Thursday, October 24, 2013

Assistant Coach Steve Wiser going for 300th win

Assistant Coach and Defensive Coordinator Steve Wiser (right)
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 hammer report
Junior Craig Needhammer enters today's game within shouting distance of two more milestones. The 5-7 running back needs 11 more yards to become the ninth player in school history to reach 2,000 rushing yards in a career. He also needs just 48 more rushing yards to become the 21st player in school history to post 750 in a season.

Race for 100
Three Lycoming College defensive players enter today's game with a shot at reaching 100 career tackles. Junior safety Tanner Troutman leads the group with 92 tackles while a pair of linebackers are just behind him. Senior Tyler Denike and junior Kyle Sullivan each have 91 career stops.

About the race for 15
The loss to Lebanon Valley on Oct. 12 dropped the Warriors into a four-way tie for first place in the MAC with Widener, Delaware Valley and Lebanon Valley. The loss makes several tiebreaking scenarios a possibility at the end of the regular season to decide the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs. Two things are for certain, though - it is still too early to tell which team in the conference will walk away with the league title and if the Warriors win out, they can do no worse than share a piece of the school's 15th MAC title.

A dynamic duo
Senior Matt Atkinson and sophomore Ryan Umpleby are among the top 10 receivers in the MAC in receptions and yards per game. The duo are the first pair of Warrior receivers to each go over 400 receiving yards since 2008, when Ryan Wagaman and Brad Shellenberger reached the mark.

.500
With a win today, 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 287-107-5  (.726) record during that time.