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.tmp) Delaware Valley Vs Lycoming Pregame
Report
Lycoming
Homecoming Preparation Football Style
By
John Green
The weather forecast is for partly
sunny and highs in the 50’s. The game time is scheduled for
Saturday, October 18 at 1:30 pm and the 10th ranked Lycoming College
Warrior football team will be ready for the annual Homecoming Game.
Frank Girardi and the Warrior football team has had a good week of
practice and is ready to go for their 5th straight win of the
season.
This year, Delaware Valley is one of the
surprise teams in the MAC. Head Coach G. A. Mangus is in his second
season for Delaware and has a 6-9 record, four of the wins in the
2003 season. The Aggies shared first place with Lycoming until last
week when DelVal lost to King’s College after leading the game 21-6
late in the second quarter. Meanwhile, Lycoming just defeated the
Devils of FDU-Florham, a team plagued by offensive injuries, but a
determined defensive squad. Lycoming walked off at half time with a
slim 3-0 lead, but put it all together in the second half to win
24-7.
Preparing for a game involves plenty of
work for the coaching staff and the players. Sunday is a big workday
for the coaches. “They are working on tapes and breaking down tapes
from their opponents past games,” Girardi said. “From their work,
they start to formulate an offensive and defensive game plan. On
Monday, we are having shorts really, just going over plays and
personnel. Tuesday and Wednesday are heavy days, and Thursday we
gear down a little. Friday is when we have a walk through in
preparation for the game.” Girardi keeping doing what has given him
success. “I think the thing you have to do when you are coming up
against big games is not to change your format so much. And we are
not going to change our format. We will stay on our normal
schedule.”
After four games in a season, you start
to get a feel about a team. Football teams have a personally and
this year as in every year, the coaching staff learns about what
strengths a team has and some areas that need improvement. You get
the sense that the coaching staff at Lycoming dwells on the positive
aspects of the team and of each player. Most knowledgeable Lycoming
fans realize that the rushing attack this year is below
expectations, but that criticism is not carried onto the practice
sessions. There is always this atmosphere around the staff that is
very positive.
But Coach Girardi will not hesitate to
tell you that everything is not all roses. He does have a concern
with the lack of experience in the running back positions. Against
FDU-Florham, the offense struggled in the first half, especially the
running attack. Frank was not disappointed about the game as a
whole, but was concerned about the rushing game overall. About
Saturday’s game, he felt that “you have to be more consistent
running the football, especially early in a ball game. I think that
if we are going to be championship team, we have got to learn to run
the football a little bit better than we have been.”
Frank thinks Saturday’s game against the
Aggies will be “a heck of a game. I think when people looked at this
game early on, they probably did not think that. They are coming in
4-1 and we are 4-0. For them to get a shot at this championship,
they have to win this ballgame so it is a critical game for both of
us.”
The Lycoming defense is one of the solid
performance areas this season for the Warriors, as they are ranked
first in pass defense and total defense in the MAC. Frank was a
little surprised at the speed of the FDU defense in last Saturday’s
game, but was very happy about the defensive play of his team the
whole game. On the season, Lycoming allows only 15 points a game,
lowest in the MAC. The defense will be stretched against a powerful
Aggies offense Saturday. DelVal is second in rushing offense lead by
two sophomore running backs, Taylor Ramos and Steve Cook. Both
players average around 75 yards per game, 8th and 9th in league
rushing stats. Also, Sophomore QB Kevin Knoblauch is third in
passing efficiency in the league.
But Lycoming has put up impressive
numbers of their own on offense. QB Phil Mann is second in passing
yardage averaging 240 yards per game helped by Ricky Lannetti and
Sean Hennigar who have pulled down 21 receptions each in 2003. And
Lycoming’s special teams is a step above this year as Chris Schrader
leads the MAC in field goals, while Ricky Lannetti is in the top
five in punt returns and kickoff returns.
So get ready for another good game at
David Person Field Saturday, October 18th for homecoming. Kickoff is
at 1:30pm. |
