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WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - For the second week in a row, the Lycoming College football team will face off with a team receiving votes in the D3Football.com poll when Lebanon Valley comes to David Person Field on Saturday, Sept. 15.

The Warriors (1-1 overall, 1-0 MAC) are coming off a 24-14 win over No. 22 Delaware Valley, in which senior wide receiver Jarrin Campman scored twice and senior defensive lineman Nate Oropollo posted four sacks to lead the team.

The Flying Dutchmen (2-0 overall, 1-0 MAC), who picked up four votes in D3Football.com’s national poll this week, are coming off a 47-7 win over first-year program Misericordia. The Dutchmen reeled in 553 yards of total offense in the game.

Warrior Notes
• Each of Lycoming’s first four opponents have received votes in the D3Football.com poll this year.

• Senior Nate Oropollo is tied for fifth in the nation and leads the MAC with 2.0 sacks per game. He also leads the league with 3.0 tackles for loss per game.

• With 939 career kickoff return yards, senior Parker Showers needs 49 more to pass Ricky Lanetti (2000-03, 987) for the top slot in the school’s career record book.

• Showers became the ninth player in school history to reach 2,500 all-purpose yards at Delaware Valley. He has 2,572 in his career.

• Both senior Corey Schuster and junior Kabongo Bukasa reached 100 career tackles with their first stop against Delaware Valley.

• In 2011, the Warriors did not complete a pass against Lebanon Valley, but still won, 10-7.

Scouting Lycoming
Offense: Multiple/Pro-Style
A roughing the passer call in the first quarter against Delaware Valley helped kickstart the Lycoming offense on Sept. 8, as the team went on to roll up 316 yards against a nationally-ranked defense.

Sophomore Tyler Jenny was a consistent leader for the offense, as he finished 12-for-20 for 134 yards and two scoring strikes. He spread the completions amongst six receivers, led by sophomore John Sibel, who nabbed four passes for 37 yards, including two huge completions in the fourth quarter. Freshman Ryan Umpleby caught three passes for a team-high 43 yards.

The Warriors’ rushing attack also returned against the Aggies, as they ran the ball 44 times for 175 yards, led by 57 yards from sophomore Craig Needhammer and 54 yards from senior Parker Showers. Both Jenny and junior wildcat quarterback Matt Atkinson ran for 32 yards.

Defense: 4-3
Senior captain Nate Oropollo leaped into the national leaders with a dominating four-sack performance against the 22nd-ranked Aggies, as he also made a statement by moving into the MAC’s lead in both sacks and tackles for loss.

While the Warrior defense is paced by the speed on its defensive line, the secondary also did a fine job corralling 2011 MAC Rookie of the Year Aaron Wilmer, as he completed just 17-of-37 passes.  Sophomore Tanner Troutman was a revelation in his first start at safety, as he made nine tackles, one for a loss, grabbed his second interception of the season, and also broke up two fourth-quarter passes.

Junior Kabongo Bukasa paces the Lycoming linebackers, as he is tied for third in the MAC with 9.5 tackles per game.

Scouting Lebanon Valley
Offense: Multiple/Pro-Set
Through the first two weeks of the season, Lebanon Valley has shown off one of the most powerful offenses in the MAC, averaging 39.0 points  and 420.5 yards per game in wins over Montclair State and Misericordia. The Dutchmen lead the league with 202.5 yards rushing per game and are fifth in passing offense at 218.0 yards per game.

Senior running back Pete Panichi is third in the league with an average of 105.0 yards per game and senior quarterback Leo Kyte is sixth in the league with an average of 145.5 passing yards per game. Kyte is also tied for second in the league in scoring, as he has found the endzone on runs three times.

The receiving corps is led by juniors Jake Zeigler and Joey Miller. Zeigler is seventh in the league with 62.5 yards per game and Miller is eighth with 61.0.

Defense: 3-4
The defense has been just as good as the offense for the Dutchmen, as they enter the week third in the conference, allowing just 28 points through its first two games. The Dutchmen are sixth in the league, allowing 333.5 yards, but they are third in rushing defense at 105.0 yards per game.  

During the first week, the Dutchmen were led by senior Josh Borelli, who was named the MAC Defensive Player of the Week after he posted a pick-six in the fourth quarter to seal the 31-21 win over Montclair State.

Junior David Kennedy has paced the linebackers, as he is tied for ninth in the league in sacks with one and tied for 12th in tackles for loss with two.

A sack of recognition
Thanks to a four-sack effort at No. 22 Delaware Valley, senior defensive lineman Nate Oropollo earned his first career Middle Atlantic Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors on Sunday, Sept. 9. Oropollo was a force for the Warriors, as he found the quarterback on five different plays in the first half, getting credit for three full sacks and two half sacks Oropollo’s four sacks were the most for the Warriors since Mark Seagraves set the school record with six against Wilkes in 2000.

Returning to the record book
Senior Parker Showers enters Saturday’s game looking to break a school record that last year it appeared he would never approach. Showers was the team’s top kick returner as a freshman and a sophomore, reeling in 765 yards, good for third in the school record book. However, for his junior year, the team handed kick returning duties to Warren Oliver and sophomore Craig Needhammer. With the transfer of Oliver, though, Showers returned to the kick returning role and he has excelled in the first two games of the season, notching seven returns for 174 yards, leaving him just 58 yards shy of the school record of 987 career return yards set by Ricky Lanetti from 2000-03.

Poll-busters
Mike Clark’s Warriors have gained a reputation as ranking killers, as they have knocked four teams from the national rankings in his five years as head coach. 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. This year, the Warriors knocked No. 22 Delaware Valley from the rankings again, beating the Aggies, 24-14.

How bout that?
With six inches of snow falling during the Warriors’ last meeting with Lebanon Valley at Arnold Field on Oct. 29, 2011, it’s no surprise that the Warriors tucked it in and didn’t throw the ball a lot. What may be a surprise is that the team ran 72 offensive plays, 69 rushing and didn’t complete a pass in just three attempts. In a scan of the football records back to 1982, it was the first time in a span of at least 308 games in which the team didn’t complete one pass. Still, the running game accounted for 217 yards and helped the Warriors to the win.