Saturday’s Game
Homecoming Saturday at Susquehanna will see the host Crusaders battle their third nationally-ranked team this season when defending Middle Atlantic Conference champions Widener bring a perfect 4-0 record to Lopardo Stadium. The Crusaders have won 17 of their last 20 Homecoming games, including a 36-29 win over Juniata last season.

Finally Breaking Through
Saturday’s 24-23 win at Albright snapped the Crusaders’ season-opening three-game losing streak and marked the first time since 1947 that Susquehanna has recorded a victory in week four after starting 0-3. The Crusaders still have their work cut out for them if they hope to finish above .500, since the 1928 squad is the only Susquehanna team ever to rebound to finish with a winning record (4-3) after opening 0-3.

The Magic Number
Over the last 17 games, the Crusaders are 10-0 when allowing less than 30 points and 0-7 when allowing 30 or more points. The last time the Crusaders lost when allowing fewer than 30 points was October 23, 1999 to Lebanon Valley (17-14).

Block Party
Saturday’s win over Albright was preserved by a blocked extra-point by junior SS Dennis Kodack with 24 seconds remaining following a Lion touchdown pass on fourth-and-10. If a winning blocked conversion attempt sounds familiar, it’s happened before. In 1998, Nate Davidson deflected a Juniata extra-point attempt in the second overtime to preserve the Crusaders’ epic 62-61 victory.

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 349) and attempts (now at 692). 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 4,711 yards and 40 touchdowns in just 24 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 74 catches for 1,421 yards in 14 career games, has 2 1/2 seasons remaining to break Al Bucci’s career marks for receptions (121) and yards (1,944). Bartosic has eight 100-yard games and has caught at least one touchdown pass in 13 of his 14 games. Incidentally, no Division III player has ever posted four straight seasons of 1,000 receiving yards.

MAC Attack
With the first win of the 2001 season comes the first honors for the Crusaders. Junior SS Dennis Kodack (Paxinos, PA/Shamokin H.S.) was named the Co-Defensive Player of the Week after making 10 tackles (including a sack), forcing two fumbles (recovering one), and his critical blocked extra-point in the final second. Meanwhile, junior QB Mike Bowman was named to the Weekly Honor Roll after throwing for 300 yards and three touchdowns.

A “Golden” Performance
Junior QB Mike Bowman is this week’s Gus Weber Crusader Player of the Week Award, sponsored by the Golden Corral Family Steak House of Hummels Wharf, after completing 21-of-38 passes for 300 yards and three touchdowns at Albright. Bowman 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 $3,900 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): The Crusaders gained a season-high 366 yards at Albright, which entered the game as the third-best defense in the MAC. Junior QB Mike Bowman (Northumberland, PA/Shikellamy H.S.) broke the 300-yard mark for the third time in his career and the 11th in school history, connecting with sophomore SE Mark Bartosic (Northumberland, PA/Shikellamy H.S.) eight times for 115 yards and two touchdown. Bowman ranks sixth in the MAC in passing yards per game (188.5) and seventh in pass efficiency (118.7) while Bartosic is third in both receptions per game (5.75) and yards per game (98.2). Junior HB Jon Dvorshock (Picture Rocks, PA/Hughesville H.S.) narrowly missed his career highs with six receptions for 81 yards and the go-ahead 24-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. Junior Z back Tim Ronchi (Factoryville, PA/Lackawanna Trail H.S.) added three receptions for 35 yards, and is tied with Dvorshock for second on the team with 11 catches for the season. Freshman Z back Josh Kleha (Mount Carmel, PA/Mount Carmel H.S.) caught two passes for 17 yards and is fifth on the team with seven catches for 97 yards this season. Freshman FB Jason Eck (Williamsport, PA/Loyalsock H.S.) again led the Crusaders in rushing at Albright with 57 yards on 18 carries, improving his team-leading total to 240 yards on 65 attempts (3.7 average), good for seventh in the MAC with an average of 60.0 yards per game. Freshman HB Chris Ross (Johnstown, PA/Westmont Hilltop H.S.) shifted from defense to offense in practice this week and carried the ball three times for minus-4 yards, while freshman FB Bryan Strohl (Ephrata, PA/Ephrata H.S.) added two yards on his only carry at Albright. Strohl is third on the team in rushing with 20 yards on six carries. This season, a total of 11 different players have caught at least one pass after just eight receivers accounted for all 185 catches last season. On the offensive line, sophomore Joby Tuminelli (Pittston, PA/Pittston Area H.S.) made his second straight start at center, anchoring a unit that yielded just two sacks to Albright.

THE CRUSADER DEFENSE (4-3): Susquehanna’s much-maligned pass defense stood tall in the face of an Albright attack led by quarterback Mike Strack, who completed just 20-of-44 passes for 257 yards. Junior Nick Chesney (Kulpmont, PA/Mount Carmel H.S.) made his first career start at free safety and made nine tackles (eight solo). He also delivered the day’s hardest hit when he leveled Lion receiver Jason Scheerer to break up a possible reception in the fourth quarter. Senior LB Troy Sosnovik (Belvidere, NJ/Belvidere H.S.) led the Crusaders with 16 tackles (15 solo) while recovering a fumble. For the season, Sosnovik ranks third in the MAC with 46 tackles - giving him 213 for his Susquehanna career. career sack against Delaware Valley, one of three recorded by the Crusaders on the day. Senior DE Dominick DeSteno (Franklin Lakes, NJ/Bergen Catholic H.S.) saw action in a reserve role after being benched against Delaware Valley, and responded with seven tackles (three for loss), one sack and a forced fumble. Freshman Matt Hill (Williamsport, PA/Montoursville H.S.) shifted from tight end to defensive tackle in practice during the week and made his first career start against Albright, recording two tackles and breaking up a pass before being sidelined in the second half with an ankle injury. Also moving to defense was freshman Kyle Sanders (Danville, PA/Danville H.S.), who saw significant playing time as an extra defensive back and finished the day with three tackles and a pass breakup. Senior Tom Kay (Tabernacle, NJ/Shawnee H.S.) returned to cornerback after starting the first three games at free safety and finished with three tackles and five pass breakups.

Scouting Widener
LAST WEEK: The Pioneers continued to steamroll through the MAC with a 35-0 rout at Lycoming on Saturday. Austin Martin ran for 66 yards and two touchdowns while the Widener defense allowed just 176 yards of total offense. At 4-0, Widener looks primed to repeat as MAC champions after posting a 12-2 record and advancing to the Division III semifinals last year.

THE PIONEER OFFENSE (PRO-I): The potent Pioneer attack has posted 179 points in the first four games, an average of 44.8 points per game. Leading the attack are a pair of senior All-American candidates in wide receivers Jim Jones and Michael Coleman. Counting the postseason, the duo combined for 151 catches, 3,744 yards and 45 touchdowns last year. This season, Jones leads the MAC in both receptions and yards per game on the strength of 30 catches (7.5 per game) for 564 yards (141.0 per game) while Coleman has added 15 catches for 339 yards and five scores. Jones is also a threat on the ground with 15 carries for 153 yards and three scores. Junior QB Mike Warker, a transfer from Rowan, took over as signalcaller from 2000 Commonwealth League MVP Mike Granato and entered the Lycoming game as the Division III leader in pass efficiency (now at 186.0). Warker set Widener records with 463 yards and six touchdowns against Moravian earlier this season. Junior TB Michael Gandy leads the Pioneers in rushing with 242 yards on 40 carries (6.1 average) and is the sixth-leading rusher in the MAC with 60.5 yards per game.

THE PIONEER DEFENSE (MULTIPLE 4-3): Widener’s defensive effort is led by All-American strong safety T.J. Hess, who leads the Pioneers with 43 tackles and eight pass breakups. He returned an interception 34 yards late in the first half to give Widener a 21-0 lead over Lycoming on Saturday. The Pioneers start just three seniors on defense, including LB Mark Del Tin, who made five tackles against Lycoming and is tied for third on the team with 26 total stops on the season. The Widener run defense, annually one of the best in the MAC, is allowing just 70.0 yards per game.