Monday, November 11, 2002

MORAVIAN COLLEGE GREYHOUNDS, 7-2 (7-2 MAC)

MUHLENBERG COLLEGE MULES, 8-1 (5-1 Centennial)

1:00 p.m.; Saturday, November 16, 2002
Steel Field (c. 2,500); Bethlehem, PA

THE GAME: Moravian will try extending its winning streak to seven consecutive games and moving a step closer to the squad's first postseason berth since the 1993 season in a non-conference contest versus rival Muhlenberg College. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m. at Steel Field.

THE COACHES: Scot Dapp (West Chester ’73) is in his 16th season at Moravian, with a career record of 100-61-1 (.620). 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.

Muhlenberg coach Mike Donnelly (Ithaca ’75) is in his sixth season at the school with an overall mark of 37-24 (.607).

THE SERIES: Saturday’s meeting will be the 51st in the series with Moravian holding a 30-18-2 advantage. The Greyhounds snapped a three-game losing streak last year with a 17-7 win. The Mules won the three games by a combined score of 130-60.

LAST TIME THEY MET: In Allentown last fall, wide receiver Michael Abbate caught a touchdown pass and ran for another score and cornerback Jarrod Pence (Livingston, NJ/Livingston HS) was the Moravian MVP as he added three interceptions to tie the school record while leading the Greyhounds to a 17-7 victory over rival Muhlenberg. Moravian scored with 1:31 to play in the second quarter on a 20-yard field goal by Marc Roesch to cut the Mules lead to 7-3. Roesch’s field goal capped a 24-play, 68-yard drive that consumed 12:02 of the second quarter. On the second play of the ensuing drive for Muhlenberg, Moravian nose tackle Pat Mancini (Milford, NJ/Delaware Valley Regional HS) intercepted a pass. Moravian quarterback Charlie Bowden (Parlin, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial HS) 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. Jim McIntyre made the extra-point to give the Greyhounds a 10-7 lead. Moravian scored the final points of the game with 5:47 remaining in the third quarter when Abbate ran an 11-yard reverse for a touchdown. McIntyre’s kick set the final score at 17-7. Fullback Eric Gustafson (Collingswood, NJ/Collingswood HS) had 21 yards on seven carries while 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 wide receiver Jarod Rhinehart (Washington, NJ/Warren Hills Regional HS) had four receptions for 32 yards. Abbate caught two passes for 51 yards. Defensively for the Greyhounds, Pence led the squad with seven tackles, three interceptions and a forced fumble. Defensive lineman Tom Blackledge (Sellersville, PA/Pennridge HS) had five tackles with three for loss. McIntyre and linebacker Steve Maslanek (Stockholm, NJ/Vernon Township HS) each had interceptions in the game.

LAST GAME: Senior quarterback Charlie Bowden completed eight of 14 passes for 152 yards and a score and junior tailback David Darmofal ran for 80 yards on 20 carries and one touchdown to lead Moravian to its sixth straight victory, a 23-6 decision over Susquehanna University in MAC action. The victory was also the 100th of Moravian head coach Scot Dapp’s 16-year career at the helm of the Greyhounds. Moravian took a 7-0 lead with 12:04 left in the first quarter on a one-yard touchdown run by sophomore fullback Bill Carasia (Fair Haven, NJ/Rumson-Fair Haven HS). Freshman Nate Strohl (Coplay, PA/ Whitehall HS) added the extra-point. The Greyhounds would get the ball back after just two plays by the Crusaders as freshman safety Andy Fick (Emmaus, PA/Emmaus HS) forced a fumble that was recovered by senior linebacker John Cupples (Allentown, PA/Allentown Central Catholic HS). Susquehanna got the ball back and drove down deep into Moravian territory before junior safety John Panikiewsky (Carteret, NJ/Carteret HS), who had five tackles in the game, ended the threat with a sack and his fourth interception of the season on back-to-back plays. The Greyhounds moved the ball to the one-yard line but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty forced the Greyhounds to settle for a 32-yard field goal by Strohl with 10:52 remaining in the second quarter, giving Moravian a 10-0 lead. After forcing Susquehanna to turn the ball over on downs, Bowden capped a seven-play, 75-yard drive with a 16-yard touchdown pass to senior tailback Josh Fick (Emmaus, PA/Emmaus HS). Strohl added the extra-point to give the Greyhounds a 17-0 lead with 3:52 to play in the second quarter. Susquehanna scored its only points of the game on a three-yard run with 9:44 remaining in the third quarter but Moravian freshman defensive back Steve Cline (Union Beach, NJ/Keyport HS) blocked the extra-point attempt to set the score at 17-6. Moravian would score again with Darmofal diving in from two yards out with just 47 seconds left. The Greyhound defense, which allowed under seven points for the third straight game, was led by Cupples and senior cornerback Jarrod Pence, who both had nine tackles. Junior linebacker Steve Maslanek added eight tackles while junior cornerback Nate Pogue (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty HS), senior defensive lineman Tom Blackledge and Andy Fick each had six tackles. Blackledge had three tackles for loss including one of Moravian’s four sacks.

SCOUTING MUHLENBERG: The Mules come into Saturday's game with a record of 8-1 and a 5-1 slate in the Centennial Conference. Muhlenberg, which has won four straight games, is led on the field by senior quarterback Justin Jones, who has completed 124 of 212 passes for 1,763 yards with 15 touchdowns and eight interceptions. His top targets have been junior wide receiver Kodi Shay, who has 38 receptions for 677 yards and four touchdowns, senior wideout Alfredo Mercuri, who has 24 catches for 323 yards and five touchdowns, and junior running back Matt Bernardo, who has 24 receptions for 281 yards and three scores. Bernardo leads the Mules ground attack with 1,036 yards and 14 touchdowns on 226 carries. Mercuri and Bernardo handle the kickoff return duties for Muhlenberg while Shay is the squad's punt returner. Senior Chris Reed is 40 for 42 on extra-point attempts and 15 of 19 on field goals with a long of 49 yards. Reed has also punted 28 times for an average of 33.9 yards. Senior linebacker Beau Sherry leads the Muhlenberg defense with 63 tackles and he has added three and a half tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries and an interception. Junior defensive backs Joe Getz and Thanasis Petrakis led the Mules with four interceptions as the Muhlenberg defense has caused 36 turnovers (18 interceptions and 18 fumbles). Senior defensive end Mike Koth and junior defensive end Nick Otranto both have five sacks to lead the Mules. Junior defensive back Dan Miller has contributed 56 tackles and two interceptions while senior defensive back Bo Rodrigues has 53 stops and an interception.

MAC HONORS: Moravian junior safety John Panikiewsky was named to MAC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance last week in Moravian's 23-6 victory over Susquehanna University.

YOUNG, BALANCED & EXPERIENCED ‘HOUNDS: Of the 96 players on the Moravian roster, 44 are freshmen, 16 are sophomores and 13 are juniors. There are 22 seniors on the squad, the most ever for head coach Scot Dapp, and the Greyhounds return 42 letterwinners and 18 starters.

MAC STATISTICAL RANKINGS: Moravian is ranked fifth in the MAC in total defense, allowing 313.8 yards per game. The squad is 11th in passing defense at 243.6 yards per game and the defense is second in rushing yards allowed at 70.2. The Greyhounds are third in points allowed at 16.8 per game and the squad is eighth in points scored per game at 25.2. Offensively, Moravian is tenth in the MAC at 311.6 yards per game. The Greyhounds are ranked fifth in rushing offense at 166.2 yards per game and ninth in passing offense at 145.3 yards per game. Moravian is fourth in turnover margin with a 0.33 per game average as the team has committed 25 turnovers while forcing 28 turnovers. Individually, junior tailback David Darmofal is ninth in rushing, averaging 58.9 yards per game and he is tenth in touchdown scoring at 5.3 points per game. Senior quarterback Charlie Bowden is eighth in passing yards per game at 140.0 yards per game and he is seventh in pass efficiency at 116.8 and ninth in total offense at 145.6 yards per game. Junior Kevin Miltenberger (Carlisle, PA/Carlisle HS) is fifth in punt returns with an average of 8.6 yards. Sophomore Jed Warsager (Newton, NJ/Andover HS) is third in kickoff returns, averaging 26.2 yards a return with one touchdown. Junior John McLain (Belvidere, NJ/Belvidere HS) leads the MAC in punting at 40.2 yards per kick. Freshman Nate Strohl is third in kick scoring at 5.1 points per game, tied for second in field goals per game at 0.89, second in field goal percentage at 80.0 and sixth in PAT percentage at 84.6 percent. Junior cornerback Nate Pogue is tied for first in the MAC in interceptions at 0.67 per game and first in pass break-ups with 18 while senior cornerback Jarrod Pence is tied for tenth at 0.38 interceptions per game and second in pass break-ups with 17. Junior safety John Panikiewsky is tied for fourth in interceptions at 0.44 per game and third in passes defended with 15 while senior defensive lineman Tom Blackledge is third in tackles for loss with 2.39 per game. Senior linebacker John Cupples is sixth in tackles at 9.2 per game and Cupples leads the conference with five forced fumbles.

NCAA STATISTICS: Moravian had nine players ranked and the Greyhounds’ defense was ranked in the top 40 in the eighth release of the NCAA Division III football statistics last week. Moravian’s highest ranked individual was senior linebacker John Cupples, who was first in the nation in forced fumbles per game at 0.63. Senior linebacker Vince Cowlishaw (Chatham, NJ/Chatham HS) was tied for 15th in the same category at 0.38 forced fumbles per game. Senior defensive lineman Tom Blackledge was tied for tenth in the country last week in tackles for loss with an average of 2.4 tackle for loss per game. Senior defensive back Jarrod Pence was tied for tenth in the nation in passes defended at 2.0 per game while junior defensive back Nate Pogue was tied for tenth in passes defended at 2.0 per game. Pogue was also tied for 16th in the country in interceptions with 0.8 per game while junior safety John Panikiewsky was tied for 36th in passes defended at 1.6 per game. Moravian’s other three players are ranked in special teams categories with freshman kicker Nate Strohl tied for 28th in field goals per game with an average of 0.9, junior punter John McLain 11th in the country in punting with an average of 39.7 yards per punt, and sophomore wide receiver Jed Warsager ranked 19th in the nation in kickoff returns with an average of 26.5 yards per return. The Greyhounds were sixth in the country in rushing defense, only allowing 69.9 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 1,380 yards (eighth) on 103 career receptions (fifth). Rhinehart needs 12 receptions to move to fourth and 21 yards to move into seventh. Senior quarterback Charlie Bowden is also moving up the record books. He has completed 369 (fourth) of 724 passes (fourth) for 4,916 yards (fourth) with 37 touchdowns (third). Bowden needs 615 yards, 43 completions, and 65 attempts to move into third in each category and he needs 11 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 1,244 yards (14th) on 235 carries with 17 touchdowns in his career. Fick needs 69 yards to move into 12th in career rushing.

BOWDEN LEADING THE ‘HOUNDS OFFENSE: Senior quarterback Charlie Bowden has completed 84 of 177 passes for 1,260 yards with 13 touchdowns and 13 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 three attempts for 23 yards.

IN THE BACKFIELD: Junior tailback David Darmofal leads the Greyhounds with 530 yards and six touchdowns on 137 carries. Darmofal has had two 100-yard rushing games this season with a career high 107 yards at Wilkes. Senior fullback Eric Gustafson has picked up 272 yards on 60 carries while sophomore fullback Bill Carasia (Fair Haven, NJ/Rumson-Fair Haven HS) has 141 yards on 41 carries. Senior tailback Josh Fick has 334 yards and a touchdown on 86 attempts while freshman Kevin Lukich (Ogdensburg, NJ/Wallkill Valley HS) has 50 yards on 16 carries. Freshman wide receiver Ben Hakwins (Belmar, NJ/Manasquan HS) has added 86 yards on 12 carries.

THE WIDE RECEIVERS: Senior wide receiver Jarod Rhinehart has caught a team-high 17 passes for 258 yards. Senior tight end Rick Kulp (Walnutport, PA/Northampton HS) has pulled down 16 passes for 264 yards and three touchdowns while junior wide receiver Kevin Miltenberger has 13 receptions for 169 yards and two touchdowns. Freshman wideout Ben Hawkins has 13 receptions for 289 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 seven receptions for 51 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 58 tackles including 27 for loss, three pass break-ups and five and a half of Moravian's 19 sacks. Sophomore defensive end Shawn Nelson (Bethlehem, PA/Bethlehem Catholic HS) has added 32 tackles with nine for loss, two sacks and two fumble recoveries while senior nose tackle Pat Mancini has 33 stops with five for loss and a pair of fumble recoveries. Senior nose guard Brian Cascioli (Center Valley, PA/Southern Lehigh HS) has added nine tackles with three for loss and one sack.

THE LINEBACKER CORPS: Senior John Cupples leads the defense with 83 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 (Coopersburg, PA/Southern Lehigh HS) has 53 tackles with one fumble recovery and three pass break-ups while senior Vince Cowlishaw has added 47 tackles, two sacks, three forced fumbles, three pass break-ups and eight tackles for loss. Junior Steve Maslanek has 45 tackles with six for loss while freshman Richie Cline (Union Beach, NJ/Keyport HS) has added 25 tackles, one and half a sacks, a forced fumble, an interception and eight tackles for loss.

THE DEFENSIVE BACKFIELD: Junior John Panikiewsky leads the defensive backs with 58 tackles and he has added eight tackles for loss, two sacks, a fumble recovery, seven pass break-ups and four interceptions. Senior Jarrod Pence has made 45 tackles and 11 pass break-ups and three interceptions while junior Nate Pogue has added 40 tackles, six interceptions, six pass break-ups and two forced fumbles. Sophomore 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 has added 15 tackles, three pass break-ups and two fumble recoveries.

KICKING GAME: Freshman Nate Strohl is 22-for-26 on extra-points in his debut season and eight-for-ten 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 eight of his last nine field goal attempts. Junior John McLain has been called on to punt 43 times this season and he is averaging 40.2 yards per kick with 12 punts over 50 yards, two of 60 yards and 12 downed inside the 20 yard line. McLain had his first punt attempt of the season blocked against Albright College.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Sophomore Jed Warsager has returned 18 kickoffs for 471 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 six kickoff returns for 111 yards. Senior Josh Fick has made six punt returns for 32 yards and three kickoff returns for 50 yards while junior Kevin Miltenberger has 17 punt returns for 147 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 on WGPA, Sunny 1100 AM. Phil May calls the play-by-play call with color commentary from Chris Michael.