Tuesday, November 14, 2000

SIX GREYHOUND FOOTBALL PLAYERS EARN ALL-MAC HONORS

ANNVILLE, PA --- Senior cornerback Doug Joseph (Allentown/Parkland HS) and freshman tailback Tim Barlok (Bethlehem/Bethlehem Catholic HS) of the Moravian College football team have been named to the Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth All-Star First Team in voting by the league's coaches.

Senior offensive tackle Adam Smith (Allentown/Parkland HS), senior linebacker J.D. Rhinehart (Washington, NJ/Warren Hills Regional HS), senior defensive end Dustin Collier (Easton/Freedom HS) and junior wide receiver Michael Abbate (South Plainfield, NJ/Bishop Ahr HS) earned MAC Commonwealth All-Star Second Team accolades for the Greyhounds, who finished the 2000 season at 6-4, a four game improvement over the 1999 season.

Joseph, who earned MAC Commonwealth Second Team honors as a freshman in 1997, helped the Greyhound defense intercept three passes in a game six times this season and 23 for the season.  Joseph had four of those interceptions and a team high 22 pass break-ups.  He had 60 tackles on the season and completed his career with 207 tackles, 75 pass break-ups and 13 interceptions.

Barlok, who transferred into Moravian this fall, was inserted into the starting line-up in the fourth game of the season and responded with a pair of 100-yard games including a 197-yard, four-touchdown performance at Susquehanna University in week eight.  Barlok led the Greyhounds rushing attack with 665 yards on 122 carries and scored eight rushing touchdowns.  He also caught 16 passes for 139 yards and two scores.

Smith helped the offensive line clear holes for Barlok and protect sophomore quarterback Charlie Bowden (Parlin, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial HS), who passed for 2,237 yards this season, the third best single season mark in Moravian history.  Smith and his counterparts on the line helped the Greyhounds produce 352.5 yards of offense per game.

Rhinehart, who was a MAC Commonwealth Second Team All-Star last season, led Moravian's defense in tackles and had his second straight 90-plus-tackle season.  Rhinehart made 97 tackles, with 52 solo stops, 12 tackles for loss and three and a half sacks.  He also tied for the team lead with five interceptions while forcing two fumbles and breaking up eight passes.  Rhinehart completed his Moravian career with 266 tackles, 34 tackles for loss, ten sacks and ten interceptions.

Collier led the Moravian front four on defense with 65 tackles, the best season of his career.  Collier, who was the MAC Defensive Player of the Week after Moravian's 28-21 win at Wilkes University, added 11 tackles for loss, a team leading five and a half sacks, five pass break-ups, three fumble recoveries and an interception this fall.

Abbate caught a team high 37 passes for 598 yards and five touchdowns this season.  He was also the Greyhounds punt returner with 16 returns for 132 yards and a touchdown.  Abbate, who became the 11^th player in Moravian history to surpass 1,000 career-receiving yards, has caught 75 passes for 1,076 yards and eight touchdowns in three seasons.  He also has 16 rushes for 34 yards, 23 kickoff returns for 360 yards and 50 punt returns for 459 yards.