Sports News: Fall 2001

Monday, October 1, 2001

MORAVIAN AT JUNIATA FOOTBALL PREVIEW

1:30 p.m.; Saturday, October 6, 2001
Knox Stadium (c. 3,000); Huntingdon, PA

THE GAME: Moravian looks to win its second straight game and its first road game of the season at Juniata College in a Middle Atlantic Conference contest.  Kickoff is slated for 1:30 p.m. at Knox Stadium in Huntingdon.

THE COACHES: Scot Dapp (West Chester '73) is in his 15th season at Moravian, with a career record of 89-56-1 (.613).  He entered the season 43rd 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.

Juniata coach Kevin Burke (Gettysburg '90) is in his fourth season at the school with an overall mark of 13-21 (.382).

THE SERIES: Saturday's meeting will be the 47th in the series with Juniata owning a 23-21-2 lead.  The Eagles won last season 27-20 but Moravian has owned the series recently with a 7-3-1 record in the last 11 games.  The series has had a history of close games with last season's win by Juniata snapping a streak of five straight years in which the game ended in a regulation tie.  Four of those games went to overtime and three won by Moravian.  The Greyhounds last win was in 1999 in Huntingdon with a 38-37 overtime triumph.

LAST TIME THEY MET: In Bethlehem last fall, Juniata pulled out a 27-20 victory with a touchdown pass from Jamie Campbell to Matt Eisenberg with 47 seconds after Moravian had rallied from a 14-point deficit to tie the game at 20-20.  Campbell and Eisenberg connected on three touchdown passes (48, four and seven yards for the game winner).  Dusty Lehr made a pair of field goals for the Eagles as well.  After failing behind 3-0 early in the first quarter, the Greyhounds took a 7-3 lead on a four-yard touchdown run by tailback Tim Barlok (Bethlehem, PA/Bethlehem Catholic HS) and an extra-point by Josh Miller (Boyertown, PA/Boyertown HS).  After another Lehr field goal and the first two touchdown passes from Campbell to Eisenberg, Moravian quarterback Charlie Bowden (Parlin, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial HS) connected on a 27-yard touchdown strike to tight end Rick Kulp (Walnutport, PA/Northampton HS)Bowden ran in from one-yard out with 7:29 left in the fourth quarter and Jim McIntyre (Hackettstown, NJ/Hackettstown HS) made his second extra-point to tie the game.  Bowden completed 15 of 33 passes for 153 yards while Barlok led the Greyhounds with 139 yards on 21 carries and four receptions for 46 yards.  Campbell completed 29 of 49 passes for 315 yards.  Eisenberg grabbed eight passes for 109 yards while Nate Leach had ten receptions for 126 yards.  Running back Craig Moshier led Juniata with 70 yards.  Linebacker J.D. Rhinehart led Moravian with 12 tackles and one sack while Josh Seiders had 11 tackles to lead the Eagles.

LAST WEEK: Junior tailback Josh Fick (Emmaus, PA/Emmaus HS), making the first start of his collegiate career, ran for two touchdowns in the first 6:27 of the game to lead Moravian to a 14-0 lead and eventual 34-20 victory over Lebanon Valley College in MAC action.  Fick, who was named to the MAC Honor Roll for his performance, scored on a three-yard run with 11:22 to play in the first quarter on Moravian's first offensive play of the game.  Junior defensive back Jon McCann (Glenside, PA/Bishop McDevitt HS) blocked a Flying Dutchmen punt attempt on the 20-yardline and it was recovered by sophomore linebacker Steve Maslanek (Stockholm, NJ/Vernon Township HS) on the three to setup Fick's score.  Fick, who finished the game with 125 yards on 19 carries and three receptions for 45 yards, was the Greyhounds whole offense on the next drive as well.  After an incompletion, Fick had runs of 52, one and one yards to score.  Moravian connected on a two-point conversion pass from junior quarterback Charlie Bowden to junior tight end Rick Kulp to make the score 14-0.  The Greyhounds extended their lead to 21-0 with 10:21 left in the second quarter on a 36-yard touchdown run by sophomore tailback David Darmofal (Clarks Summit, PA/Abington Heights HS), who finished the game with 46 yards on four carries.  Moravian then scored on the opening drive of the second half on a 27-yard scoring strike from Bowden to sophomore wideout Jeff Lowry (Catawissa, PA/ Southern Columbia HS)Bowden completed 17 of 33 passes for 210 yards in the game with two scores and three interceptions.  Lowry caught six of those passes for 82 yards.  The Flying Dutchmen cut the score to 28-17 before the Greyhounds scored their final touchdown with 45 seconds remaining in the third quarter on a 13-yard pass from Bowden to junior wide receiver Jarod Rhinehart (Washington, NJ/Warren Hills Regional HS).  Junior linebacker John Cupples (Allentown, PA/Allentown Central Catholic HS), who was named to MAC Honor Roll, led the Moravian defense with 15 tackles including four for loss.  Junior cornerback Jarrod Pence (Livingston, NJ/Livingston HS) had ten tackles and four pass break-ups in the game while sophomore linebacker Bill Engler (Coopersburg, PA/Southern Lehigh HS) added nine tackles, four for loss and one and a half of Moravian's seven sacks in the game.  Freshman safety Bill Skriletz (Coopersburg, PA/Southern Lehigh HS) had two interceptions in the game for Moravian.

SCOUTING JUNIATA: The Eagles enter Saturday's game with an overall and MAC record of 1-3.  Juniata is coming off a 28-6 loss at Wilkes last weekend.  Freshman quarterback Greg Troutman leads the Eagles, having completed 83 of 179 passes for 738 yards and four touchdowns.  Troutman has thrown ten interceptions this season.  His top targets have been senior wide receiver Lucas Kelleher, who has 20 receptions for 209 yards and one score, sophomore tailback Craig Moshier with 18 catches for 154 yards, junior wideout Nate Leach, who has 17 catches for 231 yards and one touchdown, and senior wide receiver Andy Radomsky with 12 receptions for 145 yards and two scores.  Senior Josh Chubb has grabbed 11 passes for 71 yards.  Moshier leads the Eagles on the ground with 228 yards on 62 carries with two touchdowns.  Junior Dusty Lehr handles the kicking duties for the Eagles.  Lehr is one-for-two on field goals this season and three-for-six on extra-point attempts.  He is averaging 35.9 yards per punt on 31 attempts and a long of 60 yards.  Senior linebacker Josh Seiders leads the Eagle defense with 60 tackles this season including nine for loss and four sacks.  Seiders has also forced two fumbles and recovered another.  Junior linebacker Matt Wharton  has added 47 tackles with four for loss and two fumble recoveries this fall.  Junior defensive back Paul Evans leads Juniata in interceptions with three and has contributed 27 tackles, five pass break-ups and one blocked kick.

YOUNG, BALANCED & EXPERIENCED 'HOUNDS: Of the 84 players on the Moravian roster, 30 are freshmen, 19 are sophomores and 26 are juniors.  There are nine seniors on this season's squad and the Greyhounds return 39 letterwinners and 16 starters.

GREYHOUNDS IN THE MIDDLE ATLANTIC CONFERENCE: Beginning this season, the Middle Atlantic Conference will be an 11-team conference instead of two separate leagues.  Moravian was selected to finish fourth in the MAC Preseason Coaches Poll this season while Juniata was picked eighth in the MAC poll.  Widener University, who reached the NCAA semifinals last season, was selected to win the MAC again this year.

MAC STATISTICAL RANKINGS: The Greyhound defense is ranked eighth in the Middle Atlantic Conference.  Moravian is allowing 383.3 yards per game.  The defensive squad is tenth in passing defense at 274.7 yards per game, third in rushing defense at 108.7 yards per game and tied for sixth in scoring defense at 26.0 points per game.  Offensively, the Greyhounds are ranked fifth in total offense at 341.7 yards per contest.  Moravian is fifth in passing offense at 230.3 yards per contest, fifth in scoring offense at 24.3 points per game and eighth rushing offense at 111.3 yards per game.  The Greyhounds are tied for third in turnover margin with a +0.67 per game average this season.  Individually, Charlie Bowden is ranked fourth in the MAC in passing yards per game at 210.3.  Bowden is fourth in total offense at 197.3 yards per game and ninth in pass efficiency at 94.4.  Josh Fick is fifth in the MAC in rushing at 68.3 and fifth in scoring at 8.0 points per game.  Senior wide receiver Michael Abbate (South Plainfield, NJ/Bishop Ahr HS) is ranked first in kickoff returns with an average of 31.2 yards per return on five returns and he is tied for eighth in punt returns with an average of 5.1 yards on eight returns.  Marc Roesch is tenth in punting with an average of 31.6 yards per punt.  Roesch is ninth in kick scoring at 1.7 points per game and he is tied for seventh in the MAC in field goals per game at 0.33 and seventh in field goal percentage at .500.  Senior kicker Jim McIntyre is seventh in kick scoring at 2.0 points per game, tied for seventh in field goals per game with 0.33 and tied for first in field goal percentage at 1.000.  John Cupples is ranked fifth in tackles with 10.6 per contest.  Steve Maslanek is tied for sixth at 10.0 tackles per game and tied for fourth in sacks with four.  Jarrod Pence is second in the conference with ten pass break-ups.

BOWDEN LEADING THE 'HOUNDS OFFENSE: Charlie Bowden completed 49 of 108 passes for 631 yards with three touchdown and five interceptions in three games for the Greyhounds.  Bowden has hit ten different receivers with a pass while 12 different Greyhounds have caught a pass.  Sophomore quarterback William Seng has completed three of five passes for 60 yards this season.

IN THE BACKFIELD: Josh Fick leads the Greyhounds on the ground with 205 yards on 31 carries with four touchdowns, including a 46-yard score.  Michael Abbate has added 49 yards on ten carries while David Darmofal has 56 yards on nine attempts with one score.  Senior fullback Jerod Dobry (Pottstown, PA/St. Pius X HS) has added nine yards on five carries while sophomore tailback Tim Barlok has 13 yards and a touchdown on nine attempts.  Barlok left the game against Widener University early in the first quarter with a shoulder injury.

THE WIDE RECEIVERS: The Greyhounds have had 12 different players catch a pass this season, led by Michael Abbate, who has 136 yards on 11 receptions and one touchdown.  Jeff Lowry has 12 receptions for 147 yards and one score while Jarod Rhinehart has nine catches for 175 yards and one touchdown.  Sophomore wideout Kevin Miltenberger (Carlisle, PA/Carlisle HS) has four receptions for 27 yards while Josh Fick has seven catches for 94 yards.

OFFENSIVE LINE: Moravian has three starters back on the offensive line this season led by senior right tackle Matt Gray (Point Pleasant, NJ/Point Pleasant HS).  Also back on the line are center sophomore Josh Zagorski (Morris Plains, NJ/Parsippany Hills HS) and junior left guard John Giacchi (Franklin, NJ/Pope John XXIII HS).  Moravian's offensive line will average 6'0", 265 this season.  The two new starters on the line are freshman Andrew Leska (Coopersburg, PA/Southern Lehigh HS) and sophomore right guard Jeff Andruczyk (Hampton, NJ/Voorhees HS).

DEFENSIVE FRONT: Junior nose tackle Pat Mancini (Milford, NJ/Delaware Valley Regional HS) leads the front six for the Greyhounds with 12 tackles.  Mancini has forced one fumble, made two tackles for loss and one sack this season.  Junior defensive end Tom Blackledge (Sellersville, PA/Pennridge HS) added 12 tackles; four for loss, one sack and one fumble recovery.  Senior defensive end John Kwiatkowski (Whitehall, PA/Whitehall HS) has made eight tackles with three behind the line of scrimmage and one and a half sacks while junior nose guard Brian Cascioli (Center Valley, PA/Southern Lehigh HS) has four tackles with one stop coming for a loss.  Sophomore Justin Moyer (Allentown, PA/Salisbury HS) has eight tackles this season.

THE LINEBACKER CORP: John Cupples leads the Greyhound defense with 32 tackles with five tackles for loss, one and a half sacks and one forced fumble.  Steve Maslanek has added 30 tackles including three and a half sacks and six tackles for loss.  Maslanek has also recovered one fumble and forced another.  Bill Engler has made 25 tackles this year with three tackles for loss, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble.  Junior outside linebacker Vince Cowlishaw (Chatham, NJ/Chatham HS) has 19 tackles, including five for losses, one sack, one forced fumble and three pass break-ups.

THE DEFENSIVE BACKFIELD: Jarrod Pence has made 25 tackles this season with two for loss and a team high ten pass break-ups.  Senior cornerback Jim McIntyre has 17 tackles, two fumble recoveries for four yards and one pass break-up while senior safety Mike Wukitsch (Allentown, PA/Allentown Central Catholic HS) added nine tackles and a fumble recovery.  Sophomore safety John Panikiewsky (Carteret, NJ/Carteret HS) has ten tackles this season but left the Widener game with an injury.  Freshman Bill Skriletz has 11 tackles, two interceptions and two forced fumbles after stepping in for Panikiewsky.

KICKING GAME: Marc Roesch is kicking off and punting for the Greyhounds this season.  He has had 15 kickoffs this year and he has been called on 18 times to punt.  Roesch averaged 31.6 yards per punt with a long of 44 yards with six of his punts placed inside the 20-yard line.  Roesch also kicked a career-long 40-yard field goal against King's College and is two-for-four on extra-points.  Senior Jim McIntyre made a 32-yard field against King's and he is three for five on extra-points.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Michael Abbate has five kickoff returns for 156 yards, an average of 31.5 yards per return, with a long of 57 yards.  Tim Barlok has had three kickoff returns for an average of 16.3 yards with a long return of 22 yards.  Josh Fick has returned four punts for 13 yards with a long of seven yards while Abbate has eight punt returns for 41 yards and a long of eight 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.  Last year was the first 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 the squad has had 12 winning seasons in Dapp's first 14 years.  The 11-straight winning seasons is the longest streak in school history.  Dapp ranks third among Greyhound coaches in winning percentage.

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

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 Juniata College SID Bub Parker at (814/641-3134).