FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Mounties Travel to Army Friday – MU Defense to face CSFL's Top Passing Offense

MANSFIELD – The Mansfield University Mountaineers will travel to the storied bluffs of West Point this Friday evening to face league-leading and two-time defending CSFL Champion Army.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Shea Stadium. The game will be streamed live by ESPN Radio Williamsport with a link, as well as a link for live stats, available at GoMounties.com.

Mansfield has played inspired football but dropped its first three games of the season with close setbacks to the University of Pennsylvania (14-14), Navy (26-14) and most recently a 21-18 heart-breaker at Post last Saturday.

Army has posted early season wins at Post (31-18), and at home against Franklin Pierce (27-13) and Cornell (49-7) last week.

Last year, the Black Knights rolled to a 51-6 victory at Karl Van Norman Field behind Quarterback James Wartski who completed 23-of-35 passes for 252 yards.

At Post, the Mountaineers rallied from a 14-0 deficit and closed to 14-12 with two scores over a four-minute span. Kurt Logan scored on a 35-yard return of an Eddie Larcom blocked punt  with less than a minute remaining in the first half but Mansfield failed to convert on the PAT.

Less than three minutes into the third quarter, Mountaineer quarterback Mike Maniscalco found Larcom with a 14-yard touchdown pass to cap off a 65-yard drive in the their first possession of the second half. Mansfield went for two-points to tie the score but fell short and trailed 14-12.

After Post answered with a TD drive of its own to extend the lead to 21-12 midway through the third quarter, the Mountaineers rallied again with Logan pulling in a 20-yard pass from Maniscalco to pull to 21-18 after the PAT failed.

Mansfield twice had opportunities to pull out the win, driving to the Post 23 with less than three minutes remaining and then taking over on the Post 19 on another blocked punt by Larcom with 90 seconds remaining with both drive dying on downs.

Army rolled through the air in its win over Cornell behind a 35-point second quarter. Wartski earned CSFL Offensive Player of the Week honors for his performance in that game with the senior throwing a career-high five touchdowns while connecting on 19-of-25 passes for 266 yards.

Mansfield has played well defensively all season long and will be tested by the CSFL's top passing team in Army.

The Black Knights are averaging 274.3 yards per game through the air with a league-high 11 passing touchdowns. Wartski has completed a CSFL best 62.2% of his passes for 792 yards and 11 TD's while being intercepted just twice.

Army also has a solid rushing game averaging 125.3 yards per outing behind sophomore Marqus Burrell who averages 81.0 yards per game.

Mansfield ranks third in the CSFL in passing defense, limiting its first three opponents to 111.7 yards per game and just one passing touchdown with a league-best five interceptions. Sophomore Kyle Post is tied for the league lead with two picks on the season.

The Mountaineers also have a potent passing attack that ranks third in the CSFL averaging 181.3 yards per game through the air. Four of Mansfield's five offensive touchdown have come via the airways.

Senior quarterback Mike Maniscalco has set the tempo all season completing 48-of-104 attempts for 544 yards and four touchdowns. He has been intercepted three times.

Junior Joe Bucek ranks second in the CSLF in receiving with 17 catches for 204 yards. Logan is sixth in the league pulling down 12 grabs for 148 yards and two touchdowns.

Freshman Leron Strothers has carried the bulk of the running game averaging 3.5 yards per carry.

One of the key matchups of the game will be the young Mountaineers offensive line against an Army defense that tops the league with 15 sacks over the first three games of the year. Freshmen Mark Davis, Brandon Ellers, and Dennis Torbert along with seniors Brendan McDermott and Kyle Sadler have shown vast improvement as a unit, allowing just two sacks while opening holes for a season-high 82 rushing yards against Post.

Senior defensive lineman Anthony Mazzone tops the CSFL in total tackles with 25 while fellow senior defensive lineman Tim Carr has a league-best seven tackles-for-a loss. Linebackers Spencer Underdown has 22 tackles while Dylan Flexer and Damarkus Jones have 17 stops each.

Mansfield is the top team in the CSFL in takeaways with a +4 with Army right behind at +3. The Mountaineers are also tops in the league in Red Zone defense at 60% and rank seventh in Red Zone offense at 55.6%.

The Mountaineers return home next Saturday when they host Franklin Pierce in Military Appreciation Day.