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OPENING KICKOFF: Today's Centennial Conference (CC) game marks the 46th meeting between McDaniel (0-2, 0-1 CC) and Muhlenberg (1-1, 0-1 CC) in a series that dates back to 1927. The Mules took a 59-10 victory last season in Westminster to make it five wins in a row and seven in eight years to pull within 22-20-3 in the all-time series. The Green Terror's lone win during the stretch came by a 16-9 margin in Allentown in 2010.
WHEN LAST WE MET: Muhlenberg rolled up 579 yards of total offense en route to a 59-10 victory over McDaniel last season. 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.
LAST TIME OUT: Moravian scored 20 straight points to break a 6-all deadlock en route to a 40-8 victory over McDaniel in the CC opener last week. Drew Scott (Brick, N.J./Brick Twp.) led the Green Terror on defense with 11 tackles, including seven solo stops. Mike Oliveto (Robesonia, Pa./Conrad Weiser) led the way on offense, catching seven passes for 46 yards. Chris Negron paced the Greyhounds with 143 rushing yards, scoring one touchdown.
WITH HONORS: Drew Scott and Chris Inge (Deptford, N.J./Williamstown) were named to their respective CC Weekly Honor Rolls last week. Diehl was tabbed to the defensive list after making 11 tackles, including seven solo stops last week. Inge earned a spot on the special teams list after returning a pair of kickoffs for a total of 70 yards.
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.
TWO IN THE OTHER DIRECTION: The Green Terror had the opportunity for a pair of defensive PATs on Saturday. After Moravian's first touchdown with 12:57 to play in the first quarter, an errant snap resulted in a passing situation for the holder. Garrett Diehl (Warrenton, Va./Fauquier) intercepted the pass at the goal line and sprinted in the other direction. The senior defensive back was tripped up about 25 yards shy of the two points. With 11:23 to play in the third quarter, Moravian had another errant snap on the PAT. The ball was batted around before Wayne Long (Columbia, Md./Wilde Lake) snagged the ball out of the air and headed the other direction, making it to the end zone for McDaniel's first defensive PAT since Nov. 6, 2010.
KICKING BACK: The Green Terror enters the third week of the season with a conference-high six field goals made in the first two games, matching its total for the last two years combined. Spencer Wiersberg (Salisbury, Md./J.M. Bennett) is a perfect 4-for-4 while Mike Casper (Bridgeton, N.J./Cumberland Regional) has made both of his attempts. Wiersberg is also 3-for-3 on PAT attempts. Casper also has the best kickoff average in the CC, averaging 62.1 yards on his 11 kickoffs.
MANY HAPPY RETURNS: Marquise Findley-Smith (Baltimore, Md./Atholton) and Chris Inge (Deptford, N.J./Williamstown) both rank in the top four in the CC in kickoff return average. Findley-Smith is averaging 32.0 yards on his three return attempts to lead the league. Inge currently averages 25.6 yards, attempting five returns. Last week, Inge had 70 yards on two attempts while Findley-Smith netted 67 yards on a pair of runbacks. Each had a return of longer than 40 yards.
TY'D UP: Tyler DeMent (Olney, Md./Northwest) made his Green Terror debut on Saturday. The junior transfer from Shenandoah made six catches last week for 32 yards. Four of those grabs came after halftime.
BACKING IT UP: Matt Quattrone (Carlisle, Pa./Carlisle Area) and Drew Scott (Brick, N.J./Brick Twp.) are once again leading the defense from their outside linebacker positions. Quattrone is currently tied for the team lead with 17 tackles to go with a sack and fumble recovery. Scott, who made 11 stops last week, is third on the squad with 13 tackles.
SACK LUNCH: In just two games this season, the Green Terror defense has eight sacks to match its team total from all of 2014. McDaniel currently ranks second in the CC and 19th in Division III, averaging 4.0 sacks per game. Nine different Green Terror defenders have been a part of a sack this season. Garvin Brooms (Olney, Md./Good Counsel) has 1.5 sacks on the year.
GOING FIRST: McDaniel is third in the CC in total first downs, recording 41 this season. Only the conference's two most prolific offenses – Johns Hopkins (588.5 ypg, 55.5 ppg) and Gettysburg (540.5 ypg, 35.5 ppg) – have more first downs over the first two games. McDaniel is averaging 380.0 yards per game this season on offense, which ranks third in the CC. However, the team's 20.5 points per game is sixth in the league.
LIKE A BAKERY: The Green Terror is currently plus-2 in turnover margin, which is second in the CC. McDaniel entered the season with a minus-33 over its last 30 games. The Green Terror has forced five turnovers already this season, including recovering a CC-best four fumbles. Only three teams in Division III have recovered more fumbles through the first two weeks of the season.
TERROR TIDBITS: McDaniel has been in second-and-9 or more yards 29 of the 57 times it has had a second down this season… Matt Cathey (Brick, N.J./Brick Memorial Regional) has 107 yards on just 12 carries this year, averaging 8.9 yards per rush. He is the only player on the team with runs of 20 or more yards this year. He has three such scampers… The Green Terror is 1-for-7 on fourth downs this year.
COACHES' CORNER: Mike Hoyt is in his fourth season at the helm of the Green Terror with an overall record of 3-29, 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… Mike Donnelly is in his 19th season at Muhlenberg. He has compiled a record of 123-69 to date with the Mules to rank as the winningest coach in the 112-year history of football. Since taking over a program that won a total of 18 games in the eight years prior to his arrival, Donnelly has turned Muhlenberg into a perennial championship contender and national top-10 team. He was named regional coach of the year by the American Football Coaches Association and D3football.com after leading the Mules to their first undefeated regular season and second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs eight seasons ago, backing that up with a CC title and NCAA bid in 2008. Donnelly guided Muhlenberg to the program's first-ever NCAA berth in 2002 – part of five consecutive postseason appearances from 2000-04 that included NCAA bids in 2002, 2003 and 2004. The Mules earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament last year after a 9-1 regular-season campaign.
THE WORD ON MUHLENBERG: The Mules enter today's game off a 16-15 loss at Franklin & Marshall last Saturday. The Diplomats scored 13 fourth-quarter points to overcome a 15-3 deficit. Taalib Gerald scored from four yards out with 4:24 to play before Matt Magarity won the game with his three-yard run with just 61 seconds left… Nick Palladino led the Mules, going 19-for-29 through the air for 189 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He was also the game's leading rusher with 57 yards on 17 carries… Jake Morra and Lenny Smith led the defense with 12 tackles apiece… Palladino ranks second among CC quarterbacks, averaging 189.0 yards per game. He has completed 71.7 percent of his passes (38-for-53) with four touchdowns and two interceptions. His 83.0 yards per game rushing is also in the conference's top 10… Ryan Delaney leads the CC with 15 catches and is tied for second with 140 yards receiving. He has one touchdown catch… Muhlenberg enters today's game as the conference's worst kick return team, averaging just 6.2 yards over its six return attempts… The Mules have also converted just one of their three PAT kick attempts. Muhlenberg has gone for two points four times this year, converting two of those attempts.
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