Saturday’s Game
Susquehanna will look to end the 2001 season on a positive note and avenge upset losses suffered in each of the last two years to visiting Lebanon Valley on Saturday afternoon. After breaking the 40-point mark for the first time since 1999 in a 41-14 win at Moravian on Saturday, the Crusaders will try to avoid their first winless season at home since 1978 against a Dutchmen squad that has lost eight or more games in four of the last five years.
The Last Meeting
Lebanon Valley 34, Susquehanna 27 (October 21, 2000 at Annville, PA)
A 33-yard touchdown pass from Dennis Yagmourian to Tommy Long with 14 seconds remaining was the difference as Lebanon Valley upset the Crusaders for the second straight year. The Dutchmen took advantage of four Crusader turnovers and a blocked punt to knock Susquehanna out of the national playoff picture. Mike Bowman connected with Mark Bartosic on three touchdown passes while Rashonn Drayton scored his 11th rushing touchdown of the year to lead the Susquehanna attack, which held the ball for 37:52, ran 85 offensive plays and outgained the Flying Dutchmen by 423 yards to 280.
End of an Era
With their 3-6 record, the Crusaders will see their string of 15 consecutive non-losing seasons come to an end this season. The last time that Susquehanna failed to reach the .500 mark was 1985, when the Crusaders opened 0-6 en route to a 3-7 overall record. This will be just the second losing record posted by Susquehanna over the last 20 seasons.
Ground Game Grounded
Through seven games, the Crusaders have mustered just 883 net yards rushing, an average of 98.1 yards per contest. Susquehanna has averaged at least 100 yards per game on the ground every season since 1979, when the Crusaders managed just 74.1 yards per contest.
Unflagging Enthusiasm
One category in which the Crusaders are dominating the MAC is fewest penalties. After nine games, Susquehanna has been whistled for just 41 penalties for 322 yards — over 100 fewer yards than the next closest team and the fewest for a Susquehanna squad since the 1975 team was called for 353 yards in fouls. The Crusaders have been assessed more yards than the opposition just twice this season, and won both games (at Albright and at FDU-Madison).
No Passing Fancy
Junior quarterback Mike Bowman (Northumberland, PA/Shikellamy H.S.) is well on his way to owning the Crusader record book. Last season, he set single-season records for completions (184), attempts (354), yards (2,563) and touchdowns (20) and career marks for completions (now at 429) and attempts (now at 853). This season, Bowman broke two more records set from 1987 to 1990 by David Battisti. Bowman shattered the mark for career passing yards of 4,087 against Lycoming and moved past Battisti’s mark of 38 passing touchdowns against Albright. Bowman, the first junior to serve as a team captain in the Briggs era, has thrown for 5,766 yards and 45 touchdowns in just 28 career games.
Worth Watching
Sophomore split end Mark Bartosic (Northumberland, PA/Shikellamy H.S.) made an immediate impact in his first season at Susquehanna in 2000 after transferring from Division I-AA Bucknell, setting a Crusader single-season record for receiving yards (1,028) and the NCAA Division III record for touchdown catches by a freshman (15). Bartosic, who has 114 catches in 19 career games, broke Al Bucci’s career mark for receiving yards (1,944) against King’s (now at 2,102) and touchdowns (25) at Moravian (now at 27), and needs just seven receptions to equal Bucci’s career mark of 121 catches. Bartosic, who set a career and Lopardo Stadium record with 10 catches against Widener and tied Bucci’s 1987 mark of 12 catches against Juniata, has 13 career 100-yard games, including each of the last six games, and has caught at least one touchdown pass in 17 of his 19 games. Incidentally, no Division III player has ever posted four straight seasons of 1,000 receiving yards.
A “Golden” Performance
Junior CB Antonio Nashis this week’s Gus Weber Crusader Player of the Week Award, sponsored by the Golden Corral Family Steak House of Hummels Wharf, after finishing with 12 tackles, an interception and a forced fumble in the Crusaders’ 41-14 win at Moravian. Nash will be honored at Friday’s Quarterback Club luncheon at the Degenstein Campus Center as the Golden Corral will donate $100 to the charity of his choice. Since agreeing to sponsor the Player of the Week program, Golden Corral has donated $4,600 to charity. The Player of the Week Award is named after former University President Gustave Weber. Weber was president at Susquehanna for more than 18 years (1959-1977) and was a former standout player at Wagner College. He was an avid booster of Crusader athletics, particularly the football team — serving as head coach for the last two games of 1965.
Scouting Susquehanna
THE CRUSADER OFFENSE (DELAWARE WING-T): After running for just six touchdowns in the first eight games, the Crusaders ran for three scores against Moravian as freshman FB Bryan Strohl (Ephrata, PA/Ephrata H.S.) scored on a 12-yard run in the first quarter, freshman FB Jason Eck (Williamsport, PA/Loyalsock H.S.) bulled in from a yard out in the second quarter and junior HB Jon Dvorshock (Picture Rocks, PA/Hughesville H.S.) tallied on a 15-yard dash in the final quarter. Dvorshock led all players with 75 yards on eight carries to increase his career total to 950 yards. Eck added 50 yards on a career-high 22 carries and is ninth in the MAC in rushing yards per game (56.7) on the strength of 510 yards on 145 carries. Strohl has added 62 yards on 17 carries with two touchdowns for the season. Junior QB Mike Bowman (Northumberland, PA/Shikellamy H.S.) posted his fifth consecutive game of at least 200 yards passing by completing 14-of-28 passes for 282 yards and three touchdowns at Moravian. He is tied for fifth in the MAC in pass efficiency (109.1) and fifth in both passing yards per game (226.1) and total offense per game (214.8). Junior SE Tim Ronchi (Factoryville, PA/Lackawanna Trail H.S.) made two catches for 61 yards, including a career-long 45-yard reception in the second quarter. He remains fifth in school history in receptions (89) and 11th in receiving yards (1,095). Sophomore SE Mark Bartosic (Northumberland, PA/Shikellamy H.S.) tied a career high against Moravian with three touchdown catches, while his six receptions moved him into a tie for the MAC lead with Rich Gear of Delaware Valley (63). Bartosic, who ranks second in the MAC with a school-record 1,074 yards receiving, could become the first Susquehanna player to lead the MAC in receptions in a season.
THE CRUSADER DEFENSE (4-3): The Crusader pass defense has posted outstanding numbers over the last two weeks, holding King’s to 78 yards and Moravian to 115 yards. Susquehanna forced the Greyhounds into seven turnovers on Saturday, including interceptions by junior CB Antonio Nash (Washington, DC/Springbrook, MD H.S.), junior FS Nick Chesney (Kulpmont, PA/Mount Carmel H.S.) and junior SS Dennis Kodack (Paxinos, PA/Shamokin Area H.S.). Nash, whose interception was the 18th of his career and his team-high fifth of the season, also forced a fumble on special teams that led to the Crusaders’ first touchdown and finished with a team-high 12 tackles. Senior LB Troy Sosnovik (Belvidere, NJ/Belvidere H.S.) posted double figures in tackles for the fifth time this season with 10 stops (eight solo), and returned a fumble 39 yards to set up a Crusader scoring opportunity. He remains third in the MAC in total tackles with 101 and leads the conference with four forced fumbles. Kodack and Chesney each finished with eight tackles and rank fourth and fifth on the team with 52 and 48 tackles, respectively. Senior DE Dominick DeSteno (Franklin Lakes, NJ/Bergen Catholic H.S.) saw spot action after missing two games with a knee injury, finishing with two tackles.
Scouting Lebanon Valley
LAST WEEK: The Dutchmen managed just 232 yards of total offense and were hurt by two turnovers that led to easy touchdowns as Wilkes posted a 20-0 win on Saturday. The Colonels posted five sacks and forced four turnovers to drop Lebanon Valley to 0-5 at home for the season.
THE FLYING DUTCHMEN OFFENSE (MULTIPLE-I): Lebanon Valley has struggled on offense this season, averaging just 69.1 yards per game on the ground and 258.9 yards per game overall. Sophomore RB Pete Henning leads the Dutchmen with 285 yards on 61 carries (4.7 average), including an 89-yard touchdown run at Delaware Valley. Senior RB Mark Ely has added 265 yards on 76 attempts while sophomore TB Steve Roberts has chipped in with 226 yards on 77 rushes. Junior Dallas Noll has started all nine games at quarterback and ranks ninth in the MAC in pass efficiency (95.9) on the strength of 1,487 yards and eight touchdowns. However, Noll has thrown 15 of the Dutchmen’s 22 interceptions. The top targets of Noll have been sophomore WR Chris George (29 catches, 379 yards) and sophomore TE Scott Marek (25 catches, 519 yards and 4 touchdowns). Southern Columbia graduate and sophomore Matt Bubnis has made 14 catches this season. The Dutchmen feature a strong, veteran offensive line that averages 6-1, 253 pounds per starter. Henning is also a threat on special teams, averaging 19.8 yards per kickoff return and 8.7 yards per punt return.
THE FLYING DUTCHMEN DEFENSE (4-3): Lebanon Valley has allowed 209.6 yards per game on the ground to rank next-to-last in the MAC and given up a conference-worst 27 rushing touchdowns. Just three seniors start on the Dutchmen defense, including senior LB Chad Hoofnagle, who ranks second in the MAC with 116 total tackles for the season. Hoofnagle has made 24 tackles for losses of 66 yards to rank third in the MAC. The Dutchmen have made just 14 sacks in nine games this season, with junior DE Pat Clarke leading the team with four and Hoofnagle adding three. Clarke is second on the Lebanon Valley defense with 13 tackles for losses of 44 yards. Despite the statistics, Lebanon Valley has an active defense with 16 forced fumbles (14 recovered) and eight interceptions. Junior CB Tom Kuhn and senior CB Malou McIntire each lead the Dutchmen with two picks, while Kuhn has defensed eight passes and McIntire seven. McIntire has also blocked three kicks on special teams. Sophomore LB Brian Andrewsky is second on the team with 67 tackles while freshman LB Adam Frantz has contributed 65 stops in his rookie season. With the majority of the defense checking in at 215 pounds or less, the Dutchmen rely on the size of defensive linemen Clarke, junior Tyrone Broxton (6-1, 245) and junior Josh Manning of Shikellamy (6-4, 280) to win the battles in the trenches. Manning has made 17 tackles while Broxton has added 34 stops, including eight for loss.
