Sports News: Fall 2002

Tuesday, November 19, 2002

TEN GREYHOUNDS EARN FOOTBALL ALL-MIDDLE ATLANTIC CONFERENCE HONORS

ANNVILLE, PA --- The Moravian College football team, which is having its best season since 1997 and will make its first-ever appearance in the Eastern College Athletic Conference Southeast Championships this weekend, has had ten players named to the 2002 All-Middle Atlantic Conference squads announced Tuesday.

Senior linebacker John Cupples (Allentown, PA/Allentown Central Catholic HS), senior defensive back Jarrod Pence (Livingston, NJ/Livingston HS) and senior offensive lineman Josh Zagorski (Morris Plains, NJ/Parsippany Hills HS) each earned First Team honors and made the All-Conference teams for the second consecutive year. Garnering spots on the All-Conference Second Team were senior offensive lineman John Giacchi (Franklin, NJ/Pope John XXIII HS), senior defensive lineman Tom Blackledge (Sellersville, PA/Pennridge HS), junior defensive back Nate Pogue (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty HS), junior punter John McLain (Belvidere, NJ/Belvidere HS) and freshman kicker Nate Strohl (Coplay, PA/Whitehall HS). Senior tight end Rick Kulp (Walnutport, PA/Northampton HS) and junior defensive back John Panikiewsky (Carteret, NJ/Carteret HS) were named Honorable Mention.

The Greyhounds are 7-3 on the season and will travel to McDaniel College on Saturday, November 23rd for a 12:00 p.m. kickoff in the ECAC Southeast Championship. Moravian’s only two other postseason appearances came under current head coach Scot Dapp when he led the Greyhounds to the NCAA Division III Playoffs in 1988 and 1993.

Cupples, a Second Team honoree last fall, leads the Moravian defense, which is ranked nationally in rushing defense after allowing just 79.5 yards per game, with 94 tackles including 24 solo stops, 12 tackles for loss, five forced fumbles (which led the nation last week), three pass break-ups, two sacks, an interception and a fumble recovery.

Pence is a repeat selection on the All-Conference First Team, and he has contributed 51 tackles with four for loss, 12 pass break-ups, three interceptions, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble. Pence, a cornerback, has found the end zone twice this season with a 57-yard interception return for a score in Moravian’s 22-7 victory at Wilkes University and a 53-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the Greyhounds’ 28-7 win over Albright College.

Zagorski, who was on the All-Conference Second Team a year ago, and Giacchi have helped the Moravian offense average 292.9 yards per game this season including 159.4 yards per contest on the ground. The Moravian offensive line has allowed just 18 sacks this season and cleared the way for over 200 yards rushing in four of the team’s ten games.

Blackledge has anchored the Greyhound defensive line this season from his end position, and he leads the Greyhounds with 27 tackles for loss. Blackledge has made a total of 59 tackles with five and a half of the team’s 20 sacks. He has also added three pass break-ups.

Pogue, a cornerback, leads the Greyhounds and the MAC in interceptions this season with seven, and he returned one against Albright 30-yards for a touchdown. Pogue has added 46 tackles and eight pass break-ups this season.

McLain returned this fall from an illness that kept him out the entire 2001 season to finish second in the MAC in punting average. McLain has averaged 39.1 yards per punt this season on 51 kicks and he has had just one attempt blocked. McLain has had 12 punts over 50 yards this season with two over 60 yards including a season long of 64, and he has had 12 punts downed inside the 20-yard line.

Strohl has had a strong debut for the Greyhounds, connecting on 22 of 26 extra-point attempts and eight of ten field goal attempts with a long of 43 yards against Widener University. Strohl made his first 12 extra-point attempts of the year, and he has made eight of his last nine field goal attempts.

Kulp is second on the Greyhounds squad with 16 receptions this fall for 264 yards and three touchdowns.

Panikiewsky, who will sit out the ECAC game this weekend after fracturing his ankle in the Greyhounds’ 8-0 loss to rival Muhlenberg College last Saturday, has 59 tackles this fall with eight tackles for loss, two sacks, four interceptions, seven pass break-ups and a fumble recovery.