Warren Ruda

WILKES FOOTBALL GAME NOTES VS. LEBANON VALLEY

11/3/2011 3:16:00 PM

(Complete Game Notes)

WILKES FOOTBALL GAME NOTES VS. LEBANON VALLEY

Wilkes Colonels (3-4, 3-3) vs. Lebanon Valley Flying Dutchmen (5-3, 3-3)
Saturday, November 5, 2011 / 1:00 p.m.
Schmidt Stadium

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THE MATCHUP
Wilkes University hosts Lebanon Valley College in a Middle Atlantic Conference matchup at Schmidt Stadium. The Colonels are coming off a 13-6 victory at cross-town rival King's College last Saturday in a rare October snow storm to claim their second straight Mayor's Cup victory.

THE HEAD COACHES
Colonels coach Frank Sheptock (Bloomsburg '85) enters his 16th year on the Wilkes sideline, racking up a 97-69 (.584) record. With the 97 victories, Sheptock is the all-time winningest coach in school history, passing Colonel legend Rollie Schmidt's (1962-1981) 90 wins last season. Sheptock has led the Colonels to two NCAA and seven 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 122 All-MAC performers.

Jim Monos (Shippensburg '72) enters his 19th year as head coach of the Lebanon Valley College football team. He began his second stint at LVC in 2004 after serving as the Flying Dutchmen head coach from 1986-96. Through the 2010 season, Monos has directed the Dutchmen to a 79-100-2 record, and is the all-time leader in wins at LVC. His 181 games coached is also a school record. A memorable end to the season was in the cards for 2010 as LVC won its final five games of the regular season to qualify for the postseason for the second straight year - going to consecutive bowl games for the first time in program history. After a 1-4 start, Monos guided the team to a 6-4 finish and the ECAC South Atlantic Bowl, where they fell to Johns Hopkins.

THE SERIES
This will mark the 39th meeting between the two schools as Wilkes holds a 22-16 advantage in the series. The Colonels are 11-2 against the Flying Dutchmen under Sheptock suffering back-to-back losses in 2008 and 2009.

UP NEXT
The Colonels will host Stevenson University at Schmidt Stadium in their season finale at 12:00 p.m. Senior members of the Colonel football and cheerleading squads will be honored prior to kick-off. It will mark the first meeting between the two schools as Stevenson is in its first year as a member of the Middle Atlantic Conference.

ON TOP OF THE RECORD BOOK
Going into today's game against Lebanon Valley, Sheptock's 97 wins stands as the school's all-time leader. Sheptock's 97 career wins has been built up over 15 seasons of work and includes a program-record 11 wins in 2006. In 166 career games, Sheptock has a winning percentage of .584.

MAC PRESEASON POLL
The MAC preseason coaches poll was released on August 11 as Wilkes was picked to finish third. Delaware Valley, last year's conference champion, was picked first, receiving seven first place votes.
1. Delaware Valley (7)
2. Lycoming (1)
3. Wilkes
4. Widener (1)
5. Albright
6. Lebanon Valley
7. King's
8. FDU-Florham
9. Stevenson

THE COLONEL QBs
Sophomore Alex George (York, PA/West York) was kept in check by the King's defense and snow storm last Saturday throwing for just 91 yards on 7-of-17 attempts. He fared better on the ground rushing 16 times for 85 yards and one touchdown in the win. Junior Tyler Berntsen (Long Valley, NJ/West Morris Central) has saw extended time in relief of George throwing for season totals of 193 yards and one score on 10-for-30 attempts.

THE COLONEL RBs
Senior captain Zach Tivald (Edison, NJ/Edison), ranked second in the MAC in rushing (100.7 ypg), continues to punish teams on the ground rushing for 100+ yards on four different occasions. His 128-yard, one touchdown day at King's moved him into fifth place all-time on the school's rushing list with 2,260 career yards. Sophomore Auxence Wogou (Hackettstown, NJ/Hackettstown) has posted 394 yards on 56 carries on the year. For the season, the Colonel ground game averages a MAC-best 229.7 yards per-game.

THE COLONEL WRs
Senior captain Todd Eagles (Downingtown, PA/Downingtown East), in his third season with the Colonels after transferring from West Chester, finished with three catches for 28 yards against the King's secondary. Eagles currently ranks sixth in the MAC in receptions per-game (4.6) and seventh in receiving yards per-game (65.7). Sophomore Tim Bousson (Shamokin, PA/Shamokin) has posted eight catches for 127 yards and one touchdown on the year, while Shawn Gregson (Dingmans Ferry, PA/Delaware Valley) totals seven receptions for 60 yards.

THE COLONEL OL
The offensive line has done a solid job protecting the quarterback and paving the way for the explosive Colonel ground attack, led by senior captain and four-year starter Ben Webb (Shohola, PA/Delaware Valley). The unt has shown their dominance this season clearing the way for an MAC-best 229.7 yards per-game on the ground. They have kept George and Berntsen off the ground allowing just 12 sacks on 161 passing attempts throughout the season.

THE COLONEL DL
The defensive line took a major hit with the loss of senior co-captain Harry Reese (Plymouth, PA/Wyoming Valley West) going down with a season-ending injury in week 4 at FDU-Florham. Fellow senior James Moore (Orwigsburg, PA/Blue Mountain) has been called upon to fill the void left in the middle of the defense enjoying a solid outing against King's with two tackles, including the 100th stop of his Colonel career, and one fumble recovery. Moore ranks seventh in the MAC in sacks (4.0). Fellow senior Josh Brito (Little Falls, NJ/Passaic Valley) has been elevated to a starter posting 16 tackles and 0.5 TFL in seven games this season.

THE COLONEL LBs
Preseason All-American Tate Moore-Jacobs (New Cumberland, PA/Cedar Cliff) continues to lead an experienced group of linebackers this season. Moore-Jacobs posted eight tackles for the Colonels against King's, the only time this season he has not reached double digit stops in a contest. He currently is ranked second in the conference in tackles (78) and 14th in tackles-for-loss (7.5). Sophomore Rob Houseknecht (South Williamsport, PA/South Williamsport) posted a career-high 12 tackles and 2.5 tackles-for-loss for Wilkes against the Monarchs. His 9.0 TFL ranks sixth in the MAC. Sophomore DJ Shuttleworth (Leesport, PA/Schuylkill Valley) added three tackles from his outside linebacker.

THE COLONEL DBs
The secondary has improved greatly from the start of the season allowing a season-low 51 yards passing at King's last week. The unit was led by freshman Jake Sarson (Belvidere, NJ/Belvidere) with six tackles and 0.5 TFL from his safety position. Sophomore Paul Gaffney (Sparta, NJ/Sparta) recorded three tackles in extended time due to injuries, while freshman corner Justin Pellowski (Mt. Carmel, PA/Mt. Carmel) posted three tackles and two pass break-ups. Senior corners Matt Gunther (Easton, PA/Easton) and Joe Chrismer (Mountaintop, PA/Crestwood) combine for three tackles, while Chrismer came away with his first interception of the season to clinch the victory at King's late in the fourth quarter.

THE COLONEL SPECIALISTS
Sophomore Geoffrey Arentz (Stevens, PA/Lancaster Catholic) did not attempt a field goal in the snow ravaged game last week. Arentz missed his third field goal attempt of the year, a 23-yard attempt at Lycoming three weeks ago as the wind played a factor throughout that contest. His last successful attempt came at FDU-Florham four weeks ago connecting on a 24-yard strike late in the fourth quarter for the Colonels. Arentz is 2-for-5 on field goal attempts, including a season-long 25-yard field goal at Susquehanna in week one. Arentz missed a 46-yard kick at Albright and a 31-yard kick against Widener in his two other attempts.

Senior Shawn Gregson (Dingmans Ferry, PA/Delaware Valley) continues to serve as kick-off return specialist averaging 19.9 yards per-return. Freshman Andrew Regan (Boonton, NJ/Boonton) provided a spark for Wilkes in the kick return game with an 85-yard kick-off return for a touchdown against FDU in week 4. For the season, Regan has nine returns for 217 yards, good for 24.1 yards per-return. Gregson has fielded five punt returns averaging 4.8 yards per-return.

SCOUTING THE FLYING DUTCHMEN
On offense, Lebanon Valley is led by senior quarterback Colt Zarilla who has thrown for 1,721 yards and 16 touchdowns on 117-for-204 passing. All-MAC performer Ben Guiles leads the Dutchmen ground game with 747 yards and a conference-best 13 scores on 126 attempts. Tim Picerno is Zarilla's favorite target on the outside recording 41 catches for 611 yards and four touchdowns. LVC averages 33.8 points per-contest. On defense, Cory Homer tops the unit with 73 tackles, 9.5 TFL, and 3.0 sacks. Jason Gigous follows with 50 tackles and one TFL. The LVC defense is ranked fifth in the MAC allowing 351.9 yards p/g.

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