http://www.allegheny.edu
2007 Football Season Preview
July 11, 2007
2007 Football Media Guide (.pdf)
Allegheny College comes into the 2007 season returning 54 letterwinners and 18 starters, including all three of their All-North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) First Team selections—defensive back Curt Anderson, kicker Josh Whiteside and punter Jason Black—from a team that finished the season with a 6-4 overall record. Gone, however, are the team’s leading rusher (Mario Tarquinio), passer (Jimmy Savage) and receiver (Dallas Robinson); however, seven starters return for an offense that averaged 414 yards per game and finished the year with the third highest scoring offense in the league. The defense finished second in the league in points allowed and gave up the fewest passing yards of any of the league’s ten teams while also managing the highest turnover margin (+10) in the NCAC.
OFFENSE
Last season the Gators used a balanced offensive attack, rushing for an average of 164 yards and passing for just over 250 more per game. The Gators return seven offensive starters, including wide receiver Jim Lieb, who had 48 catches for 600 yards, and the right side of the offensive line in Rob Flick at tackle and Andy Fleming at guard; however, big holes are left with the graduation of Savage, Tarquinio and Robinson. Lieb sits in seventh place in the Allegheny history books in career receptions and is easily within striking distance of third place overall, while his receiving yard and touchdown totals could put him as one of the top receivers to graduate in the Blue and Gold. Overall the team returns six significant contributors at wide receiver position, along with a tackle, Dan Cephas, who split time with Flick a season ago. Senior tight end Devin Fackenthal and junior fullback Matt Cellini also return as offensive threats for the Gators.
QUARTERBACK
Since 1986, Allegheny has had a long line of record-setting quarterbacks, starting in 1986-89 with John Logue, who passed the torch on to Jeff Filkovski for the 1990 championship season. Paul Bell, who was a freshman in 1991, took the reins until 1994, when Kyle Adamson (1994-97) took over. Chris Miller and Joe Cowart quarterbacked the 1998 and 2000 seasons, respectively, before Bubba Smith rewrote the passing record books over the next three years. Smith’s understudy, Jimmy Savage, had the best single season by an Allegheny quarterback in 2006 en route to being named All-North Region Honorable Mention during the year, throwing for 2,472 yards, completing 202 of his 331 passes and tossing for 24 touchdowns, all of the statistics marking a single season school record.
Because Savage took 655 of a total 677 snaps for the team last year at quarterback, Allegheny will need for the incumbent to be on a short learning curve. There is no front runner heading into camp in the fall, as Head Coach Mark Matlak has left the door open for any of the four returnees or one of a strong group of first-year players. The four returnees include senior Drew Stelzer and juniors Bobby Herron, Pat Kahle and Bobby Ovesny.
“We had a tremendous year recruiting quarterbacks,” said Matlak. “We have as good of a group of freshman quarterbacks as we have had in my five years here. We are going to let the guys compete through fall camp. I told the guys that we will not name a starter until the first game, and I am going to stick by that. We are going to let them all compete and see how things shake out during fall camp. Offensive Coordinator Andy McKenzie said it best when he said that all of the guys in the program are further along than when Savage was a junior. Jimmy had a great senior year; however, I think these guys are on par with his ability level. What remains to be seen is their ability to manage the game and their competitiveness—both things that Jimmy excelled in.”
RUNNING BACK
Gone are the top four rushers from a season ago, including three-time second team All-NCAC selection Tarquinio, a bruising, punishing runner who rushed for 1,202 yards with nine touchdowns in 2006, ending his career with the fourth most rushing yards (3,187) in Allegheny’s history. Savage, Marcus Solomon and Patsy Malie also graduated from the program, finishing the 2006 season with 203, 70 and 61 yards, respectively.
Back for Matlak’s squad are three players that combined for 62 yards on the ground; juniors Devin Raynor (6 carries, 36 yards) and Matt Feldhaus (2 carries, 23 yards, 1 touchdown) and sophomore Rodney Still (2 carries, 3 yards). Gone are the days of a powerful running back, and in are those of a quicker, scat-back type of running back.
“Raynor, Feldhaus and Still each have a lot more speed and quickness than Tarquinio,” said Matlak. “However, they are not as big, and we’re going to have to see if one of them can get the tough yards. We have really improved our skill and speed at tailback. The three main guys really have a lot of athletic ability. Raynor is the biggest of the three, although Feldhaus and Still can both run. The wild card for us this year is sophomore Mark Sutton, who missed last season with an injury. If we can keep him healthy he will be another guy to add to the quick, scat-back mode.”
At fullback, the team returns their top two people in the position a year ago, junior Matt Cellini (6 carries, 35 yards, 1 touchdown) and his backup Nick Mains. Cellini not only excelled when he ran the ball, but he also posed a strong threat out of the backfield, hauling in three passes for 24 yards.
“Matt is a really versatile guy,” noted Allegheny’s head coach. “He is a three-star player. He can run the ball well – we saw that in the couple carries we gave him in the Ohio Wesleyan game. He can catch out of the backfield – he has a knack to make guys miss – and he also can block. I don’t know as much about Nick running the ball, but I know that he can catch and block. I think with those two guys we have as much talent at the fullback position as we have had in my five years at Allegheny.”
WIDE RECEIVER
Despite losing a receiver who hauled in 56 passes for 795 yards and 11 touchdowns in Dallas Robinson, the squad returns a total of 1,375 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns as six players return after receiving significant playing time in 2006. Fifth-year senior James Jones returns after playing in just two games last season due to injury, as he injured himself after hauling in four passes for 94 yards in the season opener. A former quarterback with the Gators, Jones will help add depth and diversity to the offense.
Jim Lieb, the team’s second leading receiver last year, hauled in 48 passes for 600 yards and four touchdowns, including an 83-yard catch against Oberlin, while Shane Sullivan started nine of the team’s 10 games at wide receiver, hauling in 21 passes for 207 yards. Jake Vite, a sophomore, was the team’s fifth leading receiver a season ago, with 18 receptions for 215 yards and four touchdown receptions, three of which came in a loss to Wabash College. Jeremy Walker and Pete Obourn come to the squad after spending the spring with the track & field and baseball teams, respectively. Last season Walker had four catches for 81 yards and a touchdown while Obourn had four receptions for 45 yards. Bobby Burkes, another transfer from the quarterback position returns, as does Josh Brannan, the track & field NCAC runner-up in the 100-meter dash in 2007.
“Losing James Jones last year really hurt,” said Matlak. “We would have been even more explosive last year if we had him for the entire season. He only played in one game, and you could see the impact that he did have in that game. He’s a difference maker that we haven’t had, and when you add Jim Lieb, Jake Vite, Pete Obourn and Shane Sullivan, and then speedsters Bobby Burkes, Jeremy Walker and Josh Brannan, we have a lot of kids that can run and really get after it. We can be an explosive group if we can pass protect and get the ball to them.”
TIGHT END
In 2006 Allegheny made good use of the tight end position, often going into two tight end sets, as the position saw a total of 18 receptions for 188 yards. The team primarily used just two players in the position throughout the year, and the squad returns half of the pair in senior Devin Fackenthal. Fackenthal led the position with nine receptions for 90 yards while teammate Justin McNeill, who graduated in May, had eight catches for 80 total yards. Bob Somplatsky, who saw limited action as a sophomore, hauling in one pass for 18 yards in the season opener also returns after seeing action last season, while senior Greg Start and sophomore B.J. Baran look to fight for playing time.
“We have three or four tight ends that we are really high on coming in on this year,” said Matlak. “I am very pleased with our tight end position.”
OFFENSIVE LINE
The Gators return three members of an offensive line that saw significant action during the 2006 season. Andy Fleming started all 10 games at offensive guard a season ago, while Rob Flick and Dan Cephas shared time at right tackle. The team also returns the backups from center, both guards and the other tackle spot. For the upcoming season, Fleming will move to center to spearhead the Gator attack, with Cephas moving inside of Flick to give the Gators an experienced right side of the line. Looking to fight for starting positions will be Zack Smith at left tackle, Doug Maloney and Michael Van Heyst at guard and Andy Stas at center.
“We will be a little bigger on the offensive line,” said Matlak. “We are going to be younger, but a bit bigger. That is one of the areas that we felt needed to be better. I think we will be better than a year ago. This year we return three guys, and saw a lot of action last year. I feel very good about the offensive line—there is some very strong talent there.”
DEFENSE
Allegheny, in their second year of the attacking 3-4 defense, looks to improve on the numbers that were put up a season ago, led by a strong group of returning players, including a trio of linebackers and defensive backs. Junior Andrew Mihalcin returns after starting three games a season ago on the defensive line while senior linebackers Mateo Villa, Ross Simcoe and Michael Cox return to their starting roles for the upcoming season. Returning to their starting roles in the secondary are cornerbacks Jon Buggey and Nick Jones and safety Anderson. Andy Toner also returns to a safety position, where he picked off a team-best five passes in his nickel-back role last season.
DEFENSIVE LINE
Seven players rotated in at each of the three defensive line positions a year ago, with three of the main contributors returning for the second year of the new 3-4 system. Graduated is the tandem of Greg Sye and Tom Glamuzina, the latter of which was named All-NCAC last season; however junior Andrew Mihalcin returns to the defensive tackle position after missing a portion of the season with an injury. Last season he picked up seven solo and seven assisted tackles, giving him 14 total stops, while recording 1.5 tackles for loss, a half-quarterback sack and forcing two fumbles. Nick Duca will provide immediate backup, after his five-tackle season a year ago. Also looking for playing time at the tackle spot is Rob Recker, Dan Sprys and Ray Srp.
At nose tackle, Billy Jones returns for his junior season after picking up 12 stops a season ago, while Matt Jadlowiec switches to the defensive side after playing on the offensive line in 2006. At the end position, sophomore Nick Silva, who had six tackles and a half quarterback sack last season, is the favorite for the starting position, with Greg Waples, Dan Kaczynski and John Muron looking to fight for playing time.
“We had some older guys playing the position last year in Greg Sye and Tom Glamuzina, and switching the defensive front was probably our biggest growing pains last year,” said Matlak. “We didn’t generate much of a pass rush—our sack totals were way down—and we didn’t play the run as well up front. However, we have guys with good experience like Billy Jones and Andrew Mihalcin. At the end of last season Nick Silva gave us some good pass rush looks at defensive end. With that group of guys, we feel like we will be a little better than we were a season ago, and will be able to put a little more pressure on the quarterback, and be a little more stout against the run.”
LINEBACKERS
In the first year of the 3-4 system, the Gator linebacker corps provided four of the team’s top 10 tacklers, with three of those players returning for a second campaign with the new defense. The team’s leading tacklers, Mateo Villa and Ross Simcoe return in the middle, with Michael Cox providing leadership from one of the outside linebacker positions.
Villa, a second team All-NCAC award winner in 2006, led the squad with 80 tackles, 36 of which came on solo stops, while book ending the season with an interception in the season opener and season finale. Simcoe, after missing the season opener, came on strong in the last nine games, picking up 68 tackles and a team-high-tying two quarterback sacks. Looking to add depth at the middle linebacker position will include returnees Aaron Walter (23 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss), Brandon Momeyer (11 tackles, 1 forced fumble), Joe Zaso (8 tackles, 1 interception), Andy Schleihauf (4 tackles) and Jacob Gaul (2 tackles). Newcomers include Bryant Tronetti, Ian Glebes and Rudy Devine.
At the outside linebacker position, Michael Cox returns after recording 34 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions, two fumble recoveries, two pass breakups and a quarterback sack. Craig Lawrence played in nine games last year, including starting against Denison, a game in which he had six tackles and a quarterback sack. For the season Lawrence played a strong role as a backup for since-graduated Devin Cruea, recording 24 tackles and three tackles for loss. Robert Glownia (three tackles) and Jesse Roehling (two tackles) are the only other players on the roster with outside linebacker experience at the varsity level, while Tim Fullam and Mike Ryan are waiting in the wings for their chance at action.
“We are excited about our linebackers this year,” said Matlak. “We have three starters back, Mateo Villa, Ross Simcoe and Michael Cox, along with Craig Lawrence. We short-changed Craig last year, we should have played him more. We think he can be a very good player in the NCAC. I think they all can be better—they have to be better. We have depth this year also, as we like some of the young players we have behind the top four. It will be fun seeing the entire group grow in another year of the same system.”
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Of all the areas of the defense, the secondary has the most depth coming into the new season. Seven of the team’s top 20 tacklers from last season return at either cornerback or safety for the Blue and Gold, including 2007 co-captain Curt Anderson, a first-team All-NCAC safety a season ago.
Spearheading the secondary from the safety position is Anderson, a senior, who finished last season with 54 total tackles and a team-leading five pass breakups. He added 3.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble. Also returning after seeing significant action is senior Andy Toner, who spent most of last season as the team’s nickel back and led the team with five interceptions, including a school-record-tying three against Hiram, returning the third and final one for a touchdown. Adding depth to the position are seniors Josh Trembulak (11 tackles) and Steve Uziel (seven tackles) and sophomore Sasha Kauert (4 tackles), who is moving to the secondary from his linebacker spot.
At cornerback the team returns four players that sat atop the depth chart last season, including starters Jon Buggey and Nick Jones. Last season Buggey finished fifth on the team in total tackles with 52 and second with four pass breakups, while Jones had 37 tackles, 27 solo, to go with his 1.5 tackles for loss. J.J. Davis and Chas Moore-Seymore also return after seeing significant time in a backup role a season ago. Davis picked off three passes, second most on the team, including one in each of the team’s last two games of the season while picking up 23 tackles and a quarterback sack. Moore-Seymore, a sprinter on the track & field team, recorded eight tackles and a pass breakup, playing in all 10 games during the season.
“We are pleased with our defensive back position,” said Matlak. “Last season we played Jon Buggey, J.J. Davis and Nick Jones quite a bit, and I feel like we have two or three other cornerbacks in our program that can play too. We will probably be able to play some extra defensive back schemes that we may not have been able to last year. Adding to that we have Curt Anderson and Andy Toner returning, and it gives us two good-sized safeties. We’ll be able to play both of those guys in our system right now. With the two 200-pounders, we haven’t had size like that back there in the five years that I have been here. We’re very excited about that, and everyone in the secondary knows what they are doing. Last season we felt like we made the biggest jump in playing and learning, and that definitely carried over in the spring.”
SPECIAL TEAMS
Two All-NCAC kickers, along with the team’s top returners and its long snapper make special teams one of the areas of the strongest experience for Matlak’s 2007 squad. “Anytime you have your kickers back, you’ve got to be excited,” said Matlak. “We have an All-American candidate in Josh Whiteside—he’s come along in his three years. We also have our punter, Jason Black. We didn’t punt as much last year, but he is an outstanding player. When you have those guys back, in addition to our long snapper Joe Zaso, it helps you because you have to be able to kick the ball and flip the field in the field-position battle. We are not breaking in any new guys, and there is a comfort level with that.”
Leading the way for the kickers is 2007 Lindy’s Magazine Preseason All-America Josh Whiteside, who connected on 6 of 7 field goal attempts last season, including a 47-yard boot in the driving wind and rain against Ohio Wesleyan, while also converting 37 of 40 extra point attempts. His 85.7 percent on field goal tries led the NCAC, while his 92.5 percent on the points after touchdowns was third best. He averaged 5.5 points for the year and was named to the All-NCAC First Team and d3football.com All-North Region First Team.
Jason Black, the team’s punter for the last two seasons, returns looking to add to the two All-NCAC honors in his career, a second team honor in 2005 and a first-team selection in 2006. His 37.7 yard per punt average for his career is third best in school history, and is within striking distance of the top spot of 38.1. Last season he averaged 37.8 yards on his 27 punts, the fewest punts of his three-year career. He put six inside of the opponent’s 20 yard line, while having a long kick of 51 on the year. Helping add to Black’s success is Zaso, who is in his third year as long snapper in addition to his duties as a linebacker.
Senior Bryan Davis and Brannan return to share the kickoff duties this year. Davis averaged 50.6 yards on his 38 kickoffs last year, the highest average of his career, while Brannan, who is also a wide receiver on the squad, averaged 55.6 yards on his 18 kickoffs.
Leading the veterans at kick returner is Lieb, a wide receiver, who averaged 25.0 yards per return last year on his 15 attempts, including an 85-yard return in a win over Kenyon College. Nick Jones returns after leading the team with five punt returns in 2007, gaining 36 yards while Lieb (2 returns) and Sullivan (2 returns) also come back to the squad with experience at the position.
SCHEDULE
Allegheny kicks off their 2007 season on September 1 when they host perennial rival Westminster College, before traveling to Hiram College and 2006 NCAA Tournament participant Carnegie Mellon University in weeks three and four. The team hosts back-to-back games to start the NCAC season, with Denison University coming to the renovated Frank B. Fuhrer Field on September 29 before Wabash College visits Meadville on October 6. A road trip to Gambier, Ohio to face off against Kenyon is preceded by a home game against the College of Wooster on October 20. Road games to Ohio Wesleyan University and Oberlin College sandwich the team’s final home game of the year against Wittenberg University, the defending NCAC Champions, on November 3.
“With our non-conference schedule, we wanted to schedule games that will be competitive, and I think with all three we will have a chance to be in every game and to win,” said Matlak. “We wanted to stay in the Pittsburgh market with a game, and we had a chance to change it up by playing Carnegie Mellon. They are an academically recognized institution, and a playoff team, so it is a good match-up for us. Hiram improved greatly last year—it was a 10-0 game at halftime last year, and I don’t see any reason why they are not going to improve again this year. Westminster had a down season, but played a lot of young players, so we expect them to be improved from last season. In our league, there is a real big home-field advantage. With all of the travel, guys do things differently, so playing the perennial top three teams in the league—Wabash, Wittenberg and Wooster—at home will be a big advantage. Last year we had six games on the road, and it was a tough stretch, so balancing things out this year with having five home and five road games should help our team.”