Saturday’s Game: Two teams looking to enter the win column for the first time this season meet at Nicholas A. Lopardo Stadium on Saturday when Delaware Valley and Susquehanna square off. Both teams enter with 0-2 records, and while the Aggies are looking to avoid starting 0-3 for the second straight season, the Crusaders are anxious to prevent opening the year with three straight losses for the first time since 1985.

The Last Meeting: Susquehanna 42, Delaware Valley 14 (September 14, 1996 at Doylestown, PA)
The Crusaders built a 28-0 lead and rolled to a road win in the 1996 opener. Kicker Scott Miles kicked a pair of first-quarter field goals, including a career-long 41-yards to open the scoring. Starting quarterback Ken Eisenhard left the game with a shoulder injury and senior Jeremy Tomaschik came on to complete all four of his passes with two for touchdowns. Halfback Don Duffy rushed for 64 yards to lead a ground game which gained 275 for the day.

Trying to Break Through: With the Crusaders off to their first 0-2 start since 1988, the team will look to avoid the first 0-3 start by a Susquehanna squad since the 1985 team opened with an 0-6 record. Incidentally, Delaware Valley dealt the Crusaders their last 0-3 start with a 27-21 victory on September 28, 1985 — the last time the Aggies defeated Susquehanna.

Point-Counterpoint: After two games, the Crusaders have allowed 108 points in losses to Western Maryland (63-27) and Lycoming (45-20). The 108 points are the most surrendered by a Susquehanna defense in the first two games of a season since the 1967 squad yielded 123 points in back-to-back losses to Waynesburg (60-0) and Wittenberg (63-0).

Good to See You Again: Saturday’s game will be the first time that Susquehanna and Delaware Valley have met on the field since the 1996 season. The squads had met annually from 1968 to 1996, and at the time of the hiatus Susquehanna was the most-played opponent by Delaware Valley since the 1948 season (37 meetings).

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 (295) and attempts (578). After passing for 129 yards in the season opener against Western Maryland, Bowman threw for 237 yards against Lycoming to break the Susquehanna record for career passing yards of 4,087 set from 1987-90 by David Battisti. After just 22 career games, Bowman has thrown for 4,323 yards.

Worth Watching: Sophomore split end Mark Bartosic (Northumberland, PA/Shikellamy H.S.) made an immediate impact in his first season at Susquehanna in 2000, 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 61 career catches for 1,221 yards in 12 career games, has three seasons remaining to break Al Bucci’s career marks for receptions (121) and yards (1,944). Incidentally, no Division III player has ever posted four straight seasons of 1,000 receiving yards.

A “Golden” Performance: Junior TE John Smith (Orland Park, IL/Providence Catholic H.S.) is this week’s recipient of the Gus Weber Crusader Player of the Week Award, sponsored by the Golden Corral Family Steak House of Hummels Wharf. Smith 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 $3,600 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): The Crusaders rolled up 362 yards of total offense against Lycoming, including 293 yards through the air. Junior QB Mike Bowman (Northumberland, PA/Shikellamy H.S.) completed 15-of-34 passes for 237 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but left the game early in the fourth quarter with an ankle injury. Junior QB Craig Ulrich (Milton, PA/Milton H.S.) came on in relief for the second straight week and completed 4-of-9 passes for 56 yards and a 24-yard touchdown to junior TE John Smith (Orland Park, IL/Providence Catholic H.S.). Smith set career highs with five receptions and 82 yards on the afternoon. Sophomore SE Mark Bartosic (Northumberland, PA/Shikellamy H.S.) posted the seventh 100-yard receiving game of his career with four catches for 123 yards and a touchdown against Lycoming. In addition, he has caught at least one touchdown pass in 11 of his 12 career games at Susquehanna. Bartosic leads the MAC in kickoff return average (23.7 per return), is third in all-purpose yards per game (167.5) and is fifth in both receptions and yards per game (5.0 and 96.5, respectively). Freshman FB Jason Eck (Williamsport, PA/Loyalsock H.S.) ran for 48 yards on 15 carries against Lycoming and is seventh in the MAC in rushing yards per game at 65.0. Junior HB Jon Dvorshock (Picture Rocks, PA/Hughesville H.S.) carries 12 times for 61 yards on Saturday and is 10th in the MAC at 49.5 yards per game. Junior Z back Tim Ronchi (Factoryville, PA/Lackawanna Trail H.S.) made four catches for 39 yards against Lycoming, his best single-game output since making five catches for 72 yards against Widener last season. Freshman Z back Josh Kleha (Mount Carmel, PA/Mount Carmel H.S.) made his first two career receptions against Lycoming, for seven and three yards. He also returned two kickoffs for a 13.5 average.

THE CRUSADER DEFENSE (4-3): The Crusaders narrowly avoided allowing 300 yards in the air for a second straight week as Lycoming’s Joe Feerrar passed for 295 yards and two touchdowns. After allowing just 201.8 yards passing per game last season, the Crusaders have surrendered 337.5 yards per game in the first two contests of 2001. Junior DB Antonio Nash (Washington, DC/Springbrook, MD H.S.) led the Crusaders with nine tackles (eight solo) while senior LB Troy Sosnovik (Belvidere, NJ/Belvidere H.S.) added seven tackles. Freshman DE Adam Laub (Wyckoff, NJ/Ramapo H.S.) posted his first two career sacks in the first half while senior DE Dominick DeSteno (Franklin Lakes, NJ/Bergen Catholic H.S.) added a sack of his own. Senior LB Dave Howard (Frackville, PA/North Schuylkill H.S.) enjoyed a solid afternoon with four tackles (three solo), a fumble recovery, and a pass breakup. Junior LB Bill Heinzelmann (Allentown, PA/Parkland H.S.) chipped in with six tackles (five solo) and a fumble recovery as well. Freshman DT J.J. Wivell (Pittston, PA/Pittston Area H.S.) made his first career start at tackle and made four tackles (three solo), while freshman CB Chris Reiner (Monroe, NY/Monroe-Woodbury H.S.) added six solo stops in his first start.

Scouting Delaware Valley

LAST WEEK: The Aggies fell at King’s 38-28 as Monarch running back Chris Shivery ran for 169 yards and three touchdowns and the King’s defense sacked Delaware Valley signalcaller Duke Greco 10 times.

THE AGGIE OFFENSE (PRO-I): Greco, a converted defensive back, completed 19-of-36 passes for 321 yards and three touchdowns against King’s. His favorite target was senior WR Rich Gear, who earned Middle Atlantic Conference Honor Roll mention after tying a career high with nine catches for a personal-best 187 yards and three touchdowns. For the season, Greco leads the MAC in passing yards per game (271.0) and total offense (256.5), while Gear leads the conference in receiving yards per game (146.0) and is tied for second in receptions per game (6.0). The Aggies are averaging just 35.0 yards per game on the ground, with freshman TB Dougie Howard leading the way with 67 yards on 23 carries. Junior TB Al Glackin, the team’s leading rusher last season with 349 yards, has run for 30 yards on 10 carries this season. Delaware Valley boasts a veteran offensive line, led by senior captains Dan Drake (6-6, 300) and Joe D’Amico (6-1, 265) at left tackle and left guard, respectively. Junior TE Kevin Moloney was a Freedom League second-team All-Star last season and has posted three receptions for 34 yards this season.

THE AGGIE DEFENSE (4-4): King’s racked up 225 net rushing yards and 382 total yards against the Aggies, who have allowed nine of their last 10 opponents to score at least 20 points on them. Delaware Valley is led by a pair of inside linebackers in sophomore Mika Miller and freshman Andrew Erby. Both have recorded 18 tackles in the first two games, and each had big games against King’s as Miller made 13 stops and Erby 12. Senior LB Brian Christy posted a pair of sacks against King’s — the team’s only two quarterback sacks of the season. The Aggie defense is a youthful unit, with four seniors listed as starters and four others as reserves. Brothers J.P. and Jamie Kleinle patrol the right side of the defensive line. J.P. has recorded seven tackles this season while Jamie has made five stops.