Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Lycoming footbal leading in several Middle Atlantic Conference categories

Jr Craig Needhammer leading the way
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.