Monday, October 21, 2002

MORAVIAN COLLEGE GREYHOUNDS, 4-2 (4-2 MAC)

WILKES UNIVERSITY COLONELS, 4-2 (3-2 MAC)

1:00 p.m.; Saturday, October 26, 2002
Ralston Field (c. 4,000); Wilkes-Barre, PA

THE GAME: Moravian will try to extend its winning streak to four straight contests in a Middle Atlantic Conference contest at Wilkes University. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m. at Ralston Field in Wilkes-Barre, PA.

THE COACHES: Scot Dapp (West Chester ’73) is in his 16th season at Moravian, with a career record of 97-61-1 (.613). He entered the season 45th 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.

Wilkes coach Frank Sheptock (Bloomsburg ’89) is in his seventh season at the school with an overall mark of 38-30 (.559).

THE SERIES: Saturday’s meeting will be the 32nd in the series with Moravian holding a 26-14-1 advantage. The Greyhounds have won the last three years, including a 25-15 win last fall, a 28-21 victory the last time the game was in Wilkes-Barre and 28-22 in overtime back in 1999.

LAST TIME THEY MET: In Bethlehem last fall, 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 Greyhounds' 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 quarterback Charlie Bowden (Parlin, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial HS) to 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 tailback Tim Barlok. Again the Greyhounds failed on the two-point conversion attempt. Barlok finished the game with 81 yards on 15 carries while tailback David Darmofal (Clarks Summit, 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. Linebacker John Cupples (Allentown, PA/Allentown Central Catholic HS) led the defense with 11 tackles including one and a half of the Greyhound’s four sacks; four tackles for loss and one fumble recovery. Defensive lineman John Kwiatkowski added nine tackles while safety Mike Wukitsch had four tackles with a sack and a forced fumble.

LAST GAME: Senior quarterback Charlie Bowden completed nine of 11 passes for 187 yards and three touchdowns and he ran for 47 yards on three carries and another score as Moravian defeated Delaware Valley College, 33-13, in MAC action. The Greyhounds took a 7-0 lead with 7:25 to play in the first quarter on a ten-yard scoring strike from Bowden to junior wide receiver Kevin Miltenberger (Carlisle, PA/Carlisle HS). Freshman Nate Strohl (Coplay, PA/ Whitehall HS) added the extra-point, his 13th of the season. Bowden and Miltenberger hooked up for a 33-yard pass play on Moravian’s first play from scrimmage to start the drive. Moravian extended its lead to 13-0 with 1:55 left in the first half on a two-yard touchdown run by junior tailback David Darmofal to cap a 13-play, 80-yard drive. Strohl had the extra-point blocked, just his second miss of the year. The Greyhounds added another touchdown with 49 seconds remaining in the second quarter on a 15-yard pass from Bowden to senior tight end Rick Kulp. Moravian went for two but Bowden’s pass attempt to Miltenberger was incomplete to set the halftime score at 19-0. The scoring drive was setup by a 32-yard interception return by junior cornerback Nate Pogue (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty HS). Moravian scored on its first possession of the second half on a 20-yard pass from Bowden to Miltenberger and Strohl’s extra-point made the score 25-0 with 11:35 remaining in the third quarter. Bowden finished off Moravian’s next drive with a one-yard touchdown dive with 5:03 left in the third quarter. Strohl added the extra-point for a 33-0 lead. The Greyhounds racked up 232 yards on the ground on the afternoon with senior tailback Josh Fick (Emmaus, PA/Emmaus HS) gaining 45 yards on 11 carries and senior fullback Eric Gustafson adding 40 yards on six carries. Senior linebacker Vince Cowlishaw (Chatham, NJ/Chatham HS) led the Moravian defense with ten tackles including two for loss while senior defensive lineman Tom Blackledge (Sellersville, PA/Pennridge HS) had seven tackles with four for loss and half a sack. Senior linebacker John Cupples also added seven tackles.

SCOUTING WILKES: The Colonels come into Saturday's game with a record of 4-2 and a 3-2 slate in the MAC. Wilkes is led on the field by sophomore quarterback Matt Kaskie, who has completed 49 of 100 passes for 827 yards with eight touchdowns and seven interceptions. His top targets have been junior wide receiver Mike Walk, who has 19 receptions for 359 yards and two scores, junior wideout Bobby Thompson, who has nine catches for 221 yards and three scores and junior tight end Brian Fritts with seven receptions for 131 yards and two touchdowns. Wilkes is averaging 242 yards per game on the ground and is led by sophomore tailback Brett Trichilo, who has 492 yards and four scores on 62 carries in three games. Freshman tailback Jake Remmel has added 276 yards and one score on 55 attempts while Kaskie has 189 yards on 76 carries. Thompson is averaging 9.1 yards per punt return on 19 returns while sophomore Maleek Mills leads Wilkes in kickoff returns with an average of 16 yards on six returns. Senior Will McLaughlin is 17-for-20 on extra-points this fall and he has connected on five of ten field goal attempts with a long of 35 yards. Freshman Kyle Devlin is the Colonels punter and he is averaging 35.9 yards per punt. On defense, Wilkes is being led by senior linebacker Mike DaRe, who has 46 tackles with six for loss and one sack. Sophomore defensive back Troy Wilson has added 37 tackles, eight pass break-ups and two interceptions while junior linebacker Steve Rogers has 34 tackles, four tackles for loss and two sacks. Junior linebacker Chris Caccavale leads the Colonels with three sacks and he has contributed a total of 30 tackles. Sophomore defensive back Jon Jamison has 26 tackles and nine pass break-ups this fall.

YOUNG, BALANCED & EXPERIENCED ‘HOUNDS: Of the 96 players on the Moravian roster, 44 are freshmen, 16 are sophomores and 14 are juniors. There are 22 seniors on the squad, the most ever for head coach Scot Dapp, and the Greyhounds return 42 letterwinners and 18 starters.

GREYHOUNDS IN THE MIDDLE ATLANTIC CONFERENCE: Beginning last season, the Middle Atlantic Conference became an 11-team conference instead of two separate leagues. Moravian was selected to finish sixth in the MAC Preseason Coaches Poll this season while Wilkes was picked seventh. Widener, which reached the NCAA quarterfinals last season, was again selected as the top team in the MAC.

MAC STATISTICAL RANKINGS: Moravian is ranked fourth in the MAC in total defense, allowing 352.7 yards per game. The squad is tenth in passing defense at 278.5 yards per game and the defense is third in rushing yards allowed at 74.2. The Greyhounds are tied for third in points allowed at 21.8 per game but the squad is tied for eighth in points scored per game at 25.7. Offensively, Moravian is ninth in the MAC at 323.5 yards per game. The Greyhounds are ranked fifth in rushing offense at 163.7 yards per game and ninth in passing offense at 159.8 yards per game. Moravian is ninth in turnover margin with a -0.67 per game average as the team has committed 19 turnovers while forcing 15 turnovers. Individually, junior tailback David Darmofal is eighth in rushing, averaging 53.7 yards per game. Senior quarterback Charlie Bowden is seventh in passing yards per game at 151.8 yards per game and he is sixth in pass efficiency at 127.5 and eight in total offense at 152.2 yards per game. Junior wide receiver Kevin Miltenberger is third in punt returns with an average of 9.3 yards while senior tailback Josh Fick is tenth at 5.3 yards per return. Sophomore wide receiver Jed Warsager (Newton, NJ/Andover HS) is second in kickoff returns, averaging 29.2 yards a return with one touchdown. Junior punter John McLain (Belvidere, NJ/Belvidere HS) is second in punting at 40.3 yards per kick. Freshman Nate Strohl is second in kick scoring a 5.5 points per game, first in field goals per game at 1.0, first in field goal percentage at 85.7 and fifth in PAT percentage at 88.2 percent. Junior cornerback Nate Pogue is tied for second in interceptions at 0.67 per game and second in pass break-ups with 11 while senior cornerback Jarrod Pence (Livingston, NJ/Livingston HS) is tied for eight at 0.33 interceptions per game and first in pass break-ups with 14. Senior linebacker John Cupples is sixth in tackles at 8.5 per game and he leads the conference with four forced fumbles.

NCAA STATISTICS: Moravian had six players ranked and the Greyhounds’ defense was ranked in the top 40 in the fifth release of the NCAA Division III football statistics released last Tuesday. Moravian’s highest ranked individual was senior defensive lineman Tom Blackledge who was tied for sixth in the country in tackles for loss with an average of 2.8 per game. Senior defensive back Jarrod Pence was tied for 14th in the nation in passes defended at 2.0 per game while junior defensive back Nate Pogue was tied for 32nd at 1.8 per game. Moravian’s other three players were ranked in special teams categories with freshman kicker Nate Strohl tied for tenth in field goals per game with an average of 1.2, junior punter John McLain 19th in the country in punting with an average of 39.7 yards per punt, and sophomore wide receiver Jed Warsager ranked 20th in the nation in kickoff returns with an average of 29.2 yards per return. The Greyhounds were tied for 20th in the country in rushing defense, only allowing 79.2 yards per contest on the ground.

MILESTONE WATCH: Senior wideout Jarod Rhinehart (Washington, NJ/Warren Hills Regional HS) surpassed the 1,000-yard milestone last season. Rhinehart has 1,288 yards (ninth) on 97 career receptions (sixth). Rhinehart needs five receptions to move to fifth and 13 yards to move into eighth. Senior quarterback Charlie Bowden is also moving up the record books. He has completed 345 (fourth) of 671 (fourth) passes for 4,567 (fourth) yards with 36 touchdowns (third). Bowden needs 964 yards, 71 completions, and 118 attempts to move into third in each category and he needs 12 touchdowns to tie the school record of 48. Senior tailback Josh Fick became the 17th Greyhound to reach 1,000 yards rushing in the Lebanon Valley game. Fick has 1,136 yards (15th) on 205 carries with 17 touchdowns in his career. Fick needs 17 yards to move into 14th in career rushing.

BOWDEN LEADING THE ‘HOUNDS OFFENSE: Senior quarterback Charlie Bowden has completed 60 of 124 passes for 911 yards with 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions this year. Junior Will Seng (Allentown, PA/William Allen HS) has completed three of seven passes for 25 yards while freshman Jerry Venturino (Hopatcong, NJ/Hopatcong HS) has completed one of three attempts for 23 yards.

IN THE BACKFIELD: Junior tailback David Darmofal leads the Greyhounds with 322 yards and three touchdowns on 79 carries. His 100-yard game against FDU-Florham was the first of Darmofal's career. Senior fullback Eric Gustafson has picked up 206 yards on 42 carries while sophomore fullback Bill Carasia (Fair Haven, NJ/Rumson-Fair Haven HS) has 92 yards on 27 carries. Senior tailback Josh Fick has 226 yards and a touchdown on 56 attempts while freshman Kevin Lukich (Ogdensburg, NJ/Wallkill Valley) has 52 yards on 12 carries.

THE WIDE RECEIVERS: Senior tight end Rick Kulp has pulled down a team high 12 passes for 183 yards and three touchdowns while junior wide receiver Kevin Miltenberger has 12 receptions for 164 yards and two touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Jarod Rhinehart has caught 11 passes for 166 yards while freshman wideout Ben Hawkins (Belmar, NJ/Manasquan HS) has nine receptions for 234 yards and four scores. Junior wide receiver Jeff Lowry (Catawissa, PA/Southern Columbia HS) has five catches for 64 yards while junior tailback David Darmofal has six receptions for 48 yards and two scores.

DEFENSIVE FRONT: Senior defensive end Tom Blackledge leads the Hounds up front defensively with 39 tackles including 18 for loss and two and a half of Moravian's 11 sacks. Sophomore defensive end Shawn Nelson (Bethlehem, PA/Bethlehem Catholic HS) has added 16 tackles with five for loss and two fumble recoveries while senior nose tackle Pat Mancini (Milford, NJ/Delaware Valley Regional HS) also has 16 stops with three for loss and a pair of fumble recoveries. Sophomore lineman Kevin McLaughlin (Philadelphia, PA/Northeast Catholic HS) has added five tackles.

THE LINEBACKER CORPS: Senior John Cupples leads the defense with 51 tackles. Cupples also has one and a half sacks, three pass break-ups, four forced fumbles and seven tackles for loss. Senior Bill Engler (Coopersburg, PA/Southern Lehigh HS) has 42 tackles with one fumble recovery and two pass break-ups while senior Vince Cowlishaw has added 38 tackles, two sacks, three forced fumbles, two pass break-ups and six tackles for loss. Junior Steve Maslanek (Stockholm, NJ/Vernon Township HS) has 28 tackles with six for loss while freshman Richie Cline (Union Beach, NJ/Keyport HS) has added 16 tackles, one and half a sack, a forced fumble and six tackles for loss.

THE DEFENSIVE BACKFIELD: Junior safety John Panikiewsky (Carteret, NJ/Carteret HS) leads the Moravian defensive backs with 46 tackles. He has added six tackles for loss, one sack, a fumble recovery, five pass break-ups and an interception. Senior cornerback Jarrod Pence has made 31 tackles and ten pass break-ups and two interceptions while junior cornerback Nate Pogue has added 28 tackles and four interceptions, three pass break-ups and two forced fumbles. Sophomore rover Bill Skriletz (Coopersburg, PA/Southern Lehigh HS) has 25 tackles, two for loss, a sack, an interception and seven pass break-ups while senior Paul Block (East Hanover, NJ/Hanover Park HS) has contributed 10 tackles and five pass break-ups. Freshman Andy Fick (Emmaus, PA/Emmaus HS) has added six tackles, two pass break-ups and a fumble recovery.

KICKING GAME: Freshman Nate Strohl is 15-for-17 on extra-points in his debut and six-for-seven on field goal attempts with a career-long of 43 yards against Widener. Strohl, who made his first 12 extra-point attempts before missing, has made his last six field goal attempts. Junior John McLain has been called on to punt 29 times this season and he is averaging 40.3 yards per kick with seven punts over 50 yards, one of 60 yards and six downed inside the 20.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Sophomore Jed Warsager has returned 14 kickoffs for 409 yards. Warsager had a 98 yard touchdown return at Lebanon Valley that broke Ralph Eltringham’s record of 95 yards set on October 2, 1965 at Wilkes. Sophomore Cody Hendershot (Bangor, PA/Bangor HS) has four kickoff returns for 83 yards. Senior Josh Fick has made six punt returns for 32 yards and three kickoff returns for 50 yards while junior Kevin Miltenberger has nine punt returns for 84 yards.

OVERTIME ‘HOUNDS: Moravian has played a total of eight overtime games since the NCAA instituted the rule for the 1996 season and is 5-3 all-time in the extra-session including this year's loss to Widener. The Greyhounds hadn't played an overtime game since October 16, 1999 versus Juniata College.

ON THE AIRWAVES: For the sixth 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.