Coming off a strange year in which it reached the NCAA Tournament despite suffering numerous injuries, the Muhlenberg football team will “expect better” in 2005.

The Mules, who open up Friday night at The College of New Jersey, were 8-3 a year ago and finished in a five-way tie for the Centennial Conference championship. The shared title was their fourth in a row, and they received the NCAA bid for the third straight year on tiebreakers.

“We have to expect better of ourselves, expect better of our teammates and expect better of all our opponents,” said Mike Donnelly,

Wargacki was third on the team in tackles for loss and tied a school record by recovering four fumbles.

who enters his ninth year as head coach. “This is the toughest schedule we’ve ever had.”

Muhlenberg returns 17 starters and 35 letterwinners, and one positive side effect of the rash of injuries – which claimed the team’s leading tackler, leading receiver, starting tight end and three starting running backs – is that the Mules enter the campaign with a squad of game-tested players.

Here is how Muhlenberg, ranked 19th in the Street & Smith’s preseason poll, stacks up by position:

DEFENSE
Muhlenberg led all four NCAA divisions by allowing only 195.5 yards per game in 2004. The Mules also ranked in the top five in Division III in scoring defense (third, 10.3 points per game), rushing defense (third, 68.1 yards per game) and pass efficiency defense (fifth, 79.3 rating). The unit went five straight games without allowing an offensive touchdown, and did not allow a passing touchdown for a span of nearly nine full games (246 attempts).

The Mules graduated three outstanding starters, including the CC player of the year and the team’s defensive MVP, but have plenty of experienced players back and could start eight seniors on defense.

Senior co-captain Tom Wargacki moves from end to the important nose tackle spot in the 3-4 defense. He made 36 tackles in 2004, including 10½ for loss, and was named to the All-CC second team. Fifth-year senior Will Corbin brings career totals of 47 tackles, nine tackles for loss and five sacks to one defensive end position, while junior Chris Musselman, who had a pair of sacks as a reserve last year, will man the other side.

The linebacking corps, which lost three of its four starters, welcomes back senior Mark Bennett, the team’s leading tackler with 38 stops last year before suffering a season-ending injury in the fifth game. Moving from defensive end is senior Dan McCall, who should thrive as an outside linebacker. The two-time All-CC first-team selection has 15 career sacks, just four away from the school record.

Sophomore Dustin Good, the Mules’ rookie of the year, and junior Jeff Morrow won the other two starting spots at linebacker.

The Mules feature an all-senior secondary, and even their fifth defensive back is a senior. Cornerbacks Justin Adair and Mike McCurley both earned first-team All-CC honors last year. Adair made 46 tackles, tied a school record with 13 pass breakups and picked off two passes. McCurley notched 48 tackles and nine breakups.

Phillip Gasker and Alexander Miller return at the safety spots. Gasker is the team’s top returning tackler with 62 stops a year ago. He also intercepted three passes en route to receiving All-CC honorable mention. Miller made a career-high 34 tackles and picked off two passes. Senior James Crowley and sophomore Ryan Merrill are the top candidates to enter the field when Muhlenberg goes to nickel or dime packages.

SPECIAL TEAMS
Muhlenberg returns both of its starting kickers and its top two return men. In his first year as the punter, junior Ryan Sassaman averaged 36.0 yards per kick, earning All-CC honorable mention. Sophomore Jordon Grube won the job as kicker midway through the season and wound up as the team’s leading scorer, making seven of 10 field-goal tries.

McCurley, an All-CC first-team cornerback, received second-team honors as a kick returner. He averaged 19.4 yards per kickoff return and 9.9 yards

Slabicki has started all 21 games at center the last two years.

per punt return. Gasker returned nine kickoffs for a 33.4-yard average, including an 85-yard touchdown against Moravian.

OFFENSE
Plagued by one injury after another, the Muhlenberg offense was a merry-go-round last year, utilizing a running back who started out as a defensive back, another running back who started out as a quarterback, and converting two linemen into a tight end and fullback.

The lack of consistency in personnel translated into a predictable lack of consistency on the field, although there were some positives. The offense led the CC by holding the ball for an average of 34:05 per game, which was a big factor in the success of the defense. Four different running backs recorded 100-yard games, and a fifth just missed.

The offensive line remained relatively healthy and is expected to be a major strength again in 2005. Senior co-captain Michael Leanch, a preseason All-American and the team’s offensive MVP, will shift from guard to tackle. Fellow senior co-captain Carl Slabicki returns at center after earning All-CC second-team honors. Senior Tim Opiel, who was the team’s rookie of the year in 2002 but missed the last two seasons while recovering from an injury, starts at the other tackle spot.

Senior Bryan Spencer, a starter in 2004, and junior Matthew Sallese are the guards.

Senior Kyle Douglass was expected to be the Mules’ top receiver last year and was for all of about 32 minutes, before suffering a season-ending injury in the first game. He is back, as are 2004 starters Chris Giannini and Michael Karchner. Giannini led the team in receiving, with 39 catches for 565 yards and three touchdowns. Chris Poehls and Antoine Williams, a pair of seniors who have battled injuries throughout their careers, showed promise in minimal action last season – each scoring a touchdown – and should give depth to the receiving corps.

Another position welcoming back an injured starter is tight end, where junior Derek DiMattina was sidelined at the end of the fourth game. He is complemented by classmate Stephen Montalto, who took advantage of the opening to catch 18 passes (second on the team) and earn All-CC second-team honors.

Junior fullback Keith Shalvoy was a constant in the offense and had an outstanding season, blocking well, rushing for 209 yards and catching 17 passes.

The two biggest question marks on offense, and perhaps on the whole team, are at quarterback and running back. Senior Tom Kelleher won the starting job under center in the preseason, beating out sophomore Matt Johnson. Kelleher did well as a starter in 2003, but struggled last year. Johnson, who rushed for 307 yards as a fillin tailback, may see action at other spots.

At running back, the Mules will be inexperienced, as their lone returner is sophomore Ross Tanner, who began his Muhlenberg career as a cornerback. He was second on the team with 320 rushing yards as a freshman.