Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Wilkes (1-1) at Utica (3-0)
Saturday, September 25, 2010 / 2:00 p.m. 
Charles A. Gaetano Stadium
Utica, NY 

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UTICA: Schedule / Roster / Statistics

THE MATCHUP
Wilkes University will go on the road for the first time in 2010 as it travels to New York to take on the undefeated Utica College Pioneers on Saturday. This will be the second straight opponent from the Empire 8 Conference for the Colonels and will be broadcast on Time Warner Cable in Syracuse.

The Colonels are coming off of a 44-7 loss to Springfield College last Saturday, in which the Pride ran for 566 yards and 6 TDs. Fr. LB Tate Moore-Jacobs (New Cumberland, PA/Cedar Cliff) led all defenders with 15 tackles while Sr. DT Chris Swinarski (Old Bridge/Old Bridge) had 14 with 2.5 TFL. Utica is off to a 3-0 start for the first time in school history after defeating RPI 42-21 last week.

THE HEAD COACHES
Colonels coach Frank Sheptock (Bloomsburg '85) is in his 15th year on the Wilkes sideline, racking up an 89-61 (.593) record. The 89 wins are second all-time in school history behind Rollie Schmidt's 90 from 1962-81. Sheptock has led the Colonels to two NCAA and six ECAC playoff berths during his tenure, along with a MAC championship (2006). Wilkes made the NCAA playoffs in 2005 and 2006, going 19-4 overall, including a 42-0 win over Washington & Lee in the first round of the 2006 playoffs. Since 1996, Sheptock has coached 12 All-Americans and 117 All-MAC performers.

Blaise Faggiano (Ithaca '93) is in his third year on the sidelines at Utica, compiling a 10-13 (.434) overall record. The Pioneers broke several school records in 2009, improving to 4-6, the second highest win total in the program's history. Prior to Utica, Faggiano spent nine seasons as defensive coordinator at St. John Fisher.

THE SERIES
This will be the first ever meeting between these two schools.

UP NEXT
The Colonels return home next Saturday as they open their 2010 MAC schedule,
hosting Albright College. The Lions have won three straight meetings between the two schools, including last season's 43-21 victory. 

THE NEW LOOK RALSTON ATHLETIC COMPLEX
The Ralston Athletic Complex is currently in Phase I of a $3 million renovation, which has seen a new synthetic turf along with lights added to the stadium. Fencing, a temporary visitor's press box and comfort facilities, as well as an upgraded public address system are additional features of this part of the project.

In addition to the Colonels football team, Wilkes men's and women's soccer along with field hockey will play on the new turf in the fall, while the lacrosse team will use the new field in the spring.

REACHING FOR THE TOP SPOT
Going into Saturday's game at Utica, Sheptock is just one win shy of tying Rollie Schmidt's all-time school record of 90. Sheptock's 89 career wins have been built up over 14-plus seasons of work and includes a program-record 11 wins in 2006. In 150 career games, Sheptock has a winning percentage of .593.

CLIMBING THE RECORD BOOKS
Sr. WR Jordan D'Emilio (Stowe/Saint Pius X)'s 89 career receptions put him just 10 away from entering the school's all-time top 10. He came into the season with 80 catches and has recorded 9 receptions for 112 yards and a TD so far this season.

HE THROWS, HE RUNS
So. QB Tyler Berntsen (Long Valley, NJ/West Morris Central) put up 228 total yards (169 pass, 59 rush) in 2010 while throwing for 3 TDs and running for one more. Berntsen finished the Waynesburg game 11-16 (68.8%) with a 198.4 pass efficiency and no interceptions. Without lost sack yardage, Berntsen has 106 rushing yards, including five runs of 10+ yards.

IT'S TIVALD TIME
Jr. RB Zach Tivald (Edison, NJ/Edison) leads the Colonels in both rushing yards (142) and all-purpose yards (176) so far in 2010. He gained 88 yards on 17 carries in the opener, the second highest output in his career. Tivald has shown he can make the big play, as he has eight plays of over 10 yards, including a 34-yard screen pass against Waynesburg. Last season, Tivald led the Colonels with 557 rushing yards and added 10 receptions for 120 yards and a score.

MULTI-PURPOSE THREAT
Jr. QB Marc Persing (Coal Township/Shamonkin) has alternated at quarterback with Berntsen this season, but against Springfield he added punting to his resume, twice pinning the Pride inside their own 10, including once at the four yard line. As a QB, Persing is 8-15 for 137 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

LEADERS ON THE LINE
Sr. RG Joe Lemoncelli (Clarks Summit/Lakeland) and Jr. C Ben Webb (Shohola, PA/Delaware Valley) have combined for 42 career starts in a Colonels uniform. They helped pave the way for 379 yards of total offense against Waynesburg, including 171 on the ground.

THE BIG PLAY
The Colonels have come up with multiple big plays so far this season, with 15 runs of 10+ yards and and six passes of 20+ yards. Berntsen has been a part of 10 such big plays, with seven rushes and three passes, two of which went for TDs. Jr. WR Todd Eagles (Downingtown, PA/Downingtown East) has been on the receiving end of two big passing plays, a 34-yard TD against Waynesburg and a 35-yard TD against Springfield.

THE ANCHORS
Sr. DT Chris Swinarski (Old Bridge/Old Bridge), Jr. DT Jimmy Moore and Jr. NG Harry Reese (Plymouth, PA/Wyoming Valley West) caused havoc upfront, combining for 38 tackles, 3.5 TFL and a forced fumble. Swinarski tallied 14 total tackles and 2.5 TFL against Springfield last week and is 4th among all Colonels tacklers. Reese, starting in his first game on the defensive side in the opener after playing in the offensive backfield last year, had 7 tackles last Saturday. 

TACKLE MACHINES
Fr. LB Tate Moore-Jacobs (New Cumberland, PA/Cedar Cliff) and Sr. LB Ryan Clifford (Raritan, NJ/Bridgewater) have combined for 46 tackles and 2.5 TFL so far this season. Moore-Jacobs has led all tacklers in his first two career games with 13 and 15 tackles, respectively, while Clifford has posted 9 stops in each of the Colonels games.

Jr. Walt Pabst (Scranton/Scranton) and Fr. LBs Tom Calabrese (Belvidere, NJ/Belvidere) and Rob Houseknecht (South Williamsport, PA/South Williamsport) have added a combined 32 tackles, sack, 2.0 TFL and 2 interceptions.

THE BALL HAWKS
Sr. S Kevin Gerhart (Hummelstown/Lower Dauphin) and Sr. S Greg Nielsen (Wharton, NJ/Roxbury) both find themselves around the ball on a frequent basis. Gerhart has 21 tackles so far this year, including 12 in the season opening win, and has a fumble recovery and a pass break up. Nielsen has flashed his big play potential this year, picking off two passes and recovering two fumbles. His most important play came against Waynesburg when he picked off a pass with 43 seconds left to seal the win for Wilkes. He's added 15 tackles and 2 pass break ups this year.

TRIPLE DUTY
Jr. Chris Horn (New Tripoli/Northwestern Lehigh) has handled field goal and extra point attempts, kickoff chores and the punting this season for the Colonels. Horn has been perfect, going 6-6 in extra points and 1-1 on field goals. He's also boomed his kickoffs, making opponents receive them on their own 8-yard line on average. Horn has punted 12 times this season, posting an average of 35.0 with a long of 50, and has put two punts inside the 20-yard line.

SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
Utica's offense has proven to be extremely powerful in the early going of 2010, and it is led by So. QB Andrew Benkwitt. Benkwitt has completed 68.2% of his throws for 968 yards and 10 TDs so far in three games, including 378 in the Castleton win. He's had plenty of help from his receivers as Fr. WR Anthony Acevedo leads the Pioneers with 19 catches for 415 yards and 4 TDs. So. RB Jake Scott has carried the ground game, averaging 95.3 ypg with 7 TDs.

Sr. LB Travis Ladd leads the way on the defensive side of the ball as he's totaled 38 tackles and 3.5 TFL in 2010. He's joined by Sr. LB Kevin Hennion, who has 30 tackles, and So. LB Genaro Scampone, who's added 26 tackles and 2.5 TFL. So. DE James Brain has provided the pressure off the edge for Utica, getting 4.5 TFL and 3.5 sacks this season, with 2 forced fumbles.

The Pioneers have shown plenty of weapons in the return game, as four players have combined to return six punts for 107 yards (17.8 avg) and a TD. Three players have handled the kicking chores, combining to go 1-1 on field goal attempts and 20-26 on extra point attempts.