JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com
Geoff Hess was a key, key cog on the Penn Manor football team that went to the District 3 Quad-A playoffs in 2006.
Hess stayed close to home when he picked his college – Millersville, where he’s now playing strong safety as a redshirt freshman.
The Marauders are just 1-3 in the PSAC and 1-6 overall, but Hess has appeared in all seven games, and started a pair.
Through seven games he has nine solo tackles, 10 assisted tackles, one pass breakup, one pass defended, and he blocked a punt.
In this audio Podcast interview, I chatted with the former Comets’ standout about finally getting a win last week, about this week’s big trip to New York to take on C.W. Post for the first time ever, about playing strong safety, and a stroll down memory lane about his days at Penn Manor – and how great the Comets (7-0) have been playing this season.
You can listen to the interview by clicking on the ‘play’ button above.
You can also download the Podcast and play it on your favorite mp3 device by clicking right here.
And you can continue reading for my MU-C.W. Post preview capsule here …
THE GAME: Millersville (1-3 PSAC, 1-6 overall) @ C.W. Post (1-3 PSAC, 1-6 overall), Saturday, noon, Hickox Field, Brookville, N.Y.
ONLINE: The Marauder Sports Broadcasting Network — http://www.millersville.edu/~athletic/– with Domenic Panza and Randy Jackson.
THE SERIES: This is the first meeting ever between the Marauders and the Pioneers.
THE COACHES: MU’s Greg Colby is in his first season with the Marauders. … Bryan Collins is in his 11th season with the Pioneers, and his teams are 85-32. Under Collins, Post won or shared four NE-10 Conference championships and went to the NCAA Division 2 playoffs three times. The St. John’s grad also served as an assistant at Kings Point and St. Francis Prep. Collins is also C.W. Post’s athletic director.
ABOUT MILLERSVILLE: This is only the fourth time that MU has played a team from New York – and the first time in 28 years. The Marauders are 2-0-1 against New York-based teams, with wins over Brockport in 1965 and 1976 and a tie against the New York Institute of Technology in 1980. Wow, now you know. … Coming off a 48-6 win over Cheyney to avoid first 0-7 start since 1969. It was the Marauders’ 25th win in a row over the Wolves. … MU had a season-high 490 yards against Cheyney. … RB Cardoza Jacks set a school record with 44 carries for 274 yards in the victory. He was named the PSAC East Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts. … MU gave up 304 yards to Cheyney; first time this season the Marauders held their opponent to less than 400 yards. … In four starts, QB Bill Shirk has passed for 764 yards and seven TDs. … The 48 points vs. Cheyney were the most MU has scored this season, and the most since the Marauders scored 48 points against Cheyney in 2006.
ABOUT C.W. POST: First year in the PSAC after competing in the NE-10 Conference. … The Pioneers are riding a three-game losing skid, including last Saturday’s 17-7 setback to West Chester – which waxed MU, by the way. Post also fell to Bloomsburg and Shippensburg during this slide, when the Pioneers have averaged just 7.7 points per game. … Lone win this season was a 35-0 win over Cheyney. … Averaging just 12 points a game – 14th in the PSAC. … RB Jason Gwaltney has 439 yards and averages 109.8 rushing yards a game. … QB Nick Georgetti has completed just 49 percent of his passes with three TDs and five interceptions. His favorite targets are Dennis Vanella and Chris Harris. … Pioneers are giving up 373.7 yards a game. … Minus-6 in turnover ratio, which is tied for last in the PSAC. And 17 giveaways are most in the conference.
THE PICK: I know the Marauders have to pile in a bus and drive to New York. But they’re finally feeling frisky after getting into the W column last week. Momentum is a great thing, and I have a gut feeling MU is going to ride that momentum to a second straight win. I’m feeling the Marauders, 23-20.
