Complete Game Notes

SEASON OPENER
The Bullets open the 120th season of football at Gettysburg College on Saturday as they host the Misericordia University Cougars in their lone non-conference outing of the  year.

GAME COVERAGE
For the second year in a row, Gettysburg College has partnered with Stretch Internet to provide live stats and live video free of charge. Both services can be accessed at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/gettysburg.portal#.

QUICK HITS
1. Saturday's contest marks the first-ever football game for Misericordia, which is playing in its inaugural season this year.
2. The Bullets are 11-5 over their last 16 games, dating back to Oct. 9, 2010.
3. Saturday's game marks the first time since 2000 that Gettysburg has not played Lebanon Valley in its season opener.

LAST TIME OUT
Gettysburg rushed for a season-high 385 yards and the Bullets closed their 2011 season on a high note, toppling Franklin & Marshall College 28-14 in Lancaster. Tailback Ted Delia rushed for 156 yards and one touchdown as Gettysburg outgained the Diplomats 498-358 and had a pair of scoring drives of over 90 yards, including a 98-yarder. Gettysburg, which never trailed after scoring on its opening drive, received 86 yards on 10 carries from quarterback Kyle Whitmoyer '12, who also threw a pair of touchdown passes to wing back John Pesce '12. Quarterback Kody Smith added 65 yards on seven carries for the Bullets while wing back Freddy Caruso contributed 58 rushing yards and one touchdown. Linebacker Larry DelViscio made 12 tackles, 2.0 sacks, and recovered a fumble for Gettysburg, which snapped a four-game losing streak at F&M.

THE GETTYSBURG OFFENSE
Gettysburg returns six starters and nearly all of its skill position players from its 2011 unit that finished 11th in Division III in total offense (460.9 ypg), including all-conference performers at quarterback, tailback, and wide receiver. Senior quarterback Kody Smith, senior tailback Ted Delia, and junior wideout Aden Twer were all named to the All-Centennial Conference Second Team a year ago. Smith shared signal-calling duties with Kyle Whitmoyer '12 but still passed for 1,637 yards and 17 touchdown and just four interceptions. Delia led a rushing game that topped the Centennial Conference and finished 25th in Division III (226.7 ypg), rushing for 1,071 yards and nine touchdowns, while Twer led the Bullets in receptions (56) and receiving yards (1,079) and set a school record for TD receptions (12). Sophomore wing Freddy Caruso also returns after finishing with a combined 728 yards and four touchdowns rushing and receiving while #Matt Brophy#, the team leader in receptions by a tight end over the last two years, is also back. Senior right tackle Jake Treinish is Gettysburg's lone returning starter on the offensive line.

THE GETTYSBURG DEFENSE
A senior-laden Bullet defense will look to continue its momentum from the latter part of the 2011 campaign, when it held its opponents to 12.7 points per game over the team's final three wins. Seven of the unit's projected starters are seniors, including all five returning starters. Senior linebacker Larry DelViscio is back after leading the team and finishing second in the Centennial Conference with100 tackles (13.0 for loss) en route to earning All-CC honorable mention. Senior linebacker Mark Covington also returns after finishing as the team's third-leading tackler (64) last season while senior defensive end Joe Ventresca notched 8.5 sacks, tying for fourth in the Centennial Conference and 23rd in Division III. Other returning starters are senior defensive tackle Robert Swierkowski and senior cornerback #D.J. Thompson#.

THE GETTYSBURG SPECIAL TEAMS
The majority of Gettysburg's special teams also returns, including Delia, who tied school and conference records for punt return touchdowns (three) last season. He averaged 25.9 yards per punt return to lead the Centennial Conference and was named to the D3football.com All-South Region Team as a return specialist. Sophomore Nick Ulassin returns after posting 840 yards - second in school history - on a school-record 41 kickoff returns. Caruso was the team's punter over the second half of the season and averaged 31.4 yards per attempt. The Bullets must replace the only kicker to attempt a field goal or extra point last season.

SCOUTING MISERICORDIA
An incredibly young Misericordia squad will usher in the start of a new era today. Of the 79 players on its active roster, 56 are freshmen, including 19 of its 22 projected starters. The university announced it was adding football on Oct. 18, 2010, making it the 14th sport added since the Cougars joined the NCAA Division III in 1992 and bringing MU's total number of sports to 23. On Jan. 14, 2011, Mark Ross was named as the program's first head coach, and the team held its first official practice on Aug. 12, 2012. Misericordia, located in Dallas, Pa. (less than 10 miles from Wilkes-Barre), will compete in the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) in football and is the 10th school in the MAC to offer the sport.

THE COACHES
Gettysburg is coached by Barry Streeter, who enters his 34th year at the helm of the Bullets. With 167 career victories, Streeter is tied for 10th among active Division III coaches in wins. He is also tied for 26th on the all-time Division III coaches win list. Streeter, who owns a career record of 167-162-5, is Gettysburg's all-time winningest and longest-tenured football coach in program history. In addition, his 99 Centennial Conference football wins are second in conference history.

Ross comes to Misericordia after a 10-year stint as an assistant coach at Ithaca College, where he served as the Bombers defensive coordinator and linebackers coach from 2007-10. He also spent four years as an assistant coach at East Stroudsburg University.

HITTING THE BOOKS
Senior linebacker Larry DelViscio became the 17th Academic All-American in school history when he was named to the Capital One/CoSIDA Division III Second Team. An economics major, he became the fourth football player in school history to earn the award but the first since Cliff Mason '03 collected first-team recognition in 2002.

MODEL OF EFFICIENCY
Last season, senior Kody Smith finished 17th in Division III in passing efficiency (152.12). Despite making just 62 percent of the team's pass attempts, Smith tossed 17 touchdowns to come within two of the school record. He was intercepted just four times, and his All-Centennial Conference Second Team selection was the highest all-conference honor by a Bullet quarterback since Chris Adams '95 earned first-team and offensive player-of-the-year recognition in 1994.

RECORD BREAKER
Junior receiver Aden Twer broke Gettysburg's oldest single-season offensive record when he caught 12 touchdown passes last season, breaking the 47-year-old mark of 11 TD grabs set by Ken Snyder '65 in 1964. Twer also became just the second Bullet to post 1,000 receiving yards in a season, finishing with 1,079 to finish behind only Chris Notarfrancesco's 1,115 in 1994.

DYNAMIC DUO
Last season marked just the second time in school history that Gettysburg finished with both a 1,000-yard rusher and 1,000-yard receiver in Ted Delia (1,071 rushing yards) and Aden Twer (1,079 receiving yards). It had only been achieved previously in 1994, when both Dwayne Marcus (1,120 yards) and Shannon Forsythe '96 (1,086) went over the 1K mark in rushing and Chris Notarfrancesco '95 piled up 1,115 receiving yards.

FOUR NAMED CAPTAINS
Four seniors are sharing the duties of team captain for Gettysburg in 2012. Linebacker Larry DelViscio, defensive end Chris Nolan, quarterback Kody Smith, and defensive end Joe Ventresca are all serving as captains for the first time for the Bullets.

NEW FACES ON COACHING STAFF
Gettysburg head coach Barry Streeter added three to his coaching staff during the offseason. Chris DiLella is the new wide receivers/wings coach while Matt Muller takes charge of the outside linebackers. In addition, Nick Interdonato returns for his second stint on the Bullet sideline. DiLella, a 2009 King's College graduate, most recently coached at Castleton State while Muller, a 1993 York (Pa.) College graduate, is coming off a seven-year run as head coach of nearby New Oxford High School. Interdonato, a 1979 Susquehanna University graduate who will serve as a defensive assistant, also coached the Gettysburg defensive line from 2007-09.

BULLETS PICKED 4TH IN CC PRESEASON POLL
In the Centennial Conference Preseason Poll, the Bullets were picked to finish fourth in 2012, as shown below. The poll is voted on by the conference's head coaches and sports information directors.

Pl Team Points (1st Place)
1. Johns Hopkins, 153 (14)
2. Ursinus, 137 (4)
3. Muhlenberg, 126 (1)
4.  Gettysburg, 96
5. Susquehanna, 92
6. Franklin & Marshall, 85
7. Dickinson, 71 (1)
8. McDaniel, 68
9. Moravian, 53
10. Juniata, 19