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WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - During training camp each year, fifth-year Lycoming College head football coach Mike Clark holds trivia contests amongst the team. Here’s one for him to throw in the question pile: Lycoming College’s first victory as a four-year institution was against what school? The answer: The College at Brockport.

The Warriors will open their highly anticipated 2012 campaign against the Golden Eagles on Saturday, Sept. 1, who were dealt a 6-0 loss in Williamsport in 1949 for the Warriors’ first-win over a varsity four-year college.

This time, though, the Warriors won’t enter the game as underdogs, as the team finished in the top 10 in the nation in nearly every defensive statistical category en route to an 8-2 season. Brockport, meanwhile, finished 3-7 in 2011, despite scoring 29.1 points per game.

Warrior Notes
• The Warriors led the MAC in total defense in 2011 for the first time since 2005. During defensive coordinator Steve Wiser’s 39 years on staff, Lycoming has led the league in total defense 16 times.

• Junior Zack Czap was placed on the Fred Mitchell Award Watch List, which recognizes the nation’s top collegiate kicker. Czap hit 12-of-14 field goals as a sophomore, one shy of the school record.

• Senior Zach Klinger needs to toss one more touchdown pass to become the ninth quarterback in school history to toss 25 in a career.

• Three Warriors return who finished in the top 20 in the MAC in sacks, as junior Dwight Hentz (11th, 0.40), senior Nate Oropollo (15th, 0.30) and senior Roger Jayne (19th, 0.25) form a fierce defensive front.

• The Warriors return seven all-conference players from 2011, two on offense, four on defense and one on special teams.

Scouting Lycoming
Offense: Multiple/Pro-Style
While the offense won’t face a total rebuilding effort, the Warriors will have their work cut out for them in defining roles in the trenches. However, in the skill positions, the team returns almost untouched, including its top two running backs, a three-year starter at quarterback and two of the team’s top three wide receivers.

Lycoming’s offense has always relied on its running game, racking up 32 all-conference selections in the backfield, and in 2011, that was once again the case. Lycoming turned to the run 482 times while throwing it just 240. With a pair of backs that rolled up more than 600 yards each, combining to average 5.1 yards per carry, it wasn’t a hard decision to keep the ball on the ground.

An explosive back with great speed, senior captain Parker Showers will once again pace that running attack, as the 5-9 back rushed for 816 yards in his first year as a starter. He finished fourth in the league in rushing, thanks to three 100-yard games.

Defense: 4-3
Even with the loss of two All-Americans on the defensive side of the ball, there’s little doubt what the Warriors plan for its defense - speed. Now in his 39th year with the Warriors coaching staff, defensive coordinator Steve Wiser put together one of his finest defensive units in 2011. The good news is that eight of the starters return from that group which finished third in the nation in total defense (214.40), second in pass efficiency defense (77.59), eighth in rushing defense (84.40), seventh in scoring defense (12.6) and third in turnover margin (+1.8).

The Warriors’ success starts with the athletic, fast defensive line, albeit one that loses consensus All-American Anthony Marascio ’12. However, the team returns a two-time All-MAC tackle in senior Roger Jayne and two two-year starters in junior Dwight Hentz and senior captain Nate Oropollo.

Scouting Brockport
Offense: Multiple
Led by two returning All-New Jersey Athletic Conference selections, senior wide receiver Jordan Hogan and junior offensive lineman Bruce Doyle, the Golden Eagles will look to a high-flying offense to power the team this year.

As a junior, Hogan led the team with 685 yards and five touchdown receptions and tied for first on the team with 47 receptions while starting all 10 games.

Brockport averaged a league-high 432.8 yards per game last season while averaging 252.6 passing yards per game, good enough for second in the NJAC. Brockport finished third in the conference with 29.1 points per game.

The Golden Eagles also return senior quarterback Joe Scibilia and sophomore running back Tyrone Nichols, both major contributors for the top-ranked offense in the conference during the 2011 campaign.

Defense: Multiple
The Brockport defense also returns one all-conference selection in junior Ross Ragonessi, who posted 46 tackles and a team-leading four interceptions.

Four other starters return for the Golden Eagle defense, including the team’s top tackler from 2011, senior safety Jim Carlson (73). Carlson also broke up five passes.

The defense will get a boost from the return of captain Derek DeCandia, who missed a majority of 2011 with an injury. The fifth-year senior started all 10 games in both the 2010 and 2009 season and has registered 155 tackles over his career. The senior led Brockport with 3.5 sacks and 13 tackles for a loss during the 2010 season.

A real classic
Senior offensive lineman Cody Moyer earned a slot on the honorable mention portion of the D3Senior Classic Preseason All-American team. Moyer, who became the first offensive lineman to earn D3Football.com All-East Region honors in school history when he picked up third team honors in 2011, allowed just 2.5 sacks on the season en route to First Team All-MAC honors. A three-year starter, the 6-1, 265-pounder helped the team average 8.7 more points, 5.2 more total yards and 30.9 more rushing yards per game than in 2010. Moyer was also the team’s Offensive Lineman of the Year in 2009.

Kicking into new places
Junior Zack Czap was one of 44 placekickers included on the 2012 Fred Mitchell Award Watch List for the nation’s best collegiate placekicker. A Beyond Sports College Network Third Team Preseason All-American, Czap earned his first postseason All-American honors from Beyond Sports as a sophomore. He led the MAC in scoring by kickers at 7.3 points per game and added a league-topping 12 made field goals. He nailed his last nine attempts of the year, all of which came in conference play.

Four named preseason all-region
Four Lycoming seniors have earned a slot on the USA Football News Division III Preseason Northeast Region All-Star team, as running back Parker Showers, offensive lineman Cody Moyer, defensive tackle Roger Jayne and cornerback Matt Talerico each earned mention. Showers finished fourth in the Middle Atlantic
Conference with an average of 90.7 yards per game in 2011, as his 816 rushing yards were 13th in school history. It was Moyer’s second preseason honor, as he was placed on the D3Senior Classic All-American team. Jayne, a two-time second-team all-conference pick, posted 28 tackles, five for loss and added 2.5 sacks as a junior. Talerico enjoyed a fine season on the outside for the Warriors in 2011, as the team allowed just 130.0 yards per game through the air.

Check it out
Amy Farnum wrote an excellent feature story on junior Kabongo Bukasa for NCAA.com. He is getting set for his second year as a starting middle linebacker for the Warriors. A native of Congo, Bukasa has taken quite the journey to the middle of the Warriors’ vaunted defense. Available on NCAA.com, the article is titled, “Congo native excels for Lycoming.”