SELINSGROVE, (Pa.) — The good news for 10th-year head coach Steve Briggs was that his Susquehanna University football team opened with a solid 20-3 win over visiting Middle Atlantic Conference rival FDU-Madison last Saturday — scoring the program’s 11th-straight win in a season opener. The bad news was that the Crusaders looked sluggish at times, particularly on offense, and they will now have two weeks off before their next action. After improving to 8-0 all-time vs. FDU-Madison, the Crusader program is now preparing to stay perfect against King’s — taking a 4-0 record into their Homecoming clash on Saturday, September 18. The Crusaders passed for 228 yards and rushed for just 120 vs. FDU, after leading the MAC and finishing 16th in Division III in rushing at 254.4 yards per game while throwing for 146.8 per game in ’98. More importantly, the defense gave up just seven first downs and 166 total yards. Only 109 yards came through the air, with the FDU quarterback hitting just 10 of 31 passes with two interceptions — considerably less than the 276.8 yards per game the Crusader defense allowed passing in ’98 while finishing last in the MAC.
THE HEAD COACH: Briggs is the winningest football coach in school history with a 62-31 record (.667), which ranked him 36th among active D-III coaches in winning percentage at the start of the year. He is trying to guide the team to its 14th-straight non-losing season.
THE OFFENSE (DELAWARE WING-T): Senior quarterback Andy Berwager (Hanover/South Western H.S.) completed 7 of 11 passes for 114 yards Saturday – including a 76-yard touchdown pass to junior halfback Rashonn Drayton (Allentown/Allentown Central Catholic H.S.) for the only first half touchdown – before leaving the game late in the second quarter with a knee sprain. Berwager is questionable for King’s. Drayton went on to lead all receivers in the game with three catches for 123 yards, although freshman Tim Ronchi (Factoryville/Lackawanna Trail H.S.) led all receivers with five catches for 32 yards. Fellow freshman Mike Bowman (Northumberland/Shikellamy H.S.) – a second-team all-state prep quarterback last year – replaced Berwager for the final 2:30 of the first half. He also went on to throw for 114 yards, completing 8 of 22 passes – including his first collegiate touchdown with :18 left on a nine-yarder to junior halfback Jose Delgado (Allentown/Allentown Central Catholic H.S.). Delgado rushed for 40 yards on 10 carries Saturday, although junior fullback Ryan Cidzik (Rome, N.Y./Rome Free Academy) led all Crusader ballcarriers with 45 yards on 12 carries.
THE DEFENSE (4-3): Freshman cornerback Antonio Nash (Washington, D.C./Spring Brook, Md. H.S.) picked up the team’s first Gus Weber Crusader Player of the Week, sponsored by the Golden Corral Family Restaurant. Making his first collegiate start, Nash made both interceptions and a pass break-up while posting six tackles (five solo). Junior free safety and tri-captain Mario Cromartie (Smyrna, Del./Smyrna H.S.) tied with sophomore linebacker Troy Sosnovik (Belvidere, N.J./Belvidere H.S.) for the team tackle lead with eight (four solo apiece). Sophomore linebacker Dom DeSteno (Franklin Lakes, N.J./Bergen Catholic H.S.) also made six stops (four solo), getting in on a sack. Senior defensive end and returning first-team league All-Star Denny Bowers (Westminster, Md./Westminster H.S.) led the pass rush with a sack, forced fumble, and two tackles for losses of 19 yards.
THE CRUSADER KICK SPECIALISTS: Sophomore punter Ryan Hollis (Mifflin/Juniata H.S.) was third in the MAC and 19th nationally (39.1 avg.) in ’98 and had a 38.0-yard average in seven punts Saturday. Freshman kicker Andy Nadler (Westport, Conn./Staples H.S.) hit two of three FGs – connecting from 35 and 32 yards – and both PATs in his first collegiate game.
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