NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. -- The Westminster College football team enters its second season under head coach Jeff Hand with a solid structure but with a lot of room for growth and improvement. Encouraged by no glaring weaknesses, Hand is pleased with the progression of his program that is coming off a 4-6 record during his first year in 2005.
"There's not one specific area," Hand says. "All areas made improvements. The biggest strength is that we are returning with more experience, especially on the offensive side of the ball."
Seven of the team's 11 returning starters are offensive players. However, there is a broad-stroked void left on the 2006 team by last year's 14-player, departed senior class that included 11 starters.
That leaves a younger team ready to make an impression, according to Hand.
"The team hasn't defined itself yet because of the loss of the senior class, but there is potential there," Hand said. "This year the team is going to be defined during training camp and through its work ethic."
Should the Titans improve on their 2-4 record and fourth-place finish in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), they will do it with not only a small senior class of just nine players but with a sound group of underclassmen that will dictate the future and the identity of the Titan football program.
Offense
Among the seven returning offensive starters, the unit's strength seems to be in passing game with experienced personnel returning under center and on the perimeter.
Senior quarterback J.R. Barley (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) is back after his first full year as a starter. In 2005, he threw for 784 yards and three touchdowns on 97-for-170 passing. Junior backup quarterback Brett Myers (Tallmadge, Ohio/Tallmadge) is waiting in the midst and is a capable starter having started one game last year against Waynesburg and engineered a fourth-quarter comeback win against Grove City when Barley was injured.
Myers threw for 464 yards last year and eclipsed Barley with four touchdown passes on the season, after throwing two in his only start along with a team single game-high of 198 passing yards.
The receiving corps is just as sound with experience as last year's leading pass-catcher Brett Zeigler (Somerset, Pa./Somerset) is back as a junior. Zeigler snared a team-high 35 passes for 393 yards (11.2 avg.) and six touchdowns. He will be joined by fellow returning starter Jake Buzard (West Middlesex, Pa./West Middlesex), a senior who caught 30 balls for 252 yards last year. Junior Jason Discello (New Kensington, Pa./Valley) -- 23 receptions for 121 yards in 2005 -- and sophomore Jordan Belosh (Edinboro, Pa./General McLane) -- 13 for 164 -- have considerable game experience and will compete for starts.
At tight end, sophomore Jack Seifert (Imperial, Pa./West Allegheny) will compete with senior returning letterman Scott Davenport (Towanda, Pa./Towanda).
The biggest void left by last year's senior class is in the backfield as running back Sean Buggey - 212 carries for 878 yards and five touchdowns - graduated after earning second-team all-PAC honors. The most experienced ballcarrier for the Titans will be sophomore Matt Hewston (Conneaut Lake, Pa./Conneaut Lake), who appeared in just two games last year, carrying the ball seven times. The one returning starter in the backfield is junior Josh Kutzner (Oakdale, Pa./West Allegheny) who caught eight passes in 2005 for 56 yards but did not have a rushing attempt. He will compete for the starting job with senior Matt Knight (Emlenton, Pa./A-C Valley) who switched from linebacker to fullback midway through the 2005 season.
The Titan offensive line returns three of five starters including junior left tackle Shane Parker (Mogadore, Ohio/Cuyahoga Falls), junior left guard Bryan Borkovich (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) and right guard Justin Decker (Poland, Ohio/Struthers), who will move to tackle for 2006. Borkovich is the most acclaimed offensive player as the only returning player named to the all-PAC team with his second-team nod. Junior Brett Bundy (Summersville, W.Va./Nicholas County), senior Tom Campana (Arnold, Pa./Valley), sophomore Joe Gizoni (McDonald, Pa./West Allegheny), and junior Randy Sylvester (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) are all the top candidates for the vacant starting spots up front.
Defense
The Titans return just three starters on defense but a considerable amount of returning lettermen will compete for starting positions.
Topping the list of returning starters is senior linebacker Jason Fridley (Wellsburg, W.Va./Brooke), who finished with 85 tackles in 2005, second only to the now graduated Jerry Bonenberger. Sophomore Jordan Blinn (Industry, Pa./Western Beaver) is the next most productive linebacker that returns. He made 10 tackles and two pass breakups as a reserve last year.
Sophomore Scott Brucker (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) also returns with game experience earned as a freshman.
Up front, senior Chris Dulovich (Poland, Ohio/Poland Seminary) is the lone returning starter. The defensive tackle posted 19 stops in 2005. Next to him will likely be sophomore Dan Berardelli (Beaver, Pa./Beaver), who made 12 stops last year as a reserve nose tackle.
Two more sophomores are also strong contenders to start. Neil Falco (Pleasantville, Pa./Titusville) will vie for a starting job on the defensive line, as he looks to replace first-team all-PAC tackle Ryan Chmura (83 tackles) after he made 13 tackles as his backup. Andrew Robison (New Wilmington, Pa./Wilmington), who had 19 stops last year as a reserve, will likely fill the void at rush end left by Adam Hadbavny.
Joey Tissler (Ventura, Calif./St. Bonaventure) leads the Titan secondary as its returning starter. Tissler, who had 59 tackles and three pass breakups last year, will play free safety. Strong safety will feature sophomore Josh Weese (Lisbon, Ohio/Beaver Local), a converted running back and linebacker, or senior Kyle Trimble (Canfield, Ohio/Western Reserve), a former punter who posted three stops last year as a reserve defensive back.
The top candidates at the corners are junior Mike Cacchione (Erie, Pa./McDowell), sophomore Jake Wilczynski (Harbor Creek, Pa./Harbor Creek), junior Eric Brown (Youngstown, Ohio/Rayen), and sophomore Tyler Stiffey (Industry, Pa./Western Beaver).
Specialists
Junior Dusty Rhodes (Niles, Ohio/Niles McKinley) is back as the Titan punter after averaging 35.1 yards per punt last year, ranking him fourth in the conference. He will take over the placekicking duties as well with Chris Castillo graduating after converting more field goals (10 of 15) than any other kicker in the league.
With Buggey, a second-team all-PAC returner graduated, the Titan coaching staff will determine a punt and kick returner during training camp with Buzard as the top candidate.
Founded in 1852 and related to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Westminster College is ranked among national leaders in graduation rate performance, according to U.S. News Guide to America's Best Colleges, and is one of the most affordable national liberal arts colleges in Pennsylvania. Westminster is also honored as one of 'The Best 361 Colleges' and 'Best 115 in the Mid-Atlantic' by The Princeton Review, and was recognized by the Templeton Guide as a 'Character Building College.'
Nearly 1,600 students benefit from individualized attention from dedicated faculty, while choosing from 40 majors and nearly 100 organizations on the New Wilmington, Pa. campus.
