October 23, 2000

MORAVIAN AT SUSQUEHANNA FOOTBALL PREVIEW

THE GAME: Moravian looks to win its second straight game in a Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth game when the Greyhounds travel to Susquehanna University on Saturday, October 28th.  Kickoff is slated for 1:30 p.m. at Susquehanna's new stadium Nicholas A. Lopardo Stadium and Amos Alonzo Stagg Field in Selinsgrove, PA.

THE COACHES: Scot Dapp (West Chester '73) is in his 14th season at Moravian, with a career record of 86-53-1 (.618).  He entered the season 42nd 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.
Susquehanna coach Steve Briggs (Springfield '84) is in his 11th season at the school with an overall record of 73-36 (.670).

THE SERIES: Saturday's meeting will be the 27h in the series with Moravian holding a 13-12-1 advantage.  Susquehanna has won the last two contests between the two schools.

THE LAST TIME THEY MET: In Bethlehem last fall, the Greyhounds lost a ten point lead with ten minutes to play in a 27-24 loss on homecoming.  Moravian had taken a ten point lead in the first quarter on a 36-yard field goal by Jim McIntyre and a 38-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Rob Petrosky to wide receiver Jarod Rhinehart (Washington, NJ/Warren Hills Regional HS) and a McIntyre kick.  The Crusaders came back to take a 14-10 halftime lead on a 35-yard pass from Mike Bowman to Rashonn Drayton and an Isaac Hernandez three-yard touchdown run.  Kicker Andy Nadler made both extra-points.  Moravian would regain the lead in the third quarter on a pair of one-yard touchdown runs by Petrosky and McIntyre kicks.  The Greyhounds were about to extend their lead to 30-14 with 9:53 left in the game but Petrosky fumbled the ball into the end zone.  Susquehanna would take the ensuing drive and score on a 64-yard pass from Bowman to Jon Dvorshak.  Drayton capped the scoring with 44 seconds left in the game on a five-yard touchdown run.  Petrosky completed 11 of 24 passes for 169 yards but twice the Crusaders' Antonio Nash intercepted him.  Tailback P.J. Jankowicz (Belle Mead, NJ/Hillsborough HS) led Moravian on the ground with 88 yards on 24 carries.  Bowman completed 18 of 29 passes for 266 yards while Dvorshak gained 110 yards on 17 carries.  Linebacker Josh Wren and safety Jason Golden each made 13 tackles for the Greyhounds.

LAST WEEK: Senior tailback P.J. Jankowicz (Belle Mead, NJ/Hillsborough HS) became the seventh Moravian College football player to surpass 2,000 yards in a career with a 32-yard performance in Moravian's 36-13 victory over FDU-Madison in Middle Atlantic Conference action.  The Greyhounds snapped a three-game losing streak with the win.  Jankowicz, who has 2,021 yards after Saturday's game, went over the 2,000-yard plateau on a 12-yard carry in Moravian's second drive of the afternoon.  Jankowicz finished with the 32 yards on nine carries and one touchdown and he also caught three passes for 73 yards and two scores.  The Greyhounds took a 7-0 lead with 12:25 left to play in the first quarter on a seven-yard scoring scamper by freshman tailback Tim Barlok (Bethlehem/Bethlehem Catholic HS) and an extra-point kick from junior Jim McIntyre (Hackettstown/Hackettstown HS).  Moravian needed to move just 18 yards for the score as junior defensive tackle John Kwiatkowski (Whitehall/Whitehall HS) had sacked FDU-Madison quarterback Brad Bishop and forced a fumbled, which was recovered by Moravian sophomore defensive end Tom Blackledge (Sellersville/Pennridge HS).  Moravian would take a 9-0 lead six minutes later when sophomore defensive end Brian Cascioli (Center Valley/Southern Lehigh HS) sacked Bishop in the end zone.  The Greyhounds would extend the lead to 23-0 before the Devils would score.  Sophomore quarterback Charlie Bowden (Parlin, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial HS) hit Jankowicz on touchdown passes of four and 51 yards.  Bowden completed 16 of 23 passes for 242 yards with the two touchdowns and one interception.  Moravian would extend its lead to 36-6 on a pair of touchdown runs.  Senior fullback Frank Starner (Nazareth/Nazareth HS), who led the Greyhound ground attack in the game with 54 yards on 12 carries, took the ball in from one yard out but McIntyre missed the extra-point.  Barlok also had 54 yards on 11 carries in the game.  Jankowicz closed out the Moravian scoring with 9:35 to play in the fourth stanza on a 12-yard run.  McIntyre made his fourth kick of the afternoon.  Defensively for the Greyhounds, sophomore linebacker John Cupples (Allentown/Allentown Central Catholic HS) had ten tackles while senior defensive end Dustin Collier (Easton/Freedom HS) had five tackles, a sack, a fumble recovery and an interception in the game.

SCOUTING SUSQUEHANNA: The Crusaders enter Saturday's game with a 5-2 overall record but Susquehanna has lost its last two games, including last Saturday's 34-27 loss to Lebanon Valley College in the final 14 seconds.  Sophomore quarterback Mike Bowman leads the Crusader offense with 127 completions in 252 attempts for 1,732 yards and 13 touchdowns.  However, Bowman has also been intercepted 13 times this year.  His top targets have been freshman wide receiver Mark Bartosic with 34 receptions for 686 yards and 11 touchdowns and sophomore running back Jon Dvorshak with 25 catches for 284 yards.  Sophomore wide receiver Tim Ronchi has grabbed 23 passes for 264 yards while senior wideout Josh Kitchin has 19 catches for 219 yards.  Senior running back Rashonn Drayton leads the Susquehanna ground game with 638 yards on 141 carries and 11 touchdowns.  Junior running back Isaac Hernandez has 218 yards on 40 carries and Dvorshak has 152 yards on 53 carries.  Sophomore Andy Nadler handles the place licking duties for Susquehanna and he as connected on 21 of 24 extra-points and six of eight field goals.  Senior Ryan Hollis is the Crusaders' punter and is averaging 37.9 yards per punt with a long of 56 yards on 30 punts.  Sophomore free safety Antonio Nash and junior linebacker Troy Sosnovik each have 52 tackles this season to lead the Crusader defense.  Senior defensive end Frank Hanlon leads Susquehanna with 15 tackles for loss and seven and a half sacks among his 35 tackles.  Junior cornerback Tom Kay has a team leading four interceptions.

YOUNG, BALANCED & EXPERIENCED 'HOUNDS: Of the 75 players on the Moravian roster, 25 are freshmen, 30 are sophomores and 13 are juniors.  There are seven seniors on this season's squad and the Greyhounds returns 35 letterwinners and 14 starters.

GREYHOUNDS IN THE MAC: The 'Hounds defense is third the Middle Atlantic Conference in scoring defense, allowing just 19.4 points per game.  The Moravian defense also ranks fifth in rushing (117.6 yards per contest), second in passing (188.4 yards per game), third in total defense (3.06.0 yards per game), second in pass defense efficiency (96.98) and tied for fourth in turnover margin (+0.43 per game).  The Greyhounds are a +3 in takeaway/giveaway this season.  On offense, the Greyhounds are seventh in scoring (22.1 points per game), seventh in rushing (105.3 yards per game), fifth in passing (227.3 yards per game), sixth in total offense (332.6 yards per contest) and fourth in pass efficiency (124.86).  Sophomore safety Jarrod Pence (Livingston, NJ/ Livingston HS) is tied for second in the MAC with 0.67 interceptions per game while senior linebacker J.D. Rhinehart (Washington, NJ/Warren Hills Regional HS), sophomore safety Mike Wukitsch (Allentown/Allentown Central Catholic HS) and senior cornerback Doug Joseph (Allentown/ Parkland HS) are tied for eighth with 0.43 interceptions per game.  Joseph is tied fifth in kickoff returns with 22.9 yards a run back and sixth in punt returns at 9.8 per return.  Sophomore quarterback Charlie Bowden ranks fourth in pass efficiency at 128.87, fifth in passing at 216.3 yards per game and fifth in total offense at 199.9 yards per contest.  Freshman Tim Barlok is tied for fifth in kickoff returns at 22.9 yards per return, ninth in rushing per game with an average of 49.6 yards a contest and ninth in all-purpose yardage at 108.1 yards a game.  Freshman punter Alex Myshak (Lake Ariel/North Pocono HS) is seventh in punting at 32.5 yards per kick.  Junior Michael Abbate (South Plainfield, NJ/Bishop Ahr HS) is tenth in receiving yards per game at 60.7 yards a game while freshman wide receiver Kevin Miltenberger (Carlisle/ Carlisle HS) is ranked tenth in receptions per game with 3.83 catches a contest.  Junior kicker Marc Roesch (Egg Harbor City, NJ/St. Augustine HS) ranks eighth in field goals per game (0.29) and tenth in points per game (1.4).  Junior Jim McIntyre is tied for sixth in extra-point percentage at 85.7 percent (six of seven kicks).

POLL POSITION: Moravian was selected to tie for fifth in the MAC Commonwealth preseason poll this season while Susquehanna was picked to tie for first place in the MAC Commonwealth with Widener University.  Lycoming College was again selected as the top team in the MAC.

BOWDEN LEADS THE 'HOUNDS OFFENSE: Sophomore quarterback Charlie Bowden has completed 114 of 206 passes this season for 1,514 yards and 11 touchdowns with six interceptions, however, Bowden has been sacked 27 times this season.  Bowden threw for 343 yards against Widener University, which was the sixth highest game total in Moravian history and the first 300-yard game since 1997.  Senior quarterback Jed Moyer (Dresher/Upper Dublin HS) has completed six of 12 passes for 77 yards and one interception this fall.  Moravian's quarterbacks have been sacked 30 times this fall.

IN THE BACKFIELD: Freshman Tim Barlok leads the squad with 347 yards on 70 attempts and two touchdowns.  Barlok had his first career 100-yard game against Juniata College with 139 yards.  Sophomore tailback Josh Fick (Emmaus/Emmaus HS) has 25 carries for 118 yards and one touchdown this year.  Senior tailback P.J. Jankowicz, who became the seventh player in Greyhound history to reach 2,000 career yards with 32 last weekend, has 182 yards and three touchdowns on 62 carries this season.  Senior fullback Frank Starner has added 149 yards on 40 carries and one touchdown.  Freshman Dave Darmofal (Clarks Summit/Abington Heights HS) has contributed 35 yards on 11 attempts.

THE WIDE RECEIVERS: The Greyhounds have had 13 players catch a pass this season but have four receivers suffering from injuries.  Freshman Kevin Miltenberger, who suffered a strained knee against Juniata, has 23 receptions for 228 yards and two touchdowns.  Junior wideout Michael Abbate has 23 catches for a team high 425 yards and four touchdowns while sophomore wide receiver Jarod Rhinehart has grabbed 19 aerials for 264 yards.  Freshman wide receiver Jeff Lowry (Catawissa/Southern Columbia HS), who suffered a broken collarbone in the Juniata game, has eight receptions for 153 yards and a score.  Sophomore tight end Rick Kulp (Bethlehem/Northampton HS) has nine catches for 148 yards and a touchdown while senior tailback P.J. Jankowicz has 12 receptions for 136 yards.  Freshman tailback Tim Barlok has grabbed nine passes for 67 yards.

OFFENSIVE LINE: Moravian has three starters back on the offensive line this season including senior tackle Adam Smith (Allentown/Parkland HS).  Smith will anchor the line which averages 6'0", 253.  Junior Matt Gray (Point Pleasant, NJ/Point Pleasant HS) moved from center to the other tackle position.  Junior Jon Williams (Allentown/Parkland HS) returns to one guard spot while sophomore John Giacchi (Franklin, NJ/Pope John XXIII) moved into the starting role in the other guard position.  Sophomore Josh Zagorski (Morris Plains, NJ/Parsippany Hills HS) is the starting center.

DEFENSIVE FRONT: Senior defensive end Dustin Collier leads the Greyhounds front four with 46 tackles with two sacks, six tackles for loss and one interception.  Collier had a career high 14-tackle performance at King's College.  Junior defensive tackle John Kwiatkowski has added 39 tackles, nine for loss and a team high four and a half sacks.  Sophomore defensive tackle Pat Mancini (Milford, NJ/Delaware Valley Regional HS) has added 35 tackles, including five for loss, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery while sophomore defensive end Brian Cascioli has 26 tackles with two for loss and one sack.  Cascioli also blocked a punt against Lebanon Valley College and earned a 36-yard return for recovering the block.  Sophomore defensive end Tom Blackledge has 27 tackles with four for loss, two sacks and one forced fumble.

THE LINEBACKER CORP: Senior J.D. Rhinehart leads the Greyhound defense with 69 tackles including 11 for loss, three and a half sacks, three interceptions, five pass break-ups and two forced fumbles.  Sophomore Bill Engler (Coopersburg/Southern Lehigh HS) has 55 tackles this season with seven for loss and three and a half sacks.  Sophomore John Cupples has added 53 tackles this fall with three for loss.  Freshman Steve Maslanek (Stockholm, NJ/Vernon Township HS) has 19 tackles this season with two tackles for loss, two sacks and a partially blocked a punt against King's.

THE DEFENSIVE BACKFIELD: Sophomore safety Jarrod Pence has made four interceptions this fall to lead the Greyhounds and he has added 52 tackles, one forced fumble, seven pass break-ups and one fumble recovery, which he returned 29 yards for a touchdown against Lebanon Valley.  Senior cornerback Doug Joseph has three interceptions to go along with 38 tackles and 16 pass break-ups.  Junior safety Mike Wukitsch has 31 tackles; three interceptions and nine pass break-ups while sophomore cornerback Nate Pogue (Bethlehem/Liberty HS) has 41 tackles and 13 pass break-ups.  Freshman safety John Panikiewsky (Carteret, NJ/Carteret HS) has 19 tackles this season after 12 at King's in his first collegiate start.  Junior Jim McIntyre blocked a punt against King's and has six tackles this fall.

KICKING GAME: Junior Marc Roesch is four of seven on extra-points and two of five on field goal attempts this season.  Roesch has made field goals of 28 and 33 yards.  Freshman Josh Miller is five for seven on extra-points and he missed his only field goal attempt.  Junior Jim McIntyre has made six of seven extra-point attempts this year.  Freshman Alex Myshak is the Greyhounds punter and is averaging 32.5 yards per kick with a long of 45 yards against Widener.  Myshak has punted 35 times this fall.  Freshman John McLain (Belvidere, NJ/Belvidere HS) punted twice last week with a long of 50 yards but he also had two punts blocked.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Freshman Tim Barlok has 15 kickoff returns for 343 yards while junior Michael Abbate has returned nine punt returns for 52 yards.  Senior Doug Joseph has 12 kickoff returns for 275 yards and nine punt returns for 88 yards.  Sophomore Josh Fick has returned two punts for 52 yards.

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.

ON THE AIRWAVES: For the fourth straight year, the Greyhounds football game will be aired on WGPA, Sunny 1100 AM.  Phil May will handle the play-by-play call with color commentary from Jim Wills and Chuck Hixson.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Please contact SID Mark Fleming, either at Moravian's sports information office (610/861-1472) or at home (610/758-8721) or Susquehanna SID Jim Miller at (570/372-4119).