Monday, November 7, 2005
MORAVIAN GREYHOUNDS, 5-4 (5-4 MAC)
MUHLENBERG
COLLEGE MULES, 3-6
(2-4 Centennial)
1:00 p.m.; Saturday, November 12, 2005
Frank Marino Field at Scotty Wood Stadium (c. 3,000); Allentown, PA
THE GAME: Moravian looks to wins its sixth game of the season in its
final contest of the 2005 season at rival Muhlenberg College. Kickoff is slated for 1:00
p.m. at Frank Marino Field and Scotty Wood Stadium.
THE COACHES: Scot Dapp (West Chester ’73) is in his 19th season
at Moravian, with a career record of 115-78-1 (.595). He entered the season in the top
50th in winning percentage among NCAA Division III active coaches. Dapp,
who is currently the president of the American Football Coaches Association, has earned
Coach-of-the-Year honors from the MAC three times including Co-Coach of the Year in 1997
and has led the ’Hounds to two appearances in the NCAA playoffs, the ECAC Southeast
Championship game in 2002 and the ECAC Southwest Championship game last fall.
Muhlenberg
coach Mike Donnelly (Ithaca ’75) is in
his ninth season at the school with an overall mark of 56-38 (.596).
THE SERIES: Saturday’s meeting will be the 54th in the series with
Moravian holding a 30-21-2 advantage. Muhlenberg captured a 28-14 victory last season in
Bethlehem, a 24-0 win in 2003, the last game in Allentown, and an 8-0 victory in 2002 for
a three-game winning streak in the series. The Greyhounds snapped a three-game losing streak
in 2001 with a 17-7 win. The Mules have out scored Moravian by a combined score of 190-74
in their last six wins.
LAST TIME THEY MET: In Bethlehem last fall, the Muhlenberg College ,
ranked number one in the nation, limited Moravian offense to just 194 yards on 60 plays
while the Mules used trick plays and ball control on offense to earn a 28-14 victory over
the Greyhounds in the regular season finale between the two rivals at Steel Field. After
the game, the media and sports information staffs voted Muhlenberg senior linebacker Ryan
Peer and Moravian junior linebacker Cliff Garr (Easton, PA/Notre Dame HS) the
Players of the Game. Peer had seven tackles and blocked an extra-point for the Mules defense
while Garr led the Greyhound defense with 13 tackles, two tackles for
loss and a fumble recovery for a touchdown. Moravian received the opening kickoff and was
forced to punt after three plays. However, Greyhound punter John McLain pinned
the Mules on the four yard line after a 53-yard punt. On the third play of the drive, the
Mules were called for holding in the end zone which gave Moravian a safety and a 2-0 lead
with 12:05 remaining in the first quarter. The Greyhounds would take the ensuing free kick
down to the Muhlenberg 27-yard line after four plays, but the Mules defense stiffened and
forced Moravian to turn the ball over on downs, one of five times in the game. Muhlenberg
would take 10:48 off the clock on back to back touchdown drives, taking a 13-2 lead. Moravian
would run 11 plays on its next drive and move to the Muhlenberg 33-yard line before turning
the ball over on downs again. After forcing the Mules to punt, McLain had
a punt blocked with Muhlenberg taking over on the Moravian 20-yard line. Six plays later,
the Mules took a 20-2 lead with 35 seconds remaining in the second quarter. Moravian would
score the first points of the second half on the first play of the fourth quarter when
junior running back Chris Jacoubs (Fair Haven, NJ/Rumson-Fair Haven HS) took
an option pitch from senior quarterback Jerry Venturino (Hopatcong, NJ/Hopatcong
HS) in from nine-yards out. The play finished off a five-play, 27-yard drive that
started when junior wide receiver Shawn Martell (Bethlehem, PA/Bethlehem Catholic
HS) recovered a fumble punt return by the Mules. On the extra-point attempt by Ken
Macaulay, Muhlenberg blocked the kick, and the ball eventually ended up in the
hands of freshman defensive back Ryan Merrill, who returned it for a two-point defensive
conversion, giving the Mules a 22-8 lead with 14:53 remaining in the fourth quarter. Jacoubs,
the nation’s fifth-leading rusher, finished the game with just 94 yards on 26 carries,
only the second time last season he was held under 100-yards. Jacoubs finished
the regular season with a school record 1,619 yards on a school best 317 carries. He also
set school marks with 15 rushing touchdowns, 18 total touchdowns and 108 points. On the
ensuing kickoff, the Mules ran a reverse and returned the kick 85 yards for a touchdown.
The Mules attempted a two-point conversion pass that fell incomplete, setting the score
at 28-8 with 14:41 remaining in the contest. With just under five minutes remaining in
the game, Venturino was intercepted at the three-yard line to give the
Mules possession. On the second play, Garr recovered a fumble in the end
zone for Moravian’s final points. Moravian attempted a two-pointer conversion with Jacoubs,
who he was stopped short of the end zone, setting the final score at 28-14 with 3:54 left
in the game. Venturino completed nine of 31 passes in the game for 100
yards; however, he was intercepted three times and sacked once. Senior wide receiver Ben
Hawkins (Belmar, NJ/Manasquan HS) caught five passes for the Greyhounds for 65
yards to give him 1,022 career receiving yards, the 13th player in Moravian history to
reach the 1,000-yard receiving yardage milestone. In addition to Garr’s 13
tackles for the Moravian defense, senior defensive GJ Weiss (Pottstown, PA/St.
Pius X HS) and senior linebacker Chad DiFelice (Pen Argyl, PA/Pen Argyl
HS) each had ten tackles. Weiss had one and a half tackles for
loss while DiFelice added two tackles for loss and a sack. Linebacker Bill
Carasia added seven tackles.
LAST WEEK: Freshman kicker Brian Reckenbeil (Branchburg, NJ/Somerville
HS) kicked a 19-yard field goal with four seconds left, and Moravian College
defeated Lebanon Valley College, 38-35, in an offensively-dominated Middle Atlantic Conference
football game at Rocco Calvo Field. The Greyhounds finish their 2005 MAC season with
a 5-4 record. The two team’s combined for 805 yards of offense on 126 plays and
all 11 scoring drives were at least 54 yards long, including five over 70 yards. Playing
in place of starting junior running back Chris Jacoubs, junior backup Marc
Panepinto (Perkiomenville, PA/Boyertown HS) ran for a career-high 213 yards
and a touchdown on 38 carries for Moravian. The Greyhounds had a season high total of
3-5 rushing yards with senior fullback Kevin Lukich (Ogdensburg, NJ/Wallkill
Valley HS) adding 63 yards on 12 carries and senior quarterback Jerry
Venturino running for 33 yards and two scores on seven attempts. Venturino also
competed eight for 13 passes for 134 yards and two more scores. Moravian’s running
game was in high gear early on. After receiving the opening kickoff, the Greyhounds ran
the ball 11 straight times, with Venturino scoring on a quarterback
keeper. Reckenbeil, who former high school soccer player who had never
kick a football in a game situation until September of this season, made the first of
five extra-points in the game to remain perfect on the season at 25-of-25 on point after
attempts. Reckenbeil is now fourth in extra-points in a season at Moravian.
After forcing the Dutchmen to go three-and-out, Moravian went to the air just once on
a 7-play, 77-yard touchdown drive, capped by a Venturino 2-yard run.
However, the Greyhounds lone passing play was big one, with Venturino hitting
junior wide receiver Shawn Martell with a 43-yard pass that gave the ’Hounds
the ball at the LVC-26. The catch was the 50th of Martell’s career,
and he had three receptions for 65 yards in the game. Reckenbeil’s second
extra point made it 14-0 with 4:10 left in the first quarter. The Dutchmen would score
next to make it 14-6 with 10:04 left in the opening half. Moravian threatened to score
again on the ensuing possession, going 41 yards on eight plays to the Dutchman-29, but
the drive stalled when Venturino fell on a bad snap on a fourth-and-two.
Lebanon Valley continued to move the ball well tied the game 14-14 with 3:17 left in
the half on a touchdown pass and two-point conversion. A short kickoff gave Moravian
the ball at the LVC-49. The Dutchmen came up with a stop on third-and-one at its own
23, but LVC was called for pass interference, the first penalty of the game. Two plays
later, Venturino found Martell for a 10-yard touchdown
pass, as the Greyhounds went ahead 21-14 with 1:02 on the clock. After receiving the
opening kickoff of the second half, Lebanon Valley pulled even at 21 with 9:41 left in
the third quarter. The Greyhounds punted on the next possession, and on LVC’s first
play from scrimmage, a 72-yard touchdown pass gave Lebanon Valley its first lead of the
game at 28-21 with 5:44 to go in the quarter. Moravian answered with a five-play, 67-yard
drive, highlighted by a 36-yard pass from Venturino to senior wide receiver Russ
Demko (Hellertown, PA/Saucon Valley HS). Panepinto capped the
march with a 1-yard touchdown run, and Reckenbeil’s kick made
it 28-28 with 3:32 left in the third quarter. Lebanon Valley would get its seven-point
lead back on the ensuing drive for a 35-28 lead with 14:28 remaining in the game. Moravian
got a good return from freshman wide receiver Rob Shaffer (Pottsville, PA/Pottsville
HS) to start the drive at its own 43-yard line. The Greyhounds went back to
the running game and rushed the ball on the first seven plays of the drive. After a holding
penalty forced Moravian into long yardage on third down, Lebanon Valley was called for
another pass interference penalty on an incomplete third down pass. After two more runs
and an incomplete pass, Venturino would hit Martell with
his second touchdown of the game, this one from 12 yards out. Reckenbeil’s kick
knotted the score at 35-35 with 8:18 remaining in the contest. Moravian would force Lebanon
Valley to punt after just three plays; however, the Greyhounds would give the ball back
after just five plays when Venturino was intercepted. The Greyhound
defense stepped up again and forced another three-and-out. The Greyhounds would take
possession on their own 24-yard line with just 3:49 remaining in the game. Moravian would
run eight straight running plays to move the ball down to the Lebanon Valley two-yard
line with just seven seconds left in the game. The Greyhounds called a timeout to bring
in Reckenbeil on the fourth and goal play for the 19-yard field goal
attempt. The Flying Dutchmen used their final two timeouts to try and ice Reckenbeil;
however, he connected on his eighth field goal of the season to put the Greyhounds ahead
with just four seconds to play. Reckenbeil is now just one field goal
away from tying the Moravian single season record even though he didn’t become
the starting place kicker until the fourth game of the season. For Moravian, sophomore
tight end Kris Bisci (Easton, PA/Easton HS) pulled in three receptions
for 31 yards. Freshman linebacker Andrew Morrissey (Emmaus, PA/Emmaus HS) led
the Greyhound defense with ten tackles while senior safety Mario Bevilacqua (Scranton,
PA/West Scranton HS) had seven tackles. Senior linebacker Chad DiFelice added
six tackles while junior linebacker Cliff Garr, junior defensive end Nick Feo
(Hampton, NJ/Voorhees HS), senior safety GJ Weiss and senior
defensive tackle Robert Stockley (Red Bank, NJ/Middletown South HS) each
had five tackles. Feo had two tackles for loss.
SCOUTING MUHLENBERG: The Mules enter the game with a 3-6 overall record
and finished the 2005 Centennial Conference regular season with a 2-4 mark. Sophomore quarterback
Matt Johnson has completed 70 of 146 pass attempts for 784 yards with five touchdowns and
six interceptions while senior quarterback Tom Kelleher has connected on 38 of 91 pass
attempts for 583 yards with three scores and seven interceptions. Their top targets have
been senior wide receiver Kyle Douglass, who has 377 receptions for 518 yards and six scores,
junior tight end Stephen Montalto, who has caught 29 passes for 333 yards and a touchdown,
and senior wide receiver Chris Poehls, who has 15 receptions for 161 yards. Freshman running
back John DeLuca leads the Mules running attack with 423 yards and a touchdown on 123 attempts
while sophomore running back Ross Tanner has added 228 yards and a score on 80 attempts.
Johnson has run for 97 yards on 87 carries. Junior punter Ryan Sassaman is averaging 34.4
yards per punt on 57 kicks while sophomore kicker Jordon Grube is 12-of-14 on extra-points
and seven-of-12 on field goals with a long of 45 yards. Senior cornerback Mike McCurley
has returned 30 punts for an average of 10.2 yards, and he has eight kickoff returns with
an average of 22.6 yards. Senior defensive back Phillip Gasket has returned seven kickoffs
for an average of 23.6 yards, and he has made 57 tackles with one interception, three pass
break-ups and a fumble recovery. Senior linebacker Mark Bennett leads the Muhlenberg defense
with 65 tackles including two tackles for loss, a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery
while sophomore linebacker Dustin Good has 56 tackles with six and a half for loss, two
sacks, an interception, two pass break-ups and a forced fumble. Senior linebacker Dan McCall
leads the Mules with two interceptions and he has added 49 tackles with 13 for loss, seven
and a half sacks, six pass break-ups, two forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries that he
has returned for 127 yards and two blocked kicks.
BALANCED & EXPERIENCED ‘HOUNDS: Of the 98 players on the Moravian
roster, 36 are freshmen, 20 are sophomores and 16 are juniors. There are 26 seniors on
this season’s squad, and the Greyhounds return 56 letterwinners and 15 starters.
GREYHOUNDS IN THE MIDDLE ATLANTIC CONFERENCE: Beginning four seasons
ago, the Middle Atlantic Conference became an 11-team conference instead of two separate
leagues. Moravian, which received two first place votes, was selected to finish in a tie
for second in the MAC Preseason Coaches Poll this season with Widener University. Delaware
Valley was selected as the top team in the MAC, and the Aggies have won the 2005 MAC title.
MAC WEEKLY HONORS: Junior running back Marc Panepinto and
freshman kicker Brian Reckenbeil of the Moravian College football team
have been named to the Middle Atlantic Conference Weekly Football Honor Roll for their
performances in the Greyhounds’ 38-35, come-from-behind victory over Lebanon Valley
College. Panepinto, making his first career start, ran for a career high
213 yards and a touchdown on 38 carries in Moravian’s win. Panepinto had
a one-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to tie the game at 28-28 in the third quarter.
His longest run of the game was a 31-yard carry and came on the final, game-winning drive
of the game, and Panepinto also caught one pass for two yards in the victory. Reckenbeil connected
on all five of his extra-point attempts and added a game-winning field goal with four seconds
left for a total of eight points in Moravian’s 38-35 victory. Reckenbeil’s five-for-five
performance on extra-points kept him perfect on the season at 25-of-25 after taking over
the kicking duties at King’s in the Greyhounds’ third game of the season. His
19-yard, game-winning field goal was this sixth straight made field goal and improves Reckenbeil,
who was a soccer player until arriving at Moravian in August, to eight-of-ten on field
goals this fall.
THE MAC STATISTICAL RANKINGS: The Greyhounds are fourth in the MAC in
total defense, allowing 338.9 yards per game. The squad is fourth in passing defense at
186.9 yards per game, and the defense is sixth in rushing yards allowed at 152.0. The Greyhounds
are sixth in points allowed at 22.6 per game, and the squad is fifth in points scored per
game at 28.3. Offensively, Moravian is sixth in the MAC at 366.6 yards per game. The Greyhounds
are ranked second in rushing offense at 210.0 yards per game and eighth in passing offense
at 156.6 yards per game. Moravian is tied for fifth in turnover margin with a +0.00 per
game average as the Greyhounds have committed 14 turnovers while forcing 14 turnovers.
The Greyhounds are first in the MAC passing yards per completion at 15.5, field goals attempted
at 15, field goals made with nine, interception return average at 17.7 yards per return
and interception returns for touchdowns with two. Individually, senior quarterback Jerry
Venturino is ranked seventh in passing yards per game at 149.9 yards, first in
passing yards per completion at 15.3, seventh in passing touchdowns with 12, seventh in
pass efficiency with a 120.1 rating and eighth in total offense at 174.4 yards per game.
Junior running back Chris Jacoubs is ranked third in rushing yards per
game at 108.1 yards per game, fourth in rushing attempts with 166, second in rushing touchdowns
with nine, sixth in scoring at 6.8 points per game, second in rushing yards with 865 and
seventh in all-purpose at 114.2 yards per game. Senior fullback Kevin Lukich is
fourth in the MAC in yards per rush with an average of 6.2 yards per carry while junior Marc
Panepinto is seventh at 5.3 and Jacoubs is tenth at 5.2. Lukich is
also tenth in total offensive average per play at 6.2 yards per play while Venturino is
seventh at 6.7 yards per play. Senior wide receiver Ben Hawkins ranks
third in the MAC in yards per catch with an average of 19.7 yards, and he is tied for fifth
in receiving touchdowns with six. Hawkins is eighth in receiving yards
per game at 64.9. Junior wide receiver Shawn Martell is sixth in the MAC
in yards per catch at 17.1. Senior punter Corey Czerniak (Randolph, NJ/Randolph
HS) is sixth in the MAC with an average of 35.6 yards per punt and ninth in number
of punts with 32. Freshman kicker Brian Reckenbeil is second in the MAC
in kick scoring with 5.4 points per game. Reckenbeil is tied for first
in PAT percentage at 100 percent (25 of 25), and he is fourth in PAT kicks made, tied for
fifth in PAT kicks attempted, first in field goals per game (0.89), second in field goals
attempted with ten and first in field goals made with eight. Freshman wide receiver Rob
Shaffer is ninth in kickoff returns with 15 and eighth in kickoff return yards
with 298. Senior linebacker Chad DiFelice is eighth in tackles per game
at 8.7, and he is tied for fourth in tackles for loss with 1.22 per contest. DiFelice is
tied for third in sacks with 0.56 per game, and he leads the MAC with 0.56 forced fumbles
per game. Junior linebacker Cliff Garr, who is tied for first in interception
returns for touchdowns with one, is tied for 34th in tackles at 5.8 per game while senior
defensive back Mario Bevilacqua is 20th in tackles at 6.3 per game. Senior
defensive back Tyler Chomik (Allentown, PA/Allentown Central Catholic HS) is
tied for third in the MAC in passes defended at 1.22 per contest while junior defensive
back Israel Aguila (Bethlehem, PA/Freedom HS) is seventh in passes defended
at 1.11 per game. Chomik is also tied for first in interception returns
for touchdowns with one, and he ninth in punt return yards with a total of 54 yards, eighth
in punt returns with 12 and seventh in kickoff return yards with 301. Freshman linebacker Andrew
Morrissey is tied for tenth in tackles with an average of 8.2 per contest. Morrissey is
tied for eighth in forced fumbles with 0.25 per game.
THE QUARTERBACKS: Senior quarterback Jerry Venturino has
completed 88 of 184 passes for 1,349 yards, 12 touchdowns and ten interceptions this season. Venturino has
also added 221 yards and five touchdowns on 50 carries while being sacked nine times. Sophomore
quarterback Sean Hill (West Reading, PA/Wyomissing HS) has completed his
only pass attempt for no yards and has been sacked four times while seeing action in five
games this season. Sophomore quarterback Brad Swartz (Temple, PA/Muhlenberg HS) has
played in four games, completing his only two pass attempts for 60 yards, including a 45-yard
touchdown at FDU-Florham.
IN THE BACKFIELD: In the backfield, junior running back Chris
Jacoubs, who missed last Saturday's game with an injury, leads
Moravian with 865 yards and nine touchdowns on 166 carries. Jacoubs has
3,705 yards (first all-time at Moravian) in just 29 career games with 17 100-plus yard
games in 24 starts, including four games over 200 yards. Jacoubs became
the first player in school history to reach 3,000 rushing yards in a career against Susquehanna
University and the only player in school history to rush for 1,000 yards in back-to-back
seasons in 2003 and 2004. He is also first all-time with 210 points, 35 career touchdowns,
and 724 career rushing attempts. Senior fullback Kevin Lukich has 272
yards and a touchdown on 44 carries while junior running back Marc Panepinto has
424 yards and three touchdowns on 80 attempts this season. Freshman running back Tyler
McCambridge (Northampton, PA/Allentown Central Catholic HS) has contributed
64 yards on just 13 carries while junior fullback Joe Costanzo (Barnstead, NH/Bow
HS & Tilton School) has added 25 yards on seven carries. Senior wide receiver Ben
Hawkins has 30 yards on six attempts.
THE WIDE RECEIVERS: Moravian has had ten different players catch a pass
this season. Senior wide receiver Ben Hawkins leads the Greyhounds with
23 receptions for 454 yards and six touchdowns. Hawkins has moved into
sixth all-time at Moravian with 1,570 receiving yards on 79 receptions. He is also second
all-time with 16 career touchdown catches. Junior wide receiver Shawn Martell has
19 catches for 324 yards and three scores while sophomore tight end Kris Bisci has
15 receptions for 169 yards and two touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Cletus Kilker
(Bethlehem, PA/Notre Dame HS) has seven catches for 140 yards and a touchdown
while senior wide receiver Russ Demko has seven catches for 120 yards.
Junior running back Chris Jacoubs has added nine receptions for 49 yards
while senior wideout Andrew Mazurek (West Orange, NJ/West Orange HS) has
added four receptions for 57 yards. Freshman wideout Rob Shaffer has grabbed
three passes for 85 yards and a touchdown while senior fullback Kevin Lukich has
two catches for ten yards.
OFFENSIVE LINE: The Greyhounds’ front line includes seniors Scott
Burke (Holmdel, NJ/Holmdel HS), Salvatore DeWalt (Allentown, PA/Allentown
Central Catholic HS) and Brenten Runne (Stanhope, NJ/Hopatcong HS) junior Andrew
Remsing (Bath, PA/Northampton HS) and freshman Timothy McBride (Egg
Harbor Township, NJ/Egg Harbor Township HS). Junior Dave Kircher (Manasquan,
NJ/Manasquan HS) has been out since the Juniata College game. DeWalt was
selected to the 2005 Lindy’s Preseason All-American First Team center.
Last season, the Greyhounds set single season records for rushing yards 2,541 and total
offense 4,479 yards a year ago and the line has an average size of six feet, two inches
and 280 pounds.
DEFENSIVE FRONT: Senior Bryan Kohlbecker (Middletown, NJ/Middletown
South HS) leads the defensive line with 31 tackles including seven tackles for
loss, one and a half a sacks and a fumble recovery he returned four yards versus Juniata
College. Senior Steve Cline (Union Beach, NJ/Keyport HS) has added 30
tackles with eight for loss, three and a half sacks and two passes defended. Senior Robert
Stockley has contributed 21 tackles with two and a half a tackles for loss,
two sacks, an interception returned seven yards at Lycoming College and a fumble recovery
while junior Alex Smith-Constantine (Secaucus, NJ/Secaucus HS) has 13
tackles with two and a half for loss and an interception he returned nine yards versus
Susquehanna University. Junior defensive end Nick Feo has 23 tackles
with six tackles for loss, one and a half sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery
while senior defensive tackle Mike Hurden (Spring Lake, NJ/Wall HS) has
contributed 16 tackles with half a tackle for loss and a pass break-up. Sophomore defensive
tackle Tom Braxmeier (Center Valley, PA/Allentown Central Catholic HS) has
11 tackles with two and a half for loss, one and a half sacks and a forced fumble while
sophomore defensive tackle Matt Adams (Dover, NJ/Dover HS) has three
tackles. Senior Corey Czerniak has six tackles this season with a tackle
for loss, half a sack and a pass defended while senior Keith Jacobson (Cresskill,
NJ/Cresskill HS) has three tackles including one for loss.
THE LINEBACKER CORPS: Senior linebacker Chad DiFelice leads
the Moravian defense with 78 tackles including 11 tackles for loss, five sacks, three pass
break-ups, five forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Freshman Andrew Morrissey has
made 74 tackles with one and a half tackles for loss, half a sack, two forced fumbles,
one of which he recovered, an interception he returned 18 yards at FDU-Florham and a pass
break-up while junior Cliff Garr has added 52 tackles with one tackle
for loss, one sack, a fumble recovery, a forced fumble and an interception returned 32
yards for a touchdown versus Susquehanna University. Sophomore linebacker Mike
Prata (Little Ferry, NJ/Paramas Catholic HS) has 19 tackles on the season with
half a tackle for loss, a pass defended and a blocked kick while sophomore Dan
Edleman (Pottstown, PA/The Hill School) has seven tackles with half a tackle for
loss. Sophomore Arturo Duran (Ridgewood, NJ/Ridgewood HS), who is also
seeing action as a defensive end, has added 11 tackles with one for loss
and a forced fumble this season while junior Tony Gro (Schwenksville, PA/The Hill
School) has contributed four tackles with half a tackle for loss.
THE DEFENSIVE BACKFIELD: In the defensive backfield, senior safety Mario
Bevilacqua has made 57 tackles with two and a half tackles for loss, three passes
defended and a forced fumble. Senior safety GJ Weiss has added 38 tackles
with half a tackle for loss, an interception he has returned 16 yards and five pass break-ups.
Senior cornerback Tyler Chomik has contributed 39 tackles with one for
loss, an interception returned 42 yards for a touchdown against Juniata College and ten
pass break-ups for a total of 11 passes defended while junior cornerback Israel
Aguila has 34 tackles with one and a half tackles for loss, nine pass break-ups
and an interception for ten passes defended, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble. Sophomore
defensive back Matt Sheridan (Magnolia, NJ/Sterling HS) has 20 tackles
while junior defensive back Tom Carroll (Blackwood, NJ/Paul VI HS) has
made 11 stops.
KICKING GAME: Senior Corey Czerniak is averaging 35.6
yards per punt on 32 attempts. He has a long punt of 51 yards with seven punts fair caught
and 12 inside the 20-yard line. Freshman kicker Brian Reckenbeil is eight-for-ten
on field goal attempts with a long of 38 yards versus Susquehanna University and 25-for-25
on extra-point attempts.
SPECIAL TEAMS: Freshman wide receiver Rob Shaffer has
three punt returns for zero yards and 14 kickoff returns for 270 yards including a long
kickoff return of 45 yards. Shaffer has also made eight special teams
tackles while junior wide receiver Shawn Martell has six tackles. Martell has
also returned six kickoffs for 115 yards and a long of 23 yards. Senior defensive back Tyler
Chomik has 12 punt returns for 54 yards with a long of 13 yards and 11 kickoff
returns for 301 yards with a long of 74 yards versus Juniata College. Sophomore defensive
back Matt Sheridan has two punt returns for nine yards after blocking
three punts at King's College, which tied an NCAA Division III record while freshman running
back Tyler McCambridge has three punt returns for seven yards. Freshman
offensive lineman Doug Bocchino (Madison, NJ/Madison HS) has four special
teams tackles while junior fullback Joe Costanzo has added eight special
teams tackles and one kickoff return for 13 yards. Junior running back Justin Klement
(Whitehall, PA/Whitehall HS) has six special teams tackles.
OVERTIME ‘HOUNDS: Moravian has played a total of seven overtime
games since the NCAA instituted the rule for the 1996 season and is 5-2 all-time in the
extra-session. Last year was the fourth time since 1996 that the Greyhounds did not play
at least one overtime game. Moravian has played four overtime games with Juniata College,
two with Widener University and one with Delaware Valley College.
WINNING WAYS: Moravian had 11 consecutive winning seasons—all under
Coach Scot Dapp, from 1987 to 1997 and has had 14 winning seasons in Dapp’s 18
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 ninth straight year, the Greyhounds' games will
be on the radio. Moravian's games will be aired on WKAP Oldies 1470 AM for the second straight
year. Phil May calls the play-by-play call while Mark Harding adds
color commentary and technical assistance from John Elliott.
STARTERS PLAYER OF THE GAME: As part of Moravian's radio contract with
Oldies 1470 WKAP, the announcers will select the Starters Player of the Game for Moravian
during the St. Luke's Hospital Post-Game Show. In last week's game, junior running back Marc
Panepinto and freshman kicker Brian Reckenbeil were named Co-Starters
Players of the Game in the Greyhounds' 38-35 victory over Lebanon Valley College. Panepinto ran
for a career high 213 yards and a touchdown on 38 carries in his first career start, while Reckenbeil connected
on all five of his extra-point attempts and a 19-yard, game-wining field goal with four
seconds left. Starters Restaurant, a sponsor of Moravian College Athletics, is located
on Route 378 South of Bethlehem.
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