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OPENING KICKOFF: Today's Centennial Conference (CC) game marks the 47th meeting between McDaniel (0-5, 0-4 CC) and Franklin & Marshall (4-1, 3-1 CC) in a series that dates back to 1904. The Diplomats lead the all-time series 30-16-2 and have won the last 11 meetings after the Green Terror took seven straight between 1997 and 2003.
WHEN LAST WE MET: Franklin & Marshall scored the game's final 24 points for a 31-7 victory over McDaniel last year. 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.
LAST TIME OUT: McDaniel was idle last week. Two weeks ago, Gettysburg scored 35 straight points to break open a 10-all game en route to a 45-17 victory over McDaniel. Matt Cathey (Brick, N.J./Brick Memorial Regional) led the Green Terror, establishing a career best with 88 yards rushing to go with his second collegiate touchdown. Kyle Wigley led the Bullets with 184 yards rushing and two scores.
HEAD OF THE CLASS: Brett Haas (Laurel, Md./Atholton) earned the CC Special Teams Player of the Week honors two weeks ago. Haas led the Green Terror against Gettysburg, punting six times for a total of 248 yards. He averaged 41.3 yards per punt, including a pair of boots that covered 50-plus yards. He also dropped two punts inside the 20-yardline and only allowed one kick to be returned.
WITH HONORS: Mike Oliveto (Robesonia, Pa./Conrad Weiser) and Luke Fernandez (Manchester, Md./Manchester Valley) were named to their respective CC Weekly Honor Rolls two weeks ago. Oliveto was named to the offensive list after catching eight passes for 101 yards, turning in his fourth collegiate 100-yard receiving game. Richardson earned a spot on the defensive ledger after making 11 tackles that included his first career sack.
LEADING THE WAY: Riley Johnson (Round Hill, Va./Woodgrove), Brandon Jones (Middle River, Md./Eastern Tech), Mike Oliveto and Matt Quattrone (Carlisle, Pa./Carlisle Area) will captain the squad in 2015. This is the third straight year Oliveto has served as a captain while Jones is a two-time captain.
HELLO, ALUMS: Today is Homecoming on the Hill for McDaniel. The Green Terror is 54-26-1 on Homecoming, including winning 13 of the last 22. This is the second straight year that Franklin & Marshall has travelled to Westminster for Homecoming. The Diplomats won 28-9 in 2013 but were also the Homecoming opponent in both 2005 and 2007 and both games needed overtime. In 2005, Franklin & Marshall prevailed 17-14 in overtime for their first win over McDaniel since 1996. In 2007, the two teams decided on an encore. This time the Diplomats found the end zone in the extra period and forced a fumble on the Green Terror's attempt in the first overtime to escape with the win, 24-17.
SACK LUNCH: Through five games this season, McDaniel leads the conference with 19 sacks. The Green Terror defense got to the quarterback another five times in its last game and has three or more sacks in each game this season. Thirteen different players have been a part of at least one sack so far this season. Raymond Doh (Silver Spring, Md./Blake) leads the conference with 4.5 sacks this season while Garvin Brooms (Olney, Md./Good Counsel) has 3.0 sacks in four games. Andy Ullman (Toms River, N.J./Monsignor Donovan) and Ben Kahn (Selinsgrove, Pa./Selinsgrove Area) have 2.0 sacks each.
WE NEED TO GET TO 88 MPH: Freshman Matt Cathey returned to the field after not seeing action in the previous two games and established a career best. Cathey toted the ball 16 times for 88 yards and scored his second collegiate touchdown on a nine-yard run in the fourth quarter. He has run the ball just 28 times this season but ranks second on the team with 195 yards rushing. He is averaging 7.0 yards per run and has both of the Green Terror's rushing scores.
WE'RE SWINGING: Tayahd Campbell (Silver Spring, Md./Blake) found the end zone for the first time in 2015 against Gettysburg. However, it was not a rushing touchdown. The sophomore tailback took a swing pass on the left side of the field and broke down the sideline for a 45-yard touchdown. It was the second time this season that Matty Callahan (Germantown, Md./Northwest) completed a swing pass for a big gain and touchdown. In the opener against Catholic, Callahan hit John Chamberlin for a 58-yard touchdown on a swing pass to the right. They are McDaniel's two longest offensive plays of the year.
DOUBLE DIPPING: Claude-Michel Richardson (Silver Spring, Md./Blake) and Luke Fernandez each recorded double-digit tackles against Gettysburg. Richardson had 13 stops while Fernandez made 11 tackles. For each, it was the third time in their collegiate careers they reach double-digit tackles.
IN THE RED: The Green Terror defense enters the second half of the year ranked third in the CC in red-zone defense. McDaniel is allowing opponents to score on just 69.2 percent of their trips inside the 20-yardline. The Green Terror has forced two turnovers among its stops in the red zone. McDaniel has also stuffed the opponents twice on fourth down.
WANNA BE LIKE MIKE: Mike Oliveto has been the favorite target of Matty Callahan through the first half of the season. The fifth-year player has made 30 grabs this season to lead the team and rank fourth in the CC. He has nearly three times as many receptions as the next receiver. Bamasa Bailor is second on the team with 11 grabs. Dante Moss (Williamstown, N.J./Williamstown) is the only other player to reach double-digit receptions with 10. Oliveto notched his fourth career 100-yard receiving game last week with 101 receiving yards. His 272 receiving yards is tops on the team as well.
TERROR TIDBITS: Spencer Wiersberg (Salisbury, Md./J.M. Bennett) has made all five of his field-goal attempts this season. He is now 9-for-9 in his collegiate career after going 4-for-4 as a freshman. The Green Terror is being outscored 54-2 in the third quarter of games this season… McDaniel is the most penalized team in the CC this year (50 flags)… Through five games, 16 different McDaniel players have recorded a reception.
COACHES' CORNER: Mike Hoyt is in his fourth season at the helm of the Green Terror with an overall record of 3-32, picking up his first win on Sept. 14, 2013 – a 21-14 victory over Moravian. In 2015, he serves as defensive coordinator for the first time at McDaniel. 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 10th season at Franklin & Marshall. He is 52-47, 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 13-7 decision to Dickinson in the Battle for the Wagon. The Red Devils took a 13-0 lead in the game before staving off a fourth-quarter Franklin & Marshall rally, ending the threat with an interception at their own 14 with 34 seconds left… Matt Magarity led the Diplomats through the air, throwing for a season-best 237 yards on 20-for-38 passing. Magarity had missed F&M's previous game against Juniata… Taalib Gerald, who missed the Diplomats' last game, is the team's leading rusher with 294 yards on 70 carries. He has three of the squad's seven rushing scores… Dave Sheilhammer has 257 yards on the ground… Four different Franklin & Marshall receivers have 10 or more catches this year. Andrew DeStefano and Bobby Keyes each have 18 grabs. DeStefano has a team-best 315 yards while Keys has 280 yards and three TDs… The Diplomats have a balanced attack on offense, averaging 177.0 yards rushing and 189.6 yards passing per game… Luke Foukas leads the defense with 32 stops, including 23 solo tackles. He also has 4.5 tackles for loss… Franklin & Marshall is the least penalized team in the league with just 12 total flags in the first five games.
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