MORAVIAN GREYHOUNDS, 1-0 (1-0 MAC)
vs.
KING'S COLLEGE MONARCHS, 1-1 (1-0 MAC)

1:00 p.m.; Saturday, September 16, 2006
Rocco Calvo Field (c. 2,000); Bethlehem, PA

THE GAME: Moravian plays its first home game of the 2006 season with a Middle Atlantic Conference versus King’s College. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m. at Rocco Calvo Field in Bethlehem, PA.

THE COACHES: Scot Dapp (West Chester ’73) enters his 20th season at Moravian, with a career record of 118-78-1 (.602). He entered the season in the top 50th in winning percentage among NCAA Division III active coaches. Dapp, who served as the president of the American Football Coaches Association in 2005, 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 Bowl game in 2002, the ECAC Southwest Bowl game in 2004 & 2005, winning the title in 2005.
     King’s College coach Rich Manello (Springfield ’83) is in his 14th season at the school and he has an overall record of 58-77-1 (.427).

THE SERIES: Saturday’s meeting will be the 12th in the series with King's owning a 6-5 lead. Moravian snapped a five-game losing streak to the Monarchs in 2004 with a 21-18 come-from-behind win in Bethlehem, and the Greyhounds posted a 29-18 win in Wilkes-Barre. King's defeated the Greyhounds, 27-19 in Wilkes-Barre back in 2003.

LAST WEEK: Sophomore running back Tyler de Rouen (West Milford, NJ/West Milford HS) ran for 123 yards on 20 carries with two fourth quarter touchdowns, including the game winner with 2:22 remaining, to lead the Moravian College football team to a 24-17 come-from-behind victory at Susquehanna University in a Middle Atlantic Conference game. The Greyhounds won their season opener for the fourth time in seven years to improve to 1-0 overall and in the MAC. Moravian received the opening kickoff but would turn the ball over on its third play when senior running back Marc Panepinto (Perkiomenville, PA/Boyertown HS) was hit from behind at Moravian’s 37 yard line. Susquehanna recovered the ball and took it down to the Moravian 20-yard line. Before the Crusaders could run a play, the game was delayed by lightening in the area. After a 45-minute delay, the contest resumed with Susquehanna scoring for a 7-0 Crusader lead with 11:09 remaining in the first quarter. The Greyhounds would begin their next drive at their own 37-yard line; however Moravian would be forced to punt after six plays. Susquehanna began its possession from its own 31-yard line after a 40-yard punt by Greyhound sophomore Michael Voskian (Brielle, NJ/Manasquan HS), his first collegiate punt. The Crusaders would us both the run and pass to move down the field, scoring on a 15-yard touchdown pass that gave Susquehanna a 14-0 lead with 3:56 left in the first quarter. Panepinto would give Moravian excellent field possession on the ensuing kickoff with a 72-yard return to the Susquehanna 17-yard line. Tyler deRouen ran five straight times to move the ball down to the one-yard line. Junior quarterback Brad Swartz (Temple, PA/Muhlenberg HS) finished the drive with a one-yard sneak on fourth-and-goal. Sophomore kicker Brian Reckenbeil (Branchburg, NJ/Somerville HS) added the extra-point to cut Susquehanna’s lead to 14-7 with 18 seconds remaining in the first quarter. Early in the third quarter, Susquehanna took over at its own 45-yard line and drove Moravian ten-yard line where the Crusaders connected on a 27-yard field goal for a 17-7 Susquehanna lead with 7:16 remaining in the third quarter. Moravian started the ensuing drive at its own 28-yard line. The Greyhounds would pick up four first downs and drive to the Susquehanna 17-yard line where Reckenbeil connected on a 34-yard field goal to cut the Crusaders lead to 17-10 with 3:41 remaining in the third quarter. The Greyhounds methodically drove down the field on their next drive, mixing up the pass and run. Tyler de Rouen capped off the 66-yard drive with a three-yard run on the 13th play of the drive. Reckenbeil’s extra-point was blocked, keeping Susquehanna ahead, 17-16, with 9:55 remaining in the contest. Susquehanna would begin at its own 25-yard line. On a third down play, Moravian senior linebacker Cliff Garr (Easton, PA/Notre Dame HS) forced his second fumble of the game and Dan Edleman (Pottstown, PA/The Hill School) recovered his second fumble of the game at the Susquehanna University 33-yard line, giving the Greyhounds’ possession with 8:40 to play. Moravian would pickup one first down and moved the ball to the Susquehanna 14-yard line where Reckenbeil’s 31-yard field goal attempt was just wide left after a bad snap. Susquehanna took over on its own 20-yard line with 6:39 to play. The Crusaders gained just four yards on three plays before punting. After an eight-yard punt return by freshman Ryan Rempe (Dickson City, PA/Mid-Valley HS), Moravian took over at its own 49-yard line with 4:01 remaining. On the Greyhounds first set of downs, Moravian faced a fourth-and-one at the Susquehanna 45 yard line. Swartz took the snap and stumble to the ground while pitching the ball to Tyler de Rouen. de Rouen muffed the ball but it bounced right up into his hands and he raced down the right sideline 42 yards for the touchdown with 2:22 remaining. Moravian went for the two-point conversion and Swartz found sophomore fullback Morgan de Rouen (West Milford, NJ/West Milford HS) to give the Greyhounds a 24-17 advantage. Susquehanna took over on its own 21-yard line for its final drive. The Crusaders picked up two quick first downs despite fumbling for the sixth time in the game, and with a late hit penalty on Moravian, moved the ball to the Moravian 36-yard line with 1:34 remaining. However, the Greyhounds would force the Crusaders to turn the ball over on downs at the 27-yard line when Moravian sophomore defensive lineman Don Maxwell (Berkeley Heights, NJ/Governor Livingston HS) tackled the Susquehanna quarterback a yard shy of a first down with 45 seconds remaining to seal the Moravian win. Swartz completed 12 of 24 passes for 144 yards in his first collegiate start while being sacked three times. Junior tight end Kris Bisci (Easton, PA/Easton HS) caught four oases for 51 yards while senior wide receiver Shawn Martell (Bethlehem, PA/Bethlehem Catholic HS) had three receptions for 41 yards. Tyler deRouen caught two passes for 14 yards while sophomore wide receiver Tyler Hersch (Macungie, PA/Emmaus HS) had two receptions for 20 yards. Panepinto gained 12 yards on three carries for the Greyhounds before leaving the game with an injury. Sophomore linebacker Andrew Morrissey (Emmaus, PA/Emmaus HS) led the Greyhound defense with nine tackles and two forced fumbles while Edleman had eight tackles with one for loss to go with his two fumble recoveries. Maxwell and Garr each had seven tackles while freshman defensive back Brad Bodine (Mt. Bethel, PA/Bangor HS) had Moravian’s only sack. Junior defensive back Zach Santiago (Bethlehem, PA/Bethlehem Catholic HS) and senior cornerback Israel Aguila (Bethlehem, PA/Freedom HS) each had two passes defended.

LAST TIME THEY MET: In Wilkes-Barre last fall, tailback Chris Jacoubs ran for a season high 164 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries and defensive back Matt Sheridan tied an NCAA Division III record with three blocked punts to lead Moravian to a 29-18 victory at King’s College in MAC action. King’s received the opening kickoff and was forced to punt after three plays. Sheridan came from the left side and blocked the punt attempt at the King’s 24-yard line. Wide receiver Josh Kline recovered the ball for the Greyhounds at the King’s 23-yard line. However, Moravian kicker Brian Maida (Freehold, NJ/Freehold Boro HS) had his 22-yard field goal attempt with 10:34 remaining in the first quarter blocked, and the Monarchs took over at their own one-yard line. After forcing the Monarchs to punt again, Moravian took over on the King’s 30-yard line. Five plays later, Jacoubs punched into the end zone from one-yard out. Moravian went for the two-point conversion, and quarterback Jerry Venturino ran a bootleg to the right side, giving Moravian an 8-0 lead with 6:56 left in the first quarter. During the rest of the first quarter, Moravian was forced to punt twice while King’s had one punt and a pass intercepted by Moravian safety GJ Weiss. Moravian forced the Monarchs to punt on the third play of the second quarter when Sheridan broke through from the left side again and blocked another punt. Senior linebacker Tony Gro (Schwenksville, PA/The Hill School) covered the ball at the King’s eight-yard line. Two plays later, Venturino connected on an eight-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Ben Hawkins. Maida connected on the extra-point for a 15-0 Greyhound lead with 13:59 remaining in the second quarter. Moravian had a chance to put more points on the board on its next drive, however, Maida had a 33-yard field goal attempt blocked after a 50-yard drive. Neither team was able to move the ball into scoring territory in the remainder of the first half. The Greyhounds received the opening kickoff of the second half. Venturino had a 46-yard completion to wide receiver Cletus Kilker on the second play of the drive before connecting on a 28-yard touchdown strike to Hawkins down the right sideline to finish off the five-play, 76-yard drive. Sophomore kicker Brian Reckenbeil, who handled kickoffs for the Greyhounds, made the extra-point for a 22-0 Moravian lead with 12:13 remaining in the third quarter. Venturino completed eight of 20 passes for 136 yards with two touchdowns and an interception while Hawkins caught three passes for 44 yards. Kilker added two catches for 58 yards. King’s would score its first touchdown on its opening possession of the second half. Moravian’s Corey Czerniak blocked the extra-point attempt to keep the lead at 22-6 with 7:32 left in the third quarter. Czerniak, who is also Moravian’s punter, averaged 35.8 yards on six punts with a long of 51 yards in the victory. King’s would intercept a Venturino to set up another scoring drive, cutting the lead to 22-12 with 1:54 left in the third stanza. The Greyhounds were forced to punt again on their final drive of the third quarter. With under 20 seconds remaining in the third quarter, the Greyhounds made King’s punt again from inside the Monarchs’ ten-yard line. Sheridan came through to block his third punt of the game with Moravian taking over on the King’s 24-yard line. Sheridan tied the NCAA Division III record for blocked punts in a game on the play, becoming the sixth player in NCAA history to block three punts in a contest. The Greyhounds needed just four running plays to increase their lead with Jacoubs finishing off the short drive with a one-yard leap into the end zone. Reckenbeil’s extra-point gave Moravian a 29-12 lead with 14:01 remaining in the game. The touchdown gave Jacoubs’ 180 career points, moving him past Jud Frank into second all-time. King’s finished off the scoring with just 1:31 remaining in the game for the final of 29-18. Moravian recovered an onsides kick attempt with 1:31 remaining and ran out the clock to preserve the 29-18 victory. The Greyhounds finished the game with 216 yards on the ground including 32 yards by sophomore tailback Tyler McCambridge (Northampton, PA/Allentown Central Catholic HS) and ten each by Venturino and fullback Kevin Lukich. Sophomore linebacker Andrew Morrissey led the Greyhound defense with 13 tackles while linebacker Chad DiFelice added 11 tackles. Senior linebacker Cliff Garr had nine tackles while defensive back Tyler Chomik had four tackles, three pass break-ups, a punt return of 13 yards and a kickoff return of 22 yards.

SCOUTING KING’S: The Monarchs enter the game with a 1-1 record after a 30-0 loss to St. John Fisher College and a 10-0 victory over Lebanon Valley College to begin the season. Sophomore quarterback Jeff Searfass leads King’s on the field. He has completed 19 of 32 passes for 151 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions while being sacked five times. Junior wide receiver Chris Maloney has been the top target, catching five passes for 47 yards while senior fullback Joe Tasoni has four receptions for 18 yards/ Sophomore wide receiver Mike Verbitski has three catches for 49 yards and a score while senior tight end Bernie Mullen has three receptions for 30 yards. Senior tailback John Ortiz lead the Monarchs’ rushing attack with 123 yards on 34 carries while junior tailback Jeff Field has added 79 yards on 20 carries. Sophomore Jeremia Jones has 21 yards on 12 carries, and he has returned four kickoffs for an average of 9.8 yards. Senior defensive back Craig Haywood has two punt returns for five yards, a kickoff return of 11 yards, an interception and a fumble recovery to go with 15 tackles and pass break-up. Sophomore Tim Lust is one-for-one on field goals with a long of 21 yards, and he has connected on his only extra-point attempt. Lust is also averaging 37.9 yards per punt in 12 attempts with a long of 46 yards. Senior defensive end George Montras has a team high 20 tackles for the King’s defense with four tackles for loss, a sack and a pass break-up. Senior linebacker John Haller had 17 tackles and a forced fumble for the Monarchs in their season opener but did not play last week. Sophomore linebacker Tom Tulaney has added 14 tackles with one and a half for loss while freshman linebacker Matt Little has 11 tackles and a forced fumble.

MAC WEEKLY HONORS: Sophomore running back Tyler de Rouen of the Moravian College football team was named the Middle Atlantic Conference Offensive Player of the Week for his performance in the Greyhounds’ 24-17 victory at Susquehanna University. de Rouen led Moravian to the come-from-behind win at Susquehanna with his first 100-yard career game, gaining 123 yards with two touchdowns on 20 carries. In the fourth quarter with Moravian trailing, 17-10, de Rouen ran for a pair of touchdowns including the game winner from 42-yards out with 2:22 remaining in the game. de Rouen also caught two passes for 14 yards in the victory.

BALANCED & EXPERIENCED ‘HOUNDS: Of the 82 players on the Moravian roster, 18 are freshmen, 35 are sophomores and 18 are juniors. There are 11 seniors on this season’s squad, and the Greyhounds return 57 letterwinners and nine starters.

GREYHOUNDS IN THE MIDDLE ATLANTIC CONFERENCE: Beginning five seasons ago, 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 King’s College was picked fifth. Wilkes University was selected to win the MAC.

THE MAC STATISTICAL RANKINGS: The Greyhounds are seventh in the MAC in total defense, allowing 299.0 yards per game. The squad is eighth in passing defense at 155.0 yards per game, and the defense is eighth in rushing yards allowed at 144.0. The Greyhounds are tied for seventh in points allowed at 17.0 per game, and the squad is second in points scored per game at 24.0. Offensively, Moravian is fourth in the MAC at 276.0 yards per game. The Greyhounds are ranked fifth in rushing offense at 132.0 yards per game and fifth in passing offense at 144.0 yards per game. Moravian is tied for second in turnover margin with a +2.00 per game average as the Greyhounds have committed one turnover while forcing three turnovers. The Greyhounds are also first in the MAC in fourth down conversions at 100 percent (two of two). Individually, sophomore running back Tyler de Rouen leads the MAC in rushing with an average of 123.0 yards per game, and he is first in scoring at 12.0 points per game, first in all-purpose yards at 137.0 yards per game and tied for seventh in total offense at 123.0 yards per contest. Junior quarterback Brad Swartz is ranked fourth in passing yards per game at 144.0, and he is fourth in total offense at 145.0 yards per contest and seventh in pass efficiency with a 100.4 quarterback rating. Swartz is also tied for second in touchdown scoring at 6.0 points per game. Senior running back Marc Panepinto leads the MAC in kickoff return average at 42.5 yards a run back while junior tight end Kris Bisci is tied for fourth in receptions per game at 4.00 and tied for seventh in receiving yards per game at 51.0. Sophomore Brian Reckenbeil is fourth in kick scoring at 4.0 points per game, and he is fourth in field goals at 1.0 per contest, fourth in field goal percentage at 50.0 percent (one for two) and tied for fourth in extra-point percentage at 50.0 (one for two). Senior linebacker Cliff Garr and sophomore linebacker Andrew Morrissey are tied for first in the MAC with 2.0 fumbles forced per game. Senior defensive end Nick Feo is tied for third in forced fumble at 1.0 per contest while junior linebacker Dan Edleman leads the MAC with 2.0 fumble recoveries per game. Sophomore Michael Ientile (Manchester, NJ/Manchester Township HS) is tied for second in fumbles recovered with 1.0 per game. Senior cornerback Israel Aguila and junior safety Zach Santiago are both tied for first in the MAC with 2.0 passes defended per contest. Morrissey is tied for seventh in the MAC in tackles at 9.0 per game while Edleman is tied for tenth at 8.0. Garr and sophomore defensive lineman Don Maxwell are both tied for 17th in tackles at 7.0 while Santiago sophomore defensive back Carl Robinson (Boothwyn, PA/Garnet Valley HS) and freshman defensive back Brad Bodine are all tied for 36th at 5.0 tackles per game.

THE QUARTERBACKS: Junior Brad Swartz completed 12 of 24 passes for 144 yards in his first collegiate start. Swartz was sacked three times last week but did have a one-yard touchdown run.

IN THE BACKFIELD: In the backfield, sophomore tailback Tyler de Rouen has 123 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries while senior Marc Panepinto added 12 yards on three rushing attempts before leaving the game with an injury. Senior wide receiver Shawn Martell added two yards on two carries.

THE WIDE RECEIVERS: Junior tight end Kris Bisci leads the Moravian receivers with four catches for 51 yards while senior wide receiver Shawn Martell caught three passes for 41 yards. Martell has now caught 62 passes (16th in school history) for 1,086 yards (14th) in his career. Sophomore wide receiver Tyler Hersch caught two passes for 30 yards while sophomore running back Tyler deRouen had two catches for 14 yards. Junior wide receiver Sean Hill (West Reading, PA/Wyomissing HS), who was converted to the position from quarterback during the week leading up to the Susquehanna game, has one reception for eight yards.

OFFENSIVE LINE: Leading the way for the backfield will be a solid offensive line that returns two starters from last season with senior Andrew Remsing (Bath, PA/Northampton HS) and sophomore Timothy McBride (Egg Harbor Township, NJ/Egg Harbor Township HS) returning. Junior Dave Kircher (Manasquan, NJ/Manasquan HS), who began 2005 as a starter for Moravian before an injury in the fourth game of the year sidelined him for the remainder of the season, also gives experience to the Moravian line. Sophomore Wes Harpel (East Greenville, PA/Upper Perkiomen HS) and junior transfer Jeff Kocsis (Bethlehem, PA/Bethlehem Catholic HS) have earned the other two starting positions. Kocsis was a two-year starter for NCAA Division II East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania and earned on a spot on the All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference East Second Team last fall for the Warriors. Junior Eric Adams (Dover, NJ/Dover HS) and sophomore Blair Maginnis (Asbury, NJ/Warren Hills Regional HS) will also see action.

DEFENSIVE FRONT: Sophomore defensive end Don Maxell led the Moravian defensive front with seven tackles in the season opener. Senior defensive end Nick Feo made three tackles and forced a fumble while senior linemen Alex Smith-Constantine (Secaucus, NJ/Secaucus HS) and Michael Liccketto (Barrington, NJ/Haddon Heights HS) each had two tackles. Sophomore defensive tackle Robert Kadel (Blairstown, NJ/North Warren HS) added one tackle while sophomore Michael Ientile had one tackle and recovered a fumble.

THE LINEBACKER CORPS: Sophomore linebacker Andrew Morrissey made nine tackles and forced a pair of fumbles in the Greyhounds season opener while junior Dan Edleman had eight tackles with one for loss and two fumble recoveries in his first collegiate start. Senior linebacker Cliff Garr added seven tackles and forced a pair of fumbles.

THE DEFENSIVE BACKFIELD: In the defensive backfield, freshman cornerback Brad Bodine made five tackles with one sack in his collegiate debut while sophomore strong safety Carl Robinson had five tackles in his first college start for the Greyhounds. Junior free safety Zach Santiago also added five tackles with two pass break-up while senior cornerback Israel Aguila has three tackles and two passes defended. Sophomore cornerback Ryan Andrew (Belle Mead, NJ/Montgomery HS) added two tackles.

KICKING GAME: Sophomore Brian Reckenbeil is one-for-two on field goal attempts this season with a long of 34 yards, and he is one-of-two on extra-points with his miss being blocked by Susquehanna. Sophomore punter Michael Voskian is averaging 36.3 yards per punt on four kicks with two fair caught and one inside the 20-yard line. Voskian’s longest punt of the season is 40 yards.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Senior Marc Panepinto is averaging 42.5 yards per kickoff return after a 72 yard runback on his second return in the season opener. Freshman quarterback Ryan Rempe returned two punts for an average of 5.5 yards while sophomore wide receiver Robert Shaffer (Pottsville, PA/Pottsville HS) has made two 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 fifth time since 1996 that the Greyhounds did not play at least one overtime game.

WINNING WAYS: Moravian had 11 consecutive winning seasons—all under Coach Scot Dapp, from 1987 to 1997 and has had 15 winning seasons in Dapp’s 19 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 10th straight year, the Greyhounds' games will be on the radio. Moravian's games will be aired on WYHM 1470 AM for the third straight year. Phil May calls the play-by-play call with color commentary and technical assistance from John Elliott.

STARTERS PLAYER OF THE GAME: As part of Moravian's radio contract with 1470 WYHM, the announcers will select the Starters Player of the Game for Moravian during the St. Luke's Hospital Post-Game Show. Last week, sophomore running back Tyler de Rouen was selected as the Starters Player of the Game for his performance. de Rouen had 123 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries, and he added 14 more yards on two receptions. Starters Riverport and Starters Pub, sponsors of Moravian College Athletics, are located on 2nd Street and Route 378 South of Bethlehem.