Sports News: Fall 2000

November 13, 2000

MORAVIAN COLLEGE GREYHOUNDS SEASON REVIEW
6-4 (6-3 MAC; 3-2 MAC Commonwealth)

THE COACH: Scot Dapp (West Chester '73) finished his 14th season at Moravian, with a career record of 88-54-1 (.619).  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.

LAST WEEK: Moravian fell to longtime rival Muhlenberg College, 45-20 to close out the season on the 100th anniversary of the first two meetings between the two schools.  The Greyhounds finish the 2000 campaign at 6-4, a large improvement over the 2-8 campaign of 1999.  Moravian leads the series at 30-18-1.  Muhlenberg would score twice in the first quarter to take a 14-0 lead before the Greyhounds would get on the scoreboard.  Moravian would cut the lead to 14-6 early in the second stanza when sophomore wide receiver Josh Fick (Emmaus/Emmaus HS) took a handoff and ran three yards for a touchdown.  The extra-point failed and Moravian trailed 14-6.  Fick also grabbed three passes for 62 yards.  The Mules would extend the lead right back to 21 6 before the Hounds had the ball again.  Moravian would score on its next drive as well on a 14 yard pass from sophomore quarterback Charlie Bowden (Parlin, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial HS) to sophomore wide receiver Jarod Rhinehart (Washington, NJ/Warren Hills Regional HS) but the two-point conversion failed to set the score at 21-12.  Bowden, Moravian's MVP in the game, completed 16 of 32 passes for 250 yards to give him 2,237 on the year, the third best single season in Moravian history.  However, Bowden was intercepted twice in the game.  Rhinehart had four receptions for 39 yards with the touchdown his first of the year after five scores as a freshman.  Muhlenberg would need exactly 13 seconds to pad its lead as Joshua Carter received the kickoff at the ten yard line and ran up the middle of the field 90 yards for a touchdown.  The score gave the Mules a 28-12 halftime lead.  The Greyhounds would be the only team to score in the third quarter as freshman tailback Tim Barlok (Bethlehem/Bethlehem Catholic HS) scampered up the middle 36 yards for the touchdown.  A Bowden pass to Rhinehart for two points put Moravian down by eight points, 28-20 with 4:02 left in the third quarter.  Barlok led the Moravian ground game with 75 yards on 12 carries and he also had 50 yards on three receptions.  Senior running back P.J. Jankowicz (Belle Mead, NJ/Hillsborough HS) ran for 38 yards on seven attempts to complete his collegiate career with 2,103 yards, the sixth highest total in school history, on 587 carries, the second best total in school history.  Muhlenberg would finish out the scoring in the fourth quarter with 17 points.  Senior linebacker J.D. Rhinehart (Washington, NJ/Warren Hills Regional HS) paced the Greyhounds with 13 tackles, one interception and two pass break-ups.  Sophomore linebacker John Cupples (Allentown/Allentown Central Catholic HS) had 11 tackles in the game with one for loss.  Senior cornerback Doug Joseph (Allentown/ Parkland HS) and sophomore cornerback Nate Pogue (Bethlehem/Liberty HS) each made interceptions in the contest.

YOUNG, BALANCED & EXPERIENCED 'HOUNDS: Of the 75 players on the Moravian roster at the end of the season, 25 were freshmen, 30 were sophomores and 13 were juniors.  There were seven seniors on this season's squad and the Greyhounds should return 21 starters, including special teams, for the 2001 season.

GREYHOUNDS IN THE MAC: The 'Hounds defense finished the season ranked fifth the Middle Atlantic Conference in scoring defense, allowing just 23.5 points per game.  The Moravian defense also ranked fifth in rushing (125.8 yards per contest), sixth in passing (214.7 yards per game), fourth in total defense (340.5 yards per game), third in pass defense efficiency (106.35) and third in turnover margin (+0.50 per game).  The Greyhounds were a +5 in takeaway/giveaway this season.  On offense, the Greyhounds were fifth in scoring (25.5 points per game), sixth in rushing (121.1 yards per game), fourth in passing (231.4 yards per game), fourth in total offense (352.5 yards per contest) and fourth in pass efficiency (123.67).  Sophomore safety Jarrod Pence (Livingston, NJ/Livingston HS) finished third in the MAC with 0.56 interceptions per game while senior linebacker J.D. Rhinehart was tied for fourth at 0.50 interceptions per game.  Sophomore safety Mike Wukitsch (Allentown/Allentown Central Catholic HS) and senior cornerback Doug Joseph were tied for seventh in interceptions at 0.40 per contest.  Joseph was fourth in kickoff returns with 22.6 yards a run back and fourth in punt returns at 9.5 per return.  Sophomore quarterback Charlie Bowden ranked third in pass efficiency at 126.79, fourth in passing at 223.7 yards per game and fourth in total offense at 213.9 yards per contest.  Freshman Tim Barlok was sixth in kickoff returns at 21.0 yards per return, sixth in rushing per game with an average of 66.5 yards a contest, fifth in all-purpose yardage at 126.7 yards a game, seventh in scoring at 6.0 points per contest and seventh in touchdown scoring at 6.0 points per contest.  Freshman punter Alex Myshak (Lake Ariel/North Pocono HS) was seventh in punting at 32.9 yards per kick.  Junior Michael Abbate (South Plainfield, NJ/Bishop Ahr HS) was tenth in receiving yards per game at 59.8 yards a game, tenth in receptions per game at 3.70 and eighth in punt returns at 8.2 yard per return.  Junior kicker Marc Roesch (Egg Harbor City, NJ/ St. Augustine HS) ranks seventh in field goals per game (0.20) and tenth in kick scoring at 1.0 points per game.  Junior Jim McIntyre (Hackettstown, NJ/ Hackettstown HS) is sixth in extra-point percentage at 83.3 percent (15 of 18 kicks) and ninth in scoring at 1.8 points per game.

POLL POSITION: Moravian was selected to tie for fifth in the MAC Commonwealth preseason poll this season and will finish in second place.

BOWDEN LEADS THE 'HOUNDS OFFENSE: Sophomore quarterback Charlie Bowden completed 167 of 299 passes this season for 2,237 yards and 14 touchdowns with 11 interceptions, however, Bowden was sacked 29 times this season.  Bowden, who became the third Moravian quarterback to throw for 2,000 yards in a season, 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.  Bowden's mark of 2,237 yards was 102 yards behind Rob Light's total of 2,348 from 1989.  Sean Keville set the school record in 1994 with 2,819 yards.  Senior quarterback Jed Moyer (Dresher/Upper Dublin HS) has completed six of 13 passes for 77 yards and one interception this fall.  Moravian's quarterbacks were sacked 33 times this fall.

IN THE BACKFIELD: Freshman Tim Barlok led the squad with 665 yards on 122 attempts and eight touchdowns.  Barlok had two 100-yard games since getting into the starting line-up including a 197-yard, four-touchdown performance at Susquehanna University.  Senior tailback P.J. Jankowicz, who became the seventh player in Greyhound history to reach 2,000 career yards against FDU-Madison, had 264 yards and three touchdowns on 86 carries this season.  Jankowicz finished his career with the sixth best career total with 2,103 yards on 587 carries, the second highest career total in school history.  Sophomore tailback Josh Fick, who was converted to wide receiver for the rest of the season, had 28 carries for 130 yards and two touchdowns this year.  Senior fullback Frank Starner (Nazareth/Nazareth HS) added 189 yards on 52 carries and one touchdown.  Freshman Dave Darmofal (Clarks Summit/ Abington Heights HS) contributed 50 yards and a touchdown on 17 attempts.  Junior wide receiver Michael Abbate gained 26 yards on ten carries.

THE WIDE RECEIVERS: The Greyhounds had 13 players catch a pass this season.  Junior wideout Michael Abbate leads the team with 37 catches for 598 yards and five touchdowns while sophomore wide receiver Jarod Rhinehart has grabbed 32 aerials for 412 yards, a touchdown and two two-point conversions.  Freshman Kevin Miltenberger (Carlisle/Carlisle HS), who suffered a torn ACL against Juniata, had 23 receptions for 228 yards and two touchdowns.  Freshman wide receiver Jeff Lowry (Catawissa/Southern Columbia HS), who suffered a broken collarbone in the Juniata game, had eight receptions for 153 yards and a score.  Sophomore tight end Rick Kulp (Bethlehem/Northampton HS) had 14 catches for 285 yards and a touchdown while senior P.J. Jankowicz had 14 receptions for 171 yards and two touchdowns.  Freshman Tim Barlok grabbed 16 passes for 139 yards and two scores.  Sophomore Josh Fick had 12 catches for 176 yards while senior Frank Starner had ten catches for 89 yards.

DEFENSIVE FRONT: Senior defensive end Dustin Collier (Easton/Freedom HS) led the Greyhounds front four with 65 tackles with five and a half sacks, 11 tackles for loss, five pass break-ups, three fumble recoveries and one interception. Junior defensive tackle John Kwiatkowski (Whitehall/Whitehall HS) added 41 tackles, ten for loss and a team high five and a half sacks.  Sophomore defensive tackle Pat Mancini (Milford, NJ/Delaware Valley Regional HS) added 48 tackles, including eight for loss, half a sack, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery while sophomore defensive end Brian Cascioli (Center Valley/Southern Lehigh HS) had 32 tackles with two for loss and one sack.  Cascioli, who had a safety and a fumble return of 30 yards, also blocked a punt against Lebanon Valley College and earned a 36-yard return for recovering the block.  Sophomore defensive end Tom Blackledge (Sellersville/Pennridge HS) had 35 tackles with six for loss; two and a half sacks, one pass break-up, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble.

THE LINEBACKER CORP: Senior J.D. Rhinehart led the Greyhound defense with 97 tackles including 12 for loss, three and a half sacks, five interceptions, eight pass break-ups, one blocked kick and two forced fumbles.  Sophomore Bill Engler (Coopersburg/ Southern Lehigh HS) had 70 tackles this season with seven for loss and three and a half sacks.  Sophomore John Cupples added 90 tackles this fall with five for loss, two pass break-ups, one forced fumbles and one interception.  Freshman Steve Maslanek (Stockholm, NJ/ Vernon Township HS) had 26 tackles this season with two tackles for loss, two sacks, a fumble recovery and a partially blocked a punt against King's.

THE DEFENSIVE BACKFIELD: Sophomore safety Jarrod Pence made five interceptions this fall to lead the Greyhounds and he added 70 tackles, two forced fumbles, nine pass break-ups, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery, which he returned 29 yards for a touchdown against Lebanon Valley.  Senior cornerback Doug Joseph had four interceptions to go along with 60 tackles and 22 pass break-ups.  Junior safety Mike Wukitsch had 48 tackles; four interceptions and 11 pass break-ups while sophomore cornerback Nate Pogue had 62 tackles, 19 pass break-ups and three interceptions.  Freshman safety John Panikiewsky (Carteret, NJ/Carteret HS) had 27 tackles this season after 12 at King's in his first collegiate start.  Junior Jim McIntyre blocked a punt against King's and had 15 tackles this fall.

KICKING GAME: Junior Marc Roesch, who handled kickoffs, was four of seven on extra-points and two of five on field goal attempts this season.  Roesch made field goals of 28 and 33 yards.  Freshman Josh Miller (Boyertown/Boyertown HS) was five for seven on extra-points and he missed his only field goal attempt.  Junior Jim McIntyre made 15 of 18 extra-point attempts this year and a 25-yard field goal.  Freshman Alex Myshak was the Greyhounds punter and averaged 32.9 yards per kick with a long of 45 yards against Widener.  Myshak punted 48 times this fall.  Freshman John McLain (Belvidere, NJ/Belvidere HS) punted twice against FDU-Madison with a long of 50 yards but he also had two punts blocked.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Freshman Tim Barlok had 22 kickoff returns for 463 yards while junior Michael Abbate has returned 16 punts for 132 yards and one touchdown.  Senior Doug Joseph had 18 kickoff returns for 406 yards and ten punt returns for 95 yards.  Sophomore Josh Fick has returned two punts for 52 yards.

OVERTIME 'HOUNDS: For the first time since the NCAA instituted the rule for the 1996 season, the Greyhounds did not play an overtime game during the season.  Moravian has played a total of seven overtime games and is 5-2 all-time in the extra-session.

WINNING WAYS: Moravian had 11 consecutive winning seasons-all under Coach Scot Dapp, from 1987 to 1997.  That streak is the longest in school history and the Greyhounds have had winning seasons in 12 of Dapp's 14 years as head coach.  Dapp ranks third among Greyhound coaches in winning percentage.

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