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OPENING KICKOFF: Today's Centennial Conference (CC) game marks the 43rd meeting between McDaniel (3-4, 2-4 CC) and Ursinus (3-4, 2-4 CC) in a series that dates back to 1976. The Green Terror leads the all-time series 25-17-1 but the Bears have won 12 of the last 13 meetings, including by a 30-14 margin in Westminster last season. McDaniel lone victory during the stretch was a 30-27 triumph in the in Westminster in 2016.
WHEN LAST WE MET: Ursinus scored the game's first 23 points en route to a 30-14 victory over McDaniel last Saturday. Isaac Murray ran the ball 24 times for 137 yards. Samuel Ragland put up 244 all-purpose yards, rushing for 113 and a touchdown. He also grabbed four passes for 104 yards and two scores.
LAST TIME OUT: Muhlenberg scored the final four touchdowns to explode for a 49-7 win over McDaniel last Saturday. Jevon Hamilton (White Plains, Md./St. Charles) led the Green Terror with an 85-yard touchdown grab in the second quarter. Jarius Ransom (Williamstown, N.J./Williamstown) led the defense with 12 tackles and a forced fumble. Michael Hnatkowsky completed 18 of 30 passes for 273 yards and three touchdowns. Max Kirin caught two of those touchdown passes. He finished with six receptions for 78 yards.
LEADING THE WAY: Tracey Easton (Waldorf, Md./North Point), Nah'shon Godfrey (Baltimore, Md./Baltimore City College), Jake Scott (Brick, N.J./Brick Twp.), Kofi Siga (Upper Marlboro, Md./Largo) and Perry Stefanelli (Rockville, Md./Good Counsel) will all captain the squad in 2019. All five are first-time captains. It marks the most captains since the Green Terror also had five in 2013.
GOING LONG: Jevon Hamilton fought through the hold of a defensive back and recovered after the pass was tipped by another defender to catch the ball and sprint 85 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter last Saturday. The play was the Green Terror's first play of 80 or more yards in six years to the day. In 2013, Ryan Yamada found Nick O'Melia for an 82-yard touchdown at Dickinson. Hamilton's 85-yard catch-and-run from Tyler Palermiti (Hudson, Fla./Dunedin) was McDaniel's longest play from scrimmage since Brad Baer hit Jamie Unger for a program-record 98-yard touchdown pass on Oct. 16, 2004 against Dickinson.
BLOCK PARTY: The Green Terror has now blocked three kicks this season, including one in each of the last two games. After Kofi Siga blocked a PAT last week, Nah'shon Godfrey broke through the line in the fourth quarter on Saturday for McDaniel's second blocked punt of the year. Trent Gaskins (Waldorf, Md./Thomas Stone) also blocked a punt at Moravian on Sept. 14. It was Godfrey's second collegiate blocked kick.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Jarius Ransom recorded his 10th career double-digit tackle game on Saturday with a team-best 12 stops. The senior linebacker has had six or more tackles in every game this year and has reached double digits in every other contest. His 12 tackles on Saturday included a pair of tackles for loss. He has multiple TFLs in four games this year and is currently tied for third in the CC with 11.0 tackles for loss.
LIVING ON A PRAYER: Aaron Pray III (Germantown, Md./Maret School) leads the conference in total kick return yards with 519 yards in the return game. He has 400 kickoff return yards and 119 punt return yards this season. The junior is tops on the team with 87.3 all-purpose yards per game, which ranks ninth in the conference. His 400 kickoff return yards is second in the CC while his 119 punt return yards is fourth.
TAKING IT AWAY: The Green Terror had a positive turnover margin for the sixth time in seven games this season. McDaniel leads the conference with 19 total takeaways, including a CC-high 11 fumble recoveries this season. No other conference team has more than seven takeaways by fumble. The 11 fumble recoveries ranks sixth in Division III. The Green Terror's eight interceptions is fifth in the conference. McDaniel has not had a pick since nabbing eight in the first three games. McDaniel is still fifth in the nation in turnover margin.
TERROR TIDBITS: The Green Terror offense has been limited to 215 yards or fewer in four of the seven games this season… Muhlenberg limited McDaniel to a season-low 153 total yards on Saturday while the Mule offense racked up 550 yards – the most allowed by the Green Terror since Johns Hopkins had 569 on Nov. 11, 2017.
COACHES' CORNER: Demarcus White is in his first season as head coach, debuting with back-to-back wins and enters this week with a 3-4 record. He has served the last three seasons on staff as defensive coordinator. Since arriving in 2016, his scheme has consistently put pressure on opposing offenses. In each of the previous three seasons, his defenses finished in the top six in the conference in total defense, pass defense and sacks. The unit produced 74 sacks and 20 interceptions in the last three seasons. He has helped produce five all-conference defenders in those three seasons, including a first-team selection in linebacker Jarius Ransom last season. He previously had stops at Iona, ASA College and Rutgers prior to his time on the Hill… Peter Gallagher is in his 19th season at Ursinus. He has posted an 93-94 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 guided Ursinus to six straight winning seasons – the longest stretch in program history. Last season, the Bears returned near the top of the standings with an 8-3 record that included a 70-14 win over Misericordia in a Centennial-MAC Bowl game.
THE WORD ON URSINUS: The Bears enter this week off a 36-0 loss at Susquehanna last Saturday. Ursinus went 0-3 in October, falling to three nationally-ranked foes. After a 3-1 start to the year, the Bears dropped a 32-29 decision to then-No. 18 Johns Hopkins before falling 45-21 at No. 6 Muhlenberg and then the shutout loss at the 22nd-ranked River Hawks… Ursinus mustered just 99 yards of total offense compared to Susquehanna's 420 yards last Saturday. Kyle Wiggins accounted for 65 of those yards, rushing for 23 yards on nine carries and catching another four passes for 42 yards. Mike Reilly led the defense with 10 tackles, including nine solo stops. He also had a pair of pass breakups and a blocked kick… Thomas Garlick is 89-for-168 this season for 1,248 yards passing. He has 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions… Samuel Ragland is not only the team's leading rusher with 92 carries for 538 yards and five scores but also has team highs of 33 receptions and 423 yards. He also has four receiving touchdowns. His 160.2 all-purpose yards per game ranks second in the conference while his nine total touchdowns are also second… Ursinus has the conference's best rushing attack, averaging 191.9 yards per game but is sixth in passing (189.0 ypg)… Jacob McCain leads the Bears defense with 61 tackles – 22 more than any other defender… Marcus Weathers has 6.5 sacks, which is third in the CC… Ursinus has a CC-high three defensive scores this season. All three defensive scores came in a 48-10 win over Gettysburg. Nick Thomas returned a 32-yard interception. Brett Capobianco had a 26-yard fumble recovery and Jeffrey Lockwood had a three-yard fumble return.
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