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OPENING KICKOFF: Today's Centennial Conference (CC) game marks the 39th meeting between McDaniel (0-3, 0-2 CC) and Ursinus (1-2, 0-2 CC) in a series that dates back to 1976. The Bears have won the last nine meetings but the Green Terror leads the all-time series, 24-14-1.
WHEN LAST WE MET: Ursinus opened up a 35-0 lead through three quarters en route to a 42-13 victory over McDaniel last season. Matty Callahan (Germantown, Md./Northwest) threw for 239 yards to lead the Green Terror on offense, going 19-for-37 in his first significant action at quarterback. Corey Kelly led the Bears with 145 of their 260 rushing yards. Taylor Paul added 98 yards on 13 carries. Both rushed for a touchdown.
LAST TIME OUT: Muhlenberg scored 41 first-half points en route to a 55-0 CC victory over McDaniel last week. Ben Kahn (Selinsgrove, Pa./Selinsgrove Area) led the Green Terror with a career-high eight tackles. Claude-Michel Richardson (Silver Spring, Md./Montgomery Blair) added a team-best nine stops. Nick Savant led the Mules with 122 yards rushing while Max Cepeda added 108 yards on the ground as part of a 399-yard rushing attack.
WITH HONORS: Brett Haas (Laurel, Md./Atholton) was named to the CC Weekly Honor Rolls last week. Haas earned a spot to the special teams list after averaging 39.8 yards on his 10 punts, including unfurling a 59-yarder in his first kick. He had three punts land inside the 20.
LEADING THE WAY: Riley Johnson (Round Hill, Va./Woodgrove), Brandon Jones (Middle River, Md./Eastern Tech), Mike Oliveto (Robesonia, Pa./Conrad Weiser) 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.
WRATH OF KAHN: Sophomore DB Ben Kahn made his first collegiate start last Saturday. As the starting Rover, Kahn registered a career-high eight tackles. He had five solo stops among his eight tackles. Kahn has 15 tackles over the last two games after registering just six stops over his first nine collegiate games.
KICKS ON KICKS ON KICKS: Brett Haas was one of the busiest Green Terror players last Saturday. The senior punter was called on 10 times. Haas' first two punts of the day traveled more than 50 yards, including a season-best 59-yarder in his first punt of the day. He finished the day with a 39.8-yard-per-punt average and had six kicks of 42 yards or longer. His 10 punts in a game were the most by any McDaniel kicker since Jake Nichols had 10 punts against Gettysburg on Nov. 6, 2010.
SACK LUNCH: Through three games this season, McDaniel is tied for the conference lead with 11 sacks. The Green Terror defense got to the quarterback another three times last week and has three or more sacks in each game this season. Ten different players have been a part of at least one sack so far this season. Andy Ullman (Toms River, N.J./Monsignor Donovan) and Raymond Doh (Silver Spring, Md./Blake) lead the way with 2.0 sacks this season while Garvin Brooms (Olney, Md./Good Counsel) has 1.5 sacks in two games played.
THREE NEEDS TO BE SIX: The Green Terror enters today's game converting 67 percent of its red-zone opportunities into points. However, McDaniel has only been inside its opponent's 20-yard line nine times this season. Of the six times the Green Terror has scored, five have been field goals. The offense has not turned a red-zone opportunity into a touchdown since Matt Cathey's (Brick, N.J./Brick Memorial Regional) 10-yard run with 14:39 left in the second quarter of the opener. In fact, the offense has not found the end zone since 13:02 remained against Catholic – a stretch of 133 minutes, 2 seconds.
MONEY MAN MARTY: Senior WR Marty Windisch (Manchester, Md./Manchester Valley) has just four receptions this season. However, three of those four catches has resulted in a first down. Among those catches was a 32-yard touchdown in the opener.
BACKING IT UP: Matt Quattrone and Claude-Michel Richardson lead the defense through the early part of the season. The two linebackers are the top two tacklers on the Green Terror defense. Quattrone has a team-high 24 stops this year, registering seven or more stops in each of the first three games. Richardson is second on the squad with 19 tackles. More than two-thirds of the duo's tackles have come on running plays this year. Quattrone has made 18 tackles on running plays while Richardson has 11 stops.
WANNA BE LIKE MIKE: Mike Oliveto has been the favorite target of Matty Callahan early on this season. The fifth-year player has made 14 grabs this season to lead the team. He has nearly twice as many receptions as the next receiver. Tyler DeMent (Olney, Md./Northwest) and Dante Moss (Williamstown, N.J./Williamstown) – both newcomers to the squad – are next on the team with eight grabs. Oliveto's 14 catches currently rank seventh in the league. His 105 receiving yards is tops on the team as well.
KICKING BACK: The Green Terror enters the fourth week of the season with a conference-high six field goals made, 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 62.3 yards on his 11 kickoffs.
TERROR TIDBITS: 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… McDaniel was shutout on Saturday for the first time since its last trip to Allentown (2013) – a stretch of 20 games… The Green Terror is 1-for-8 on fourth downs this year… Last Saturday was the first time this season that McDaniel lost the turnover battle.
COACHES' CORNER: Mike Hoyt is in his fourth season at the helm of the Green Terror with an overall record of 3-30, 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… Peter Gallagher is in his 15th season at Ursinus. He has posted a 75-70 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 and became the program's all-time wins leader. 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. Gallagher has guided Ursinus to six straight winning seasons – the longest stretch in program history.
THE WORD ON URSINUS: The Bears enter today's game off a 17-13 loss to Franklin & Marshall last week and are 0-2 in conference play for the first time since 2012… Ursinus has scored just 45 points over its first three games and just 28 in regulation this season. The Bears opened the season with a 17-9 win over Division II Millersville in five overtimes. The game was scoreless going to overtime… Eric Boyer has converted five field goals in seven tries this year. He is also the best punter in the conference this season, averaging 41.8 yards per punt. Boyer has punted 24 times this year, dropping 11 inside the 20 and forcing seven fair catches… Salvatore Bello is 42-for-90 passing this year for 501 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions… Corey Kelly leads the rushing attack with 55 carries for 224 yards… Timothy Rafter leads the defense with 32 tackles. He is one of three CC defenders averaging double-digit tackles, ranking second in the league… The Bears are ninth in the conference in total yards (306.7 ypg) and points (15.0 ppg)… Ursinus is last in the conference in first downs with 48 and is converting just 23 percent of its third downs… The Bears are last in the CC in red-zone efficiency, converting only 64 percent of their trips (7-for-11)… After two touchdowns over the five overtimes in the opener, Ursinus has found the end zone just once in each of its last two games.
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