Monday, October 22, 2001

MORAVIAN AT ALBRIGHT FOOTBALL PREVIEW

1:30 p.m.; Saturday, October 27 2001
Shirk Stadium (c. 7,000); Reading, PA

THE GAME: Moravian looks to win its third consecutive game and its first road contest of the season at Albright College in a Middle Atlantic Conference contest.  Kickoff is slated for 1:30 p.m. at Shirk Stadium in Reading.

THE COACHES: Scot Dapp (West Chester '73), who is coaching his 150^th game at Moravian this weekend and won the 90^th game of his career two weeks ago, is in his 15th season at Moravian with a career record of 91-57-1 (.614).  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.

Albright coach E.J. Sandusky (Penn State '92) is in his fifth season at the school with an overall mark of 24-23 (.511).

THE SERIES: Saturday's meeting will be the 57th in the series with Albright holding a 31-24-1 advantage.  The Lions won two years ago, 21-8, in Reading while Moravian captured last season's contest in Bethlehem, 27-17.

LAST TIME THEY MET: In Bethlehem last fall, quarterback Charlie Bowden (Parlin, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial HS) completed 19 of 33 passes for 256 yards and two touchdowns to lead Moravian to a 27-17 victory over Albright.  Bowden got the Greyhounds on the board with 10:55 remaining in the first quarter when he connected with wide receiver Michael Abbate (South Plainfield, NJ/Bishop Ahr HS) on a 64-yard scoring strike.  Marc Roesch (Egg Harbor City, NJ/St. Augustine HS) made the extra-point.  Abbate caught three passes for 109 yards.  Moravian would regain the lead with just over five minutes remaining in the first stanza on a one-yard scamper by senior tailback P.J. Jankowicz and a Roesch extra-point.  Bowden gave the Greyhounds the lead for good with a one-yard touchdown run with 18 seconds remaining in the first half.  The Greyhounds put the game away with a 21-yard scoring pass from Bowden to wide receiver Kevin Miltenberger (Carlisle/Carlisle HS) on a fourth and seven-play from the Albright 21 yard line.  Miltenberger was the top target for the Greyhound quarterbacks, catching six passes for 62 yards.  Cornerback Doug Joseph led the Greyhound defense with 12 tackles and he added one of the 'Hounds three interceptions.  Safety Jarrod Pence (Livingston, NJ/Livingston HS) had ten tackles in the game to go along with one forced fumble and one interception to end the first half.  Linebacker Bill Engler (Coopersburg/Southern Lehigh HS) had ten tackles while linebacker J.D. Rhinehart had nine tackles including one for loss and one interception.  Defensive tackle Pat Mancini (Milford, NJ/Delaware Valley Regional HS) added three tackles, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery for Moravian.

LAST WEEK:  Junior fullback Eric Gustafson (Collingswood, NJ/Collingswood HS) ran for touchdowns of 11 and seven yards and helped Moravian rack up 218 yards rushing on 53 carries in a 25-15 victory over Wilkes University in Middle Atlantic Conference action.  Gustafson, who had 40 yards on 11 carries, gave Moravian a 6-0 lead with 8:44 to play in the first quarter on his 11-yard touchdown score.  The Greyhound's extra-point attempt was blocked. After allowing a touchdown to Wilkes, the Greyhounds would take the lead for good with 42 seconds remaining in the first half on a ten-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Charlie Bowden to junior tight end Rick Kulp (Walnutport, PA/Northampton HS).  Bowden's two-point pass attempt failed.  Bowden completed nine of 18 passes for 123 yards while Kulp had two catches for 55 yards.  Moravian extended its lead to 18-7 at the 12:27 mark of the third quarter as the Greyhounds took the opening kickoff of the second half and scored on a two-yard touchdown run by sophomore tailback Tim Barlok (Bethlehem, PA/Bethlehem Catholic HS), who returned to the line-up after missing three weeks with a shoulder injury.  Again the Greyhounds failed on the two-point conversion attempt.  Barlok finished the game with 81 yards on 15 carries while sophomore tailback David Darmofal (Clarks Summit, PA/Abington Heights HS), who made his first career start, finished with a career high 85 yards on 19 carries.  The Greyhounds scored their final touchdown with 1:51 to play in the third quarter on Gustafson's seven-yard scamper.  Senior Marc Roesch made the extra-point for a 25-7 Moravian lead.  Junior linebacker John Cupples (Allentown, PA/Allentown Central Catholic HS) led the Moravian defense with 11 tackles including one and a half of the Greyhound's four sacks; four tackles for loss and one fumble recovery.  Senior defensive lineman John Kwiatkowski (Whitehall, PA/Whitehall HS) added nine tackles including one for loss while senior safety Mike Wukitsch (Allentown, PA/Allentown Central Catholic HS) have four tackles with a sack and a forced fumble on the same play.

SCOUTING ALBRIGHT: The Lions enter Saturday's game with an overall mark of 5-2 and a MAC record of 4-2.  Albright is coming off a 21-10 loss to Lycoming College.  Senior quarterback Mike Strack leads the Lions on the field, having completed 124 of 244 passes for 1,528 yards this season with nine touchdowns and just three interceptions.  Senior wideout Jason Scheerer has been the top target for Strack with 31 receptions for 332 yards.  Sophomore wide receiver Ernie Woolf has 24 catches for 261 yards and three scores while sophomore wideout Jesse Dorais has 17 receptions for 388 yards and four touchdowns this season.  On the ground for the Lions, senior tailback Keith Johnson has gained 381 yards on 98 carries with three touchdowns.  Freshman running back Adam Hubley has added 211 yards on 72 rushes with one score while senior fullback Buck Scarduzio has 202 yards on 56 carries.  Scheerer leads Albright with 21 punt returns for an average of 12.6 yards a return with one touchdown while Woolf has nine kickoff returns for an average of 17.4 yards.  Sophomore Bert Wenzel handles the punting duties for Albright and he is averaging 36.3 yards per punt on 48 attempts.  Senior place kicker George Merrill is 12-18 on extra-points this season and 15 of 24 on field goals with a long of 42 yards.  Defensively for Albright, senior linebacker Tom Fitti leads the squad with 53 tackles, nine tackle for loss and two sacks.  Senior linebacker Dave Barr has added 42 tackles, ten tackles for loss, three and a half sacks and three fumble recoveries and senior defensive lineman Russell Benditt has contributed 32 tackles, 22 for loss and five sacks.  Senior defensive end Chad Sload also has five sacks among hits 27 tackles with 14 for loss while senior defensive lineman Steve Panico has 31 tackles, ten for loss and four and a half sacks.  Senior defensive back Todd Hoffman leads the Lions with five interceptions with 39 return yards and he has added 26 tackles while senior defensive back Steve Biddle has 30 tackles, two tackles for loss and four interceptions with 63 return yards.

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 is an 11-team conference instead of two separate leagues.  Moravian was selected to finish fourth in the MAC Preseason Coaches Poll this season while Albright was picked ninth in the MAC poll.  Widener University, who reached the NCAA semifinals last season, was selected to win the MAC again this year.

MILESTONE WATCH: Senior wide receiver Michael Abbate is closing in on a milestone only four other Greyhounds have reached.  After catching three passes versus Delaware Valley, Abbate now has 99 career receptions and he needs just three catches to move into fourth all-time.  He is seventh in Moravian history with 1,342 yards and he needs just 59 yards to move into sixth.  Junior wideout Jarod Rhinehart (Washington, NJ/Warren Hills Regional HS) surpassed the 1,000-yard milestone versus Juniata.  Rhinehart has 1,031 yards on 75 career receptions.  Junior quarterback Charlie Bowden hit the 3,000-yard passing mark at Juniata as well and he is fifth all-time with 3,3216 yards.  Bowden needs 348 yards to move into fourth place.  He has completed 248 (4^th) of 469 (5^th) passes with 21 touchdowns (4^th).  Junior tailback Josh Fick (Emmaus, PA/Emmaus HS) needs just 90 yards to become the 17^th Greyhounds to surpass the 1,000-yard rushing mark.  Fick has 910 yards on 149 carries with 16 touchdowns in his career.

MAC STATISTICAL RANKINGS: The Greyhound offense is currently ranked fourth in the MAC, averaging 375.2 yards per game.  Moravian is seventh in passing at 193.5 yards a contest, third in rushing offense at 181.7 yards per game and second in scoring offense at 29.0 points per game.  Defensively, the Greyhounds are seventh in total defense, allowing 367.3 yards an outing.  Moravian is fifth rushing defense, allowing just 109.7 yards per game, tenth in passing defense at 257.7 yards per contest and fourth in scoring defense at 22.0 points per game.  The Greyhounds are third in turnover margin at +0.33 per game.  Individually, quarterback Charlie Bowden is seventh in passing offense at 194.8 yards per game, ninth in pass efficiency at 103.6 and seventh in total offense at 189.4 yards per game.  Tailback Josh Fick is fifth in the MAC in rushing at 93.6 yards per game.  Fick is second in scoring with 9.6 points per game, fifth in all-purpose yardage at 145.8 yards per game and ninth in kickoff return yardage with 20.1 yards per return.  Tailback David Darmofal is tied for sixth in kickoff return at 20.8 yards a run back.  Wide receiver Michael Abbate is sixth in punt return yardage at 6.5 yards per return.  Kicker Marc Roesch is eighth in the MAC in kick scoring at 2.3 points per game, seventh in extra-point percentage at 68.8 percent (11 of 16) and tenth in field goal percentage at 33.3.  Roesch is tied with cornerback/kicker Jim McIntyre for eighth in the MAC in field goals with 0.17 per game.  McIntyre is tied for first in field goal percentage at 1.000 and tied for second in fumbles recovered with two.  Linebacker John Cupples is tied for fourth in tackles with 9.5 per game while sophomore linebacker Steve Maslanek (Stockholm, NJ/Vernon Township HS) is tied for fifth with six sacks.  Freshman safety Bill Skriletz (Coopersburg, PA/Southern Lehigh HS) is tied for second in forced fumbles with two while cornerback Jarrod Pence leads the MAC with 19 pass break-ups.

BOWDEN LEADING THE 'HOUNDS OFFENSE: Quarterback Charlie Bowden completed 80 of 165 passes for 974 yards with seven touchdown and seven interceptions for the Greyhounds.  Bowden, who has been sacked nine times, has hit ten different receivers with a pass while 13 different Greyhounds have caught a pass this season.  Quarterback Will Seng has completed 11 of 18 passes for 187 yards and two touchdowns this season.  Seng has been intercepted twice but sacked just once.

IN THE BACKFIELD: Tailback Josh Fick leads the Greyhounds on the ground with 468 yards on 79 carries with eight touchdowns, including a 46-yard score.  Junior fullback Eric Gustafson has added 181 yards on 36 attempts with two touchdowns after a 121-yard performance at Juniata.  Wide receiver Michael Abbate has added 97 yards on 17 carries with two touchdowns while tailback David Darmofal has 199 yards on 45 attempts with one score.  Senior fullback Jerod Dobry (Pottstown, PA/St. Pius X HS) has added 36 yards on nine carries while sophomore tailback Tim Barlok has 94 yards and two touchdowns on 24 attempts.

THE WIDE RECEIVERS: The Greyhounds have had 13 different players catch a pass this season, led by wideout Michael Abbate, who has 286 yards on 24 receptions and two touchdowns.  Sophomore wide receiver Jeff Lowry (Catawissa, PA/Southern Columbia HS) has 19 receptions for 235 yards and two scores while wideout Jarod Rhinehart has 16 catches for 230 yards and two touchdowns.  Sophomore wideout Kevin Miltenberger has five receptions for 29 yards while tailback Josh Fick has eight catches for 107 yards.  Tight end Rick Kulp has added five catches for 71 yards and two touchdowns.

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 leads the front six for the Greyhounds with 22 tackles, one forced fumble, four tackles for loss and two and a half sacks.  Junior defensive end Tom Blackledge (Perkasie, PA/Pennridge HS) has added 21 tackles; seven for loss, three sacks and one fumble recovery.  Senior defensive end John Kwiatkowski has made 20 tackles with seven behind the line of scrimmage and two and a half sacks while junior nose guard Brian Cascioli (Center Valley, PA/Southern Lehigh HS) has eight tackles with two stops coming for a loss and one sack.  Sophomore Justin Moyer (Allentown, PA/Salisbury HS) has nine tackles this season.

THE LINEBACKER CORP: Junior John Cupples leads the Greyhound defense with 57 tackles with 13 tackles for loss, four sacks, one interception, three pass break-ups, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble.  Sophomore Bill Engler has made 41 tackles this year with nine tackles for loss, three sacks, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble.  Sophomore Steve Maslanek has added 41 tackles including three pass break-ups, four and a half sacks and eight tackles for loss.  Maslanek has also recovered one fumble and forced another.  Junior Vince Cowlishaw (Chatham, NJ/Chatham HS) has 32 tackles, including eight for losses, two sacks, one forced fumble and three pass break-ups.

THE DEFENSIVE BACKFIELD: Junior Jarrod Pence has made 36 tackles this season with two for loss, two interceptions and a team high 19 pass break-ups.  Senior cornerback Jim McIntyre has 30 tackles, two fumble recoveries for four yards, two interceptions with 35 yards in returns and 11 pass break-ups while senior safety Mike Wukitsch added 17 tackles, two tackles for loss, two pass break-ups, a sack a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.  Sophomore safety John Panikiewsky (Carteret, NJ/Carteret HS) has 12 tackles this season with two for loss.  Freshman safety Bill Skriletz has 32 tackles, seven pass break-ups, two interceptions with a 39-yard return and two forced fumbles.

KICKING GAME: Senior Marc Roesch is kicking off and punting for the Greyhounds this season.  He has had 33 kickoffs this year and he has been called on 32 times to punt.  Roesch averaged 31.3 yards per punt with a long of 44 yards with nine 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 11-for-16 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: Senior Michael Abbate has five kickoff returns for 156 yards, an average of 31.5 yards per return, with a long of 57 yards and he has 19 punt returns for 123 yards and a long of 14 yards.  Sophomore Dave Darmofal has eight kickoff returns for 166 yards and a long of 31 yards.  Junior Josh Fick has returned seven kickoff for 141 yards and four punts for 13 yards with a long of seven 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 Albright College SID Jim Wagner at (610/921-7833).