Saturday’s Game:The Crusaders begin their quest for a 16th consecutive non-losing season with their first trip to Western Maryland since the 1971 season to battle the four-time defending Centennial Conference champions. Western Maryland opened last Saturday with a 29-20 loss at Bridgewater (VA), just the second loss in the last 41 regular-season games for the Terror.
The Last Meeting:Susquehanna 21, Western Maryland 14 (September 2, 1995 at Selinsgrove, PA)
After spotting the visiting Green Terror the game’s first 14 points on a pair of touchdown passes by quarterback Brian Van Deusen, the Crusaders rallied for the final 21. Fullback Rob Rhoads finished the comeback on a one-yard touchdown plunge to cap a 13-play, 78-yard drive with just 4:34 left. Crusader quarterback Jeremy Tomaschik made a successful debut as a starter, hitting on 17-of-31 passes for 303 yards. Wideout Kamief Jenkins caught four balls for 115 yards with a 65-yard score.
Crusaders Ready for 103rd Season:Saturday will mark the beginning of the 103rd season of intercollegiate football at Susquehanna University. The Western Maryland game will be the 825th varsity game in Crusader history, which began with a 16-0 loss to the Sunbury Athletic Club in 1892. The only interruptions in the program’s history came when the school did not field teams from 1910 to 1912 and from 1943 to 1945.
Opening With Success:The Crusaders have posted a 53-43-6 record (.549 percentage) all-time in season openers, including 12 consecutive victories beginning in 1989. Briggs has won all 11 of his season openers since taking over in 1990, as the Crusaders have outscored their opponents 341 to 130 for an average victory of 28.4 to 10.8.
On The Other Hand...:The recent success of the Crusaders in season openers is a stark contrast from 1923 to 1928, when the team lost six consecutive openers by a composite score of 403-0. Included among those setbacks were losses to Cornell (84-0 in 1923 and 80-0 in 1925), Penn State (82-0 in 1926) and Georgetown (88-0 in 1928). Susquehanna went on to compile a record of 16-32-2 in those six seasons.
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). Bowman enters the season opener just 131 shy of tying the Susquehanna record for career passing yards of 4,087 set from 1987-90 by David Battisti.
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 made 51 catches last season, 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.
I Remember You: Since Western Maryland joined seven other Middle Atlantic Conference schools in forming the Centennial Football Conference prior to the 1983 season, Susquehanna has posted a 10-5-1 record against their former MAC brethren. The Crusaders went 6-2 against Muhlenberg from 1985 to 1992, 3-3-1 against Dickinson in seven meetings (including a 24-13 win last season) and 1-0 against Western Maryland. Overall, the Middle Atlantic Conference holds a 58-41-3 lead in meetings with the Centennial Conference since 1983. Western Maryland is 12-15 against MAC schools during that time, with wins over Widener in both 1999 and 2000.
Scouting Susquehanna
THE CRUSADER OFFENSE (DELAWARE WING-T): A total of eight players who started at least one game last season — including five regulars — are back in the Crusader lineup in 2001. The offensive attack is expected to revolve around junior quarterback Mike Bowman (Northumberland, PA/Shikellamy H.S.) and sophomore split end Mark Bartosic (Northumberland, PA/Shikellamy H.S.). Bowman threw for 2,563 yards and 20 touchdowns last season while Bartosic hauled in 51 passes for 1,028 yards and 15 scores. Junior halfback Jon Dvorshock (Picture Rocks, PA/Hughesville H.S.) is the only returning running back for the Crusaders in 2001. He finished third on the team in rushing yards (203 on 67 carries) and tied for second in catches with 35 (for 403 yards) last season. He will be joined by freshman fullback Jason Eck (Williamsport, PA/Loyalsock H.S.), who ran for over 1,000 yards last season as a high school senior. Junior Tim Ronchi (Factoryville, PA/Lackawanna Trail H.S.) will start at “Z” (wing back) after hauling in 29 passes for 336 yards and a touchdown last season. The offensive line is led by senior left tackle Rob Acheson (Moorestown, NJ/Moorestown H.S.), who started at right tackle last season following a knee injury to Matt Shaffer (Brookville, PA/Brookville H.S.) after the first game. Shaffer is back in the lineup at right tackle for his senior season, and will line up next to junior right guard Jared Villella (Sinclairville, NY/Cassadaga Valley H.S.). Sophomore Phil Falvo (Hughestown, PA/Pittston Area H.S.) takes over at center for three-year starter Dave Wonderlick, while sophomore Josh Zeyn (Lewisburg, PA/Lewisburg H.S.) comes over from defense to start at left guard. Junior John Smith (Orland Park, IL/Providence Catholic H.S.) is back at tight end after earning Commonwealth League second-team All-Star honors in 2000 on the strength of 15 catches for 150 yards and a touchdown.
THE CRUSADER DEFENSE (4-3): The Opening Day lineup will include five seniors and nine returning starters. The line will be led by senior right end Dominick DeSteno (Franklin Lakes, NJ/Bergen Catholic H.S.), who returns in 2001 after he posted 56 tackles and 4 1/2 sacks during the 1999 season. Sophomore Matt Ellis (Easton, PA/Wilson Area H.S.) and senior John Hoffman (Schnecksville, PA/Parkland H.S.) will man the interior line after both players started all 10 games during the 2000 season and combined for 4 1/2 sacks. Freshman Adam Laub (Wyckoff, NJ/Ramapo H.S.) earns the nod at left end after sophomore Adam Summers (Abbottstown, PA/Mercersburg Academy) suffered a season-ending knee injury in a scrimmage against Ursinus. The linebacking corps is led by senior Troy Sosnovik (Belvidere, NJ/Belvidere H.S.) on the inside and senior Dave Howard (Frackville, PA/North Schuylkill H.S.) on the outside. Sosnovik led the Crusaders with 80 tackles last season, including 10 for loss and three sacks. Junior Bill Heinzelmann (Allentown, PA/Parkland H.S.) takes over in the middle after recording 17 tackles as a reserve last year. The secondary is paced by junior All-American Antonio Nash (Washington, DC/Springbrook, MD H.S.), who returns to cornerback after posting 74 tackles and three interceptions at free safety last season. Senior Tom Kay (Tabernacle, NJ/Shawnee H.S.) moves to free safety after posting a team-best five interceptions last season. Junior Dennis Kodack (Paxinos, PA/Shamokin H.S.) starts his second season at strong safety after posting 45 tackles and three interceptions last year. Sophomore Jon Guarino (Staten Island, NY/Poly Prep) will see time at the other cornerback spot along with nickle back Nick Chesney (Kulpmont, PA/Mt. Carmel H.S.).
Scouting Western Maryland
LAST WEEK: The Green Terror, who entered the 2001 season as a consensus Top 10 team in preseason Division III polls, suffered just their second regular-season loss in their last 41 games in a 29-20 setback at sixth-ranked Bridgewater (VA) — the team that dealt them their only other regular-season loss since 1997 in last year’s season opener.
THE GREEN TERROR OFFENSE (MULTIPLE): Western Maryland racked up 395 yards of total offense against Bridgewater. Senior quarterback Jamie “Boo” Harris accounted for 347 of those yards after completing 12-of-22 passes for 232 yards and a touchdown while rushing 23 times for 115 yards and another score. Last season, Harris finished second in the Centennial Conference in rushing with 923 yards and threw for 1,587 yards and 18 scores en route to sharing co-Offensive Player of the Year honors in the conference. Junior wide receiver Joe Ellis led the Green Terror with four catches for 129 yards and a touchdown, while senior Teron Powell was held to just two receptions for 12 yards after finishing fifth in the Centennial Conference with 38 catches last year. The Western Maryland offensive line features three starters that weigh in at over 300 pounds and a pair of returning Centennial Conference All-Stars in junior left tackle John Rydzewski (6-2, 308), a first-teamer, and senior center Greg Oravets (6-1, 245), a second-team choice.
THE GREEN TERROR DEFENSE (3-4): The Green Terror allowed a whopping 545 yards of total offense against Bridgewater, including 337 net yards on the ground. Junior linebacker Matt Wilchinski and senior strong safety Jason Wingeart were both named Centennial Conference first-team All-Stars last season and tied for the team lead with 12 total tackles on Saturday afternoon. Wingeart was a Hewlett-Packard third-team All-American selection after making 42 tackles and intercepting seven passes last season. Junior linebacker Athan Margetas chipped in with 11 stops, including eight solo tackles, while senior free safety Brett Kamholtz and junior cornerback Mike Puckett each recorded an interception for the Green Terror. On the line, senior end Josh Galemore is a two-time Centennial Conference second-team All-Star while junior Jason Wiles finished with 61 tackles and six sacks last year.
