OPENING KICKOFF: Today's Centennial Conference (CC) game marks the 48th meeting between McDaniel (1-5, 0-5 CC) and Dickinson (2-4, 2-3 CC) in a series that dates back to 1904. The Green Terror leads the all-time series 36-32-1 but the Red Devils have won eight of the last nine meetings, including by a 38-31 margin last season in Carlisle.
WHEN LAST WE MET: Dickinson outscored McDaniel 35-3 over a 23-minute, 23-second span en route to a 38-31 CC victory last Saturday. Joe Rollins led the Green Terror with his program record-tying eighth 200-yard rushing game, accumulating 211 yards on 29 carries with two touchdowns. He added 45 receiving yards and 39 return yards to finish with 295 all-purpose yards and pass Rob Johnson for second place on the program's all-time list. Shawn Wilson paced the Red Devils with 129 rushing yards as part of a 352-yard attack on the ground. Dickinson finished with 392 yards of total offense. Ryan Yamada (Brookeville, Md./Good Counsel) kept it a balanced attack for McDaniel, passing for 238 a touchdown. He also ran for another score. The Green Terror finished with 477 yards of total offense.
LAST TIME OUT: Franklin & Marshall scored the game's final 24 points for a 31-7 victory over McDaniel last Saturday. John Chamberlin (Franklinville, N.J./Williamstown) led the Green Terror with a career-high 104 yards rushing, scoring his team's lone touchdown. Taalib Gerald paced the Diplomats with 122 rushing yards on 21 carries, adding three touchdowns.
WITH HONORS: John Chamberlin and Duane Lucas (Gwynn Oaks, Md./Western Tech) were named to their respective CC Weekly Honor Rolls last week. Chamberlin earned the offensive nod after leading the Green Terror with a career-best 104 rushing yards on just seven carries with a 35-yard touchdown. Lucas was named to the defensive ledger after recording his first collegiate interception to set up the Chamberlin score. He also had four tackles.
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.
HELLO, ALUMS: Today is Homecoming on the Hill for McDaniel. The Green Terror is 54-25-1 on Homecoming, including winning 13 of the last 21. The last time Dickinson travelled to Westminster for Homecoming was in 2006 when the Red Devils were 24-17 victors. Dickinson was also the Family Weekend foe for McDaniel in both 2008 and 2010 with split results. The Green Terror won 20-13 in a driving rainstorm in 2008 while the Red Devils were 41-16 winners in 2010.
SPREADING THE LOVE: Last Saturday, Marquise Findley-Smith (Baltimore, Md./Atholton) became the 17th different Green Terror player to catch a pass this season. He grabbed a 17-yard catch on the final possession of the game after running the ball twice earlier in the game. 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 third in the CC with 29 catches while O'Melia is fifth in the conference with 28 grabs. Sean Montgomery (Bethesda, Md./Walter Johnson) and JT Kotowski (Colonia, N.J./Colonia) have 17 and 12 receptions, respectively. In total, 21 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.
ON THE RUN AGAIN: John Chamberlin had a breakout game on Saturday. The freshman running back carried the ball just seven times but rolled up 104 yards rushing to establish a new career high. Among his carries was a 35-yard touchdown run on the Green Terror's first possession of the second half. He also had runs of 27 and 19 among his carries. Entering last week, he had just 65 yards rushing on 21 carries through his first four collegiate appearances. It was part of a 140-yard day on the ground for McDaniel, which is the best single-game performance for the team since running for 144 in the opener at Catholic.
RUMBLIN' AROUND: Sophomore Duane Lucas nabbed his first collegiate interception on Saturday, picking off a pass thrown right at him on the Diplomats' first possession of the second half. The defensive tackle's interception set up the Green Terror's lone score of the game. For Lucas, it was not only his first career pick but it was the first by a McDaniel defensive lineman since Bill Gerdes intercepted a Franklin & Marshall pass on the same field in the third quarter on Oct. 30, 2010.
TURNOVERS FOR SALE: When Eddie Kendall (Point Pleasant, N.J./Point Boro) recovered a fumble with 13:41 to play in the second quarter at Franklin & Marshall on Saturday, it snapped a stretch of 16 straight quarters in which the defense had not forced a turnover. The last turnover the defense forced was a Tyler Krebs (Selinsgrove, Pa./Selinsgrove Area) interception in the end zone with 13:46 showing on the first-quarter clock at Moravian in Week Two. McDaniel went on to record a second takeaway, winning the turnover battle in a game for the first time since the opener at Catholic.
FIRST-HALF IMPROVEMENT: Through the first half of the season, the Green Terror had been outgained by an average of 301.8-128.4 yards per game and was no closer than 21 points at the break. On Saturday, McDaniel was within seven points and was only outgained, 219-178. Just 62 seconds into the second half, the score was tied and the yardage deficit had ben cut to 225-216. However, after outgaining opponents in the second half in three of the first five games, the Green Terror netted minus-3 yards on its next six possession and were outgained 205-50 the rest of the way.
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 78 points in the fourth quarter of games this season… Saturday marked the first time this season that McDaniel did not throw for 200 yards in a game. It was also the first time the Green Terror had more rushing yards than passing yards in a game… Brett Haas (Laurel, Md./Atholton) unfurled a career-long 63-yard punt late in the second quarter on Saturday… Drew Scott (Brick, N.J./Brick Twp.) leads the team with 41 tackles… McDaniel was 1-for-11 on third downs last week and is a CC-worst 24 percent on the year (22-for-91).
COACHES' CORNER: Mike Hoyt is in his third season at the helm of the Green Terror with an overall record of 3-23, 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… Darwin Breaux is in his 22nd season guiding the Red Devils. He has compiled a 126-94-1 record and guided Dickinson to the five post-season appearances, including a 2006 NCAA appearance after winning the CC championship and an ECAC appearance in 2008. The 126 wins are the most by any Red Devil mentor.
THE WORD ON DICKINSON: The Red Devils enter today's game off a 42-7 home loss to Johns Hopkins last Friday… Ricky Klingerman broke up the shutout with 9:31 to play, scoring on a 14-yard run. It was his first carry of the season… Cedric Madden enters this weekend's action as the conference's top rusher. He has 640 yards on 119 carries with two touchdowns. Madden has three 100-yard rushing games to his credit this season. He also has 15 catches out of the backfield for a team-high 192 yards… Cole Ahnell is completing 52.9 percent of his passes, throwing for 771 yards on 63 of 119. He has also run for another 339 yards on 106 carries… Brent Scardapane leads the offense with 16 receptions for 134 yards and two touchdowns… Anders Overhaug has 190 yards and three touchdowns among his 10 catches… Connor Thompson leads the defense with 43 tackles… Mark Manganaro has a pair of interceptions and has broken up another eight passes. He also has two blocked kicks… The Red Devils have alternated wins and losses this season but is 0-3 on the road in 2014. Dickinson has lost its last seven games outside of Carlisle, dating back to a 24-21 win at Susquehanna on Sept. 21 last season.
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