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WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - For the first time since 2008, the Lycoming College football team is in the mix for the Middle Atlantic Conference Championship entering the final week of the season. First, the Warriors will need to win their matchup with Misericordia and second, Delaware Valley can create a three-way tie for the tie with a win over Widener.

The Warriors (7-2 overall, 7-1 MAC) have allowed just seven points in three of the last four games, as the defense has developed into one of the top ones in the nation, currently sitting 14th in Division III at 13.78 points per game.

First-year program Misericordia (0-9 overall, 0-8 MAC) are led by junior Cody Lamoreaux, who has run for 351 yards and freshman Jeffrey Puckett, who has tossed for four touchdowns and 625 yards.

Warrior Notes
• With a win at Misericordia, the Warriors would wrap up their first perfect away slate since the 2003 team went 3-0.

• The Warriors lead the MAC in rushing defense (99.2), kickoff return yardage (24.3), punt return yardage (15.2) and turnover margin (+1.22)

• Senior Parker Showers needs seven more kick return yards to surpass the single-season school record of 462 set by Dre Purdy in 2009.

• Showers needs 63 more yards to become the fourth player in school history to reach 3,500 all-purpose yards in a career.

• Junior Zack Czap needs to hit one more field goal to move into the top five in school history in career field goals made with 19.

• With 9.5 sacks this season, senior Nate Oropollo needs half a sack to become the 23rd Warrior in school history to reach 10 in a season.

Scouting Lycoming
Offense: Multiple/Pro-Style
After pounding out 198 yards on the ground in each of the last two games, there is no doubt that the hard-nosed Warrior offense will look to keep grinding out yards through the run game.

Senior Parker Showers leads the Warrior ground game, averaging 64.1 yards per game, which is sixth in the league, while sophomore Craig Needhammer is seventh at 63.2 yards per game, as he moved up three slots after his 127-yard game against Stevenson.

Sophomore quarterback Tyler Jenny’s historic run of completing more than 60 percent of his passes in a school-record seven straight games came to a close after completing 9-of-19 passes against Stevenson.

Jenny’s favorite target has been senior Jarrin Campman, who is seventh in the league with 3.9 receptions, ninth with 53.9 yards and sixth in scoring at 7.3 points per game. Sophomore John Sibel is ninth in the league at 3.4 receptions per game.

Defense: 4-3
Once again, the Warriors have put together one of the best defensive units in the MAC, as they are second in scoring defense (13.8), fourth in total defense (311.2), first in rushing defense (99.2), fourth in pass efficiency defense (135.6) and first in turnover margin (+1.22)

The Warriors are paced by an athletic line, which features one of the best pass rushers in the nation in senior Nate Oropollo, who is tied for 13th with 1.06 sacks per game and tied for 34th with 1.67 tackles for loss. Junior Dwight Hentz is second in the league with 0.72 sacks per contest.

Sophomore defensive back Tanner Troutman is tied for the league lead with five interceptions and he leads the MAC with 11 passes defended.

Scouting Misericordia
Offense: Multiple
First-year program Misericordia is averaging 6.0 points per game and 182.8 yards of total offense. The Cougars average 109.8 yards per game on the ground and 73.0 yards through the air.

Freshman Jeffrey Puckett leads the Cougars at quarterback, as he is 10th in the league with 107.12 yards of total offense per game and 12th with a 93.32 pass efficiency rating.

Junior Cody Lamoreaux is one of three Cougars in the top 10 in the league in rushing, leading the way with 43.75 yards per game, which is 13th in the league. Puckett is 17th at 28.88 yards per game and freshman Robin Custodio is 23rd at 25.0 yards per contest.

Freshman Paul Brace leads the receiving corps with 22 catches for 223 yards. Freshman tight end Dean Lucchesi has two receiving touchdowns, posting 10 catches overall for 52 yards.

Defense: 4-3
The Cougars are allowing 53.11 points per game, 516.44 yards per game and 331.0 rushing yards per contest. The team is fifth in the conference, allowing just 185.44 yards through the air per contest.

Freshman Hunter Pates leads the team with 5.22 tackles per game, which is tied for 22nd in the league, and freshman Greg Zotian is tied for 23rd in the league with one sack. Freshman Michael Cornerford also averages 5.0 tackles per game.

Freshman Tanner Bulkley has posted 3.5 tackles for loss and freshman Peter Conforti has added 3.0 tackles for loss. Three players, freshmen William Roach, Ben Camacho and Juwan Petties-Jackson, each have one interception.

Bringing the hammer
Leading a pounding running game that posted 198 yards for the second straight game, sophomore Craig Needhammer earned his first career Middle Atlantic Conference Football Offensive Player of the Week honors for his effort against Stevenson. He rushed for a team season-high 127 yards on 19 carries in the Warriors’ 32-7 win, crossing 100 yards for the second time this year. He also added two catches for 14 yards and scored on a 22-yard run in the second quarter. Needhammer is second on the team in rushing with 138 carries for 569 yards and six touchdowns this season.

Wise’s time
In his 39th year on the Warrior coaching staff, assistant head coach and defensive coordinator Steve Wiser is one win away from reaching a major milestone. Wiser has helped the Warriors win 199 Middle Atlantic Conference games since coming aboard the staff in 1974. Since then, he has served as the linebackers coach and, most notably, as the defensive coordinator since 1977.  If the Warriors beat Misericordia, he would become the second coach in MAC history to reach 200 conference wins, joining College Football Hall of Fame coach Bill Manlove, who has won 221 MAC games as an assistant coach at Lafayette (1967-68), head coach at Widener (1969-91), head coach at Delaware Valley (1992-95) and assistant coach/consultant at Delaware Valley (2001-present).

Road Warriors
Since a 31-28 loss at Widener on Sept. 17, the Warriors have won seven straight road games, the longest win streak for the team on the road since the program won 11 straight on the road from Sept. 23, 2000-Oct. 5, 2002. During the current win streak, the Warriors are outscoring opponents, 233-73, away from Williamsport.

Still in it
With the 28-23 loss to No. 14 Widener on Oct. 20, the Warriors moved one game behind the Pride into a tie with Delaware Valley for second place in the conference. However, if the Warriors win their last game against Misericordia and Delaware Valley beats Widener, the Warriors will claim a piece of its 15th MAC titlem as all three teams finish with identical 8-1 conference records. In that case, the Middle Atlantic Conference tiebreaking procedures employed would lead to point differential in the games between the three teams deciding the league’s NCAA automatic qualifier. Lycoming would earn the bid if Delaware Valley beats Widener by 15 points or less.