OPENING KICKOFF: Today's Centennial Conference (CC) game marks the 38th meeting between McDaniel (1-2, 0-2 CC) and Ursinus (3-0, 2-0 CC) in a series that dates back to 1976. The Bears have won the last eight meetings but the Green Terror leads the all-time series, 24-13-1.
WHEN LAST WE MET: Ursinus jumped out to a 14-0 first-quarter lead en route to a 40-21 victory over McDaniel last season. Nick O'Melia (Taneytown, Md./Francis Scott Key) led the Green Terror with his fifth career 100-yard receiving day, catching seven balls for 143 yards that included a pair of spectacular touchdown grabs. Jason Golderer led the Bears on the ground with 160 yards on 32 carries. Jerry Rahill caught eight passes for 181 yards and three scores.
LAST TIME OUT: Muhlenberg rolled up 579 yards of total offense en route to a 59-10 victory over McDaniel last week. Offensively, Matty Callahan (Germantown, Md./Northwest) and Connor Allen (Germantown, Md./Northwest) connected on the lone touchdown for the Green Terror, each registering their first collegiate scores. Defensively, Claude-Michel Richardson (Silver Spring, Md./Montgomery Blair) made eight tackles to lead the way. Michael Long led the Mules with 172 yards receiving on eight catches that included a pair of touchdowns. Max Cepeda also ran for two scores, rushing 14 times for 115 yards.
HEAD OF THE CLASS: Brett Haas (Laurel, Md./Atholton) was named the CC Special Teams Player of the Week after leading McDaniel with seven punts for 262 yards. He averaged 37.4 yards on his kicks, dropping three of the seven punts inside the 20-yard line without a touchback. He unfurled a 45-yarder in the first quarter bounced out of bounds, pinning the Mules at their own two-yard line.
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 three games of the season, 15 different Green Terror players have caught a pass. Connor Allen was the 15th player to notch a reception this year when he caught a 30-yard touchdown pass with 15.1 seconds to play on Saturday. Only Mike Oliveto and Sean Montgomery (Bethesda, Md./Walter Johnson) have double-digit receptions this season. Nick O'Melia and JT Kotowski (Colonia, N.J./Colonia) have nine and eight receptions, respectively. No other player has more than three catches. In total, 19 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.
200-LEVEL COURSE: McDaniel has thrown for 200 or more yards in each of the first three games this season. Muhlenberg, which leads the conference at 245.0 yards per game passing, is the only other CC team to accomplish that feat this season. The Green Terror currently ranks second in the league in passing yards at 240.0 yards per game. Seth McFall (Dover, Del./Caesar Rodney) has throw for 579 of the team's 720 yards this season and currently ranks sixth individually at 193.0 yards per game.
TOGETHER AGAIN AND IT FEELS SO GOOD: Matty Callahan and Connor Allen came to McDaniel last season as high school teammates from Northwest High School in Montgomery County. The quarterback and wide receiver were used to connecting on touchdown passes but last Saturday marked the first time they were able to do it as college teammates. Callahan saw the first varsity action of his collegiate career under center while Allen made his first college catch count. Allen was on the receiving end of his high school QB's first collegiate touchdown throw from 30 yards out.
WHAT A BOOT: Junior Brett Haas has done his part the last two weeks on special teams – albeit more active than he would probably like as a punter. He has punted 15 times and dropped seven of those inside the 20-yard line without a touchback. For the season, he is averaging 37.6 yards per kick with just one touchback. He has also forced four fair catches. The punt coverage unit is currently tops in the conference, allowing just 0.8 yards per return for a CC-best 35.8 net yards per punt.
YOU ALWAYS REMEMBER YOUR FIRST: Spencer Wiersberg (Salisbury, Md./J.M. Bennett) attempted the first field goal of his college career on Saturday. With 1:19 remaining in the first quarter, the freshman kicker converted on his 27-yard attempt to give the Green Terror its first first-half points of the season. Wiersberg is 6-for-7 this season on PAT attempts.
LUKE IS YOUR FATHER: Luke Fernandez (Manchester, Md./Manchester Valley) is tied for the team lead in tackles this season with 23 stops that has included 14 solo tackles. Fernandez has made no fewer than six tackles in each of the first three games, including matching his career high with 10 on Sept. 13 at Moravian. The junior also has an interception and pass breakup to his credit this season.
GREAT SCOTT: Freshman LB Drew Scott (Brick, N.J./Brick) has made an early impact on the McDaniel defense. He enters this week third on the team with 19 total tackles. His 3.0 tackles for loss and two interceptions are both tops on the team. He is currently the only freshman starting on defense.
WANNA BE LIKE MIKE: Senior WR Mike Oliveto leads the CC through three games this season with 252 receiving yards. He hauled in nine passes for 136 yards in the opener at Catholic on Sept. 5 before making six grabs for 72 yards at Moravian and three for 44 yards last Saturday against Muhlenberg. He has four – nearly half of the team's total pass plays of that length – including a 59-yard reception at Catholic for the team's longest play from scrimmage on the young season.
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: Brothers Luke and Jake Fernandez played together on defense for the first time in their collegiate careers on Saturday… The Green Terror is a CC-worst 12-for-44 (27.3 percent) on third-down conversions.
COACHES' CORNER: Mike Hoyt is in his third season at the helm of the Green Terror with an overall record of 3-20, 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… Peter Gallagher is in his 14th season at Ursinus. He has posted a 70-65 mark at the helm of the Bears, including a 6-4 record in his first season (2001), marking the first time an Ursinus coach registered a winning season in his first year. In 2006, Gallagher added offensive coordinator to his duties and recorded the most successful campaign in his tenure at 8-3. In 2010, he guided the Bears to a share of the Centennial Conference title. Prior to his arrival in Collegeville, he served as the defensive coordinator at the University of Rochester in addition to successful stints at Dartmouth, Wagner and Georgetown.
THE WORD ON URSINUS: The Bears enter today's game off a 31-24 overtime win at Franklin & Marshall on Saturday… Eric Boyer hit a 27-yard field goal with 4:13 to play in the fourth quarter to knot the game at 24-all. The Diplomats won the overtime toss and elected defense first but, aided by a pass interference penalty, Ursinus needed just four play to find the end zone on a Corey Kelly one-yard touchdown run. Max DeNardo picked off a pass on the second play of Franklin & Marshall's overtime possession to end the game… DeNardo's interception on Saturday was the Bears' NCAA Division III-leading eighth of the season… The 12 turnovers forced also leads the country while the +10 turnover margin ranks second to Widener (+12)… Kevin Monahan went 15-for-35 for 264 yards with a pair of touchdown passes. For the season, he 610 yards, completing 56.5 percent of his passes… Nick Lundholm has been his favorite target, hauling in 12 passes for 147 yards, including three scores… Steve Ambs leads the team with 36 tackles, including a CC-best 5.0 sacks.
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