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OPENING KICKOFF: Today's Centennial Conference (CC) game marks the 17th meeting between McDaniel (3-5, 3-4 CC) and Susquehanna (4-4, 4-3 CC) in a series that dates back to 1961. The River Hawks have won the last two meetings to take a 9-7 lead in the all-time series. The Green Terror won 43-42 in Selinsgrove in 2013.
WHEN LAST WE MET: Susquehanna jumped out to a 24-0 lead en route to a 44-15 win over McDaniel last season. Mike Oliveto led the Green Terror with six catches to tie Matt Cahill's program record at 156 career receptions. Oliveto amassed 31 yards to give him 1,879 receiving yards for his career. Nick Crusco led the then-Crusaders with 365 yards passing, completing 33 of 48 passes with three touchdowns. He also ran 10 times for 71 yards.
LAST TIME OUT: McDaniel scored a touchdown early and a touchdown late to defeat Juniata 20-13 last Saturday. Andre Henry, Jr. (Frederick, Md./Urbana) led the Green Terror with 138 yards on eight catches for the first 100-yard game by a receiver this season. Bamasa Bailor (Carlisle, Pa./Carlisle Area) caught nine passes for a career-best 96 yards and both touchdowns. Kirby Breault led the Eagles with his seventh 100-yard receiving day, grabbing seven passes that included the hosts' lone touchdown.
WITH HONORS: Andre Henry, Jr., Chris Inge (Deptford, N.J./Williamstown) and Perry Stefanelli (Rockville, Md./Good Counsel) were named to their respective CC Weekly Honor Rolls last week. Henry earned a spot on the offensive ledger after catching eight passes for 138 yards. Inge was tabbed to the defensive list after recording six tackles and an interception. Stefanelli was named to the special teams list after racking up 150 yards in the return game. He had a pair of kickoff returns for 89 yards, including a 64-yarder to open the second half. He also had five punt returns for 61 yards. With his 54 rushing yards, he finished the day with 204 all-purpose yards.
LEADING THE WAY: Tyler DeMent (Olney, Md./Northwest), Vince Gorgone (Clarksville, Md./Good Counsel) and Matt Quattrone (Carlisle, Pa./Carlisle Area) will captain the squad in 2016. This is the second straight year Quattrone has served as a captain while DeMent and Gorgone are first-time captains.
THANK YOU, SENIORS!: Today marks the final home game for 13 McDaniel seniors. Of those 13 players, no fewer than two have been a starter on offense this season while five others have started and been significant contributors on defense. Two others have significant roles on special teams. The group has been instrumental in posting three wins thus far this season – the most in a single season since 2010.
THAT'S CALLED A WINNING STREAK: The Green Terror recorded a win last week at Juniata to register a victory for the second week in a row. It is the first time McDaniel had won back-to-back games since opening the 2010 season with three straight victories – a stretch of 63 contests. The Green Terror also enters today's game having won its last two home games for the first time since starting 2009 with wins in its first three home games.
HAPPY TRAILS: McDaniel snapped another double-digit streak with the 20-13 win at Juniata last week. It was the first time in 14 road games that the Green Terror came home with a victory. The squad last registered a road win by a 34-31 margin at Catholic to open the 2014 season. McDaniel also closed the 2013 road schedule with a win, defeating Susquehanna 43-42 on Nov. 9, 2013. It was the first time since a 24-14 win at Catholic on Sept. 18, 2010, however, that the Green Terror did not need a touchdown in the final minute to win a road game.
MANY HAPPY RETURNS: Perry Stefanelli racked up a big day in the return game on Saturday. The junior finished his afternoon with 204 all-purpose yards. Of those yards, 150 came in the return game. Of the seven times he touched the ball on a kick, four went for 20 or more yards. Included in those touches was a 64-yard kickoff return to open the second half, setting up the offense at the Juniata 18 and leading to a field goal. He also had a career-long 36-yard punt return.
DOUBLE TROUBLE: Andre Henry, Jr. and Bamasa Bailor combined for 234 yards in the receiving game last week. Henry turned in the Green Terror's first 100-yard receiving game of the season with a career-best 138 yards on a career-high eight catches. He is now the only player on the active roster with a 100-yard receiving game. Among his grabs was a 45-yarder that set up the go-ahead touchdown. Bailor hauled in a career-high nine passes for a career-best 96 yards. He also caught both touchdown passes, covering 25 yards in the first quarter and 10 yards in the fourth period.
DOING IT WITH DEFENSE: The Green Terror defense has not allowed its last two opponents to reach 20 points. It marks the first time since 2011 that the squad had allowed that few points. In fact over the last 10 quarters, McDaniel has surrendered just 27 points total. The unit now ranks fourth in the conference in scoring defense, allowing an average of 29.4 points per game for the season. McDaniel is also in the top half of the conference defensively in yards allowed, passing yards allowed, fumble recoveries and sacks. Drew Scott (Brick, N.J./Brick Twp.) has led the resurgence with 24 tackles since the bye week. He is now tops on the squad with 52 stops and 8.5 tackles for loss.
TERROR TIDBITS: The Green Terror failed to covert on four field-goal attempts last Saturday. One kick was blocked, one sailed wide and one hit the upright. A botched snap on a fourth attempt led to the kick not even being attempted… Doug MacArthur (Roebling, N.J./Florence Twp. Memorial) punted just once last week after having to punt 15 times the previous two weeks… Perry Stefanelli and John Chamberlin (Williamstown, N.J./Williamstown) have split time in the backfield. Chamberlin has a team-best 96 carries and 369 yards. Stefanelli has 95 carries and a team-high 401 yards.
COACHES' CORNER: Mike Dailey is in his first season at the helm of the Green Terror after seven seasons as an assistant on the staff. He enters today's game with an overall record of 3-5. His first win came on Sept. 24 with a 30-27 victory over Ursinus. Dailey joined the Green Terror staff in 2009 with a pedigree of success at all levels of football that included compiling a record of 115-83 and two championships in 12 years as a head coach in the Arena Football League (AFL), leading the Albany Firebirds and Colorado Crush that included winning league titles in 1999 and 2005. For his first six seasons on the McDaniel sidelines, he served as defensive coordinator. His scheme put pressure on opposing quarterbacks game-in and game-out, recording 101 sacks and 55 interceptions. He helped produce 12 All-Centennial Conference selections, including four first-team nods. In 2015, Dailey shifted responsibilities to the offensive side of the ball – something he is renowned for from his days in the AFL. He spent last season coordinating the pass game and working specifically with the wide receivers… Tom Pertkovich is in his second season at the helm of the River Hawks, entering today with a record of 9-9. He became Susquehanna's 30th coach last season after serving the previous 11 seasons on the coaching staff at Muhlenberg. He spent the last five seasons as the Mules' offensive coordinator and had previous stints as special team's coordinator and offensive line coach. He began his coaching career at Muhlenberg in 2003 when he was named running backs coach, a position he held through the 2004 season. He moved to Division I Holy Cross as tight ends coach before taking over as running backs coach at Colgate in 2006. He returned to the Mules' staff a year later.
THE WORD ON SUSQUEHANNA: The River Hawks enter today's game off a 20-10 victory over Franklin & Marshall on Saturday. Nick Crusco completed 23 of 37 passes for 393 yards, including a 69-yard touchdown to Robert Marks on the first possession of the second half… Marks led the receiving corps with 175 yards on five catches… Chris Beals also went over 100 yards on the day, hauling in nine balls for 122 yards… Crusco missed the first three games of the season. Since then, however, he has thrown for 1,264 yards – an average of 252.8 yards per game. He is completing 60.2 percent of his passes (100-for-166) with five touchdowns. He has also rushed for another seven scores and netted 145 yards on 80 attempts… Cameron Ott is the only player to run for more yards than Crusco, toting the ball 112 times for 567 yards. He has five rushing touchdowns. Ott has also caught 15 passes out of the backfield for 155 yards… Beals is tops in the receiving corps in both yards (638) and touchdowns (5)… Tommy Bluj has a team-best 50 catches for 518 yards and two scores… Matt LaDrappier leads the defense with 62 tackles… A.J. Willard has seven sacks among his 32 tackles… Daniel Shelton leads the secondary with four interceptions… Susquehanna is the most penalized team in the CC, averaging 61.3 yards in penalties per game.
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