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It always seems to take forever for football season to start once it ends. Rowan opened their first of three straight games on the road yesterday at Lycoming. Great defense, enough offense, and only one special team’s lapse gave the Profs an opening day win 29-7.

The defense held the Warriors to 104 yards of total offense and only 34 on the ground. The team had four sacks, recovered one fumble and returned one interception 14-yards for a touchdown. Linebacker Kevin Taylor led the team with seven tackles. Defensive end Matt Hoffman added five tackles, 2.5 tackles for a loss and 1.5 sacks. Linebacker Steve Hague had one sack and one interception, which he returned 14 yards for a touchdown. Safety Mike Barone also intercepted a pass, while linebacker Jerome Gordon had one sack. Linebacker Dom Marchiani forced a fumble and recovered it.

Profs opened the scoring by gaining the field position advantage gaining by good defensive and special teams. The offense drove 38-yards ending with a 26-field goal by Mark Getsinger midway through the first quarter. Early in the second quarter Freshman wide receiver James Kinloch hauled in 39-yard pass from quarterback Frank Wilczynski putting the Profs up 9-0. A personal foul after the touchdown made the try for point a 33-yard attempt, which was missed. Late in the second quarter Rowan began an 11 play, 56 yard drive ending with a Getsinger 20-field goal, giving the team a 12-0 halftime lead.

Lycoming kick returner Ray Bierbach returned an early third quarter line drive punt from Andrew Smith 45-yards to the Rowan 21-yard line. Wide out Ryan Wagaman grabbed a 21-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Colin Dwyer on the next play, closing the gap to 12-7. Rowan took advantage on the next possession by creating a big return of their own. Steve Wall returned the ensuing kickoff 33-yards to the Warrior 45-yard line. Wilczynski executed a fake draw and took it 45-yards to the house for 16-7 lead. Midway through the third quarter linebacker Steve Hague returned an interception 14-yards for touchdown and a 26-7 lead. Mark Getsinger capped the scoring with 36-yard field goal and a 29-7 win.

Rowan travels to Cortland to take on the Red Dragon at 1 PM next Saturday.

The Profs begin the 2009 campaign with the first of three games on the road.  The team travels to Williamsport, PA… famous for the Little World Series, but also home to a historically successful Lycoming College football program.  Last year Rowan rebounded from its first sub .500 season in over 20 years by finishing 8-2 in 2008.  Losses to Cortland and Montclair State left the Profs on the playoff bubble in which selection criteria put lesser teams in.  Looking to control their own destiny, begins with the Lycoming Warriors on Saturday.

The series is tied 1-1 between the two teams and both games were playoff games. In 1996, the Profs defeated the Warriors, 33-14 in the semifinals of the NCAA Division III Championship to advance to the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl. One year later, Lycoming recorded a 28-20 victory over Rowan in the semifinals of the national tournament.

Last year, Lycoming, Delaware Valley College and Albright College all finished tied for first (5-2) in the conference. Lycoming won the tie-breaker to receive the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championships Tournament. It marked the first time since 2003 that Lycoming won the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC). The Warriors have won 13 conference titles overall, nine outright and four shared.  Lycoming lost in the first round to Hobart 33-15.

Mike Clark begins his second season at the helm of the Warrior football program. Clark, a 1993 graduate of Lycoming, earned his MBA in 1996 from Rowan while serving as a graduate assistant and tight ends coach.

In Clark’s first season, he guided the Warriors to their first playoff appearance since 2003. Lycoming went 7-4 overall and finished in a three-way tie in the Middle Atlantic Conference with a 5-2 mark.

Jay Accorsi begins his eighth season as head coach after nine years as an assistant at Rowan. He has a 59-20 record (.633) and has captured four NJAC titles. He’s also led the team to four playoff appearances, including two semi-finals in 2004 and 2005.

Lycoming returns several key players on offense. Senior quarterback Colin Dwyer will once again be under center. In 2008, he compiled 2,035 yards and 13 touchdowns, completing 165 of 322 pass attempts. Running back Josh Kleinfelter was the Warriors’ leading rusher with 1,123 yards and 11 TDs on 236 carries. He also racked up 360 yards receiving on 29 grabs. Wideouts Ryan Wagaman and Brad Shellenberger will be Dwyer’s main targets. Wagaman led the team with 47 catches for 570 yards and four touchdowns, while Schellenberger posted 670 yards and six TDs on 45 receptions. Wagaman earned All-Conference first team honors and Dwyer and Kleinfelter were on the second team. The only two returning starters on the offensive line are guard Matt Landsiedel and tight end Jimmie Stevenson. The offense averaged 333.1 yards per game (207.2 passing and 125.9 rushing).

Team captain and All-Conference first team tackle Ted Geurds leads the defensive unit. He registered 58 tackles, 12.5 tackles for a loss (-59 yards), seven sacks (-48 yards), two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. Also back on the line is end Kyle Murren. He tallied 42 tackles (17 solo, 25 assisted), 8.5 tackles for a loss (-30 yards), 3.5 sacks (-22 yards), eight pass breakups and one fumble recovery. Veterans Pat McAfee, Dan Cassidy and Kevin Hoben will start at linebacker. Last year, McAfee compiled 45 tackles (20 solo, 25 assisted), Hoben made 15 stops (seven solo, eight assisted) and Cassidy had six (four solo, two assisted). Safeties Chuck Bellitto and Travis Leonarczyk are back in the secondary. Bellitto
was second on the team with 86 tackles (54 solo, 32 assisted). He also accumulated 2.5 tackles for a loss (-11 yards), 0.5 sacks (-5 yards), seven pass breakups and one interception. Bellitto was named to the All-Conference second team. Leonarczyk added 38 tackles (29 solo, nine assisted), three pass breakups and one interception.

Senior Frank Wilczynski will begin his second campaign at quarterback. Last year, he completed 113 of 214 passes for 1,471 yards and 19 touchdowns. He led the Profs in rushing with 803 yards and 11 TDs on 116 carries. Superbacks Ryan Leafey and Jon Downes are back. Leafey racked up 497 yards and four touchdowns on 105 attempts, while Downes ran for 134 yards and two TDs on 33 rushes. The starting receiving corp will consist of veterans Dan Lisa and Anthony Barone and rookie James Kinloch. Dan Lisa caught 13 passes for 219 yards and one touchdown and Barone had two receiving TDs. Kevin DelleDonne is the new starting tight end. He saw action in five games last year and made three catches for 46 yards. Rowan returns its entire offensive line including tackles Ken Siano and Mark Zielinski, guards Josh Weiss and Justin Mitchell and center Tommy Menendez. Wilczynski, Siano, Weiss and Menendez earned NJAC All-Conference honors.

Six All-Conference performers return on defense, including linebackers Andrew Yezzi and Kevin Taylor, defensive ends Matt Hoffman and Kyle Kane and safeties Mike Barone and Steve Wall. Hoffman was first on the team with 15.5 tackles for a loss (-70 yards). He also totaled 48 tackles (25 solo, 23 assisted), seven sacks (-54 yards) and two forced fumbles. Kane was the sack leader with 7.5 (-45 yards) to go along with 37 tackles (18 solo, 19 assisted), 14 tackles for a loss (-62 yards) and two forced fumbles. Frank Olexson will start at nose guard. He made 16 tackles (one solo, 15 assisted) and 2.5 tackles for a loss (-8 yards). Yezzi led the squad with 80 tackles (40 solo, 40 assisted) and four interceptions. He added 13.5 tackles for a loss (-44 yards). Taylor followed with 52 stops (15 solo, 37 assisted) and three tackles for a loss (-8 yards). Linebacker Jerome Gordon will also start. He had 14 tackles (seven solo, seven assisted). Rocky Aliberti, Barone and Wall will start at the safety positions. Barone posted 44 tackles (30 solo, 14 assisted) and three interceptions. Aliberti had 16 tackles (10 solo, six assisted) and two picks, while Wall made 12 stops (five solo, seven assisted). The starting cornerbacks are Malcom Dock and rookie Husain Shakir. Dock contributed with 14 tackles (eight solo, six assisted) and two interceptions.

With the experience up front the Profs need to control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Frank Wilczynski is a great rusher and a good passer. I expect the passing game to improve since Wilczynski has a full off season with the offensive system.

Lycoming brings a nice balance on offense between run and pass. Running back Josh Kleinfelter is a dual threat running and catching passes out of the backfield. The Rowan defense needs to slow him down and get pressure on Dwyer and force long 3rd downs. The majority of the Warriors’ offensive production from 2008 will be on the field in the at the same time. In addition to Kleinfelter and Dwyer, wideouts Wagaman and Shellenberger are a productive pair. All four players combine for 1,600 yards in the air and 1,123 yards on the ground with 24 touchdowns.

This is basically the same team that got beat by Hobart in the playoffs. If Rowan deserved a playoff bid in 2008, Saturday could be the start of redemption in 2009.