Friday Tailgate 9.29

Now the preliminaries are out of the way ... it's time for Conference play to begin ... the 24th season of Centennial Conference football begins Saturday with games in Allentown, Baltimore and Collegeville ... it's a showdown between the coaches' favorite and the fans' favorite at Homewood Field, as Dickinson visits Johns Hopkins ... the Blue Jays were the choice of the coaches and SIDs in the annual preseason poll to capture their fifth straight CC title ... the Red Devils were the pick of the fans who participated in an online poll at www.centennial.org ... Hopkins has won 14 of its last 15 Conference openers ... yards will be tough to come by on the ground, as Dickinson is allowing just 49.0 rushing yards per game (17th nationally) and JHU is surrendering only 86.7 ... Blue Jay RB Phil Roberts is ranked 15th in the country in rushing offense (123.0) ... it is the 90th meeting between Franklin & Marshall and Muhlenberg and the 49th time that the long-time rivals have meet in Allentown ... the previous 48 meetings were split 24-24 ... two of the top three QBs in total offense will be on display in F&M's Kyle Turner (Haddonfield, NJ / Haddonfield) and 'Berg's Eric Santagato (Ringwood, NJ / Lakeland Regional) ... the Diplomats and the Mules are the only two teams in the Conference that have not surrendered points on the first drive of the game in 2006 ... Muhlenberg is 16th nationally in total defense (185.3) ... quick - when was the last time that Ursinus was 4-0? ... if you said 1996, you obviously follow UC and CC football ... if you knew that the Bears knocked off McDaniel (then Western Maryland) to get to 4-0, we may have a position for you in the Conference office ... the Green Terror has won nine straight in the series and four in a row at Patterson Field ... Ursinus is ranked fifth in Division III in scoring defense (5.0) ... two of the teams ahead of the Bears are NESCAC teams that recorded shutouts in their only game of the season ... read more on our GameDay page.

Top Performances in CC Lidlifters 1983-2005
Johns Hopkins' Adam Gentile rushed for 219 yards in 1999 against Swarthmore ... that effort was surpassed the next season by teammate Scott Martorana, who ran for 226 vs. the Garnet ... Dickinson's Tommy Chung ran wild vs. Muhlenberg in 1997, carrying 30 times for 248 yards ... in 1999, Muhlenberg QB Michael McCabe threw for 471 yards and four TDs vs. Dickinson ... the following year, he tossed five scoring passes in a 375-yard effort vs. the Red Devils ... in 1990, McDaniel's Mike Hamm threw for 359 yards and three scores vs. Gettysburg ... Terror WR Andy Steckel had 12 receptions for 292 yards in that contest ... in 1991, Ursinus' Bill Sedgwick returned a kickoff 95 yards for a score vs. Franklin & Marshall ... two of the Conference's five all-time 50-yard field goals occurred in the Conference openers ... Hopkins' Todd Bencivenni booted a 51-yarder vs. Swarthmore in 1997, while Dickinson's Joel Heintzelman converted a 50-yarder vs. Muhlenberg in 1999.

Strange Stat of the Day: the five most time-consuming drives of the season have ended with just one score ... F&M's 8:40 drive at Carnegie Mellon was capped with a touchdown ... the four other drives, ranging from 6:51 to 7:35, have twice ended in picks, once with a missed field goal and once on downs.

Field Hockey Notebook 9.27

Do you realize that Ursinus can practically wrap up a CC playoff spot this week? ... since the Centennial moved to a five-team playoff format, no team with three or fewer Conference losses has failed to make the tournament field ... Ursinus is currently 4-0 with games against Franklin & Marshall (Wed.) and McDaniel (Sat.) this week ... UC has a 34-game Centennial regular-season winning streak, following its 3-0 win over Washington ... the Bears' Molly Stevens (Hummelstown, PA / Lower Dauphin) has 28 career assists and needs two more to become just the third Centennial player to reach the 30-assist plateau for a career ... Swarthmore's Danielle Duffy (1994-97) holds the all-time record with 78 ... congratulations to Beth Walkenbach as she picked up her first career coaching victory when Franklin & Marshall defeated Haverford, 5-2 ... on the other side of the coin, Johns Hopkins' Megan Callahan (pictured) set the school career record for wins (108) when the Blue Jays defeated #16 Catholic, 3-1, last Saturday ... Muhlenberg scored a touchdown in its 6-0 win against Haverford ... it was the third-highest goal total in a CC contest for the Mules ... Ursinus' Jess Rogers (Selinsgrove, PA / Selinsgrove) leads the CC in scoring with eight goals and three assists for 19 points ... Swarthmore's Abigail Fischer (Sudbury, MA / Lincoln Sudbury) and Ashley Gunter (Crisfield, MD / Worcester Prep), along with UC's Jennie Moore (Phoenixville, PA / Phoenixville) are second in goals (6) ... Johns Hopkins' Emily Miller (Garden City, NY / Garden City) tops the assist chart with six ... Ursinus' Jess Lamina (Doylestown, PA / Central Bucks West) and Dickinson's Amanda West (Harleysville, PA / North Penn) are 1-2 in goals against average ... VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR: Ursinus is posting video clips from some of its games this season and can be found here.

Soccer Notebook

There are just three men's and three women's teams with undefeated Centennial records after two weeks of Conference play ... both Gettysburg and Johns Hopkins teams have spotless records, while the Dickinson women and Franklin & Marshall men are also unbeaten and untied ... the Blue Jay women were ranked third in the region and 11th nationally by the NSCAA last week and 13th nationally by D3kicks.com ... JHU outshot Muhlenberg, 22-3, on its way to a 3-1 win over the Mules to improve to 6-1 overall ... Gettysburg's Katie Myers (Randallstown, MD / WSTES) became the 12th Centennial player to score 40 goals in a career with her two-goal outburst against Swarthmore ... she now has 41 for her career and is tied with McDaniel's Erin Murphey (1993-97) and Dickinson's Heather Ganley (1993-96) for seventh place on the all-time Centennial list ... Myers is 11 points shy of becoming the 11th CC player to reach 100 points for a career ... Dickinson's Sarah Casey (Severna Park, MD / Archbishop Spalding) scored twice in the Devils' 3-1 win at Ursinus ... she leads the CC with 3-2-8 in Centennial matches ... McDaniel knocked Bryn Mawr from the unbeaten ranks with a 1-0 win on the Main Line ... Jamie Janowich (Sykesville, MD / South Carroll) scored the match's lone goal ... the Owls have not scored against the Green Terror since 2000 ... Washington matched its win total from 2005 (3) with a 3-1 win over Goucher ... Megan Russell (Federalsburg, MD / Seaford Christian, DE) notched the hat trick and became the first Shorewoman to earn CC Player of the Week honors since 2002 ... the biggest surprise on the men's side last week may have been Gettysburg's 2-1 overtime win vs. Swarthmore ... the Bullets tied the match in the 88th minute and Chris Bayon (Langhorne, PA / Lawrenceville School, NJ) notched the game-winner with 32 seconds left in overtime ... Muhlenberg continued its mastery of Washington College with a 2-1 win ... the Mules are 18-0-2 all-time against the Shoremen ... Danny Coble (Fremont, CA / Bellarmine College Prep) recorded his sixth shutout of the season as Johns Hopkins blanked McDaniel, 1-0 ... the Jays are ranked 23rd nationally by the NSCAA ... Franklin & Marshall has won six straight following a 2-0 win over Haverford ... Dickinson's Dale Rodman (Bethesda, MD / Walt Whitman) scored the first two goals of his collegiate career as the Devils defeated Neumann and Ursinus ... three key matches dot the week's schedule, including a pair on Wednesday ... Gettysburg travels to Johns Hopkins in the 68th renewal of their long-time rivalry ... Hopkins holds a 7-5-4 lead since 1993 and 40-19-8 overall ... the Bullets' last win at Homewood Field was in 2000 (1-0) ... Muhlenberg visits Franklin & Marshall, looking for its first regular-season win over the Diplomats in Lancaster since 1996 ... the Mules did knock off F&M, 1-0, in overtime in a 2004 CC 1st round playoff match ... on Saturday, Swarthmore plays host to the Diplomats in search of its fourth straight win against the Blue and White.

Monday Morning Quarterback

The Conference went 1-2 last weekend in non-Centennial games with Gettysburg posting the lone victory, a 31-14 triumph over Denison ... Bullet freshman QB Matt Flynn (Northfield, NJ / Mainland Regional) threw three touchdown passes in his first collegiate start, including a pair to RB Dusty Green (Idaville, PA / Bermudian Springs) ... Flynn has thrown eight TD passes in the last two games - a significant stat when one considers that only Dickinson's Matt Torchia (Kinnelon, NJ / Kinnelon) among CC passers threw as many in the entire 2005 season ... Gettysburg junior RB Tom Sturges (Ridgefield, CT / Ridgefield) was the offensive player of the week in the CC after rushing for 186 yards on 31 carries ... he became just the seventh back in Bullet history to amass 2,000 yards in a career and now has 2,149 ... Franklin & Marshall's defense held undefeated Carnegie Mellon 72 yards under its season rushing average of 220 ... unfortunately, the Tartans made up for it by throwing for 253 - 114 over their average - in the 34-14 win over the Diplomats ... Johns Hopkins marched 54 yards in eight plays, capped by a Phil Roberts (Philadelphia, PA / Chestnut Hill) 9-yard scoring run, to take a 20-14 lead over homestanding St. Lawrence with 3:41 to play ... the Saints countered with a match of their own, driving 88 yards in 15 plays, with Matt Bezio passing 6 yards to Brett Young for the winning score with 28 ticks left in a 21-20 SLU victory ... Centennial play begins this weekend with three games - Dickinson at Johns Hopkins, Franklin & Marshall at Muhlenberg, and McDaniel visiting Ursinus. Game previews, stats and more are available on the Centennial's weekly football release.

Five-Star Matchups

Swarthmore at McDaniel (Volleyball)
The Garnet (9-3, 2-0) travels to Westminster to take on the Green Terror (8-4, 0-0) in a match that decided the fifth and final playoff spot a year ago. Swarthmore has never defeated McDaniel at the Gill Center.

Gettysburg at Swarthmore (Field Hockey)
The Bullets (4-2) and the Garnet (5-2) meet in the Conference opener for both teams. Gettysburg has won five straight games in the series since a 4-2 Swarthmore victory at home in 2000.

Swarthmore at Gettysburg (Men's Soccer)
The Garnet (5-1, 1-0) travel to the Battlefield to take on the Bullets (6-1, 1-0) in a battle of undefeated Centennial teams. Swarthmore broke a 12-game Gettysburg win streak in the series with a 2-0 triumph last season at Clothier Field.

Swarthmore at Gettysburg (Women's Soccer)
Noticing a trend? The Garnet (5-0-1, 1-0) are one of two unbeaten teams in the Conference. The Bullets (4-2-1, 1-0) holds an 11-1-1 lead in the series since 1993, but Swarthmore's lone win came at Gettysburg in 2002.

Friday Tailgate

Only three of the Conference's seven teams are in action on Saturday in the last weekend before Centennial play begins. Franklin & Marshall (1-1) hits the road for the first time in 2006, taking the Turnpike to Pittsburgh to face Carnegie Mellon. The Tartans are 3-0 on the season and are on their way to CMU's 32nd consecutive non-losing season. The Diplomats will have their hands full with a Tartan defense that is ranked 13th in the country in total defense, allowing just 168.0 yards per game. F&M QB Kyle Turner (Haddonfield, NJ / Haddonfield) leads the CC in passing yardage (197.5 ypg) and total offense (220.0 ypg). The Diplomats have not won in Pittsburgh since 1965 ... Gettysburg (1-2) is the lone home CC team this weekend, playing host to the Big Red of Denison. The visitors are winless following losses to Case Western Reserve and Randolph-Macon. Bullet freshman QB Matt Flynn (Northfield, NJ / Mainland Regional) tied a program record and set a Centennial rookie record with five touchdown passes last weekend in the shootout loss at Rochester ... Johns Hopkins (1-1) makes the longest trip of the week and the season as the Blue Jays head to the North Country to take on St. Lawrence (0-2). Hopkins is 20-3 in the month of September since 2000 and 31-8 since 1995. OT Phil Dixon (Toms River, NJ / Toms River North) is scheduled to make his 33rd consecutive start for the Jays, second only to WR Anthony Triplin (Baltimore, MD / Gilman) who has 35 straight starts.

Volleyball Notebook

Dickinson, Franklin & Marshall and Swarthmore all recorded Conference victories on Tuesday ... the Red Devils took a 3-1 decision from visiting Muhlenberg ... Ashley Young (Hume, VA / Fauquier) had 18 kills, three blocks and four service aces for Dickinson, while Elitsa Gosheva (Sofia, Bulgaria) added 17 kills ... the Diplomats made it 15 straight wins against Bryn Mawr with a 3-0 sweep at home ... Maritza Fair (Bronx, NY / The Nightingale, Bamford School) had 10 kills for F&M ... Swarthmore's Erica George (Phoenix, AZ / Mountain Pointe) became the first Garnet player to amass 1,000 kills in a career in the sweep of Washington ... George had a match-high 17 kills to boost her career total to 1,012 ... head coach Harleigh Leach won her 50th career match, as Swarthmore improved to 9-3 - the best 12-game start in school history ... Haverford received votes once again for the AVCA top 25 after winning the Lebanon Valley Dutchman Invitational ... Emily Hinchcliff (Ithaca, NY / Ithaca), and sisters Rachel and Rebecca Salvo (La Canada, CA / Flintridge Sacred Heart) were named to the All-Tournament team ... the Fords are 13-1 and off to their best start since the 2000 club began the year 14-1 ... Gettysburg also won a weekend tournament, sweeping four matches to take home the Centre Invitational trophy ... keeping up with the Joneses, Johns Hopkins captured the Maryland State Division III tournament ... Kim Jackanich (Pacifica, CA / St. Ignatius College Prep) was named the tourney MVP ... two key Conference matches are on tap this weekend, as Franklin & Marshall visits Haverford on Friday, and Swarthmore travels to McDaniel on Saturday ... the Diplomats and Fords have split their last two CC matches which both went five games ... the Garnet's win at home against the Green Terror last season clinched Swarthmore's first-ever playoff berth ... Swarthmore has never defeated McDaniel in Westminster.

Field Hockey Notebook

Ursinus had its four-game win streak snapped at TCNJ on Tuesday, 2-1 ... the Bears had knocked off #4 Rowan and #20 Catholic in addition to CC victories over Bryn Mawr and Dickinson ... Jess Rogers (Selinsgrove, PA / Selinsgrove) and Jennie Moore (Phoenixville, PA / Phoenixville) lead the team with six goals, while Kait Sutherland (Perkiomenville, PA / Perkiomen Valley) has a team-best four assists ... Sutherland is one assist (17) shy of cracking the Centennial's career top 20 in that category ... Swarthmore's Summer Spicer (Laurel, DE / Laurel), Haverford's Zoe Lloyd (Southampton, NY / Southampton) and Bryn Mawr's Rachel Brady (Glen Ridge, NJ / Glen Ridge) were all named to the All-Seven Sisters team ... Muhlenberg went on the road for the first time this season after six straight home games and defeated Drew, 4-0 - the Mules' biggest road shutout win since 1992 ... seven different players scored goals in Johns Hopkins' 9-0 rout of Notre Dame ... it was the 107th career win for coach Megan Callahan, tying her for the all-time lead at JHU with Sally Beth Anderson ... Conference play kicks into high gear on Saturday ... Franklin & Marshall looks for its ninth straight win against Haverford when it travels to the Main Line ... the Fords' last victories in the series came at home in 1995 and 1997 ... Gettysburg visits Swarthmore looking to extend its five-game win streak over the Garnet ... Muhlenberg crosses the Mason-Dixon line to take on McDaniel ... the Mules are in search of their first win in Westminster since 2000 ... Washington travels north to take on Ursinus ... the Bears are 4-0 all-time against the Shorewomen.

Women's Soccer Notebook

The Conference has two teams ranked in the NSCAA Mid-Atlantic Region rankings this week, as Johns Hopkins (3) and Gettysburg (6) received mention ... the Blue Jays are ranked 11th nationally and make their home debut on Wednesday against Frostburg ... Swarthmore remained unbeaten with a 2-0 win at Franklin & Marshall ... Katie Kanuka (Oakville, Ontario / Holy Trinity Catholic) scored both goals and Kristen Traband (Swarthmore, PA / Ridley) and Anna de Regt (Redmond, WA / Overlake) combined for a shutout ... Gettysburg opened the CC season with a win for the 13th time in 14 years with a 2-1 triumph over Ursinus ... Katie Myers (Randallstown, MD / WSTES) scored one of the goals for the Bullets, giving her 39 for her career ... she is one shy of becoming the 12th Centennial player to score 40 in a career ... Muhlenberg matched its win total for all of 2005 (4) with a 2-0 win at Rutgers-Newark ... Kayla Boisvert (Groton, MA / Groton-Dunstable Regional) made 1 save to record her 10th career shutout ... Jess Griggs (Randolph, NJ / Newark Academy) and Lisa Nichols (N. Granby, CT / Granby Memorial) each had a pair of goals as Dickinson easily handled Washington, 9-0 ... two key games are on tap on Saturday in the CC, as Swarthmore puts its unbeaten record on the line at Gettysburg, and Dickinson visits Ursinus in a matchup of two 2005 CC playoff teams ... the Garnet's lone win over the Bullets came in 2002 at the Battlefield ... the Red Devils won two times last season to close the all-time deficit to 6-5.

Men's Soccer Notebook

The Centennial began Conference play last season with no real surprises ... Johns Hopkins continued its "Homewood Hex" over Muhlenberg with a 2-0 win over the 12th ranked Mules ... 'Berg is 0-8-1 vs. the Blue Jays at Homewood Field and is 0-9-1 all-time on the JHU turf ... Nick Kosik (Emmaus, PA / Emmaus) scored both goals for Hopkins, who is now 12-0-1 in their last 13 home matches and 125-10-10 under coach Matt Smith at Homewood ... Muhlenberg's No. 12 ranking was the highest for the school since garnering the 8th spot for two weeks in 1997 ... Gettysburg B Mike Tirney (Springfield, PA / Springfield) was the leader of a Bullet defense that allowed just one shot on goal in two games last week ... Jesse Gemberling-Johnson (Wyndmoor, PA / Christopher Dock) scored the winning goal for the Orange and Blue in overtime against Haverford in the 103rd minute ... Dickinson outshot Swarthmore, 19-5, but the Garnet made its shots count in a 2-0 win over the Red Devils ... Stu Leon (Wrentham, MA / King Phillip Regional) and Ladule Lako lo Sarah (Davis, CA / Claremont) both scored first-half goals and Ryan Sutcliffe (Milford, DE / Milford) made them stand up for his second straight shutout ... Franklin & Marshall made it four straight wins with a 4-0 triumph at McDaniel ... Chris Campbell (Narberth, PA / Friends Central) had a goal and an assist, while Ed Stelz (Washingtonville, NY / Loomis Chaffee) registered his school-record setting 15th shutout ... Jordan Lange (Hyde Park, NY / Franklin D. Roosevelt) scored the "golden goal" in the 101st minute to lift Washington past Ursinus, 1-0 ... Marc Petrucci (Avondale, PA / Avon Grove) made eight saves for his second shutout in three games ... Dickinson's Andy Rowek (West Orange, NJ / Seton Hall) scored the fifth fastest goal to start a game in Division III history, tallying just 12 seconds into a match at Susquehanna ... McDaniel battled second-ranked Messiah for 106 minutes before surrending an overtime goal to fall to the defending national champions, 1-0.

Monday Morning Quarterback

Defense was the order of the day in the three Centennial non-conference victories, as Dickinson held Merchant Marine to just 38 rushing yards in a 20-7 victory; McDaniel allowed Catholic just 73 yards on the ground in a 14-13 triumph; while Ursinus kept La Salle out of the end zone (at least the one that gives six points) in a 6-2 victory over the Explorers ... "We gave our defense the game ball," Dickinson coach Darwin Breaux said. "They did everything you could ask of a defensive unit" ... the Red Devils' Chris McInerney (Philadelphia, PA / Chestnut Hill Academy) had the second-longest kickoff return in school and Conference history with his 98-yard jaunt for a score against USMMA ... the Green Terror defense did allow 341 total yards against CUA, but didn't break, especially in the crucial third quarter ... Catholic had four drives in the quarter and started three times at midfield or better ... McDaniel forced three punts and no points that kept it within reach ... it is the seventh straight win for the Terror over the Cardinals and prevented the first 0-3 start since 1996 ... Ursinus did not allow a touchdown for the second time in three games in the win over the Division I-AAA Explorers ... "The bottom line is, we have a championship defense here. We gave up zero touchdowns in the first game, and we didn’t give up a touchdown today. That’s the type of play that wins you games," Ursinus coach Peter Gallagher said ... it is the first 3-0 start for the Bears since 1996 ... Franklin & Marshall played its first home night game ever but came up on the short end of a 21-13 decision to Kean ... trailing 21-0, the Diplomat offense came alive right after a post-game fireworks display began at nearby Clipper Magazine Stadium (home of the Lancaster baseball team) ... QB Kyle Turner (Haddonfield, NJ / Haddonfield) led F&M to consecutive scoring drives to close the deficit to eight points with 7:15 remaining ... on the next drive, the Diplomats marched from their 27 to the Kean 8, but could not get in the end zone ... Gettysburg took aim at the record book in its 54-42 loss at Rochester ... the 96 points ties a CC record for combined points, while the 42 is the most ever by a Centennial team in a loss ... QB Matt Flynn (Northfield, NJ / Mainland Regional) equaled a school record by throwing for five touchdowns ... he completed 18 of 31 passes for 288 yards on the day ... RB Tom Sturges (Ridgefield, CT / Ridgefield) rushed for 159 yards and is just 37 shy of the 2,000-yard mark for his career ... Muhlenberg dropped a 34-7 decision to No. 22 Union, as the Dutchmen scored 27 unanswered points to break open a 7-all game ... QB Eric Santagato (Ringwood, NJ / Lakeland Regional) threw for a career-high 156 yards and a touchdown to TE Derek DiMattina (Northport, NY / Northport)

Five-Star Matchups

Years ago, USA TODAY ran a Friday feature on the weekend ahead in the NFL. The author gave out stars based upon the "significance" of the game ... five stars to the top games and one to the clunkers.

The Centennial Conference staff liked the feature so much ... we claimed it for our own a few years ago and list our "Five-Star Matchups" on our Daily Update that is sent out to subscribers via email. If you would like to receive the Daily Update, please drop us a note at kkupec@centennial.org.

We'll post our Five-Star Matchups here on the Centennial blog on Saturdays, letting you know what we think are the games to watch in the Conference. We hope to see you at a Conference event today!

***** FIVE-STAR MATCHUPS *****

#12 Muhlenberg at Johns Hopkins (Men's Soccer), 4:00
This traditional CC lidlifter is one of the premier matches of any Centennial season. The Mules (3-0) have never defeated the Blue Jays (5-1) in Baltimore in nine tries (0-8-1). Of course, Hopkins has not won in Allentown since 2001, allowing the series to be deadlocked at 10-10-1.

Swarthmore at Franklin & Marshall (Women's Soccer), 12:00
Two of the three unbeaten teams in the Conference meet in the CC opener. The Diplomats (5-0) lead the series, 23-2-1, but the Garnet (3-0-1) has taken two of the last three including the 2004 meeting in Lancaster. Three of the last four matches have gone to overtime.

The Pros

Who said no one from the Centennial Conference makes the pros?

Did you know that the Director of Pro Personnel of the Philadelphia Eagles is a Dickinson College Graduate? Josh Byrnes, a 1992 graduate of Haverford, is the general manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Back to Dickinson, Jeff Kingston is the Director of Baseball Operations for the San Diego Padres.

Friday Tailgate

The Conference was an impressive 5-2 last week outside the Centennial, including a perfect 3-0 against the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) ... the CC is now 8-5 against non-conference opponents through two weeks after posting a 12-18 mark a year ago ... Gettysburg TB Tom Sturges (Ridgefield, CT / Ridgefield) racked up his eighth 100-yard game of his career with 174 against Hampden-Sydney ... RB Dusty Green (Idaville, PA / Bermudian Springs) also gained 126 yards on the ground, marking the 1st time that the Bullets had two runners surpass the century mark in a game since Mike Schwalb and Joe Gossweiler vs. St. Lawrence in 2002 ... the Bullets have yet to turn the ball over this season, while forcing five turnovers ... Johns Hopkins has had trouble holding onto the football, losing seven fumbles to go along with two interceptions for a minus-8 turnover margin ... Ursinus' defense has forced nine turnovers ... Franklin & Marshall and Muhlenberg are ranked among the top 15 teams in D-III in total defense ... the Diplomats are 11th (128.0) while the Mules are 13th (133.0) ... Dickinson QB Matt Torchia (Kinnelon, NJ / Kinnelon) is 20th in passing efficiency (169.9 pts) ... McDaniel boasts four sets of brothers on the 2006 squad - Tom and Travis Wenrich (Wernersville, PA / Conrad Weiser), Chris and Tyler Martin (Clarksville, MD / River Hill), Vince and Andrew Rusbosin (Mt. Airy, MD / South Carroll), and Paul and Greg Boyd (Hockessin, DE / A.I. duPont) ... the Green Terror has not started a season 0-3 since 1996 ... in the eight years prior to Mike Donnelly's arrival at Muhlenberg, the Mules won a total of 18 games ... in his ninth season, Donnelly has a 58-39 record ... Muhlenberg has converted nearly as many fourth-down opportunities (5) as third downs (7) ... Franklin & Marshall held the football for 42:21 against Washington and Lee last week ... Johns Hopkins PK Ben Scott (Pittsburgh, PA / Shady Side Academy) tied a 23-year-old Conference record with his 52-yard field goal at Randolph-Macon ... F&M's Mark Slevin set the record against Swarthmore in 1983 ... it is just the fifth 50-yard FG in the Conference's history ... perhaps Ursinus should consider a two-back set? ... RB Aaron Harper (Philadelphia, PA /Peddie School) ran for 153 yards against Susquehanna, but sat out last week ... in his stead, RB David Ashworth (Egg Harbor, NJ / Absegami) rushed for 151 yards ... Dickinson WR Chris McInerney (Philadelphia, PA / Chesnut Hill Academy) is tied for the CC lead in receptions (11) and leads the league in TDs (4) and scoring (24) ... no Red Devil receiver has led the CC in catches and yards since Tom Cook in 1984 ... Muhlenberg P Ryan Sassaman (Bear, DE / St. Elizabeth) is 4-for-4 as a passer in his career with two TDs, including last week's 51-yarder vs. William Paterson.

Volleyball Notebook

Franklin & Marshall, Gettysburg and Swarthmore opened their CC schedules with victories this week ... Margot Phelan (Ellicott City, MD / Centennial) had 18 kills, four aces and four digs as the Diplomats swept Washington ... Amanda Krampf (Gaithersburg, MD / Gaithersburg) and Katie Heffner (Easton, PA / Easton) each had double-doubles as the Bullets took three straight from Bryn Mawr ... the Garnet battled back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Ursinus ... Jen Wang (Palo Alto, CA / Henry Gunn) had a season-high 18 kills for Swarthmore ... Haverford posted an impressive three-game sweep over Eastern, who received votes in the preseason AVCA poll, Wednesday night.

Field Hockey Notebook

Muhlenberg senior LisaAnn Polt (Somers, NJ / Mainland Regional) and Dickinson junior Morgan Kelly (Gaithersburg, MD / Bullis School) were honored as the Conference's Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week ... two Centennial teams are ranked in this week's NFCHA Division III Top 20 as Ursinus comes in at No. 7 and Gettysburg at No. 13 ... the Bears may make an upward move after Tuesday's 3-2 double-overtime win over No. 4 Rowan ... Jennie Moore (Phoenixville, PA / Phoenixville) scored the game-winner nearly four minutes into the second extra period ... it was the third straight year that UC has knocked off the Profs in OT ... Swarthmore put up an 11-spot on Notre Dame (Md.) last Saturday - the most goals scored by a Garnet squad since an 11-0 win over Elms in 1998 ... Natalie Stone (Philadelphia, PA / Friends Select)) and Ashley Gunter (Crisfield, MD / Worcester Prep) each scored three times ... Johns Hopkins is not taking it easy this week, battling top-ranked Salisbury on Wednesday and #3 TCNJ on Saturday ... head coach Megan Callahan is just one win shy of the school record for career wins of 107, set by Sally Beth Anderson ... Muhlenberg also has a date with a top-20 opponent as No. 6 Montclair State comes calling on Saturday ... click here for all the latest statistics in the CC.

Women's Soccer Notebook

Three teams remain unbeaten after two weeks of play ... the most surprising - Bryn Mawr ... the Owls continued their fast start with wins over Peace, 3-0, and North Carolina Wesleyan, 2-0 ... Mia Theroux (Diamondale, MI / Holt) netted her fifth goal of the season vs. the Bishops ... Franklin & Marshall head coach Steve O'Day won his 100th career match when the Diplomats blanked Goucher, 3-0 ... Swarthmore Gk Lauren Walker (Fallston, MD / The Hotchkiss School) made eight saves, including a lunging stop of a shot in the second overtime to preserve a 0-0 draw with Widener ... Johns Hopkins GK Kerry Hamilton (Rockville Centre, NY / South Side) turned away eight shots but #4 ranked Puget Sound scored in the second overtime to down the Blue Jays, 1-0 ... Hopkins has run the gauntlet thus far schedule-wise with #1 Messiah (ppd), #5 Oneonta (W 1-0), #7 Puget Sound (L 0-1) and #2 TCNJ (Oct.) on the docket ... Amanda Leatherman (Monrovia, MD / Urbana) made her first goal of the season a memorable one as Ursinus defeated Moravian, 2-1, in overtime ... McDaniel GK Michelle Mullen (Pasadena, MD / Chesapeake) had a busy day in the 2-1 loss to Frostburg, making 20 saves ... CONFERENCE OPENERS: The 2006 CC schedule kicks off Saturday with five matches, highlighted by #12 Johns Hopkins visiting Haverford in a rematch of the 2004 and 2005 Centennial semifinals ... the Fords are 3-0-1 at home against Hopkins since 1998 ... Dickinson looks for its eighth straight win against Washington ... Franklin & Marshall has a 23-2-1 all-time record vs. Swarthmore, but the Garnet has won two of the last three ... three of the last five matches have gone to OT, while all five have been decided by a single goal ... Ursinus and Gettysburg meet in a rematch of the 2005 CC first round match which saw the Bears advance by PKs ... McDaniel looks for its first win in Allentown since 1996 when it travels to Muhlenberg.

Men's Soccer Notebook

The Conference is 25-11-1 against non-Centennial opponents for a 68.9 winning percentage ... the CC's best mark was a 61.8 winning percentage in 2005 ... Franklin & Marshall's 1-0 win at 20th ranked Virginia Wesleyan was the Conference's second win over a non-CC top 20 opponent in four tries this season ... the Centennial was 0-4-1 last season vs. the top 25, 1-5 in 2004 and 1-6-1 in 2003 ... Muhlenberg is undefeated and unscored upon on its way to a No. 12 national ranking this week ... it's the first time since 1999 and the fourth time in team history that the Mules have blanked their first three opponents ... Johns Hopkins fell out of the top 25 following a 1-0 loss to Wilkes - the Blue Jays' first loss since Oct. 12, 2005, ending a 13-match unbeaten streak ... Dickinson's Carlyle Balfour (Montclair, NJ / Montclair) scored twice, including the game-winner in overtime, as the Red Devils defeated Drew, 2-1 ... McDaniel made it three straight wins - all by shutout - with a 2-0 triumph over La Roche ... Haverford's Josef Bartels (Santa Fe, NM / Santa Fe) and Brian Doherty (Iveryton, CT / Valley Regional) were named to the Jimmy Mills All-Tournament team ... CONFERENCE OPENERS: The 2006 Conference openers are Saturday with No. 12 Muhlenberg traveling to Johns Hopkins in the highlight match ... the all-time series is tied at 10-10-1, but the Mules have not won in Baltimore since the formation of the CC in 1994 (6-0-2) ... Haverford looks for its first win against Gettysburg since 1987 ... Franklin & Marshall and McDaniel have the second-oldest series in the Conference, dating to 1926 ... the Green Terror has won three straight to narrow the series deficit to 38-30-3 ... Washington has won four straight from Ursinus, while Swarthmore has gone 2-0-1 against Dickinson since dropping 11 in a row to the Red Devils.

Monday Morning Quarterback

It was a good weekend for Centennial football, as the Conference teams went 5-2 against non-CC opponents ... it could have been even better, as Dickinson (1-1) had No. 18 ranked Hobart on the ropes before the Statesmen scored a late touchdown to pull out a 31-28 victory ... QB Matt Torchia (Kinnelon, NJ / Kinnelon) completed 21 of 31 passes for 227 yards and three scores - two to WR Chris McInerney (Philadelphia, PA / Chestnut Hill Academy) ... Torchia has completed 72 percent of his passes through two games for 328 yards and five TDs ... Franklin & Marshall (1-0) made a winner of John Troxell in his first game as F&M's head coach with a 21-7 victory over Washington and Lee ... interesting fact: the last seven new Diplomat coaches have won their openers dating to 1948 ... QB Kyle Turner (Haddonfield, NJ / Haddonfield) threw for two scores and ran for another, as Franklin & Marshall held the ball for 40 minutes ... the Diplomats play host to Kean on Saturday night in the first-ever night game at Sponaugle-Williamson Field ... Gettysburg (1-1) snapped an eight-game losing streak to Hampden-Sydney with a 28-20 victory ... TB Tom Sturges (Ridgefield, CT / Ridgefield) and HB Dusty Green (Idaville, PA / Bermudian Springs) combined for 306 yards, marking the first time since Nov. 2, 2002 that the Bullets had two 100-yard rushers in the same game ... it was Sturges' eighth career 100-yard effort (176), while it was the second for Green (132) ... Johns Hopkins (1-1) came back from an early 14-point deficit to defeat Randolph-Macon, 21-14 ... QB Shane Kibbe (Montgomery, PA / Montgomery) threw a 21-yard TD pass to WR Evan Earnest (Lancaster, PA / Hempfield) with 43 seconds left for the winning score ... PK Ben Scott (Pittsburgh, PA / Shady Side Academy) tied a Conference record with a 52-yard field goal ... F&M's Mark Slevin also booted a 52-yarder against Swarthmore in 1983 ... Scott now has tied the Centennial career mark with 33 field goals ... the Blue Jays are minus-8 in turnover margin through two games ... McDaniel (0-2) dropped a 17-7 decision to Seton Hill ... the Green Terror has not started a year at 0-3 since 1996 ... the McDaniel ground game produced just 27 yards and has only 112 in two contests ... DB Drew Abbamonte (Damascus, MD / Damascus) leads the Conference with 23 tackles ... Muhlenberg is 2-0 for the fourth straighr even-numbered year after a 24-17 win over William Paterson ... P Ryan Sassaman (Bear, DE / St. Elizabeth) threw a 51-yard TD pass to Matt Johnson (Lancaster, PA / Lancaster Catholic) off a fake punt for the winning points ... Sassaman, who also threw a 74-yard scoring pass vs. Ursinus last season, is 4-for-4 passing off fakes in his career ... Ursinus (2-0) is undefeated after a 32-13 win under the lights at Albright ... QB Ted Wallingford (Equinunk, PA / Honesdale) threw a pair of TD passes to WR Josh Hannum (Brookhaven, PA / Strath Haven), while RB David Ashworth (Egg Harbor, NJ / Absegami) ran for 151 yards ... DB DeVohn Butler (Swedesboro, NJ / Saint Augustine Prep) returned an interception 60 yards for a score, while Mike Trio (Newtown Square, PA / Marple Newtown) returned a fumble on a kickoff 22 yards for another six ... the Conference is 8-5 against non-Centennial foes this season after finishing 12-18 a year ago.

The Friday Tailgate

It's the second weekend of football in the Conference and all seven teams are in action ... Dickinson (1-0) is on the road to Geneva, N.Y., to take on Hobart ... the Statesmen finished 9-2 a year ago and participated in the NCAA tournament ... Franklin & Marshall opens the John Troxell era when it welcomes Washington and Lee to Lancaster for both teams' season opener ... the Generals finished 7-3 a year ago ... the two teams have not met since 1963 ... Gettysburg (0-1) welcomes Hampden-Sydney (0-1) to the Battlefield for its home opener ... the Bullets have not defeated the Tigers since 1997 ... Johns Hopkins (0-1) looks to rebound from its first season-opening loss since 2000 when it travels to Ashland, Va., to take on Randolph-Macon (1-0) ... the Jays have posted back-to-back 24-0 shutouts of the Jackets the past two seasons ... McDaniel (0-1) also looks to bounce back from last weekend's disappointing loss to No. 13 Bridgewater when it takes on Seton Hill (0-2) ... Muhlenberg (1-0) takes on William Paterson (0-1) for the first time ever on Saturday ... the Mules have won at least eight games in a season since 2000 when opening the year with two wins ... Ursinus (1-0) is hoping that history repeats itself when the Bears visit Albright in the Lions' season opener ... the last time UC defeated Susquehanna (2003), the Bears followed the victory with a triumph over Catholic to go 2-0 ... NOTABLE: Dickinson DB Andrew Ackley (Chalfont, PA / Central Bucks West) picked off the 16th pass of his career to move into a tie for third on the all-time Red Devil list ... Shaughn White is the career leader with 19 thefts ... the last six new F&M head coaches have won their opening game, dating to 1948 ... McDaniel's shutout loss to Bridgewater was the first time since Oct. 17, 1987, that the Green Terror failed to score in a game - a 191-game streak ... Muhlenberg's Brandon Doyle (New Providence, NJ / New Providence) returned the opening kickoff of the game 94 yards for a touchdown against TCNJ ... it's just the second time in 23 years that the Mules have returned the opening kick for a touchdown ... Ursinus RB Aaron Harper (Philadelphia, PA / Peddie School) set a Conference record for yards rushing by a freshman in his first game, gaining 153 on 43 carries vs. Susquehanna ... the Centennial has three match-ups with the Old Dominion Athletic Conference this weekend, looking to improve upon its 52-64-3 all-time record against the ODAC ... Gettysburg DB David Rodriguez (Fort Belvoir, VA / Bishop Ireton) made a smooth transition to the other side of the ball last week against Lebanon Valley ... a JV quarterback last season, Rodriguez led the Bullets with 14 tackles, including seven solo, and forced a fumble ... FINAL NUMBER: 2:32. Everyone surrounding college football has been talking about the new rule changes designed to speed up games. Last year, the average length of a Centennial football game was 2:54. Last weekend, the average length was 2:32.

Cross Country Notebook

The Gettysburg women placed five runners in the top 10 and cruised to a 40-point win at the Shippensburg Alumni Meet last Saturday. First-years Kerrin Epstein (Moravia, NY / Moravia) and Sarah Fritz (Ledyard, CT / Ledyard) led the way, finishing fourth and fifth, respectively ... the Johns Hopkins men placed seven runners in the top 10 on their way to capturing the Baltimore Metro Invitational for the second straight year. Patrick Brandon (Massapequa, NY / Massapequa) (pictured) claimed the individual title in 27:42.89 ... Laura Paulsen (Lutherville, MD / Bryn Mawr) finished first on the women's side, leading JHU to a second-place finish ... despite rainy conditions, Muhlenberg had 14 of its 18 runners run faster than they did in 2005 at the Lehigh Valley Championships, including four who bettered their time by more than two minutes ... the Swarthmore men opened their season with a 15-45 win over Chestnut Hill, taking the top five positions. Jon Shoop (Reno, NV / Incline) was first with a time of 18:44 ... the Ursinus men were 2nd and the women 4th at the Delaware Valley Invitational. Pat O'Neill (Ardsley, PA / La Salle) led the men with a third-place finish in 28:31.18 ... Katie Weng (Paramus, NJ / Saddle River) picked up where she left off after a stellar rookie season, finishing third overall and first among D-III runners at the Haverford Time Trials. The Fords' Annick Lamar (Hamilton, NJ / Hamilton North) took fourth at the same event ... Darcy McDonald (Lititz, PA / Warwick) captured the individual title at the Capital Area Classic in 19:41 ... Franklin & Marshall's Karen Ziga (Haverford, PA / Haverford) finished second at the Salisbury Invitational in 22:36.

Volleyball Notebook

It was quite an opening weekend for Centennial volleyball with Haverford and Franklin & Marshall getting off to quick starts, while Gettysburg came up empty taking on the top two teams in the country. The Fords kicked off the year with a three-game sweep of Ursinus, before rolling over Catholic, Neumann. Susquehanna and Widener to capture their own Invitational. Two names to keep an eye out for -- Rebecca Salvo (La Canada, CA / Flintridge Sacred Heart) and her sister Rachel Salvo (La Canada, CA / Flintridge Sacred Heart). Rebecca was the tourney MVP, while Rachel was named to the All-Tournament squad. The Diplomats won a pair of matches in their scramble tournament, downing Rutgers-Camden and York. Maritza Fair (Bronx, NY / The Nightingale Bamford School) led the way with 22 kills in her collegiate debut. The Bullets, five-time defending CC champs, dropped three-game matches to #2 Wittenberg and #1 Juniata, while also falling to Muskingum and Christopher Newport. Amanda Lewis (San Antonio, TX / St. Mary's Hall) and Allison Cappeleare (Ellicott City, MD / Centennial) were named to the All-Tournament team as Johns Hopkins finished 3-2 in the Asics/Hopkins Invitational. Muhlenberg finished third at the Moravian Premiere Invitational behind the play of Kate Haggerty (Springfield, PA / Cardinal O'Hara) who earned All-Tournament honors. Swarthmore also went 2-2 at Moravian as OH Jen Wang (Palo Alto, CA / Henry Gunn) was selected to the All-Tourney team. BY THE NUMBERS: Haverford head coach Amy Bergin won the 30th Centennial match of her coaching career when the Fords swept Ursinus last Friday. Now in her fifth season, she is tied for seventh in all-time CC wins (30-11) and is two wins shy of moving to the No. 5 position ... only two teams - Franklin & Marshall (5 times) and Gettysburg (5) - have been ranked in the AVCA Division III top 25 since 1992. The Diplomats' highest ranking was 15th on Sept. 28, 1994, while the Bullets ascended to the No. 10 spot on Sept. 30, 1998. F&M has finished in the top 20 once (2000), coming in at No. 20. Gettysburg has not closed a season in the top 25.

Field Hockey Notebook - Sept. 6

The Conference went 5-6 on its opening weekend of the 2006 season with Gettysburg providing two of the victories over Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) foes Lynchburg (2-1) and Eastern Mennonite (3-1) ... Swarthmore posted an impressive overtime victory over Virginia Wesleyan, the preseason favorite to win the ODAC. Abigail Fischer (Sudbury, MA / Lincoln-Sudbury) redirected a Summer Spicer (Laurel, DE / Laurel) blast off a penalty corner just three minutes into the second half to knot the game at 1-1. The match remained knotted through regulation and overtime, setting up penalty strokes. Garnet GK Karen Lorang (San Diego, CA / University), who made eight saves on the night, turned away three Marlin shots while Swarthmore converted on three straight to prevail, 3-2 ... Johns Hopkins sophomore Emily Miller (Garden City, NY / Garden City) was named CC Offensive Player of the Week after scoring twice and handing out four assists in a 1-1 week. She had a goal and three helpers in the 5-4 loss to Cortland and had 1-1 in the 6-0 romp over Frostburg. Miller has already surpassed her point production from the 2005 season (2) with eight points ... Jillian Duffy (Massapequa, NY / Massapequa) scored once in each half with assists from Lauren Rutt (Stevens, PA / Cocalico) as Muhlenberg blanked Moravian, 2-0 ... GAME TO WATCH: Ursinus looks to extend its Centennial regular-season win streak to 31 when it takes on Haverford on Wednesday.

Women's Soccer Notebook - Sept. 5

The Centennial Conference was 11-1-3 last weekend, including 1-0-1 against teams ranked in the NSCAA preseason top 25. Johns Hopkins, ranked 18th in the preseason, knocked off #5 Oneonta, 1-0, at the Virginia Wesleyan tournament on a goal by Jessica MacKenzie (Morristown, NJ / Morristown) (pictured) ... Haverford battled #12 Lynchburg to a scoreless draw in the final of Haverford's Kick-Off Tournament, but captured the championship trophy via penalty kicks, 4-2. GK Lindsay Festa (Old Field, NY / Stony Brook School) made eight saves for the shutout ... Bryn Mawr's Mia Theroux (Dimondale, MI / Holt) scored a hat trick in the Owls' 6-0 triumph over Immaculata. She notched another goal in the 1-1 draw with Chestnut Hill ... Dickinson's Lisa Nichols (North Granby, CT / Granby Memorial) scored a pair of goals just 19 seconds apart as the Red Devils captured the Swat Kick Classic with a 3-0 victory over Centenary. That tied for the seventh fastest scoring of consecutive goals in NCAA Division III women's soccer ... Franklin & Marshall's Amy Cawley (Fleetwood, PA / Oley Valley) scored three goals in leading the Diplomats to the championship of their tournament ... Gettysburg notched a pair of shutouts in wins over Scranton (1-0) and Mary Washington (1-0) ... Muhlenberg had the most exciting finish, as the Mules spotted Gwynedd-Mercy a two-goal lead with 15:41 remaining. Things looked bleak, as 'Berg had overcome a two-goal deficit in the second half just once since 1991 (2001 vs. Gettysburg), but in that match, the Mules scored early in the second half and trailed by a single tally for most of the second 45. Mallory DiMaio (Orefield, PA / Parkland) headed in the first goal for Muhlenberg at the 75:35 mark and with exactly 10 minutes left, Kasey Hacker (Greenville, DE / Archmere Academy) tied the game. DiMaio scored the game-winner with 7:52 left ... Swarthmore freshman Katie Kanuka (Oakville, ONT / Holy Trinity Catholic) scored game-winning goals in her first two career matches as the Garnet defeated Centenary, 1-0, and William Paterson, 2-1 ... Ursinus suffered the lone loss among Centennial teams last weekend, as Elizabethtown handed the Bears a 1-0 loss ... Washington's Sarah Yarbrough (Golden, CO / Arvada West) scored the game-winning goal on a penalty kick 19 seconds into overtime to lift the Shorewomen past Notre Dame, 3-2. BY THE NUMBERS: Swarthmore has won 11 consecutive season openers ... the Centennial's 11-1-3 record to open the season betters last season's record mark of 15-4-2 ... Franklin & Marshall head coach Steve O'Day is just two wins shy of 100 for his career (98-57-8) ... Gettysburg is now 22-5-3 on its home pitch at Clark Field since 2002. Complete Weekly Release

Men's Soccer Notebook - Sept. 5

It was a good opening weekend for Centennial men's soccer teams, as the Conference compiled an 11-2-1 record against outside competition, including a win and a tie against teams ranked in the NSCAA preseason top 25. Stu Leon (Wrentham, MA / King Phillip Regional) (pictured) scored the game-winning goal in the 100th minute as Swarthmore defeated #17 Eastern, 1-0. Ryan Sutcliffe (Milford, DE / Milford) made eight saves for his first career shutout. Ursinus battled #14 Salisbury to a 1-1 draw on the Eastern Shore. Othmane Boutayeb (Philadelphia, PA / Olney) scored the Bears' goal in the 30th minute. Dickinson, Gettysburg and Johns Hopkins all posted two wins to capture their respective tournaments. The Blue Jays are now 14-0 in season openers under head coach Matt Smith. Freshman Tommy McQueen was the Defensive MVP of the tournament for Johns Hopkins. Muhlenberg held King's without a shot in its 2-0 season-opening win. Washington's Josh Todd (Crisfield, MD / Crisfield) scored a pair of goals, including the "golden goal" in the 100th minute to lift the Shoremen past Chestnut Hill, 4-3, and make a winner of head coach Drew Hoffman in his WC debut. He is the first Washington men's soccer coach in 59 years to win his first match at the helm of the Shoremen. Turner Hastings accomplished the feat in the 1949 season opener, but seven other coaches have failed since then. McDaniel took out some frustration after a season-opening loss to Bethany, peppering Gallaudet with 42 shots in a 3-0 victory. By the Numbers: Johns Hopkins is 55-3-5 at Homewood Field since 2001 ... Swarthmore head coach Eric Wagner won his 100th career match (101-129-11) in the 8-1 triumph over Delaware Valley ... after going 13-4-3 in the opening week of the 2005 campaign, the Conference was 11-2-1 vs. non-CC opponents in the opening four days of the 2006 season.

Countdown to Kickoff

The first Saturday of football is upon us and we'll have you covered with updates from around the Conference. You can listen to all six games via the web beginning with Johns Hopkins-Rochester at noon. Did a player from your neighborhood make the roster? Is he starting today? Find all the roster information on our "GameDay" website. Want to talk about your favorite Centennial team? Join the discussion board from D3football.com.

Most importantly, if you cannot access the audio, do you want updates from around the Conference? Our sports information staffs will (hopefully) be able to update our "score blog" throughout the afternoon. And tonight, we'll unveil our Saturday Scoreboard podcast with a wrap-up of the day on the Centennial gridiron. Hope you enjoy the day!

The Friday Tailgate

Welcome back to another season of the Friday Tailgate. We'll get you ready for the opening weekend of the 24th season of Centennial Conference football. There is action at six venues this weekend, including three matchups with members of the Middle Atlantic Conference and one each with the New Jersey Athletic Conference, the Old Dominion Athletic Conference and the Liberty League.

Juniata at Dickinson
The Red Devils used to be known for a punishing ground game that wore down opponents. A more balanced attack over the past two seasons as led to record passing yards in both 2004 and 2005. QB Matt Torchia led the CC in pass efficiency and total offense last season and returns to run the show. "There's no question passing and running the football go together like peanut butter and jelly," Torchia said. "And how well you can do that depends on the guys up front. We have the kind of people up there who should give us a balanced offense this season." OG Kevin Mentrikoski is the leader of the interior line. Defensively, the Devils return all 11 starters, led by All-CC DB Andrew Ackley. He led the Conference with seven picks last season and has 15 for his career. "I think we're equally strong against the run or pass," said Ackley of Dickinson's defense. "We try to stop a team's running game so they'll be forced to pass. That doesn't put the focus on any one player and it balances out our defense." LB Eric Dube was outstanding in the first half of 2005 before an injury sent him to the sidelines. The Eagles will join the Centennial as an associate football member in 2007.

Gettysburg at Lebanon Valley
Another Centennial-MAC matchup sends the Bullets to Annville to take on coach Barry Streeter's alma mater. The Orange and Blue holds a 29-3-1 series advantage. RB Tom Sturges was the CC's leading rusher last season with over 1,000 yards and returns to lead the ground attack. RB Dusty Green and WR Spencer Davidson are good targets for whomever is the quarterback. LB Harold Barton is the headliner of a defense that allowed just 70 points in the six Conference games in 2005. PK Josh Huson has a strong leg and made a 48-yard FG last season. The Flying Dutchmen were 2-8 a year ago and return a potent pass-and-catch combo in QB Dan Kelly and WR Adam Brossman.

Rochester at Johns Hopkins
After winning a share of three straight Centennial titles from 2002-04, the Blue Jays went solo in 2005 and are the coaches' preseason favorite to repeat this fall. WR Anthony Triplin has had a long, strange trip in his first two seasons at Homewood, but showed what he could do with 77 catches last season on his way to Offensive Player of the Year honors in the Conference. "I grew up and got my priorities straight," said Triplin, 22, a sociology major with a business minor. "I finally realized that in the grand scheme of things, football's not first. It's education, academics, family. Football is very, very high on my list, but it's not number one." All-CC OG Paul Markowski is the leader of the line in front of either Shane Kibbe or Adam Waddell at quarterback. The defensive front is one of the best in the region with Brian Cook, Anthony Woodard and Alan Cody. Matt Hagel is a playmaker at strong safety. This is the earliest season opener in Hopkins history.

Bridgewater at McDaniel
The Green Terror faces the biggest challenge on opening weekend as it tangles with the 13th ranked Eagles, who finished 10-2 a year ago. QB Brad Baer missed almost the entire 2005 season after suffering an injury against Bridgewater in lastr fall's opener. He is back and will see time in a new formation with Brett Gibson. "It gives us another look," Baer said. "Another quarterback in the backfield throws something else out there for the defense. Even if we don't use it, it's something they have to look at in practice. I think it adds a lot to the offense." "We believe we had become too predictable in terms of personnel formations," coach Tim Keating said. "We've worked hard this summer to break our tendencies, to break our personnel groups. No one's ever seen us in this formation, so now they've got to make adjustments already."" WR Chris Martin is primed for a big year as a receiver and a return specialist. DB Drew Abbamonte is one of the top secondary men in the Conference.

TCNJ at Muhlenberg
The Mules open their 2006 season under the lights against The College of New Jersey. The Muhlenberg defense has been one of the best in Division III in recent years, but now it may be one of the youngest, as DT Chris Musselman is the lone senior in the unit. “It does make me feel kind of old,” he said with a laugh. “But I’m excited at the same time. I can honestly say that I’m pretty confident in our defense. We’re progressing well for having so many young players without much varsity experience.” LB Dustin Good is the team's leading returning tackler. Three members of the secondary all earned letters in 2005 - on offense. Undersized Eric Santagato is the starter at QB. John DeLuca led the team in rushing last season, while Stephan Montalto is an All-Centennial TE. Keep an eye on Matt Johnson, who was pressed into service at QB last season but has a new role in 2006 - H-back. ''He's just a really good athlete, with good size and great instincts,'' Donnelly said of the 6-2, 213-pound Johnson. ''He's big enough to be a tight end, athletic enough to be a tailback, and obviously he can catch the ball.''

Susquehanna at Ursinus
Is this the year that the Bears break through? "I think we’re going to be at the top. For real. I really do," the Bears’ senior defensive end Rob Gibson said. There is optimism in the Ursinus camp as UC gets ready for its opener with the Crusaders. "We feel (the bulked-up line) can protect the quarterback and run the football. I think the line is really going to help us, said head coach Peter Gallagher." Ted Wallingford replaces All-CC quarterback Vince Gallagher. Injuries have hit early with RB David Ashworth and WR Brandon Evans banged up. LB Brian Hrynczyszyn is the leader of the defense, while Gibson is the anchor of the line. DB Matt Duppel headlines the secondary.

Today's Headlines

It's the start of the first football weekend of the season and the Baltimore Sun and the Harrisburg Patriot-News both have preview stories. The Sun also has an interesting feature on 2005 CC Offensive Player of the Year Anthony Triplin. The Baltimore-born and bred Triplin has had a long and strange road to his success at JHU. Yesterday's Carroll County Times takes a look at two players who have unexpectedly claimed starting jobs.