Monday, November 18, 2002

MORAVIAN COLLEGE GREYHOUNDS, 7-3 (7-2 MAC)

MCDANIEL COLLEGE GREEN TERROR, 8-2 (5-1 Centennial)

1:00 p.m.; Saturday, November 23, 2002
Scott B. Bair Stadium (c. 4,000); Westminster, MD

THE GAME: Moravian received its first-ever berth in the ECAC Championships as the Greyhounds will travel to McDaniel College, formerly Western Maryland College for the 2002 ECAC Southeast Championship game. Kickoff is slated for 12:00 p.m. at Scott B. Bair Stadium in Westminster, MD.

THE COACHES: Scot Dapp (West Chester ’73) is in his 16th season at Moravian, with a career record of 100-62-1 (.617). 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.
   McDaniel College coach Tim Keating (Bethany ’75) is in his tenth season at the school with an overall mark of 74-28-3 (.719) and he has a career record of 100-52-3 (.655) in 15 seasons as a collegiate head coach.

THE SERIES: Saturday’s meeting will be the 11th in the series with Moravian holding a 7-3 advantage. The Greyhounds won the last meeting between the two schools, over 20 years ago, with a 14-11 victory on October 16, 1982. McDaniel left the Middle Atlantic Conference the following season to join the Centennial Conference. The Greyhounds, who won the first five games in the series, are 5-1 against McDaniel at home but just 2-2 on the road.

LAST TIME THEY MET: Moravian earned a 14-11 victory over McDaniel College the last time the two schools met, which was back in 1982 when McDaniel was known as Western Maryland College and still part of the Middle Atlantic Conference. The Greyhounds jumped out to a 14-0 first quarter lead in the game on a three-yard touchdown run by running back James Danna and a four-yard scamper by quarterback Dave Kaercher. James Roberts made both extra-points for Moravian. Kaercher completed four of eight passes in the game for 64 yards and he added 39 yards on ten carries. Fullback Tom Ulicny led the Moravian ground attack, which gained 207 yards on 55 attempts, with 99 yards on 21 carries. The Greyhound defense limited the Green Terror to 77 yards on the ground and just 143 yards passing in the game. The Green Terror's Rich Johnson got the team on the scoreboard in the second quarter with a 25-yard field goal and he caught a 16-yard pass from Ray Evans for a fourth quarter touchdown. Jim Johnson ran in the two-point conversion. Evans was McDaniel's offense in the game, completing 12 of 27 passes for 128 yards and rushing for 44 yards on 18 carries.

LAST GAME: Moravian had its six-game winning streak snapped with an 8-0 loss to rival Muhlenberg College in the final game of the 2002 regular season. Muhlenberg tailback Matt Bernardo ran for 129 yards on 32 carries and quarterback Justin Jones threw the game’s only touchdown to wide receiver Kodi Shay to lead Muhlenberg to the victory at a muddy and wet Steel Field. Greyhound senior linebacker Bill Engler (Coopersburg, PA/Southern Lehigh HS), who had 13 tackles in the contest, was honored as the Moravian Player of the Game. Muhlenberg scored their touchdown on Jones’ 29-yard pass to Shay with 10:09 remaining in the second quarter. The Mules were unable to attempt the extra-point as the snap was fumbled. The Greyhounds, who gained just 125 yards on 56 plays in the game, would run their first play of the game in Muhlenberg territory with just 11 seconds left in the first half but senior quarterback Charlie Bowden (Parlin, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial HS) threw an interception on the next play. Bowden completed just three of 16 passes for 27 yards and was intercepted three times. Muhlenberg would score the games only other points with 7:23 remaining in the third quarter. On fourth down and ten from the Moravian 22-yard line, Greyhound junior cornerback Nate Pogue (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty HS) intercepted a pass at the one-yard line. Pogue pitched the ball to senior cornerback Jarrod Pence (Livingston, NJ/Livingston HS), who was tackled in the end zone for the safety. The Greyhounds would have a chance to score with just under ten minutes remaining in the contest as Moravian faced a fourth down and goal from the five yard line. The Greyhounds had freshman kicker Nate Strohl (Coplay, PA/Whitehall HS) line up for a 22-yard field goal attempt but a bad snap bounced to Strohl’s feet and he never attempted the kick. The Mules controlled the clock for 33:21 of the game and had an advantage in field position as the Greyhounds only ran 23 plays in Muhlenberg territory. The Moravian defense, which was ranked in the top ten nationally against the run, allowed 163 yards on the ground. For the Moravian offense, junior tailback David Darmofal (Clarks Summit, PA/Abington Heights HS) gained 56 yards on 15 carries and Darmofal had one reception for 15 yards while senior fullback Eric Gustafson (Collingswood, NJ/Collingswood HS) added 29 yards on nine attempts. Freshman wide receiver Ben Hawkins (Belmar, NJ/Manasquan HS) contributed 19 yards on four carries. Moravian senior linebacker John Cupples (Allentown, PA/Allentown Central Catholic HS) made 11 tackles and a half a sack to go with Engler’s 13 stops. Senior defensive lineman Pat Mancini (Milford, NJ/Delaware Valley Regional HS) added eight stops.

SCOUTING MCDANIEL: The Green Terror come into the ECAC Southeast Championship game with an overall record of 8-2 and a 5-1 slate in the Centennial Conference. McDaniel, which was one of the tri-champions in the Centennial Conference this season, is coming off a 27-7 loss to Johns Hopkins University. Leading the Green Terror on the field will be senior quarterback John Luster, who has completed 78 of 155 passes for 1,107 yards with seven touchdowns and four interceptions. The top targets have been senior wide receiver Joe Ellis, who has 25 receptions for 357 yards and three scores, senior wideout James Jegede, who caught 22 passes for 271 yards and two touchdowns, and junior wide receiver Nick Venuto, who has 22 receptions for 219 yards. On the ground, the Green Terror are led by senior running back Jemel Johnson, who has 805 yards and five touchdowns on 154 carries. Junior Jason Hartman has contributed 557 yards and seven scores on 106 carries while junior French Pope has 405 yards and five touchdowns on 69 carries. Pope also handles the return duties for McDaniel and he is averaging 11.1 yards per punt return and 14.7 yards per kickoff return. Sophomore Nate Getchell handles the place kicking duties and he has made all 27 of his extra-point attempts this fall and he is five of seven on field goal attempts with a long of 37 yards. Freshman Corey Allen is averaging 34.6 yards per punt this season. Defensively for the Green Terror, senior linebacker Matt Wichlinski leads the team with 94 tackles. Junior linebacker Troy Mason has added 72 stops while senior defensive lineman Jesse Hudson leads the lead with five sacks. Junior defensive back Robert Wingfield has a team high 11 pass break-ups to go with two interceptions and 46 tackles this season.

MAC HONORS: Moravian senior linebacker Bill Engler was named to the MAC Weekly Honor Roll for his performance last week in Moravian's 8-0 loss to rival Muhlenberg College.

MAC STATISTICAL RANKINGS: Moravian is ranked fourth in the MAC in total defense, allowing 303.1 yards per game. The squad is tenth in passing defense at 223.6 yards per game and the defense is third in rushing yards allowed at 79.5. The Greyhounds are third in points allowed at 15.9 per game and the squad is eighth in points scored per game at 22.7. Offensively, Moravian is tenth in the MAC at 292.9 yards per game. The Greyhounds are ranked fifth in rushing offense at 159.4 yards per game and ninth in passing offense at 133.5 yards per game. Moravian is fourth in turnover margin with a 0.20 per game average as the team has committed 28 turnovers while forcing 30 turnovers. Individually, junior tailback David Darmofal is tenth in rushing, averaging 58.6 yards per game. Senior quarterback Charlie Bowden is eighth in passing yards per game at 128.7 yards per game and he is ninth in pass efficiency at 106.7. 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 second in kickoff returns, averaging 25.2 yards a return with one touchdown. Junior John McLain (Belvidere, NJ/Belvidere HS) is second in the MAC in punting at 39.1 yards per kick. Freshman Nate Strohl is third in kick scoring at 4.6 points per game, tied for second in field goals per game at 0.80, second in field goal percentage at 80.0 and fifth in PAT percentage at 84.6 percent. Junior cornerback Nate Pogue is tied for first in the MAC in interceptions at 0.70 per game and first in pass break-ups with 21 while senior cornerback Jarrod Pence is second in pass break-ups with 18. Junior safety John Panikiewsky (Carteret, NJ/Carteret HS) is tied for seventh in interceptions at 0.40 per game and third in passes defended with 15 while senior defensive lineman Tom Blackledge (Sellersville, PA/Pennridge HS) is fourth in tackles for loss with 2.15 per game. Senior linebacker John Cupples is fourth in tackles at 9.4 per game and Cupples leads the conference with five forced fumbles.

NCAA STATISTICS: Moravian had eight players ranked and the defense was ranked in the top 40 in the ninth release of the NCAA football statistics last week. Moravian’s highest ranked individual was senior linebacker John Cupples, who was first in forced fumbles per game at 0.56. Senior defensive lineman Tom Blackledge was tied for 12th in tackles for loss with an average of 2.4 tackles for loss per game. Senior defensive back Jarrod Pence was tied for 14th in passes defended at 1.9 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 23rd in interceptions with 0.7 per game while junior safety John Panikiewsky was tied for 31st in passes defended at 1.7 per game. Moravian’s other three players were 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 fourth in punting with an average of 40.2 yards per punt, and sophomore wide receiver Jed Warsager ranked 19th in kickoff returns with an average of 26.2 yards per return. The Greyhounds were eighth in rushing defense, only allowing 70.2 yards per contest on the ground.

MILESTONE WATCH: Senior wideout Jarod Rhinehart (Washington, NJ/Warren Hills Regional HS) surpassed the 1,000-yard milestone last season and 100 career receptions this fall. Rhinehart has 1,386 yards (eighth) on 104 career receptions (fifth). Rhinehart needs 11 receptions to move to fourth and 15 yards to move into seventh. Senior quarterback Charlie Bowden is also moving up the record books. He has completed 372 (fourth) of 740 passes (fourth) for 4,943 yards (fourth) with 37 touchdowns (third). Bowden needs 588 yards, 40 completions, and 49 attempts to move into third in each category and he needs 11 touchdowns to tie the school record of 48. Senior tailback Josh Fick (Emmaus, PA/Emmaus HS) became the 17th Greyhound to reach 1,000 yards rushing in the Lebanon Valley game. Fick has 1,247 yards (14th) on 238 carries with 17 touchdowns in his career. Fick needs 66 yards to move into 12th in career rushing. Senior linebacker John Cupples has 333 career tackles, which rank eighth and he needs 12 stops to move into seventh place. Junior tailback David Darmofal needs just 25 yards to become the 18th Moravian player to reach 1,000 yards. Darmofal has 975 yards on 265 carries with nine touchdowns.

BOWDEN LEADING THE ‘HOUNDS OFFENSE: Senior quarterback Charlie Bowden has completed 87 of 193 passes for 1,287 yards with 13 touchdowns and 16 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 586 yards and six touchdowns on 152 carries. Darmofal has had two 100-yard rushing games this season with a career high 107 yards at Wilkes University. Senior fullback Eric Gustafson has picked up 301 yards on 69 carries while sophomore fullback Bill Carasia (Fair Haven, NJ/Rumson-Fair Haven HS) has 146 yards on 42 carries. Senior tailback Josh Fick has 337 yards and a touchdown on 87 attempts while freshman Kevin Lukich (Ogdensburg, NJ/Wallkill Valley HS) has 50 yards on 16 carries. Freshman wide receiver Ben Hakwins has added 105 yards on 16 carries while senior quarterback Charlie Bowden has added 54 yards on 53 attempts.

THE WIDE RECEIVERS: Senior wide receiver Jarod Rhinehart has caught a team-high 18 passes for 264 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 14 receptions for 175 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 eight receptions for 66 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 59 tackles including 27 for loss, three pass break-ups and five and a half of Moravian's 20 sacks. Sophomore defensive end Shawn Nelson (Bethlehem, PA/Bethlehem Catholic HS) has added 35 tackles with nine for loss, two sacks and three fumble recoveries while senior nose tackle Pat Mancini has 41 stops with six for loss, a half a sack and a pair of fumble recoveries. Senior nose guard Brian Cascioli (Center Valley, PA/Southern Lehigh HS) has added 13 tackles with three for loss and one sack.

THE LINEBACKER CORPS: Senior John Cupples leads the defense with 94 tackles. Cupples also has two sacks, four pass break-ups, five forced fumbles, an interception and 12 tackles for loss. Senior Bill Engler has 66 tackles with five tackles for loss, one fumble recovery and three pass break-ups while senior Vince Cowlishaw (Chatham, NJ/Chatham HS) has added 52 tackles, two and a half sacks, three forced fumbles, three pass break-ups and ten tackles for loss. Junior Steve Maslanek (Stockholm, NJ/Vernon Township HS) has 49 tackles with seven for loss and a half a sack while freshman Richie Cline (Union Beach, NJ/Keyport HS) has added 28 tackles, one and half a sacks, a forced fumble, an interception and eight tackles for loss. Junior linebacker Josh DiGiacomo (Zionsville, PA/Emmaus HS) has contributed 20 tackles, one pass break-up and a fumble recovery.

THE DEFENSIVE BACKFIELD: Junior John Panikiewsky, who suffered a fractured ankle last Saturday, leads the defensive backs with 59 tackles and he has added eight tackles for loss, two sacks, seven pass break-ups and four interceptions. Senior Jarrod Pence has made 51 tackles and 12 pass break-ups and three interceptions while junior Nate Pogue has added 46 tackles, seven interceptions, eight pass break-ups and two forced fumbles. Sophomore Bill Skriletz (Coopersburg, PA/Southern Lehigh HS), who has missed the last two games with a knee injury, 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 20 tackles; three pass break-ups, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries while playing for the injured Skriletz.

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 51 times this season and he is averaging 39.1 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 20 kickoffs for 505 yards. Warsager had a 98-yard touchdown return at Lebanon Valley that broke Ralph Eltringham’s record of 95 yards. 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.