A Matter of Pride

THE GAME Two teams heading in opposite directions square off in a battle for the Amos Alonzo Stagg Old Hat Trophy. Susquehanna has dropped three straight games after a 5-0 start, while Lycoming shook off its first Middle Atlantic Conference loss in 40 games to win five straight and remain in the hunt for an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs.

THE COACHES Susquehanna head coach Steve Briggs (Springfield, 1984), now in his 11th season, is the winningest football coach in school history at 73-37 (.664), and is 11-0 in season openers. The 1999 MAC Commonwealth League Coach of the Year, he began the season ranked 26th among active Division III coaches in winning percentage. Lycoming head coach Frank Girardi (West Chester, 1961) is in his 29th season with the Warriors and is among the active leaders in victories in college football with a record of 217-67-5 (.760). Girardi is a 10-time Middle Atlantic Conference coach of the year and has not had a losing season since 1974.

THE LAST MEETING Lycoming 36, Susquehanna 7 (November 6, 1999 at Selinsgrove, Pa.) In the final game at Amos Alonzo Stagg Field, the Warriors won the Old Hat Trophy for the fourth straight year by building a 24-0 first-quarter lead on the strength of two interception returns for touchdowns. Junior kicker John Shaffer connected on three field goals and senior All-American wideout Tim Dumas caught four passes for 126 yards and a touchdown for Lycoming. Following the game, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the new Nicholas A. Lopardo Stadium that opens for the 2000 season. The Crusaders avoided the shutout on a five-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Mike Bowman to freshman tight end John Smith with 5:06 left in the fourth quarter.

RECAPPING MORAVIAN Moravian 52, Susquehanna 33 (October 28, 2000 at Selinsgrove, Pa.) Freshman Tim Barlok ran for 197 yards and four second-half touchdowns, including a school-record 95-yard run late in the fourth quarter, as Moravian scored 46 points in a span of 27 minutes en route to a 52-33 win over the Crusaders on Saturday. The Greyhound outburst spoiled a record-setting day by sophomore quarterback Mike Bowman and freshman split end Mark Bartosic. Bowman went 28-for-51 for 407 yards to establish single-season school records for attempts, completions and passing yards and Bartosic set new standards for receiving yards and touchdowns thanks to nine catches for 208 yards and three scores. Moravian took advantage of five Crusader turnovers, which they converted into 24 points, and Barlok ran for 202 yards on just 14 carries in the second half after being limited to minus-three yards on eight attempts in the opening 30 minutes.

THE CRUSADER OFFENSE (DELAWARE WING-T): For the fourth straight week and fifth time in the last six games, the Crusaders gained over 400 yards of total offense against Moravian. Susquehanna ranks second to Widener in the Middle Atlantic Conference with an average of 410.2 yards per game. The Crusaders now own the number-one pass offense in the MAC, averaging 268.8 yards per game. Susquehanna has not led the MAC in passing since 1969. On the ground, the Crusaders rank third in the conference with an average of 141.5 yards per game. Sophomore quarterback Mike Bowman (Northumberland, Pa./Shikellamy H.S.) continues to rewrite the Susquehanna record books, as he set four school records and tied another against Moravian. After going 28-for-51 for 407 yards and four touchdowns, Bowman now holds the Susquehanna single-season records for completions (155 - old mark 140 set by Erick Hackenburg in 1994), attempts (303 - old mark 265 by Todd Coolidge in 1986) and passing yards (2,139 - old mark 2,024 by Coolidge in 1986). In addition, his 266 career completions broke the previous record of 264 set from 1987 to 1990 by David Battisti, and his 28 completions against Moravian equal the mark set by Ken Eisenhard against Widener in 1995. Furthermore, Bowman became just the third quarterback in school history to throw for 400 yards in a game and only the second to attempt 50 passes in a game. Bowman leads the MAC in passing yards (267.4 per game) and ranks second in total offense (257.5 yards per game). Meanwhile, freshman split end Mark Bartosic (Northumberland, Pa./Shikellamy H.S.) is setting records of his own. With nine catches for 208 yards and three touchdowns, Bartosic moved past Al Bucci’s 1987 records for receiving yards (893) and touchdowns (13) as he has 43 receptions for 894 yards and 14 scores. Bartosic became just the third Crusader receiver to post a 200-yard game and extended his streak of games with a touchdown reception to eight. Bartosic ranks third in the MAC in receptions per game (5.38) and receiving yards (111.8 per game) and second in scoring (11.2 points per game). He is just 18 points shy of tying Matt Wichlinski’s 1997 record of 108 points in a season. Senior split end Josh Kitchin (Center Valley, Pa./Southern Lehigh H.S.) hauled in six passes for 76 yards against Moravian and ranks fourth on the team with 25 receptions for 295 yards (11.8 per catch). Sophomore split end Tim Ronchi (Factoryville, Pa./Lackawanna Trail H.S.) pulled in three passes for 44 yards and his first touchdown of the season. In a little under two seasons, Ronchi already has 63 career receptions for 759 yards. Sophomore halfback Jon Dvorshock (Picture Rocks, Pa./Hughesville H.S.) scored on an 11-yard run against Moravian for his first touchdown since a 64-yard touchdown reception one year earlier versus the Greyhounds. Dvorshock leads all MAC running backs with 30 receptions for 306 yards (3.75 catches per game).

THE CRUSADER DEFENSE (4-3): The Crusaders have fallen to ninth in the 11-team MAC in total defense, allowing 363.6 yards per game. Moravian became the third team to rush for more than 200 yards against the Crusaders, as Susquehanna brings up the rear in the conference in rushing defense (160.0 yards per game). However, the pass defense continues to hold its own as the Crusaders are fifth at 203.6 yards per game. Junior linebacker Troy Sosnovik (Belvidere, N.J./Belvidere H.S.) posted a game-high 10 tackles (six solo) against Moravian and continues to lead the team in total tackles with 62 (32 solo) this season. Sophomore Dan Gilroy (Hempstead, N.Y./New Hampton Prep) made his first start at linebacker and tallied six solo tackles among his seven stops, including a pair of losses of five yards. Senior defensive end Frank Hanlon (Mahanoy City, Pa./Mahanoy Area H.S.) has been unstoppable on the line over the last few weeks, and Saturday was no exception as he recorded six solo tackles (three for losses of eight yards). For the year, Hanlon has made 18 stops for losses of 75 yards and is seventh in the MAC with 7 1/2 sacks. Junior cornerback Tom Kay (Tabernacle, N.J./Shawnee H.S.) broke up a pair of passes against Moravian and made four tackles to increase his season total to 36, tied for fourth on the team with sophomore strong safety Dennis Kodack (Paxinos, Pa./Shamokin Area H.S.). Freshman defensive end Adam Summers (Abbottstown, Pa./Mercersburg Academy) started for the second straight week on the line and tallied five solo tackles while junior defensive tackle John Hoffman (Parkland, Pa./Parkland H.S.) recorded Susquehanna’s only sack (for 10 yards) among his three tackles.

THE CRUSADER KICK SPECIALISTS: Senior punter Ryan Hollis (Mifflin, Pa./Juniata H.S.) booted three times in windy conditions against Moravian and averaged 29.3 yards per attempt, with a long of 37 yards. Hollis, who has dropped eight of 33 punts inside the 20-yard line, is fourth in the MAC with an average of 37.1 yards per punt. Sophomore Andy Nadler (Westport, Conn./Staples H.S.) had a 38-yard field goal blocked in the first quarter and was successful on 3-of-4 extra points. As he has all season, Nadler leads the MAC with six field goals, the most for a Crusader placekicker in one season since Matt Seagreaves connected on 10-of-19 attempts during the 1991 season.

THE WARRIOR OFFENSE (MULTIPLE I): Lycoming’s offense ranks sixth in the MAC with an average of 337.3 yards per game. The Warriors are fourth in rushing offense at 141.1 yards per contest, while the passing attack ranks seventh at 196.1 yards per game. The ground attack is focused squarely on junior tailback Tim Deasey, who ranks second in the conference with 758 yards on 173 carries (4.4 average) and eight touchdowns. He was named to the MAC Honor Roll this week after running for 204 yards and two touchdowns against Delaware Valley. For the season, Deasey has accounted for 76.7 percent of the Warrior rushing yards. Junior quarterback Joe Feerrar is the Warriors’ third different signalcaller in as many years, but has stepped right into the offense as he ranks second in the MAC in pass efficiency (141.0) and sixth in total offense (186.6 yards per game). Feerrar has also thrown the fewest interceptions of any MAC starting quarterback as he has been picked off just six times in 167 attempts. While none of his receivers rank in the top 10 in the MAC in catches or yards, Lycoming’s balanced pass attack is led by junior Tom Zulkowski (23 catches, 334 yards and 4 touchdowns) and senior Joe Hanna (18 catches, 416 yards, 3 touchdowns). An offensive line that features two freshman and just one senior has allowed just six sacks in seven games this season.

THE WARRIOR DEFENSE (4-3): A unit that returned nine starters from last season has been as impressive as advertised this season. After allowing 50 points in a double-overtime loss at Widener, the Warriors have yielded a total of 57 points in the last five games — including just 16 points in the last three weeks. The Warriors rank second in the MAC across the board defensive, allowing 111.1 yards per game on the ground and 174.3 yards per contest in the air. Senior All-American candidate Mark Seagreaves leads the conference with 12 sacks, and has 24 tackles for loss among his 47 stops this season. Junior linebacker Ryan Rupprecht leads the MAC with 12.3 tackles per game (86 total in seven contests), and made a game-high 15 stops at Delaware Valley on Saturday. The Warrior defense has also contributed offensively this season, as four different players have returned interceptions for touchdowns. Lycoming has picked off a MAC-leading 21 passes and has held the opposition to just 27.8 percent on third-down opportunities (32-for-115). Senior defensive back Sean Graf has picked off six passes for 89 yards and a touchdown while senior defensive back John Scanlan has five interceptions for 83 yards to rank one-two in the conference.

THE WARRIOR KICK SPECIALISTS: Senior John Shaffer has missed on all five of his field-goal attempts, but leads the MAC in punting with an average of 41.2 yards per kick and a long of 73. Shaffer has converted on just 19-of-26 extra-point tries (73.1 percent). Sophomore Dave Christiansen has attempted three extra points, hitting two.

THE WARRIOR RETURN SPECIALISTS: Lycoming ranks third in the MAC in kickoff returns at 21.6 yards per runback, led by sophomore Jared Morris at 19.8 yards per return. Graf has returned 27 punts for a 9.4 yard average and an 84-yard touchdown in the season opener against Juniata. Graf is tied for seventh in punt returns in the MAC with Susquehanna’s Antonio Nash.

#jem/656#