MANSFIELD, Pa. – Returning six all-conference athletes, including the Offensive Player and Rookie of the Year, the Mansfield University sprint football team is all in as they begin their quest towards the Collegiate Sprint Football League (CSFL) championship on Saturday, Sept. 17.
 
Under fifth-year head coach John Evans, the Mounties open the 2022 campaign Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. at Caldwell University's Bonnel Field.
 
Links to the video stream and live stats can be found here.
 
"I said right away, it was the best first day we've ever had since I've been here," Evans on early takeaways. "We had lot of enthusiasm, we are strong in numbers, and I think we're off on the right foot."
 
In 2021, the Mounties started the season with victories in three of their first four games, however, did the exact opposite to finish out the season.
 
"The next step is to go down to Caldwell and play a great game, we are not looking anywhere past that," Evans on keys to the season. "I think last year we were very talented and we as a staff looked way beyond the first couple games. I think that if we can get through Caldwell, the schedule plays into our hand where we could go into the last three games of the season against Army, Navy and Penn in good shape."
 
GETTING OVER THE HUMP
When head coach John Evans took over the program in 2018, the Mounties had never won more than two games since joining the CSFL a decade prior.
 
Mansfield, who had to sit and watch Army West Point and the United States Naval Academy battle for the CSFL Championship on their home turf of Karl Van Norman Field, has come a long way since 2008.
 
Entering year five of the Evans era, the program has never fallen below .500, while surpassing program highs in wins with four in 2018, five (record) in 2019, and four in 2021. Evans, who missed out on a full season due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, is the all-time program wins leader.
 
All that said, the Mounties are nowhere near satisfied. Simply "making noise" in the conference championship race is no longer enough. The Mounties have a winning culture in place, the only thing left is to prove it between the lines.
 
"We've got some real talent here - right now it's just about putting the pieces together," Evans added. "We've got position battles in a lot of places, which is a good problem to have. We are excited to get started."
 
REVENGE GAME
The Mountaineers are 3-1 all-time against the Cougars, however, their one defeat came last season in a lopsided, 51-6 loss on the last day of the regular season.
 
The rivalry has been full of one-sided affairs, beginning in 2017 when the Mounties won the first meeting of the series, 49-19, in Caldwell, N.J.

Caldwell is fresh off their best season in program history, finishing the year 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the CSFL North. Caldwell missed the CSFL Championship game on a heartbreaking, 4-2 loss against conference power Army.
 
Under fourth-year head coach Jim Kelly, the Cougars earned a program record 12 all-league honorees.
 
"We are extremely motivated," Evans said. "Not only did we play our worst game last year against Caldwell, we had more penalty yards and more personal fouls than we've ever had since I've been here. So that's the motivator right there. We have to go down there and eliminate penalties and I believe we can play head-to-head with them. We want to get up early and play downhill."
 
LIGHTENING IN A BOTTLE
When USC won back-to-back BCS National Championships in 2003 and 2004, their backfield of Reggie Bush and LenDale White were given the nickname of Thunder and Lightning. White was a bruising back that punished linebackers, while Bush's top-end speed left opposing defenses in the dusk.
 
The 2022 Mountaineer offense will showcase a dynamic backfield just like those championship Trojans, except the nickname should be changed to Lightning x2 or Lightning squared.
 
Reigning Offensive Player and Rookie of the Year Cahsid Raymond (Philadelphia, Pa. / Benjamin Franklin) and 2019 Rookie of the Year Terrance Quaker (New Bloomfield, Pa. / West Perry) will form one of the most dynamic backfields in the league.

Raymond is coming off a season where he earned CSFL Rookie of the Week four times and Offensive Player of the Week three times to help the Mounties set a program-record with 13 total conference weekly awards.
 
Raymond dazzled on the ground and through the air all season, finishing in the top-10 in the program record book in rushing touchdowns (1st, 11), rushing attempts (3rd, 112) and rushing touchdowns in a game (three) in a single-season. Raymond is also in the top-ten for rushing yards in a game after scampering for 199, 192 and 163 yards in three different outings. His long runs of 80, 69, 65 and 64 are all in the top-ten for longest rush in a game.
 
Raymond matched his effort on the ground with a dominate passing attack, breaking the record for longest completion (83 yards) and is now fifth in passing yards in a game (253) and season (1,210) and is second in completion percentage in a single-game (81.6) and fifth for a season (52.12).
 
Quaker is set for his much-awaited return, bringing a whole new dynamic to the offense. Saturday marks the Quaker's return to the gridiron for the first time since 2019, due to the cancelled 2020 season and an injury riddled 2021.
 
Due to a loaded backfield in 2019, Quaker took his talents to the defensive side of the ball, where he led the conference with five interceptions, which he returned for an impressive 75 yards. Quaker also piled up 363 kick-return yards, finishing with a season-long return of 70 yards, which ended in a touchdown.
 
Unable to keep Quaker on just one side of the ball, the New Bloomfield native attempted two carries in 2019, one of which went 63 yards to the house, giving him an average of 44 yards per rush.
 
Quaker was named CSFL Rookie of the Year and 1^st-Team All-Conference following the season.  
 
GO LONG
The top two receivers from 2021 both return in sophomore LaTrenton Randle (Rotterdam, N.Y. / Schalmont) and Eugene Haynes (Washington, D.C. / Richard Wright Public Charter), bringing with them four touchdowns and 556 yards on 38 receptions for an average of over 15 yards per catch.
 
An additional eight players return with receptions from last season, while five rookie receivers will also provide depth to what should be one of the most explosive air attacks in the conference.
 
NO FLY ZONE
The Mountaineers return the core of one of the top turnover defenses from last season in the CSFL, where they picked off 13 passes and recovered seven fumbles.
 
Matt Robert (Horseheads, N.Y. / Horseheads) notched his second straight season with an All-CSFL honor after being named to the 1st-Team Defense following his freshman season.
 
Despite missing a game, Robert racked up the most tackles on the team and the third most in the conference with 68 (second in program-history) during a dominate junior season. Robert averaged nearly 10 tackles per game, while 42 of his take downs came in solo fashion. Robert made 7.5 tackles for loss, totaling 32 yards, and added a pass breakup.
 
Robert's 85 career solo tackles are already good enough for seventh all-time in program-history, while his 130 total tackles rank eighth.
 
Chase Moser (Wellsboro, Pa. / Wellsboro), who has been named All-CSFL during every season of his Mountaineer career, brought home 1st-Team honors for the second straight season on the defensive line. Moser was named Honorable-Mention as a freshman.
 
Moser finished his junior season third on the team in tackles with 44 and fourth in solo tackles with 25. Moser recorded 2.5 sacks for a net loss of 20 yards, while also picking off a pass, breaking up two passes and forcing a fumble.
 
Moser wrapped up his junior season third all-time in program history in tackles for loss (31.0) and sacks (11.0).
 
Senior Kayin Berger (Reading, Pa. / Wyomissing) notched his second straight All-CSFL Honor of his career after being named Honorable Mention Defensive Lineman in 2021.
 
In his first season as a full-time starting defensive back after playing on the defensive line as a junior, Berger led the team and was tied for first in the conference with a career-high four interceptions. Berger finished his senior season with four pass breakups, two forced fumbles, four tackles for loss and 36 total tackles (30 solo).
 
KICKING GAME
When sophomore Logan Shull (Manheim, Pa. / Manheim Central) stepped on campus in 2021, he set a goal of breaking every program kicking record during his time at MU. Well, in his first ever collegiate game, Shull broke the record for kickoff yards (403), while tying the extra points record with a 6-for-6 effort on point-after-attempts.
 
Shull went on to break that record with eight extra points against Alderson-Broaddus, while taking the top three spots for longest field goal (44, 40, 38), tying the record for field goals in a game (two) and a season (seven). 
 
EXPANDED HORIZONS
The Mounties, who continue to max out their roster, have expanded their demographic to now feature players from Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Ohio, and Texas.
 
Freshman Dalton Barker, Elliot Good, Audie McAree, Bobby Dell, Kori Foster join the Mounties from Rains High School out of Emory, Texas.
"We've got five kids from Texas and every one of them are going be out on the field somewhere," Evans said. "They're just great kids out of a successful program in Texas and are very hard workers. Beau Schellinger has been doing a great job in camp. He's challenging to start at outside receiver right now."
 
THE COACHING STAFF
Pat Maddock returns for his fifth season where he will direct the running backs, while also taking over as the team's offensive coordinator.
 
Tony Puleo enters his seventh season as an assistant with the Mountaineer Football program where he will serve as defensive coordinator.
 
Jason Chimics returns for his second season with the Mountaineers and will lead the defensive backs group.
 
Evans also announced the addition of Joey Delgardo, Chandler Czarnota and Holden Meyers.
 
A five-year member of the Mountaineer sprint football program, Delgardo joins the staff as a linebacker coach. Czarnota, who will coach the receivers and special teams, joins the Mounties after concluding a successful five-year career with NCAA DIII Anna Maria College from 2017-21, while Meyers begins his coaching career after wrapping up a standout three-year career as the Mountaineers center and leader of the offensive line.
 
THE CAPTAINS
The Mountaineers have named eight athletes as team captains for the 2022 season: Terrance Quaker (New Bloomfield, Pa. / West Perry), Cahsid Raymond (Philadelphia, Pa. / Benjamin Franklin), Kayin Berger (Reading, Pa. / Wyomissing), Matt Robert (Horseheads, N.Y. / Horseheads), Deundray Andrews (Lebanon, Pa. / Lebanon), Eugene Haynes (Washington, D.C. / Richard Wright Public Charter), Chase Moser (Wellsboro, Pa. / Wellsboro), Brandon Dejesus (Philadelphia, Pa. / Esperamza Charter).
 
NEXT UP
The Mounties host Chestnut Hill College in their home opener at 7 p.m. at Karl Van Norman Field on Saturday, Sept. 24 in CSFL North action.