Complete Game Notes vs. Westminster
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WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - Believe it or not, even though the Lycoming College football team won a 2008 Middle Atlantic Conference title, the Warriors haven’t started a season 2-0 since Frank Girardi was at the helm in 2006. On Saturday, the Warriors will look to change that when they head to Westminster for the second round of the PAC/MAC Challenge.

The Warriors (1-0 overall) are receiving votes in the D3Football.com poll after an opening-day 8-6 win over No. 22 Rowan. The defense held the day, allowing just 110 yards, the fewest since Delaware Valley was held to 60 yards in the opening game of 2002, a 54-0 Warrior win.

The Titans (1-0 overall) are coming off a 17-7 win over Hiram in which they forced five fumbles and an interception.

Warrior Notes
• The Warriors are 27-31-3 all-time in road openers.
• The Warriors opened the season with a win for the first time since 2006.
• Junior Zach Klinger became the 15th player in school history to post 150 completions in a career with his final one against Rowan.
• Junior Parker Showers is nine yards from becoming the 29th player in school history to reach 1,500 all-purpose yards in his career.
• Senior Chris Kish is two tackles away from reaching 100 in his career.
• Senior Anthony Marascio posted a career-high 2.5 sacks against Rowan.
• Senior fullback Phil Peterson rushed for 12 yards on his first career carry against Rowan.
• The last time the Warriors played at Westminster in 1971, assistant head coach Steve Wiser was a freshman linebacker on the squad.

Scouting Lycoming
Offense: Multiple/Pro-Style
While the offense only chewed up 185 yards in the season opener against Rowan, the team did show positive signs, including a grinding running game that rolled for 138 yards.

Junior Parker Showers seems ready for a breakout year after taking the ball 28 times for 94 yards against the Profs. Showers also tied for the team lead with three receptions for 19 yards. The tailback is in his first year as a starter after backing up the program’s all-time leading rusher, Josh Kleinfelter.

Junior Zach Klinger also showed some prowess in the running department, rushing for 46 positive yards on eight carries, including a huge first down on a six-yard rush late in the fourth quarter.

Defense: 4-3
A defense that entered the year expected to be good amped up its reputation immediately with a tremendous performance against No. 22 Rowan. The Warriors allowed just 115 total yards and just 35 on the ground while posting six sacks.

Sophomore Kabongo Bukasa led the defense with nine tackles, including one sack and senior Anthony Marascio shot in for a career-high 2.5 sacks against the Profs. Juniors Nate Oropollo and Tyler Geis each also added sacks, as the swarming defense saw 21 players earn credit for at least one tackle.

The secondary was also active in the game, with freshman cornerback Kody Flail making three tackles and breaking up two passes and senior safety Ray Bierbach, junior cornerback Matt Talerico and freshman cornerback Ryan Mihoci each were credited with a pass breakup.

Scouting Westminster
Offense: Multiple/Pro-Style
Westminster lost 18 seniors (the most since 2000) from last year’s team that went 2-8, including four out of five offensive linemen. However, the Titans return all backs and receivers.

Senior quarterback Shawn Lehocky enters his second year as a starter ranked 10th in team history with 2,766 passing yards, including 155-of-293 for 1,726 yards and 14 touchdowns last year. His favorite target will likely be junior receiver Geno Pasquinelli, a second-team all-PAC selection, who caught 48 passes for 514 yards and six touchdowns last year.

Junior running back John Proano scored a career-high two touchdowns in the season-opening 17-7 win over Hiram. Proano, who rushed 19 times for 43 yards, scored on a pair of six-yard touchdown runs both resulting from two of Hiram’s five lost fumbles.

Defense: 3-4
Westminster lost three linebackers who ranked in the top six in the PAC in tackles last year. However, it will be led by junior linebacker Aaron Nauer, a second-team all-PAC pick who posted 61 tackles last year while leading the team with 17 tackles for loss, seven sacks and six pass break-ups.

Junior safety Kyle Allen led the PAC and ranked 42nd in the nation with a 24.7 kickoff return average last year. He was named second team all-PAC as a return specialist. Allen ranked fifth on the team last year with 50 tackles to go with one interception and two pass break-ups and he was the first Westminster player to return a kickoff and an interception for a touchdown in the same season since two-time All-American Aldridge Jones accomplished the feat in 1991.
The votes are in
After an impressive defensive performance in an 8-6 win over No. 22 Rowan on Saturday, Sept. 3, the Lycoming College football team has earned votes in the D3Football.com Top 25. If the poll were continued, the Warriors would be ranked 35th in the Week 1 poll through games of Sunday, Sept. 4. This is the second time in as many years that the Warriors have earned votes in the poll, as the 2010 squad picked up a vote in the poll after a 5-1 start.

Poll-busters
Head coach Mike Clark’s Warriors are quickly gaining a reputation as ranking killers. In his first year at the helm in 2008, the Warriors downed No. 22 Delaware Valley, 10-7, knocking the Aggies from the poll. In 2010, the team did it again, shocking No. 13 Ithaca, 26-24, to knock them from the poll. In 2011, the Warriors picked off their third ranked opponent in Clark’s tenure, knocking No. 22 Rowan from the polls with an 8-6 win.

Marascio’s moments
In his first game of his senior year, Anthony Marascio showed why he earned Preseason All-American honors from D3ProDay.com and USA College Football Netork, as the defensive end posted a team-high 2.5 sacks and got inside to the quarterback nine times. In the process, Marascio reached 10 career sacks.

Club 2000
As his second year as a starter unwinds, junior Zach Klinger should get a chance to move up the College’s all-time passer lists. He is currently 185 yards away from becoming the 13th player in school history to reach 2,000 passing yards and against Rowan, he became the 15th quarterback to reach 150 career completions.

Everybody loves Ray
Senior Ray Bierbach has earned six Preseason All-American nods. He was placed on the honorable mention portion of Consensus Draft Services NCAA Division III Preseason All-American Team, the USA College Football Network preseason All-American team, the D3 Senior Classic North team’s second squad as well as earning First Team honors from D3football.com, Lindy’s National College Football and the Sporting News College Football preseason football publications. As a junior, Bierbach earned Second Team All-MAC honors, First Team D3Football.com All-East Region honors and honorable mention All-American honors.