WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - With all of their games in 2016 having been decided by less than two touchdowns, the Lycoming College football team will head into its season finale looking to play another close game and upset a nationally-ranked opponent when 23rd-ranked Stevenson comes to David Person Field on Saturday, Nov. 12.

The Warriors (3-6 overall, 2-6 MAC) are coming off a 28-20 loss to Delaware Valley, as the team rallied from a 14-point halftime deficit to come within a point in the fourth quarter before the Aggies scored a late touchdown.

Stevenson (8-1 overall, 7-1 MAC) is looking to clinch its first MAC title with a win today.

Warrior Notes
• Lycoming is 8-0 in regular-season finales under head coach Mike Clark.

• Lycoming has won seven games against nationally-ranked teams in head coach Mike Clark's nine years as head coach.

• Senior Blake Bowman needs 25 more rushing yards to become the fifth player in school history to post 2,500 in a career.

• Sophomore Mike Mulvihill is averaging four catches and 58 yards over the last two games.

• Senior Chase Whiteman needs one more touchdown pass to become the 10th player in school history to throw 25 in a career.

• Sophomore Dominic Loffredo needs seven more tackles to reach 100 in his career.

• Seventeen Warriors have at least 20 tackles this year, the most for the team since the NCAA officially began tracking the stat in 2000.

MAC leader
Senior Blake Bowman is not just leaving an impact on the Lycoming College record book, he is also making an impact on a conference and national level. His 12 rushing touchdowns leads the MAC and is 25th in Division III, while his 100.1 rushing yards per game also leads the league and is 41st in the country. Bowman's average of 121.0 all-purpose yards tops the MAC and is 100th in the country.

Back-to-Back
With a strong game today, senior Blake Bowman could become the first Warrior running back in program history to lead the MAC in rushing yards per game in back-to-back years. Bowman averaged 115.0 yards per game as a junior and enters his final game averaging 100.1 yards per game as a senior, 4.2 yards per game ahead of Brandon Irving of Lebanon Valley. 

The Bowman Watch
As has seemingly been custom for running backs in the Mike Clark era, senior Blake Bowman is looking to leave a large impact on the college's record book. Some milestones that Bowman, who set a school single-season record with 18 rushing touchdowns as junior, is approaching include:
- 25 rushing yards from becoming fifth running back in school history to post 2,500 in a career
- 108 all-purpose yards from tying Steve Verton (1993-96) for 10th in school history with 3,138 in a career
- 2 touchdowns from tying Tim Dumas for second in school history with 35 in a career

Recovery
Junior safety Mike Ward was a part of a turnover in each of the first six games, establishing a new scool-record, while his five fumble recoveries leads the nation. He posted a first-quarter fumble recovery against Susquehanna that led to a Lycoming touchdown. Against King's, he dove for a first-quarter interception that led to another touchdown. He added a fourth-quarter fumble recovery against Albright and he forced a fumble in the first quarter against Misericordia. Ward followed that two fumble recoveries and an interception against Widener. To extend the streak, he picked up another fumble recovery in the second quarter against FDU-Florham. Ward is the first Warrior defensive back to recover five fumbles in a season. He leads the team with 69 tackles and two interceptions.

Academic All-District Selections
Seniors running back Blake Bowman and offensive lineman Austin Mital were each named to the College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-District 4 Team. Bowman continues a string of uber-intelligent Warrior tailbacks, as he is the third straight starting running back to earn Academic All-District honors, following Parker Showers '13 (2012) and Craig Needhammer '15 (2013, '14). Mital has started all eight games for the Warriors at left guard, helping the Warriors average 332.0 yards of total offense per game, including 154.4 rushing yards per game while blocking for Bowman. Mital is the first Warrior offensive lineman to earn academic all-district honors since Dickie Houck was a second-team college division selection in 2003.
 
This is the first time the Warriors have had two Academic All-District selections since Jeff Mahalick and Joe Emrick earned the honors in 1992, with Mahalick, a defensive back, going on to earn Second Team Academic All-American honors.

A youthful core
While the Warrior backfield and offensive line may be filled with six senior starters, that is not the case at the wide receiver position, where the team has a youthful quartet that has accumulated more than 75 percent fo the team's receiving yards. All sophomores, Nick Costello led the group with 625 yards and five touchdowns  before an injury at Wilkes ende his season. Kyle Slivka-Fralin has recorded 26 catches for 293 yards and three scores, John Kim has 13 receptions for 123 yards and a score and Mike Mulvihill has 12 catches for 174 yards and a score after posting career-highs of five catches and 74 yards against Delaware Valley.

Smith's odyssey
Senior Zach Smith has developed into one of the team's most reliable linebackers, moving into second on the team with 56 tackles, 6.0 for loss. He also has an interception and two breakups while playing in all nine games this year. An interesting case, Smith transfered to Lycoming after two years as a backup quarterback at perennial national contender Wesley College, where he was 13-of-16 passing in nine games for 174 yards and four touchdowns.

Punts away
Sophomore Connor Bell stepped into the starting lineup against Wilkes as the team's punter and has made the most of the opportunity. Against Delaware Valley, Bell posted six punts for 246 yards, an average of 41.0 per boot, while three landed inside the 20 and one was ruled a touchback. As a freshman, Bell served as the team's starter, averaging 33.0 yards per kick. He has improved that by 6.25 yards per kick this year. Lycoming leads the MAC and is 16th in Division III with a net punting average of 36.83 yards per punt.

Spreading the wealth
A lot of faces have rolled through the Lycoming defense this season, as a school-record 17 players have been credited with at least 20 tackles this year. By position, five defensive backs, six linebackers and six linemen have reached the mark. Five players have at least 40 tackles, with junior Mike Ward leading the team with 69, senior Zach Smith with 56, sophomores Khamari Williams and Dominic Loffredo with 47 and senior Jon Rummel with 40.