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WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - After winning back-to-back games against nationally-ranked opponents, the No. 24 Lycoming College football team's road to its 15th Middle Atlantic Conference title gets no easier on Saturday, Oct. 12, when it heads to second-place Lebanon Valley for a key conference showdown.

The Warriors (4-1 overall, 4-0 MAC) are sitting alone in first place in the conference for the first time since the ninth week of the 2008 season and are coming off back-to-back wins over Widener and Delaware Valley, who have combined to win the last five MAC titles.

Lebanon Valley (4-1 overall, 3-1 MAC) is coming off a 17-6 win over Wilkes and leads the league in total defense (293.6).

Warrior Notes
• Assistant head coach Steve Wiser has been a part of 299 wins with Lycoming College, 290 during his 40 years as an assistant coach and nine during his four years as a player.

• Junior Craig Needhammer has rushed for more than 100 yards in each of the last four games, leaving him one shy of the school record of five set by Josh Kleinfelter in 2010.

• Needhammer needs 63 more rushing yards to become the ninth player in school history to reach 2,000 in a career.

• Senior Kabongo Bukasa is 16 tackles shy of becoming the 25th player in school history to record 200 in a career.

• Junior Tanner Troutman needs one more interception to become the 20th player in school history to post 10 in a career.

• The Warriors entered the D3football.com Top 25 poll this week for the first time since the first week of the 2004 season.

Scouting Lycoming
Offense: Multiple/Pro-Style
Lycoming enters Saturday's game ranked seventh in the MAC in scoring offense (24.6), sixth in rushing offense (146.8), seventh in passing offense (201.0) and seventh in total offense (347.8).

The team does have one of the most accurate passing attacks in the MAC, though, as junior quarterback Tyler Jenny is second in the league in completion percentage (65.9) and passing efficiency (146.3). His two favorite targets are among the top 10 receivers in the league, with sophomore Ryan Umpleby sixth in receptions per game (4.6) and receiving yards (352) and senior Matt Atkinson is tied for second in the league in touchdown receptions (4) and fourth in receptions per game (5.6).

The running game is led by junior Craig Needhammer, who has notched four straight 100-yard games. He is second in the MAC and 12th nationally with 650 rushing yards.

Defense: 4-3
The Warrior defense, after allowing 30 points to Brockport in the opener, has settled in to allow just 15.5 points per game in the last four, all Warrior wins. The team is second in the MAC in scoring defense, allowing 18.4 points per game.

The defense is paced by a pair of players in the top 10 in the league in sacks, with senior Dwight Hentz sitting third at 0.8 per game and junior Braden Zeiner ninth at 0.5.

After posting three interceptions  in the 19-16 win over 16th-ranked Delaware Valley, the Warriors also moved into a tie for the league lead in the category with Albright. Junior Tanner Troutman is second in the league with three picks and senior Tyler Denike is fifth with two.

Scouting Lebanon Valley
Offense: Multiple/Pro-Set
Lebanon Valley enters the game ranked second in the MAC in scoring offense (32.6), fourth in rushing offense (174.0), fifth in passing offense (208.4) and fourth in total offense (382.4).

The Dutchmen offense is led by junior quarterback Brian Murphy, who leads the MAC in passing efficiency (148.3) and is fifth in passing yards (947). He is also fifth in the league in total offense (203.2) and completion percentage (55.6). His favorite targets are seniors Jake Zeigler and Joey Miller, who are eighth (286) and 12th (242) in the league, respectively, in receiving yards.

Two of Lebanon Valley's running backs are among the top 15 in the conference, with sophomore Austin Hartman fifth in the league with 381 yards and freshman Brendan Irving 12th with 200.

Defense: 3-4
The Dutchmen defense leads the MAC in total defense (293.4), as they have allowed just 44 points during their current three-game win streak. They are ranked third overall in scoring defense (18.6), third in passing defense (199.0) and first in rushing defense (94.4).

The defense is paced by one of the best linebackers in the MAC in junior Frank Gaffney. Gaffney leads the conference in solo tackles (6.6), tackles for loss (2.6) and he is second in the nation in sacks (2.0).

His outragous total of 10 sacks through the first five games was greatly aided by posting four in the Dutchmen's 17-6 win over Wilkes, helping him earn the MAC Defensive Player of the Week award along with Lycoming's Tanner Troutman. Gaffney also had 12 tackles and blocked an extra-point attempt in the win.

The quest for 300
After assistant head coach and defensive coordinator Steve Wiser '74 became just the second football coach in MAC history to reach 200 career conference wins, he is closing in on another milestone. Since Wiser joined the program in 1970 as a linebacker, he has helped the Warriors win 299 games. As a player, he helped the team win nine games from 1970-73 and since 1974, he has helped win 290 as an assistant coach.

The Tale of Talerico
Sophomore wide receiver Corey Talerico caught a game-clinching touchdown pass in the 19-16 win over 16th-ranked Delaware Valley on Oct. 5. The reception marked the first time he had found the end zone since his senior year at Riverside High School in 2010, when he ran for 16 touchdowns and threw for 30 more as a quarterback, helping him earn Pennsylvania Football Sportswriters' Class A Player of the Year honors.  Talerico went on to redshirt at West Chester before leaving the school and spending 2012-13 at Lackawanna Community College.

A Good Run
Junior Craig Needhammer has begun to quickly ascend the program's record books. The 5-7 running back has posted four straight 100-yard rushing efforts, notching 130 against Wilkes, 182 against Misericordia, 108 against Widener and 144 against Delaware Valley. He is the first player since Josh Kleinfelter in 2010 to achieve that feat and is just one 100-yard effort shy of tying Kleinfelter's record of five straight. With his two touchdowns against Delaware Valley, Needhammer moved into a tie for sixth in school history with 21 rushing touchdowns, leaving him eight shy of the school record set by Tim Deasey from 1998-01. He is also just 63 yards shy of becoming the ninth player in school history to post 2,000 in a career.

.500
With a win Saturday, the Warriors would ensure their fourth straight non-losing season. The Warriors have posted winning records in 34 of the last 38 years, recording a 287-106-5  (.727)record during that time.

League Leaders
Besides leading the Middle Atlantic Conference standings, the Warriors lead the league in several telling categories, including sitting first in third-down conversion percentage (47.9 percent), net punting (36.76), passes intercepted (9), team passing efficiency (146.37) and time of possession (33:27).

Poll-busters
Mike Clark's Warriors have gained a reputation as ranking killers, as they have knocked six teams from the national rankings in his six 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 it 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. Last year, the Warriors knocked No. 22 Delaware Valley from the rankings again, beating the Aggies, 24-14. This year, the Warriors have gotten to do it twice, beating 24th-ranked Widener, 16-14, and 16th-ranked Delaware Valley, 19-16.

MAC Coaches Pick Warriors first
Three Preseason All-Americans and seven returning all-conference players helped the Warriors top the 2013 MAC Preseason Football Coaches' Poll with 76 points.