MOUNTAINEER FOOTBALL

2005

Game 10

Mansfield

at

East Stroudsburg

The Game

The Mountaineers will travel to East Stroudsburg University to take on the Warriors in a PSAC East matchup Saturday afternoon. The kickoff is slated for 1:05 pm at Eiler-Martin Stadium in East Stroudsburg.

The game serves as the last regular season PSAC East game for each school and matches up the top two passing offenses in the PSAC.

The Broadcast

 The game will be broadcast live on the Mountaineer Sports Network by WNTE 89.5 FM. The broadcast will also be carried live on the internet on both the Mansfield University sports homepage (sports.mansfield.edu, or www.mansfield.edu and go to sports) and MSA Sports Network (www.msasportsnetwork.com). Pre-game coverage will start at 12:50 pm with Darrin Denmon providing the play-by-play and color by Toby Motyka.

Last Week

The Mountaineers are 1-8 overall and 1-4 in the PSAC East after a 31-14 setback last week against Millersville University. Mansfield played one of their best games of the season, outplaying Millersville in total yards 388-314, and in first downs (23-19).

At Millersville, freshman quarterback John Hengehold turned in another impressive performance, becoming only the fourth player in school history to pass for over 2,000 yards in a season. Hengehold completed 20-of-40 attempts for 264 yards and a touchdown. He improved on his school freshman records for passing yards (2,021) and touchdowns (18). Poohbear McNeal rushed for 126 yards on 21 carries and caught five passes for 84 yards and a score (210 yards total offense). Tyrone Robinson had six catches for 59 yards while Rodney Davis pulling in five passes for 68 yards.

Defensive linemen Wes Bair and Keith Slezak led the rejuvenated defense with 10 and eight tackles respectively. Slezak also had a sack. Ronnie Montgomery, playing in his first game in more than a month, had seven tackles and forced and recovered a fumble. Rob Smiley, who just returned last week, was credited with six tackles.

East Stroudsburg defeated Cheyney University by a score of 40-3 last week. QB Jim Terwilliger extended his NCAA Division II record to 32 games with a touchdown pass last week while passing for 353 yards and four touchdowns. ESU moved to 7-2 overall and 3-2 in the PSAC East.

The Series

East Stroudsburg and Mansfield will compete for the 68th time on the gridiron this weekend. ESU holds a 59-8 series advantage. East Stroudsburg defeated Mansfield 41-7 at Karl Van Norman Field last season.

The Coaches

Jim Shiffer is in his second year at the helm of his alma mater where he has posted a 2-17 overall record. Shiffer was an outstanding offensive lineman for the Mountaineers in the last 1980s where he earned the coveted Frank Butsko Award. Denny Douds is in his 32nd season at East Stroudsburg where he has posted a 195-129-3 record.

About the Mountaineers

Current PSAC Rankings   

Offense -- Scoring (10th, 19.0 ppg), Total Offense (7th, 360.6 ypg), Passing Offense (2nd, 241.9 ypg), Rushing Offense (10th, 118.7 ypg) 

 Defense -- Scoring (14th, 40.4 ppg), Total Defense (14th, 492.8 ypg), Passing Defense (14th, 218.3 ypg), Rushing Defense (14th, 274.4 ypg)

The Mountaineers have been solid on offense through their first nine games of the season, but have struggled defensively over much of the season. Mansfield ranks second in the 14 team PSAC in passing offense averaging 241.9 yards per game and seventh in the conference in total offense (360.6 ypg). Defensively, the team ranks 14^th in total defense giving up an average of 492.8 yards including 274.4 yards on the ground per game.

Poohbear McNeal continues to be one of the top offensive threats in the nation, ranking sixth in the PSAC in rushing (106 ypg) and fifth in all-purpose yardage (162.9 ypg). John Hengehold is second in the conference in passing averaging 224.6 yards per game and second in touchdown passes (18). 21 of Mansfield's 26 touchdowns this season are passing TD's. Freshman Rodney Davis is second in the PSAC in receptions per game and fourth in reception yards. Davis now has 48 catches for 641 yards and six touchdowns on the season. Tyrone Robinson has caught 33 passes for 437 yards and four touchdowns while Ozzie Mathis has 24 receptions for 359 yards and five TD’s. Jeff Tanner has caught 21 passes for 282 yards and two touchdowns on the season.

Andre Turner leads the defense and ranks among the leaders in the PSAC in tackles with 72. Ryan Kassak (68), Keith Slezak (66), and Jason Zeigler (59) also rank among the conference leaders in tackles. Marc Hunsberger has 55 stops along with a team high five sacks. C.J. Okogeri has 48 tackles on the year.

Junior punter Brandon Fields is ranked fifth in the PSAC in punting, averaging 38.3 yards per boot.

Records Watch

McNeal now has 3461 rushing yards in his career and has surpassed Lee Brannon (1996-99, 3268) as MU’s all-time rushing leader. He currently ranks fifth in the PSAC in rushing averaging 106.0 yards per game.

McNeal has also moved into second in the record books for all purpose yardage. He currently has 4,823 all purpose yards in his career and trails Mike Kemp (1973 - 1976) by 457 yards. Kemp holds the record with 5,280 yards.

John Hengehold becomes just the fourth quarterback to pass for more than 2,000 yards in a season with 2,021 yards and two games remaining. Hengehold is 349 yards away from being third in the record books, and 362 from second.  Bryan Woodworth holds the school record with 2,719 passing yards in 1994 with Travis Motley passing for 2383 in 2002. Bill Bair surpassed the 2,000 mark three straight years (2307 – 1992; 2253 – 1991; 2370 – 1990).

About the Warriors

Current PSAC Rankings   

Offense -- Scoring (2nd, 39.7 ppg), Total Offense (1st, 511.0 ypg), Passing Offense (1st, 357.3 ypg), Rushing Offense (7th, 153.7 ypg) 

 Defense -- Scoring (4th, 18.4 ppg), Total Defense (7th, 330.7 ypg), Passing Defense (7th, 174.2 ypg), Rushing Defense (6th, 156.4 ypg)

ESU ranks solidly in the middle of all defensive categories in the PSAC. The Warriors have the seventh ranked total defense in the PSAC, giving up an average of 330.7 yards per game. The Warriors success comes from a powerful offensive unit that ranks first in total offense (511 ypg) and in passing offense (357.3 ypg).

East Stroudsburg is led by junior quarterback Jim Terwilliger who leads the PSAC in passing averaging 333.1 yards per game. Terwilliger holds the NCAA Division II record for games with a touchdown pass at 32. He has completed 169 of 276 attempts for 2,998 yards and 30 touchdowns on the season. Joining the offensive attack are receivers Evan Prall, Tim Strenfel, and Anthony Carfagno who all rank among the PSAC leaders in receptions per game and receiving yards per game. Prall leads both categories with 59 receptions for 1,148 yards averaging 127.6 yards per game.

The Warriors punter, Ken Parrish, leads the PSAC in punting averaging 44.5 yards per boot.

The ESU defense is led by John Vetter who has 74 stops on the season and ranks 11th in the PSAC in tackles. Fred Rice (60), and Greg Thoman (53) are also among the conference leaders in tackles.