RELEASE DATE: 10/13/09

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Mansfield Takes on Army in Allegiance Bowl -- Mountaineers faces undefeated opponent for third straight week

MANSFIELD -- The Mansfield University Mountaineers will go bowling for the first-time in school history when they face undefeated Army in the Allegiance Bowl in Saratoga Springs, NY on Saturday, Oct. 17.

Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Saratoga Springs High School. Pregame ceremonies began at 12:45 p.m. and will include a flyover of vintage military aircraft and a performance by the West Point “Black Knights” Parachute Team.

The game will be broadcast live on WTZN 1310 AM, WTTC 1550 AM and also be streamed on the internet on ESPN radio at GoMounties.com.

Mansfield is in its first season as a full-member of the Collegiate Sprint Football League (CSFL) with the Allegiance Bowl marking the ninth game in Mountaineer sprint football history. The program started with a four-game schedule in 2008.

Eighty-five percent of the Mountaineer roster is comprised of underclassmen.

The Mountaineers are 1-3 on the season after an opening 33-0 win over Princeton. That was followed by a 20-0 loss to Cornell and 49-0 setback to Penn. Mansfield lost to Navy 49-0 last Saturday in front of 3,224 fans at Karl Van Norman Field.

Mansfield, which plays its last three games of the season on the road, has drawn more than 7,000 fans in three home games this year.

Army is 4-0 on the season, 2-0 against CSFL opponents after outlasting Pennsylvania 35-26 in a battle of unbeatens last week. Army also beat Princeton 57-0.

Mansfield, which starts five freshmen on offense including four on the offensive line, has struggled to score points in the past three games. Against undefeated Navy last Saturday, the Mountaineers got into the red-zone twice, once to the one-yard line, but failed to score.

Mansfield also turned the ball over seven times against Navy including five interceptions by its freshmen quarterback corps. The Mountaineer defense played tough, allowing just three points in the first quarter while the Navy points in the second quarter all came off short drives.

Army ground out 304-yards rushing in last week's shootout with Penn, with the two teams combining for 24 fourth-quarter points. Marques Morris picked up 140 of those yards, with quarterback Tim Meier running for 84-yards and passing for another 151-yards and two touchdowns. Ricky Lantz added 75-yards.

For the season, Mansfield freshman quarterback Kode Plank has completed 29-of-79 passes for 312 yards and one touchdown. He has been intercepted seven times. Mansfield averages 155.5 yards per game in total offense, including 91.7 yards through the air.

The defense, led by sophomore defensive lineman Cody Croasdale and freshman linebacker Aaron Blinn with 21 tackles each, is allowing an average of 334.8 yards per game with 213.0 of them coming on the ground.

Army is enjoying a remarkable statistical season, averaging 231.8 yards per game on the ground while giving up an average of just 5.8 rushing yards per game to opponents. The Cadets have also recorded 21 sacks on the season while allowing just one.

Morris is averaging more than 100 yards per game this year and 11.0 yards per carry. Lentz is averaging 97.8 yards per game on the ground. Meier has completed 33-of-68 of his passes for 574 yards and seven touchdowns. He has not thrown an interception this season.

Mansfield travels to Princeton next Friday before closing out the 2009 season at Cornell on October 30.