest ranked individual was senior linebacker John Cupples, who was tied for second in the nation in forced fumbles per game at 0.57. Senior linebacker Vince Cowlishaw (Chatham, NJ/Chatham HS) was tied for ninth in the same category at 0.43 forced fumbles per game. Senior defensive lineman Tom Blackledge was tied for 19th in the country last week in tackles for loss with an average of 2.2 per game. Senior defensive back Jarrod Pence was tied for sixth in the nation in passes defended at 2.3 per game while junior defensive back Nate Pogue was tied for 11th in passes defended at 2.0 per game. Pogue was also tied for 18th in the country in interceptions with 0.7 per game. Moravian’s other three players were ranked in special teams categories with freshman kicker Nate Strohl tied for 14th in field goals per game with an average of 1.0, junior punter John McLain 11th in the country in punting with an average of 40.1 yards per punt, and sophomore wide receiver Jed Warsager ranked 14th in the nation in kickoff returns with an average of 28.1 yards per return. The Greyhounds were 12th in the country in rushing defense, only allowing 81.6 yards per contest on the ground.

MILESTONE WATCH: Senior wideout Jarod Rhinehart surpassed the 1,000-yard milestone last season and 100 career receptions last week. Rhinehart has 1,372 yards (eighth) on 102 career receptions (fifth). Rhinehart needs 13 receptions to move to fourth and 29 yards to move into seventh. Senior quarterback Charlie Bowden is also moving up the record books. He has completed 361 (fourth) of 710 passes (fourth) for 4,764 yards (fourth) with 36 touchdowns (third). Bowden needs 767 yards, 55 completions, and 79 attempts to move into third in each category and he needs 12 touchdowns to tie the school record of 48. Senior tailback Josh Fick became the 17th Greyhound to reach 1,000 yards rushing in the Lebanon Valley game. Fick has 1,205 yards (14th) on 228 carries with 17 touchdowns in his career. Fick needs 108 yards to move into 12th in career rushing.

BOWDEN LEADING THE ‘HOUNDS OFFENSE: Senior quarterback Charlie Bowden has completed 76 of 163 passes for 1,108 yards with 12 touchdowns and 13 interceptions this year. Junior Will Seng has completed three of seven passes for 25 yards while freshman Jerry Venturino (Hopatcong, NJ/Hopatcong HS) has completed one of three attempts for 23 yards.

IN THE BACKFIELD: Junior tailback David Darmofal leads the Greyhounds with 450 yards and five touchdowns on 117 carries. Darmofal has had two 100-yard rushing games this season with a career high 107 yards at Wilkes. Senior fullback Eric Gustafson (Collingswood, NJ/Collingswood HS) has picked up 239 yards on 52 carries while sophomore fullback Bill Carasia (Fair Haven, NJ/Rumson-Fair Haven HS) has 140 yards on 40 carries. Senior tailback Josh Fick has 295 yards and a touchdown on 79 attempts while freshman Kevin Lukich (Ogdensburg, NJ/Wallkill Valley) has 50 yards on 16 carries.

THE WIDE RECEIVERS: Senior wide receiver Jarod Rhinehart has caught a team-high 16 passes for 250 yards. Senior tight end Rick Kulp (Walnutport, PA/Northampton HS) has pulled down 14 passes for 202 yards and three touchdowns while junior wide receiver Kevin Miltenberger has 13 receptions for 169 yards and two touchdowns. Freshman wideout Ben Hawkins (Belmar, NJ/Manasquan HS) has 11 receptions for 242 yards and four scores. Junior wide receiver Jeff Lowry (Catawissa, PA/Southern Columbia HS) has seven catches for 99 yards while junior tailback David Darmofal has six receptions for 48 yards and two scores. Senior fullback Eric Gustafson has pulled down four aerials for 14 yards while sophomore wideout Jed Warsager has three receptions for 72 yards and a touchdown.

DEFENSIVE FRONT: Senior defensive end Tom Blackledge leads the Hounds up front defensively with 52 tackles including 24 for loss, three pass break-ups and four and a half of Moravian's 15 sacks. Sophomore defensive end Shawn Nelson has added 28 tackles with eight for loss, two sacks and two fumble recoveries while senior nose tackle Pat Mancini (Milford, NJ/Delaware Valley Regional HS) has 29 stops with four for loss and a pair of fumble recoveries. Sophomore lineman Kevin McLaughlin (Philadelphia, PA/Northeast Catholic HS) has added seven tackles.

THE LINEBACKER CORPS: Senior John Cupples leads the defense with 74 tackles. Cupples also has one and a half sacks, four pass break-ups, five forced fumbles, an interception and 11 tackles for loss. Senior Bill Engler has 48 tackles with one fumble recovery and three pass break-ups while senior Vince Cowlishaw has added 44 tackles, two sacks, three forced fumbles, three pass break-ups and eight tackles for loss. Junior Steve Maslanek (Stockholm, NJ/Vernon Township HS) has 37 tackles with six for loss while freshman Richie Cline (Union Beach, NJ/Keyport HS) has added 22 tackles, one and half a sacks, a forced fumble, an interception and seven tackles for loss.

THE DEFENSIVE BACKFIELD: Junior safety John Panikiewsky leads the Moravian defensive backs with 53 tackles. He has added seven tackles for loss, one sack, a fumble recovery, seven pass break-ups and three interceptions. Senior cornerback Jarrod Pence has made 36 tackles and 10 pass break-ups and three interceptions while junior cornerback Nate Pogue has added 34 tackles, six interceptions, four pass break-ups and two forced fumbles. Sophomore rover Bill Skriletz (Coopersburg, PA/Southern Lehigh HS) has 25 tackles, two for loss, a sack, an interception and nine pass break-ups while senior Paul Block (East Hanover, NJ/Hanover Park HS) has contributed 10 tackles and five pass break-ups. Freshman Andy Fick (Emmaus, PA/Emmaus HS) has added nine tackles, two pass break-ups and two fumble recoveries.

KICKING GAME: Freshman Nate Strohl is 20-for-24 on extra-points in his debut season and seven-for-nine on field goal attempts with a career-long of 43 yards against Widener. Strohl, who made his first 12 extra-point attempts before missing, has made his last seven of his last eight field goal attempts. Junior John McLain has been called on to punt 39 times this season and he is averaging 39.7 yards per kick with ten punts over 50 yards, two of 60 yards and 11 downed inside the 20 yard line. McLain had his first punt attempt of the season blocked last weekend against Albright.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Sophomore Jed Warsager has returned 17 kickoffs for 450 yards. Warsager had a 98-yard touchdown return at Lebanon Valley that broke Ralph Eltringham’s record of 95 yards set on October 2, 1965 at Wilkes. Sophomore Cody Hendershot (Bangor, PA/Bangor HS) has five kickoff returns for 113 yards. Senior Josh Fick has made six punt returns for 32 yards and three kickoff returns for 50 yards while junior Kevin Miltenberger has 15 punt returns for 120 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 13 winning seasons in Dapp’s 16 years including 2002. 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 onWGPA, Sunny 1100 AM. Phil May calls the play-by-play call with color commentary from Jim Wills.