GAME #3
Lycoming College vs. King’s College
September 22, 2001 - 1:30 p.m.
David Person Field & Robert L. Shangraw Athletic Complex (3,700)
Williamsport, Pa.

THE STORY: The Warriors return home to face King’s College as they look to stay undefeated early in the season. Lycoming has been impressive in its first two games winning by scores of 40-0 and 45-20 over Lebanon Valley and Susquehanna, respectively. The Monarchs enter the game riding a two-game winning streak of their own after dropping their season opener to Hartwick. Victories over Moravian and Delaware Valley the past two weeks have left King’s in a four-way tie for first place in the conference. Lycoming, King’s, Widener, and Albright are all at 2-0 in the MAC.

RADIO: Today’s game is being broadcast live on WRAK-AM (1400) in Williamsport and WRLC-FM (91.7), the Lycoming College radio station. Ken Sawyer and Bill Byham will call the action for WRAK. Jamie Spencer and Andy Slawecki will handle the broadcast for WRLC.

THE COACHES: 
Lycoming – Frank Girardi (West Chester, 1961) 
Career: 220-68-5 (.759)/30th season
At Lycoming: 220-68-5 (.759)/30th season

ALL-TIME SERIES RECORD: Lycoming leads series – 8-3-1 (.708)

LAST MEETING: LYCOMING 41 KING’S 24
September 23, 2000 - Robert L. Betzler Fields, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

LAST GAME: LYCOMING 45 SUSQUEHANNA 20
September 15, 2001 - Amos Alonzo Stagg Field, Selinsgrove, Pa.

LYCOMING’S OFFENSE: The Warrior attack continued to be impressive last week, piling up yardage and, more importantly, points. Through two games, Lycoming’s offense is averaging 42.5 points and 517.5 yards per game. The attack has been well balanced with an average of 287.5 yards coming on the ground and 230 through the air. Joe Feerrar is 25-of-49 on the year, throwing for 460 yards and four touchdowns to just one interception. Tim Deasey is the team’s leading rusher with 399 yards and three scores. Tom Zulkowski leads the Warriors in receptions with 11, while Chris Dauber has the most receiving yards with 183 on just six catches.

KING’S DEFENSE: The Monarch’s defense has allowed 74 points through three games for an average of 24.7 per contest. They have been terrific against the run, giving up just 20.3 yards per game on the ground. Teams have found success against King’s secondary, however, piling up more than 296 yards per game passing. Steve Wilson is the player to watch on the Monarch defense. He has been the MAC Defensive Player of the Week for two consecutive weeks and has recorded 22 tackles, including seven sacks and 12 tackles-for-a-loss.

KING’S OFFENSE: The Monarch offense had its biggest game of the season last week when they piled up 38 points and 382 yards of offense against Delaware Valley. For the season, they are averaging 26 points and 365 yards per game – 213 of those via the running game. Chris Shivery is the team’s leading rushing with 474 yards and five touchdowns in three games. Tom Pierantozzi calls the signals for the Monarchs. He has completed 35-of-71 passes this season for 454 yards and four scores. He has thrown one interception. Jim Pio is Pierantozzi’s favorite target with 12 receptions for 213 yards and three touchdowns on the season.

LYCOMING’S DEFENSE: The Warrior’s defense came back down to earth last weekend, allowing 362 yards of offense just a week after holding Lebanon Valley to 12 yards of total offense. Lycoming’s unit still held a strong offensive team to just 20 points, however, and caused three turnovers, while recording five sacks. All-American candidate Ryan Rupprecht leads the team with 17 tackles. He also has two sacks and six tackles-for-a-loss. Last week he returned a fumble recovery 39 yards for a touchdown. Chris Roantree has tallied three sacks and is second on the team with 14 tackles. In the secondary, Matt Henrich and Jake Davis have combined for three interceptions and 12 pass break-ups.

DIESEL POWERED: Senior tailback Tim Deasey has accounted for nearly 40% of the Warriors’ offensive production so far this season. Through two games, Deasey has gained 399 of Lycoming’s 1,035 offensive yards.

2000 x 2: Last Saturday versus Susquehanna, Tim Deasey and Joe Feerrar each reached significant career milestones. Deasey’s 146 yards rushing gave him 2,020 yards for his career. Feerrar’s 295 yards passing increased his career total to 2,251.

MATCH UP TO WATCH: Lycoming’s running game vs. King’s run defense. The Warriors rank first in the MAC in rushing offense, averaging 287.5 yards per game on the ground. The Monarchs, however, have given up a total of just 61 yards rushing in three games this season, for a miniscule average of 20.3 yards per contest.

COOL UNDER PRESSURE: In last season’s game at King’s, Joe Feerrar was forced to be quick on his feet as the Monarchs recorded four sacks and applied pressure to the quarterback all day long. Feerrar, however, responded by completing 17-of-23 passes for 272 yards, and threw four touchdowns to just one interception.

ON THE RISE: Since dropping three of their first four games last season, King’s has won eight of their last 10.

LEADERS OF THE MAC: Lycoming’s quick start this season has them leading the conference in a number of statistical categories. The Warriors’ 517.5 yards of total offense, 287.5 yards of rushing offense, and 187 yards of total offense against, are all tops in the MAC. The team also leads the conference in punting average (36.9 yards/punt) and third-down conversions (12-of-27 or 44.4%). Individually, Jake Davis ranks first in the MAC with seven passes broken up.

CONFERENCE UPDATE: In 2001, there will no longer be two conferences (Freedom and Commonwealth) under the umbrella of the Middle Atlantic Corporation for football. All 11 schools will now compete in the Middle Atlantic Conference for a single championship. The change was made to eliminate confusion over the naming of two conference champions and to improve the chances of the MAC having more than one team qualify for the NCAA playoffs.

ATHLETIC UPDATES VIA E-MAIL: Weekly updates on all of Lycoming’s athletic teams are now available via e-mail. If you would like to receive these updates, simply send an e-mail to: dietrich@lycoming.edu and ask to be added to the Warrior Update List. 

September 22, 2001
Delaware Valley at Susquehanna
Albright at Dickinson
Moravian at Widener
FDU-Madison at Lebanon Valley
Wilkes at Juniata