OPENING KICKOFF: Today's Centennial Conference (CC) game marks the 19th meeting between McDaniel (1-0, 0-0 CC) and Moravian (1-0, 0-0 CC) in a series that dates back to 1972. The Greyhounds hold an 11-7 advantage in the all-time series, including three wins in the first three meetings since the renewal of conference foes in 2007 as well as two years ago, 21-7. The Green Terror snapped that streak with a 13-10 victory in 2010 in Westminster and made it back-to-back victories with a 35-14 home win in 2011 before winning again in 2013, 21-14.
WHEN LAST WE MET: McDaniel jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the game's first 16:37 en route to a 21-14 CC victory over Moravian last season. Joe Rollins scored all three touchdowns for the Green Terror, who snapped a 13-game losing streak and gave head coach Mike Hoyt his first win as a head coach. Rollins rushed for 219 yards on 29 carries. Mike Cousar finished with 11 tackles and had an interception with 19.8 seconds left to seal the victory and allow his offense to go into victory formation for the first time in 686 days. James Price (Baltimore, Md./W.E.B. DuBois) and Nick Chuong added seven stops each. Robbie Moyer led the Greyhounds with 117 yards rushing, including a touchdown, while also going 13-for-31 through the air for 96 yards. Chris Negron rushed for 96 yards and a touchdown.
LAST TIME OUT: McDaniel scored the game's final 20 points to record a 34-31 non-conference victory at Catholic last Friday night. On offense, it was Tayahd Campbell (Silver Spring, Md./Blake) leading the comeback for the Green Terror, finishing with 111 yards on 11 carries, including his first collegiate touchdown. On defense, it was another freshman. Drew Scott (Brick, N.J./Brick Twp.) nabbed his first two interceptions to set up the final two McDaniel touchdowns. TJ Tutone paced the Cardinals with 339 yards passing as part of a 530-yard offensive explosion. The Green Terror finished with 403 yards – 329 of which came after the intermission. Seth McFall (Dover, Del./Ceasar Rodney) accounted for 259 of those yards through the air but it was his feet that gave McDaniel the go-ahead score.
HEAD OF THE CLASS: Drew Scott was named the CC Co-Defensive Player of the Week after leading the Green Terror to a 34-31 come-from-behind victory at Catholic. Scott had a pair of interceptions in his collegiate debut, setting up McDaniel's final two scores that capped a comeback from a 17-point deficit with fewer than seven minutes to play. In addition to his two interceptions, Scott also had five tackles to lead the Green Terror to a season-opening win for the first time since 2010.
WITH HONORS: Tayahd Campbell and Aqil Tweedy (Fredericksburg, Va./Colonial Forge) were named to their respective CC Weekly Honor Rolls last week. Campbell was named the offensive ledger after leading the Green Terror with 111 yards on 11 carries and his first career touchdown. Tweedy earned the special teams nod after recording 66 return yards on three kickoffs. He also returned a fumble 39 yards for a touchdown.
LEADING THE WAY: Brandon Jones (Middle River, Md./Eastern Tech) and Mike Oliveto (Robesonia, Pa./Conrad Weiser) will 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.
OPENING STATEMENTS: McDaniel has won three of its last four CC CC openers, snapping a four-year skid, but dropped a 21-7 decision in the last trip to Moravian two years ago. The Green Terror defeated Moravian 21-14 last season in Westminster. After a one-year hiatus, the Green Terror returned to opening the conference slate against Moravian in 2011. The Greyhounds won each of the first three CC meetings when the two teams meet in the first conference game of the season. The Green and Gold are 15-16 in conference lidlifters since the inception of the CFC. The Green Terror dropped its first eight openers after the creation of the CFC in 1983 – all to Gettysburg. For the first 20 years, McDaniel and Gettysburg squared off with the Bullets holding a slight 11-9 advantage. Ursinus was the first opponent on the Green Terror's CC schedule for the next four years. McDaniel won the first three of those meetings.
DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACK: The Green Terror trailed 21-0 at halftime in last Friday's opener before rallying to outscore Catholic 34-10 in the second half, including 20-0 over the game's final seven minutes. It was the first time since Nov. 6, 2010 that McDaniel was able to rally in the second half of a game for victory. In that game, the Green and Gold needed three overtimes for a 36-30 Homecoming win over Gettysburg. The Green Terror had dropped its last 24 games when it was not leading at the intermission, including 22 in a row when trailing. The last time McDaniel won in regulation after trailing at halftime was a 24-14 win over Randolph-Macon on Oct. 21, 2006.
BIG-TIMING ROOKIES: The Green Terror got a pair of big debuts from two of the 45 freshmen on the squad. On offense, Tayahd Campbell exploded for 109 of his 111 rushing yards in the second half, carrying the ball 10 times after the break. He also found the end zone for the first time and a 12-yard reception out of the backfield. On defense, Drew Scott made his presence known in the second half with a pair of interceptions that set up McDaniel's final two scores and capped the comeback.
ROAD WARRIORS: After losing 16 straight road games, the Green Terror has now won back-to-back road games since early in the 2010 season. McDaniel snapped the road losing streak with a 43-42 win at Susquehanna in the final road game of 2013 before winning at Catholic on Friday night. The last back-to-back road wins came on Sept. 4 at Juniata (3-0) and Sept. 18 at Catholic (24-14) and was part of three straight road wins that included a 22-20 win at Gettysburg on Nov. 7, 2009.
MANY HAPPY RETURNS: The Green Terror's comeback all started with a defensive score. After Brandon Jones jarred the ball loose in the fourth quarter, Aqil Tweedy snagged the ball out of the air and returned it 39-yards for a touchdown with 6:35 to play in the contest. It marked the first time a McDaniel player returned a fumble for a touchdown since Sam Cox rumbled 36 yards for a touchdown on Oct. 17, 2009 at Muhlenberg.
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 won its season opener for the first time since 2010… Mike Casper (Bridgeton, N.J./Cumberland Regional) boomed his six kickoffs a total of 373 yards for a 62.2-yard-per-kick average. He had two touchbacks… Freshman Spencer Wiersberg (Salisbury, Md./J.M. Bennett) went 4-for-5 on PAT attempts in his debut… Seth McFall threw for a CC-high 259 yards last week… Mike Oliveto's 136 receiving yards was tops in the CC last week… McDaniel forced a conference-high five turnovers last week.
COACHES' CORNER: Mike Hoyt is in his third season at the helm of the Green Terror with an overall record of 3-18, 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… Jeff Pukszyn is in his fourth season as the head coach at Moravian after serving 10 years as assistant head coach. He enters today's game with a record of 7-24 after three 2-8 campaigns in his first three seasons. He joined the staff as a part-time coach in 1997 after a three-year playing career under former head coach and current Director of Athletics Scot Dapp that saw him named to the All-Middle Atlantic Conference first team in 1994 and 1996. The two-time captain joined the staff full time in 1999 as defensive coordinator, a position he retains as the head man.
THE WORD ON MORAVIAN: The Greyhounds enter the conference opener off a 33-14 win over King's last Saturday… Chris Negron ran for 100 yards on 19 carries, including the first two Moravian touchdowns. His scores covered 18 and 11 yards to stake the Greyhounds to a 13-0 lead. Negron ran for 1,052 yards as a freshman last year… Eli Redmond added 71 rushing yards as part of a 245-yard attack on the ground last week… Mike Hayes went 15-for-29 for 197 yards in his first action as the Moravian signal caller… Liam Nolan hauled in six passes for 92 yards and a touchdown while Will McLaughlin also made six grabs for 59 yards and a score… The Greyhounds return their top four receiving threats from last year. Jalen Snyder-Scipio, Jimmy McCarthy, McLaughlin and Sam Boyer accounted for 85 percent of the passing attack last year, combining for 1,191 yards on 109 catches.
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