WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Lycoming (8-1) claimed its 13th Middle Atlantic
Conference championship Saturday afternoon by shutting out Susquehanna
(4-6) 38-0. The Warriors forced seven turnovers and held the Crusader
offense to just 236 yards, while Lycoming's offense found the end zone
five times and compiled 426 total yards. The victory gives the Warriors an
automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Playoffs.
Junior
quarterback Phil Mann completed 13 of 18 passes for 215 yards and two
touchdowns to lead Lycoming's offense. He also added 47 yards rushing and
another pair of touchdowns. Ricky Lannetti was the game's leading receiver
with six catches for 141 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown reception.
Drew Corsilli was the Warriors' leading rusher with 62 yards on 11
carries, including one score.
Defensively, Lycoming recorded five
interceptions and two fumbles, while limiting Susquehanna to 236 yards of
total offense including just 25 yards rushing. Brian Kaspick led the way
with seven tackles and a pair of interceptions. Sean McGinley added five
tackles and a game-high three sacks. Tim Schmidt, Matt Murdock, and Kevin
LeSage each intercepted a pass for the Warriors.
For the Crusaders,
Craig Ulrich completed 13 of 39 passes for 196 yards. His favorite target
was Mark Bartosic who caught eight passes for 131 yards. Defensively,
Larry Cannon recorded a game-high 11 tackles.
Lycoming opened the
scoring on their very first possession, marching 64 yards on five plays
for a touchdown. Corsilli ran for 36 of the 64 yards on three running
plays, including a 27-yard sprint for the score. Chris Schrader added the
extra point for a 7-0 lead.
The Warriors scored their second
touchdown later in the quarter. Garrett Zoschg gave the offense great
field position by recovering a Susquehanna fumble on the Crusader 35-yard
line. Lycoming then gained 8 yards on three plays to set up a fourth-and-2
from the 27. Mann called his own number on a draw play and scampered 27
yards to paydirt. Schrader again added the point after.
On their
first possession of the second quarter, the Warriors stretched their lead
to 21-0 with a 52-yard, seven-play drive. Mann again capped the drive
himself, this time diving into the end zone on a fourth-and-goal from the
1-yard line. A 25-yard completion from Mann to Lannetti keyed the
drive.
Lycoming forced the Crusaders to punt after four plays on
the ensuing possession. Lannetti mishandled the punt but recovered it
himself on the Warriors' 20-yard line. He quickly made up for his
near-mistake. On the very first play from scrimmage, Mann lofted a pass
deep down the sideline and Lannetti ran under it at the Susquehanna
40-yard line before out-sprinting his defender to the end zone for the
80-yard scoring strike. Schrader's extra point made the score 28-0 with
seven minutes to play in the half.
Schrader added three more points
to Lycoming's total in the closing seconds of the first half by connecting
on a career-long 42-yard field goal.
In the second half, the
Warriors again scored on their first possession. LeSage set up the drive
by intercepting a pass and returning it to the Crusader 31-yard line. Six
plays later, Mann found Sean Hennigar for a 9-yard touchdown pass.
Schrader added his fifth extra-point of the afternoon to cap the
scoring.
Lycoming will now wait to find out their first-round
opponent in the NCAA playoffs and where the game will be played. The
entire bracket for the Division III playoffs will be announced live on
ESPNews at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday.
Lannetti's six receptions give him
a school-record 65 for the season. Bartosic, the only player in NCAA
history to record four consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons, was held
to just one catch for 11 yards in the first half and three catches for 54
yards through three quarters. He added five receptions for 77 yards in the
fourth quarter and was the intended receiver on 10 of Susquehanna's final
16 pass attempts.