2009 NCAA Division II Softball Tournament

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THE GAME
The Bald Eagle gridders (1-3) travel to O’Shields-Stevenson Stadium on the campus of Cheyney University (2-2) for their final non-PSAC Western Division contest of the season on Sat., Oct. 4 at 1 p.m.  The game can be heard locally on WBPZ-1230 AM and online at www.nsnsports.com . 

THE SERIES
The Haven owns a 12-0 series advantage over Cheyney University. Last season the Bald Eagles recorded a 34-0 victory over the Wolves at Hubert Jack Stadium. Lock Haven has played on the road at Cheyney on only three prior occasions and once under current head coach Mark Luther in the 2000 season. 


First Meeting: 1953; Lock Haven 13, Cheyney 0
The Last Time LHU Won: 2002, 34-0 at Hubert Jack Stadium
The Last Time LHU Won at Cheyney: 2000; 24-20


THE LAST TIME VERSUS VERSUS CHEYNEY
      A 34-0 win over Cheyney in Hubert Jack Stadium during the 2002 homecoming celebration improved LHU to 3-2 on the season and marked the first time since 1982 that the Bald Eagles had owned a .500 or better win-loss percentage. 
       The Bald Eagles jumped out to a 24-0 lead by the half, working all aspects of their game. In the first quarter, Justin Marshall scored the first points of the game on a 12-yard pass from Tim Storino. Rob Carey returned a Cheyney punt 48 yards into the endzone to open the second quarter, then kicker Greg Knauss hit a 36-yard field goal.        Topping off the first-half scoring was Maurice Walker, who scrambled in from one yard out to increase the lead to 24-0.
Ryan Lightner and quarterback Bill Witmer connected in the third stanza for another seven points and the 31-0 lead. Knauss split the uprights in the fourth quarter from 37 yards out to wrap up game scoring and give the Bald Eagles the 34-0 victory. 
       The game marked the first of the 2002 season that LHU had outgained its opponent in total yardage (347-252). Linebacker Derrik Metz was the game’s defensive leader with 12 stops, littering the field with 11 solo tackles, four tackles for loss (-19) and two sacks. 

SCOUTING CHEYNEY
       The Wolves of Cheyney University are currently 2-2 on the season following last Saturday’s 20-3 loss against California (Pa.) University. Their two wins came against West Virginia State (42-33) and West Liberty State (17-16). 
       The Cheyney offense has put up 1152 yards in four games, 755 of those coming via the pass. O’Shields-Stadium is home to the top two players in the PSAC in receptions per game, Clifton Jones and junior Ed Giddings. Jones averages 5.75 per game and has totaled 154 yards with one touchdown. Giddings has caught an average of 5.0 passes a game, totaling 285 yards. Ron Martin has scored on two of 12 catches this season and averages 38 yards per game. 
        Errieck Stewart handles the quarterback duties for the Wolves. Stewart has thrown for four touchdowns and averages 188.8 yards per game. Against California, he connected on 19-of-39 attempts for 184 yards.
        The ground game was stalled against California, closing the game with a team total of minus-five yards rushing. Clifton Jones, who also plays a key role in the passing game, took the ball on 14 carries for 12 yards to bring his season average to 65.2 yards per game on the run. Ken Byrd (34.0 ypg, 1 TD) and Ron Martin (24.5 ypg, 3 TD) add to the ground attack’s depth.
        Defensively, the Wolves own the top pass defense in the conference, giving up 105.5 yards per game. Cheyney’s leading tackler is linebacker Cavanaugh Nweze, who leads the PSAC in average tackles per game with 11.7 and 35 overall. Nweze is part of a trio of Cheyney players with a team best five tackles for loss along with two sacks. Linebacker Robert Edwards, who totaled seven tackles against California, has 30 stops along with five tackles for loss and two sacks. Junior linebacker Marcus Turner also checked in with seven tackles versus the Vulcans last weekend, and has 29 on the season with four behind the line of scrimmage. Ernie Giddings, a junior defensive back, led the Wolves with nine stops last Saturday and owns 25 on the season in addition to one interception. Defensive end Joshua Goins is the Cheyney leader in sacks with three and also owns a share of the team lead with five tackles for loss among his 22 total tackles.
        The Cheyney return game falls under the auspices of Ken Byrd and Orlando Payton on punt and most kick returns. Byrd averages 9.7 yards per return on punts, and 20.8 yards on kickoff returns. Brandon Roberts (22.5 ypr) and Jacob Foster (20.2 ypr) have also been deep on kick returns.
       Freshman kicker John Riley has made 8-of-10 extra point attempts and hit two field goals including last weekend’s 32-yard boot. Jacob Foster has handled all punting duties, averaging 30.9 yards a kick.

(top) Maurice Walker leads LHU with 
64.0 yards per game rushing; 
(bottom) Troy Wile has passed for 
three touchdowns and an average of 
95.5 yards per contest.

THE COACHES

Lock Haven is led by fourth-year mentor Head Coach Mark Luther (Penn State, ‘92). The 2002 PSAC West Coach of the Year, Luther’s Bald Eagles went 4-7 last season -- the first four-win season since 1998.           He owns a 10-23 overall mark in three seasons at the helm of the Lock Haven gridders. Luther assumed the head role following five years of service as an LHU assistant from 1994-1998, acting as defensive coordinator, recruiting coordinator and administrative assistant to former head coach Nick Polk.

Second year Wolves’ head coach Lee Brown arrived at Cheyney following a one-year stint as the secondary coach at Mt. Senario (Wis.) College from 2001-02.  He spent five years as the general manager and head coach of the St. Louis Bulldogs of the South Central Football League, a semiprofessional league, before heading to Indiana State as an assistant during the 2000-01 season. He also coaches the Cheyney track and field teams.

BALD EAGLE NOTES...

THE OFFENSE 
         While it was not accompanied by a win, the offense’s 23-points against Mansfield was more than it had generated in any of the first three games. Of its 220 yards, the Haven got a 119 yard production out of its ground game and another 101 yards from it passing option, and outweighed Mansfield, 14-13, in first downs. 
        The Bald Eagle passing game, quarterbacked by red-shirt freshman Troy Wile (Fayetteville/Chambersburg Area), gave LHU two of its three touchdowns last weekend. Wile threw for 101 yards and two touchdowns, bringing his season total to 40 completions for 382 yards with three touchdowns. 
       Senior Marcus Burkley (Pittsburgh/Woodland Hills) inched one step closer to the career mark for touchdown receptions, collectng his first of the season with a five-yard catch in the fourth quarter. Burkley, who needs four more touchdowns to own the school record, averages 36.5 yards per game and 4.3 receptions per game. Rafael Smith (Pittsburgh/Woodland Hills) put points on the board for the second straight week, this time scoring off a 16-yard connection from Wile for LHU’s initial touchdown of the game. Smith has nine catches for 129 yards (43.0 ypg). Wile has several other receivers who have been toiling away in the system, seniors Adam Angelici (Bethel Park/Bethel Park) (3 catches;64 yds;1 TD) and Scott Anderson (Cortland, Ohio/Lakeview) (1 catch;5 yds) along with sophomore Danson Mwaura (Leola/Conestoga Valley) (2 catches;19 yds) and red-shirt freshman tight end Jason Walther (Elizabethtown/Elizabethtown) (3 catches;30 yds).
        Lock Haven ground game’s one-two punch of Maurice Walker (North Braddock/Woodland Hills) (73 carries;64.0 ypg;2 TDs) and Chelstan Anderson (Halifax/Halifax) (38 carries;37 ypg;2 TDs) covered a combined 89 yards of the 119 total last Saturday. Walker scored on a short two yard run after posting 18 carries for 56 yards while Anderson took the ball on 13 runs for 33 total yards. The Bald Eagles can also hand off to halfbacks Josh Stadulis (Willow Grove/Academy of the New Church) (7 carries;18 yds) or Travis Diehl (Williamsport/Williamsport) (1 carry;12 yards).
        The offensive line fronts the usual staff of center Jason Scott (Linden/Williamsport), guards Eric Scaife (Philipsburg/Philipsburg-Osceola) and Steve Szoboscan (Elizabethtown/Elizabethtown) and tackles Kevin Scheidler (Millersburg/Millersburg Area) and Bill Cook (York/Central York). 



THE DEFENSE 
       The Haven’s top three tacklers draw from the talented linebacker unit including pre-season All-America pick Derrik Metz (Roaring Spring/Central). Among the PSAC defensive leaders, Metz had six tackles versus Mansfield to bring his season total to 35 stops, including team highs of 23 solo tackles and five tackles for loss. Dan Wissinger (Johnstown/Ferndale Area) was the Bald Eagles’ leader last Saturday night, posting seven tackles. On the season, Wissinger is also among conference leaders with 25 total tackles. Another solid contributor has been junior linebacker Charles Cannon (Braddock Hills/Woodland Hills), who has posted 19 total tackles including four behind the line of scrimmage. Junior Brian Lumpkin (Rockville, Md./Bullis School) (7 TT, 2 TFL, 2 sacks, 1 INT) added three tackles including a sack and a forced fumble versus Mansfield.
       Tackles Jason Kasheta (Carbondale/Carbondale Area) (2TT) and Jarrod Hendricks (Rockton/DuBois Area) (7 TT) join up with defensive ends Dustin Shaffer (Mayport/Redbank Valley) (9 TT, 2 TFL) and Devin O’Rourke (Montgomery/Montgomery) (8 TT, 1 TFL) to maintain the front line of defense.
       In the secondary, the regular cast of Rob Carey (N. Braddock/Woodland Hills) (15 TT) and Ngoyi Mukusa (Jim Thorpe/Jim Thorpe) (17 TT, 1 INT) occupies the two cornerback positions. Strong safeties Winston Alspaugh (Carlisle/Boiling Springs) (13 TT, 1 INT) and Adam Nyman (Howard/Bald Eagle Area) (6 TT) are expected to see ample field time, as is starting free safety John Scullin (Boiling Springs/Boiling Springs) (11 TT, 1 INT). 

SPECIAL TEAMS 
       The Bald Eagles have several personnel options on its kick and punt return teams, but the top choice in both rests in senior Rob Carey. Carey handles the punt returns (4.9 ypr), while Marcus Burkley (18.5 ypr) and Rafael Smith (17.0 ypr) aid Carey (21.3 ypr) in kickoff return situations. 
       Freshman punter/placekicker Dan Hagerman (Scottdale/Southmoreland) recorded his third field goal of the season with last Saturday’s 25-yard kick. He is 3-for-3 on extra point attempts, and averages 33.0 yards per punt. 

###LHU###