OPENING KICKOFF: Today's Centennial Conference (CC) game marks the 46th meeting between McDaniel (1-4, 0-4 CC) and Franklin & Marshall (2-3, 1-3 CC) in a series that dates back to 1904. The Diplomats lead the all-time series 29-16-2 and have won the last 10 meetings after the Green Terror took seven straight between 1997 and 2003.
WHEN LAST WE MET: Franklin & Marshall scored a touchdown in each quarter to defeat McDaniel 28-9 last season. Aqil Tweedy (Fredericksburg, Va./Colonial Forge) led the Green Terror on offense with 61 yards receiving on six catches and a touchdown. E.J. Schneider led the Diplomats with 151 yards rushing and another 172 yards passing. He accounted for all four touchdowns, running for two and throwing for two.
LAST TIME OUT: McDaniel was idle last week. Two weeks ago, Gettysburg racked up 527 yards of total offense as part of a 47-7 victory over McDaniel. Sean Montgomery (Bethesda, Md./Walter Johnson) caught a touchdown pass for the Green Terror for the game's only fourth-quarter points. Matty Callahan (Germantown, Md./Northwest) notched his second straight 200-yard passing day, throwing for 272 yards on 27-for-40 passing. Drew Scott (Brick, N.J./Brick Twp.) led the defense with a career-high 13 tackles. Zach Miller paced the Bullets, throwing for 206 yards on 9 of 16 while also running nine times for another 75 yards. Nine different Gettysburg players combined to run for 320 yards on 60 carries.
WITH HONORS: Aqil Tweedy was named the CC Weekly Honor Roll two weeks ago. Tweedy earned the special teams nod after racking up 92 return yards between two punt returns and three kickoff returns. He amassed 68 yards on kickoff returns and 24 yards on punt returns.
LEADING THE WAY: Brandon Jones (Middle River, Md./Eastern Tech) and Mike Oliveto (Robesonia, Pa./Conrad Weiser) captain the squad in 2014. The two captains mark the fewest under Mike Hoyt and is the first time in program history since 2007 that just two players will serve in the role. This is the second straight year that Oliveto will serve as a captain.
SPREADING THE LOVE: Through the first half of the season, 16 different Green Terror players have caught a pass. Mike Oliveto and Nick O'Melia (Taneytown, Md./Francis Scott Key) have each reached the 20-catch mark this season. Oliveto leads the team and is second in the CC with 29 catches while O'Melia is seventh in the conference with 23 grabs. Sean Montgomery and JT Kotowski (Colonia, N.J./Colonia) have 17 and 12 receptions, respectively. In total, 20 players have contributed yards on offense. Outside of the three quarterbacks who have seen action, Perry Stefanelli (Rockville, Md./Good Counsel) is the only player who has rushing yards but has not caught a pass.
AERIAL ATTACK: McDaniel has thrown for 200 or more yards in each of the first five games this season. The Green Terror currently leads the league in passing yards, averaging 254.2 yards per game. McDaniel is the only team in the CC to have thrown for more than 200 yards in each of the first five games of the year. The Green Terror is also the only team with more than 200 pass attempts so far this season.
200-LEVEL COURSE: In his first collegiate start, Matty Callahan made it back-to-back 200-yard passing games. The sophomore established a career high with 272 yards passing, completing 27 of his 40 attempts (67.5 percent). A week after entering the game after a second-quarter drive was extended by a roughing-the-kicker penalty, where he went 19-for-37 for 239 yards, Callahan was called on to get the start against Gettysburg. In three games this season, he is 50-for-83 and has thrown for 573 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
GOING LONG: Among Matty Callahan's 27 completions two weeks ago was a fourth-quarter touchdown strike to Sean Montgomery. Montgomery hauled in the pass in stride and took it 61 yards for the score. It was the Green Terror's longest play from scrimmage in the first half of the season, eclipsing Mike Oliveto's 59-yard catch-and-run in the opener. Nick O'Melia also has a 46-yard reception to his credit to round out a trio of 40-plus yard pass plays in the first five games.
STANDSTILL AT RUSH HOUR: The Green Terror enters today's game ranked last in the conference in rushing offense, averaging just 76.2 yards per game. The team has failed to reach 100 rushing yards in each of the last four games. Since rushing for 144 yards in the opener at Catholic, McDaniel has netted just 237 yards over the last four games (59.3 yards per game). However, those efforts have come against four of the conference's top five rush defenses.
THIRD AND NONE: McDaniel enters today's game with the conference's worst third-down conversion rate. The Green Terror has converted just 21 of its 80 third-down attempts (26.2 percent). McDaniel does have a marked improvement after halftime, however. The Green Terror is just 7-for-40 on third downs in the first half (17.5 percent). However, in the second half that percentage doubles to 35 percent (14-for-40).
BACKING IT UP: The Green Terror got a preview of what could be the future with three freshmen playing linebacker together at Gettysburg. Drew Scott has been leading that rookie corps as a starter in all five games this season. He recorded a career-best 13 stops against the Bullets and currently leads the team with 38 tackles. Jake Fernandez (Manchester, Md./Manchester Valley) has seen his role at linebacker increase as the season has gone on. The rookie, whose brother Luke Fernandez (Manchester, Md./Manchester Valley) is the starter at free safety, established a new high with eight tackles two weeks ago at Gettysburg. Richard Settle (Dillsburg, Md./Northern York) returned from preseason injury to make four tackles in his debut at Gettysburg and will likely see an increased role in the second half.
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER: In the last two weeks alone, McDaniel has tallied in the final 16 seconds for 13 of the 23 points scored against the conference's top two ranked defenses. Against Muhlenberg, which had allowed just 10 points in the 179 minutes prior to that, the Green Terror found the end zone with 15.1 seconds left when Matty Callahan connected with Connor Allen (Germantown, Md./Northwest) from 30 yards out. Against Ursinus, which is allowing a CC-low 14.5 points per game, John Chamberlin crossed the goal line as the clock expired. By rule, the extra point was not attempted.
YOUTH MOVEMENT: The Green Terror enters this week with 104 players on its roster. Of that 104, 75 are either freshmen or sophomores (72.1 percent), including 45 first-year players. McDaniel has just 11 players listed as seniors on the roster, seven of which have an additional year of eligibility if they choose to use it.
TERROR TIDBITS: The Green Terror has scored 54 of its 71 points in the fourth quarter of games this season… McDaniel has not forced a turnover in the last 15 quarters.
COACHES' CORNER: Mike Hoyt is in his third season at the helm of the Green Terror with an overall record of 3-22, picking up his first win on Sept. 14, 2013 – a 21-14 victory over Moravian. He spent the previous eight seasons as the defensive coordinator, culminating with being a finalist for the American Football Coaches Association Assistant Coach of the Year award in 2011. In his first season at Albright, his defense went from allowing an average of 235.4 yards per game to 175.1 yards per contest, helping to guide Albright to an ECAC South Atlantic championship. His tenure as defensive coordinator was marked specifically by stout run defense, ranking in the top half of the Middle Atlantic Conference in rush defense, total defense and scoring defense in four of his last five seasons. His 2008 defense led the conference and ranked 33rd nationally, allowing just 16.9 points per games and appeared in the ECAC South Central Bowl… John Troxell is in his ninth season at Franklin & Marshall. He is 45-44, guiding the Diplomats to a 9-2 record and ECAC South Atlantic title in 2009 after back-to-back 4-6 records and a 3-7 inaugural season at the helm. He has been to ECAC Bowl games in three of the four seasons since, including a 38-14 win over Delaware Valley in the Southeast Bowl last year. Troxell took the reins following five seasons as an assistant coach at Lafayette, serving as video coordinator, running backs coach, recruiting coordinator and special teams coach for the 2004 and 2005 Patriot League champions.
THE WORD ON FRANKLIN & MARSHALL: The Diplomats enter today's game off the bye. Two weeks ago, Franklin & Marshall dropped a 27-14 decision to Dickinson in the annual Conestoga Wagon Game… Zachary Bradley led the Diplomats two weeks ago with 231 yards passing, completing 24 of 38 passes… Paul McGann and Jordan Zachery accounted for 215 of those receiving yards, catching nine balls each for 108 and 107 yards, respectively… F&M enters today's game with the conference's worst pass defense (244.0 ypg) and worst total offense (299.0 ypg)… Bradley has gone 43-for-64 in three games, throwing for 424 yards. Matt Magarity is 40-for-66 this year for 392 yards in five games… Taalib Gerald (283) and Scott LaValva (250) have combined for 583 of the team's 661 rushing yards… McGann and Zachary are tied for the team and CC lead with 31 receptions… The Diplomats enter today's game with an all-time record of 599-479-47, needing one win to become the eighth Division III team to amass 600 wins.
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