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November 13, 2002

Lock Haven Football On the Road At Edinboro For Season Closer
Game #11 -- at Edinboro University -- Sox Harrison Stadium -- Edinboro, PA -- 1 p.m.

>>>Full Game Release (PDF) >>>2002 LHU Roster >>>Edinboro University Athletics Website

THE GAME
    The Bald Eagle football team (4-6, 1-4 PSAC West) takes to the road for its final game of the season, matching up against the Fighting Scots of Edinboro University (4-6, 1-4 PSAC West) on Saturday, November 16. A 1 p.m. kickoff is scheduled in Edinboro’s Sox Harrison Stadium. The game can be heard locally on WBPZ-1230 AM and online at http://www.redzonemedia.com .

THE SERIES
     The Bald Eagles and the Fighting Scots have met on the gridiron every year since their first meeting in 1958, a contest Lock Haven won, 14-13. Edinboro currently leads the series with a 29-14-1 advantage. A Lock Haven win in 2000 (20-16) broke an 18-game streak by Edinboro, but the Fighting Scots picked up another win in 2001, 23-3.
     In games played at Edinboro, EUP has won the last ten contests. Lock Haven’s most recent road win over the Fighting Scots was the 1981, 14-13, victory.

THE LAST TIME VERSUS VERSUS EDINBORO
        Lock Haven fell victim to the Fighting Scots of Edinboro, 23-3, in conference action last season. The Bald Eagles actually outgained the Fighting Scots, 241 yards to 84 at the half, but Edinboro held the 16-0 lead after two periods of play. The Scots' Lincoln Bufalino ran back the opening kickoff for 72 yards, setting up EUP's first score, a three-yard rush by John Williams. Edinboro intercepted a Bill Witmer pass in the middle of the second quarter, capping off the ensuing possession with a five-yard rush for touchdown by Brandon Munson. A 26-yard field goal right before the half by Edinboro's Sean McNicholas brought the Lock Haven deficit to 16-0.
        Lock Haven was the only team to put points on the board in the third period, a 27-yard field goal by Jonathan Miller.
       Edinboro capped off scoring in the fourth quarter with a rushing touchdown by Brandon Munson.
       LHU's Maurice Walker ran for a Bald Eagle season and individual career high 110 yards on 21 carries. Fellow freshman running back Melvin Kirby posted 76 yards on 11 attempts. Quarterback Bill Witmer completed 16 of 37 passes for 213 yards, and Marcus Burkley led the Bald Eagle receivers with 93 yards. Pacing the LHU defense was linebacker Derrik Metz with 7.5 tackles. Cornerback Rob Carey posted 6.5 tackles, including two for loss and an interception with a 26-yard return.
      Edinboro was led by a pair of 100-yard rushers in John Williams (128 yards) and Brandon Munson (112 yards). Defensively, EUP picked off four Haven passes and blocked an LHU punt. Foster Johnson recorded 7.0 tackles (5 solo), and David Hart added 7.0 tackles (6 solo). Jeff Richardson grabbed two of the four interceptions for the Boro.

SCOUTING EDINBORO
         The Edinboro Fighting Scots have a 4-6 overall mark along with a 1-4 ledger in the PSAC West. Edinboro snapped a six-game losing streak with last Saturday’s 38-22 win over California (Pa.) University on the road. The Scots have won one of four home games this season, a 29-26 victory over Ashland University, but emotions will be running high with a 10-game win streak over LHU on the line.
     Leading the charge will be senior tailback Alonzo Roebuck. Roebuck surpassed the 1,000-yard rushing mark last Saturday and has now rushed for 1,046 yards for a 116.2 yard per game average -- a total ranking him second in the conference and 16th in the nation. Roebuck has also scored on 11 of his season’s 218 carries. Another threat on the ground is sophomore Brandon Munson, who averages 36.9 yards per outing. Fullbacks Nick Phillips and Mike Martin have also been in the mix.
     Red-shirt freshman quarterback Justin Bouch has taken over the starting role during the latter portion of the season due to a shoulder injury sustained by early season starter Cam Marsh. Bouch threw for 127 yards and a touchdown on 14-for-23 passing against California last weekend, and has 1023 yards and three touchdown passes on the season.
     Bouch should have plenty of available targets, in particular junior wideout Sean Hess (35.5 ypg, 1 TD) along with a host of second-year players in wide receiver Jordan Bobitski (21.8 ypg), tight end C.J.Trivisonno(9.7 ypg, 2 TD), and receiver Justin Lipscomb (40.7 ypg, 2 TD). Junior Lincoln Bufalino (22.0 ypg, 1 TD) is another available option.
       The Fighting Scot offensive line is centered by junior Joe Valvoda. Starting offensive guards include senior Brandon Nicodemus and junior Anthony Peluso, and starting at the tackle slots are red-shirt frosh Greg Bzorek and sophomore Aaron Thompkins.

THE COACHES

	Lock Haven Head Coach Mark Luther (Penn State, ‘92) enters his third season. Luther’s gridders compiled 3-8 overall and 1-5 PSAC West marks in both of his prior two seasons at the helm of the Bald Eagles.
He assumed the lead role following five years of service as a Bald Eagle assistant coach from 1994-98, acting as defensive coordinator in the 1997 and ‘98 seasons, recruiting coordinator and administrative assistant to former head coach Nick Polk.

	Edinboro’s third-year Head Coach Lou Tepper (Rutgers, '67) has 30 years experience at the Division I level, including a five-year stint as head coach at the University of Illinois.
Tepper joined the Edinboro staff in 2000 after previously serving as the defensive coordinator at Louisiana State University. He has had coaching stints at Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech, and Colorado in addition to his time at Illinois and LSU.

       A trio of linebackers head up the defensive unit. Junior outside linebacker James Cowart leads Edinboro with 67 tackles including eight for loss. Senior outside backer Dave Smith has 59 stops and is tied with defensive end Kyle Thorne with a team-best 12 tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Inside linebackers Foster Johnson (56 TT, 4 TFL, 2 sacks) and Jermaine Hughley (47 TT) have also wreaked havoc on opponent offenses. Moving up front, the Fighting Scots will utilize sophomore tackle Eric Neavins (42 TT, 6 TFL, 2.5 sacks), sophomore nose guard Eugene Grooms (49 TT, 8 TFL, 1.5 sacks), and red-shirt freshman Greg MacAnn (15 TT, 7 TFL, 2.0 sacks) at defensive end.
      Cornerback Elliott Page (37 TT) is EUP’s leading pass defender with nine break-ups and three picks. Also key players in the secondary are corner Matt Birkett (27 TT), strong safety Jeff Richardson (44 TT, 5 TFL), and free safety Jason Gordon (31 TT).
      Edinboro’s return man is junior Lincoln Bufalino, who averages 9.0 yards on punt returns and 18.2 on kick returns. The Scots also have the nation’s 2nd-leading punter in Sean McNicholas (44.6 ypp). Geoff Heyl handles placekicking duties, hitting 7-of-15 field goal attempts with a long of 41 yards. Heyl is 25-of-27 on extra point kicks.

BALD EAGLE NOTES...

THE OFFENSE
       The Lock Haven offense unleashed its most productive outing of the season last weekend, shaking off the low numbers from the previous four games to register 411 yards total offense.
        Leading the charge was junior quarterback Tim Storino (Pittsburgh/Bethel Park), who registered 290 yards, the most yardage for any LHU signal caller since 1995, on 15 completions with two touchdowns. Storino has moved into the top ten in the PSAC in passing average, posting 99.9 yards each time out. On the season, he has thrown a team-high nine touchdowns.
       Storino connected with junior receiver Marcus Burkley (Pittsburgh/Woodland Hills) on one of his two touchdown passes last weekend. Burkley turned a short-yardage gain into a 52-yard touchdown last Saturday, and came out of the game with his first 100-yard performance of the season. On the year, Burkley leads LHU with 518 yards receiving along with seven touchdowns. John Caldwell (Va. Beach, Va./Fork Union Military Academy) (16.6 ypg/1 TD), Scott Anderson (Cortland, Ohio/Lakeview) (13.8 ypg, 1 TD), and tight end Ryan Lightner (Elizabethtown/Lower Dauphin)(12.9 ypg, 1 TD) also figure into the LHU passing game.
       Sophomore running backs Maurice Walker (North Braddock/Woodland Hills), Melvin Kirby (Pittsburgh/Penn Hills), and Justin Marshall (Luthersburg/DuBois) have shared duties in The Haven’s ground game. Walker leads the LHU ground forces with 53.6 yards a game and five touchdowns. Kirby averages 28.6 yards each outing, while Marshall adds an average of 19.3 yards and has scored twice. Fullbacks Dave Mottin (Snow Shoe/Bald Eagle Area) (4.5 ypg, 1 TD) and Josh Stadulis (Willow Grove/Academy of the New Church) (3.0 ypg) have also done work to help advance the ball on the rush, with Mottin scoring his first collegiate touchdown last week on a two-yard scramble up the middle.
       The Lock Haven offensive line centers around freshman Jason Scott (Linden/Williamsport Area). From there, junior guard Bill Cook (York/Central York), sophomore guard Kris Kishbaugh (Berwick/Berwick), junior tackle Keith Boyer (Elizabethtown/Elizabethtown Area), and senior tackle Jason Popp (Hummelstown/Lower Dauphin) protect the remainder of the front.

THE DEFENSE
        Haven defensive stalwart Derrik Metz (Roaring Spring/Central) reached the 100-tackle mark after registering nine stops against Clarion. The first defender to break the century mark since the 1995 season, Metz has 108 total stops including 11.5 tackles for loss. His total ranks him 14th in the nation, and his 79 solo stops ranks him fourth in that respective category. Fellow linebacker Jon Nalewak (Shamokin/Shamokin Area) is second on the team with 77 tackles, including eight for loss, and leads LHU with three fumble recoveries. The third starting linebacker is sophomore Brian Lumpkin (Rockville, Md./Bullis School), who had three stops versus Clarion to bring his season total to 28 tackles.
        Corners Rob Carey (North Braddock/Woodland Hills) and Ngoyi Mukusa (Jim Thorpe/Jim Thorpe) are fourth and fifth on the team defensively, Carey owning 66 total stops including a team-best 10 pass break-ups. Mukusa has 56 total tackles along with three break-ups.
        Strong safety Jim Hanzely (DuBois/DuBois Area) came up with two fumble recoveries along with six tackles last weekend to boost his season total to 42 stops. Free safety John Scullin (Boiling Springs/Boiling Springs) is sixth among Bald Eagles with 47 tackles and shares the team-high of four interceptions along with Derrik Metz.
        Along the front line, junior defensive end Nathan Eck (Jersey Shore/Jersey Shore) is among conference leaders with a team-best 13 tackles for loss. On the season, he has 33 stops and three sacks. Sophomore end Dustin Shaffer (Mayport/Redbank Valley) has posted 28 tackles, while starting tackles Jarrod Hendricks (Rockton/DuBois Area) (26 TT, 2.5 TFL) and Jason Kasheta (Carbondale/Carbondale Area) (12 TT) shore up the middle.

SPECIAL TEAMS
      Rob Carey’s 17.6 yards per punt return average has held strong at second-best in the conference and fourth in the nation despite Clarion’s successful attempts to kick the ball anywhere but to the Haven’s special teams headliner. On kickoffs, The Haven will still force Edinboro to kick away from Carey if need be, putting Carey and Marcus Burkley back deep.
       Freshman kicker Greg Knauss (Laurys Station/Parkland) is second in the PSAC and 23rd in the nation in punting with a 39.9-yard average and is second in the conference in field goals, having hit 6-of-11 attempts.

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