Lebanon Valley (5-2, 3-1 MAC) vs. Albright (5-2, 3-1 MAC)
Saturday, Nov. 1 - 1 p.m. - Arnold Field - The 88th Meeting
Radio: WMSS 91.1 FM
Webcast: WMSSFM.com
Live Stats: GoDutchmen.com

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Game Notes (PDF Format)

It's true — Lebanon Valley is in first place and controls their own destiny in the quest for their first MAC championship since 1969. In their way is another team with title aspirations, their archrival Albright, who is also in first place with a 3-1 MAC record.

Live Stats On GoDutchmen.com
Live stats for every home football game (and selected away games, including at King's) will be available at GoDutchmen.com.

On the Radio
All 10 of this season's games will be heard live on WMSS 91.1 FM. John Wilsbach and Brian Keyser will call the action against Albright. Every game can also be heard online at GoDutchmen.com and www.wmssfm.com.

FIve Things To Know About LVC...
1. LVC is expected to be without injured leading rusher Charlie Parker for the second week; Ben Guiles will start at tailback in his place.
2. LVC and Albright are meeting with both in first place and with winning records for the first time since 1975.
3. Traditionally, if LVC beats Albright, the student body will march to the president's house to “request” the day before Thanksgiving off from school.
4. LVC has the MAC's best total offense (371.0 ypg).
5. With its top-rated run offense, LVC also eats clock, averaging a MAC-best 32:26 of possession a game.

Five Things To Know About Albright...
1. Albright has the MAC's second-worst run defense, allowing 163.7 ypg.
2. Tailback Josan Holmes was named MAC Offensive Player of the Week after rushing for 212 yards against Wilkes last week.
3. Albright has won 12 of the last 13 games in the series.
4. Albright's scoring defense ranks best in the MAC at 16.3 ppg.
5. Kicker Josh Whelan has missed five PATs this year, making 10 of 15.

The Title Race
LVC, Albright, and Lycoming are all tied for first place in the MAC with identical 5-2 overall and 3-1 conference records. Lebanon Valley and Lycoming still control their own destiny — the two will face off in the final week of the season. LVC and Lycoming's lone conference losses both came to Delaware Valley, which now has two losses. Albright lost to Lycoming, so Albright would have to win out and hope for a Lycoming loss to avoid a tie. The Dutchmen, however, would win the MAC championship — the first since 1969 — with three more wins.

The Rivalry
When was the last time LVC and Albright faced each other and both had winning records and a sniff of the MAC title? You'd have to go back exactly 33 years to Nov. 1, 1975. LVC, at 5-2, headed to Reading
to face the Lions, who were 6-1. Albright held off a late LVC comeback to win that game, 20-12, dashing LVC's hopes for a conference title. Albright, meanwhile, won the MAC North championship that season.

Six-Headed Monster?
Lebanon Valley sported the MAC's top offense before leading rusher Charlie Parker was sidelined due to injury in the Widener game. The Dutchmen did not lose that status last week at King's as they used four tailbacks, plus fullback Bryan Lynch and quarterback Caleb Fick, to combine for 229 yards on the ground. Ben Guiles led LVC with 87 yards; Fick added 43 and a touchdown, and Cruz Mannherz ran for 39 yards and a score. Blair Ransom scored two touchdowns on eight carries in his collegiate debut. LVC's offense remains the best in the MAC with 371 yards per game, 198 of them coming on the ground. Thankfully for the Dutchmen, Albright has been vulnerable to the run; the Lions have the MAC's second-worst rushing defense, allowing 163.7 yards per game.

The Big Blockers
A major part of LVC's run success this season has been an outstanding blocking scheme led by fullback Bryan Lynch. All three of LVC's running backs who have seen significant touches average 4.0 yards per carry or better: Cruz Mannherz (6.3 ypc), Charlie Parker (4.8 ypc), and Ben Guiles (4.0 ypc), while Lynch himself averages 5.9 ypc on 15 carries. The Dutchmen will also use a Power-I package in short-yardage with freshman defensive tackle Nick Bowne as the extra blocker.

Ryan Makes History
With a pair of field goals in LVC's 20-13 overtime win against Widener, kicker Brittany Ryan became only the third female kicker to ever make a field goal in an NCAA game, after West Alabama's Tonya Butler (2003) and Framingham State's Ashley Baker (2007). Ryan struck field goals from 30 and 22 yards in the game. Ryan is now the leading female scorer in NCAA Division III history with 37 career points; the overall record is held by Tonya Butler, who scored 87 points for Division II's West Alabama from 2003-04.

Green Light in the Red Zone
After a miserable start to the season that saw LVC go sub-50 percent inside the red zone over their first six games, the Dutchmen had no problems finishing at King's last week, going five-for-five inside the 20, all touchdowns. Four of the scores were runs of less than 10 yards; only Cruz Mannherz's 14-yard run was longer.

Last Year vs. Albright
LVC mounted a late comeback charge but fell short as it lost to Albright , 27-20, in the Pretzel Bowl rivalry game at Shirk Stadium. The Dutchmen received big performances from both Charlie Parker, who rushed for 140 yards, and senior Adam Brossman '08, who caught six passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns. Kicker Brittany Ryan made history as she came into the game to boot an extra point on LVC's final touchdown, becoming the first female player in program history to see game action.

Series Notes
The game is the 88th meeting all-time between LVC and Albright ... The Lions lead 54-30-3 ... Albright has dominated the series in recent years, winning 12 of 13 ... The LVC-Albright series is Lebanon Valley's longest continuous series, having been played every year since 1947 ... It is also LVC's most-played rivalry at 87 games ... Tradition holds that an LVC win gets students a full day off on the day before Thanksgiving, but students must march to the president's house to request it ... Head Coach Jim Monos is 8-7 against Albright ... LVC's last win was in 2006, a 55-33 shootout at Arnold Field to end the season ... The teams first met nearly 110 years ago to the day, on Nov. 2, 1898, a 10-3 LVC win.

Scouting Albright
Offensively, Albright sports a balanced attack led by quarterback Tanner Kelly, who has completed an exceptional 62.6 percent of his passes, averaging 173.9 ypg with 10 touchdowns this season. On the ground, freshman Josan Holmes is averaging 85.3 ypg but is coming off a career-high 212-yard performance against Wilkes last week. Nate Romig is one of the MAC's top receivers, hauling in 37 passes with seven TDs for 75 ypg. Defensively, Albright holds down the score, allowing just 16.3 ppg, but struggles against the run as opponents have averaged 163.7 ypg on the ground. Robert Harper leads the team with 43 tackles and two interceptions, and Jonathan Linn has 37 hits with seven for a loss, 2.5 sacks, and a forced fumble. Matt Christ is one of the conference's top DB's and has three picks this season.

Next Week
LVC hosts FDU-Florham in the home finale at 1 p.m.