Ursinus (7-3) vs. Lycoming (7-3)
• When: Saturday, Nov. 20, 2021
• Where: Williamsport, Pa.
• Stadium: David Person Field (2,300)
• Kickoff: 12:30 p.m.
• Live Video: VIDEO
• Live Stats: STATS
SERIES BREAKDOWN
• All-Time Series: Tied at 1
• First Meeting: `1996 – Lycoming won 31-24
• Last Meeting: Sept. 9, 2007 @ Ursinus – Ursinus won 17-14
• Streak: Ursinus +1
The Ursinus Bears football team will travel to face Lycoming on Saturday afternoon in the sixth annual Centennial-MAC Bowl Series at 12:30 p.m.
The Bears were edged in overtime on the road to Dickinson last weekend by a score of 27-20. Ursinus fell behind 20-0 to the Red Devils in the second quarter before scoring 20 unanswered points to force overtime. Ursinus tied the game with 29 seconds left in the fourth quarter following a touchdown and a two-point conversion. In overtime, Dickinson scored a touchdown on a 4th and 14 situation from the 29-yard line. Ursinus was stopped on fourth and goal after making it as far as the three-yard line on their overtime possession.
The Warriors shutout Alvernia 48-0 last Saturday to lock up a second-place finish in the MAC standings. Lycoming dominated the Golden Wolves from the start as they raced out to a 34-0 lead at halftime before adding a pair of touchdowns in the second half. Lycoming held Alvernia to just 98 yards of total offense while racking up 358 of their own. Six different Warriors scored on the afternoon.
THE LAST MATCHUP
This will be the third all-time meeting between the two schools with the previous meeting coming in the 2007 season. Ursinus edged the Warriors in overtime, 17-14, at Patterson Field on September 8th, 2007. The Bears tied the game at 14 with just over eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter before kicking a game-winning 24-yard field goal in the extra session after stopping the Warriors on downs.
EYEING RECORDS
Junior quarterback Jack Psenicska could potentially set two Ursinus single-season records on Saturday. Psenicska needs just two touchdown passes to top Chris Curran's single-season touchdown pass record of 25 and needs just 217 passing yards to set the single-season passing record set by Thomas Garlick in 2018. He has thrown for 2,555 yards so far this season which is good for third-best in the Centennial Conference and ranks fourth with 24 touchdown passes. Psenicska also has the highest QB efficiency rating in the conference at 141.6
GRAND FINALE
Senior running back Samuel Ragland looks to finish off one of the most decorated careers in Ursinus football history against the Warriors. Ragland became the second player in Bears history to cross the 3,000-career rushing yard plateau against Dickinson on Saturday as he posted his fifth 100-yard rushing game of the season. He continues to pace the Centennial Conference by a wide margin with a career best of 1,060 rushing yards and ranks second with 14 rushing touchdowns.
BREAKOUT PERFORMANCE
Sophomore defensive end Ryan Bodolus had a historic performance for Ursinus against Dickinson last Saturday afternoon. Bodolus recorded a Bears single-game record of six sacks against the Red Devils and broke the previous record of five sacks that was previously held by Paul Schmidt in 2001 against FDU-Florham, and Josh Kemp in 2003 against McDaniel. He also registered a season-high nine tackles against the Red Devils. Bodolus earned Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors and was named to the D3football.com team of the week at defensive end following his performance.
POSTSEASON HONORS
A total of 11 Ursinus football players were named to the All-Centennial Conference football team, announced by the conference on Wednesday morning. The 11 selections for the Bears are the most players named to the team since they had 13 back in the 2011 season. 10 of the 11 players earned All-Centennial honors for the first time in their collegiate careers. Senior running back Samuel Ragland and senior offensive lineman Matthew Bevan headlined the selections by earning first team honors. Junior defensive lineman Ethan Belville, sophomore defensive lineman Ryan Bodolus, junior linebacker Brett Gross, and senior offensive lineman Kevin Hahn all earned second team honors for Ursinus. Senior wide receiver Octavious Carter, junior tight end Billy Cook, senior offensive linemen Brandon Derby and Brett Johnson along with sophomore defensive back Ryan DiVergilis rounded out the selections on the honorable mention team.
WELCOME BACK
The Bears will be making their second all-time appearance in the Centennial-MAC Bowl Series after a resounding 70-14 win over Misericordia back in 2018. Ursinus made a run at the all-time conference record for yards in a game before falling just shy of the 733 logged by Gettysburg in 1999. The offense averaged 10.7 yards per play, and the Bears' 70 points are tied for the third-highest single-game total in CC history. The Bears outscored the Cougars 63-7 after the game was tied at seven early in the first quarter and shut Misericordia out in the second half. Former Bears quarterback Thomas Garlick registered a career-high 365 yards through the air and tossed three touchdown passes to earn game MVP honors. Ragland racked up a career-best 203 yards and four touchdowns on the ground to match his own school record for rushing touchdowns in a game and became the sixth player in school history to rush for over 200 yards.
RACK EM UP
Junior linebacker Brett Gross and sophomore defensive back Ryan DiVergilis both registered career-highs of 14 tackles against Dickinson on Saturday. Each player had a tackle for loss and Gross posted three solo tackles while DiVergilis posted four. Both players rank in the top three in tackles on the team with Gross leading the way with 75 and DiVergilis posting 61.
ABOUT LYCOMING
The Warriors finished the 2021 regular season by ranking third in the MAC after allowing 18.5 points per game and fourth in in scoring offense with 25.5 points per contest. The Warriors were fourth in the MAC in yards allowed per game at 296. Senior quarterback Elijah Shemory finished third in the conference with a 137.9 passing efficiency, tossing for 1,738 yards and 17 touchdowns while also running for 313 yards and five touchdowns. Junior running back Joey Guida leads the team in rushing with 376 yards on the ground and has matched Shemory with five touchdowns on the ground. Senior wide receiver Tyjah During leads the team with 591 receiving yards on 33 receptions and six touchdown receptions. The defense is paced by junior linebacker Cole Senior who posted 69 tackles, 15.0 for loss, and junior defensive tackle David Tomb who had 43 tackles, 16.5 for loss and six sacks. Nine Warriors recently earned All-MAC honors with three earning first team honors. Senior offensive lineman Jacob Estevez sophomore kicker Ian Plankenhorn, and Senior all earned the first team honors. Plankenhorn finished the regular season with a MAC-best 11 field goals and also ranked ninth in Division III with that mark. He finished third in the MAC with an average of 6.2 points per game and was a perfect 29-of-29 in extra points.
TICKETS: Ticket prices for the 2021 Centennial-MAC Bowl Series will be $10 for adults, $3 for Students (elementary through high school) and free for college students with a valid school ID and a suggested donation to Special Olympics. Special Olympics athletes and children under the age of six are also admitted for free.