The Game

• West Virginia Wesleyan heads to Shepherdstown to battle the league-leader Shepherd on Saturday afternoon at Ram Stadium.
• The Rams lead the all-time series between the two programs 29-7 with one game ending in a tie. Shepherd's legendary coach Monte Cater is 16-6 in 22 meetings with the Bobcats. Wesleyan rallied from a 38-24 deficit in the fourth quarter to win a 45-44 thriller in overtime last season.
• Wesleyan has two victories (1996 and 2002) over Shepherd when the game is played in the panhandle.
• For those who can't be at Ram Stadium, the voice of the Bobcats, Reuben Perdue, along with Bill Nestor and sideline reporter Chris Nutter will be on the call from Shepherdstown--starting with a pregame show at 11:30 leading up to the 12 p.m. kickoff on 102.3 WFBY on; you can listen on the internet at WFBY.com.

Last Week

• The Bobcats scored 10 points off turnovers to claim a 33-21 win over Urbana last Saturday.
• Nate Montana passed for 341 yards and three touchdowns on 27-of-46 passing, he was also intercepted once.
• John Maddox registered 14 stops on the day, while Jonas Celian, Jermichael Kelley and Hausaan Burton all notched an interception in the game.
• Shepherd recovered form a 6-0 deficit to pick up a 20-6 victory over Concord last Saturday.
• The Rams scored 13 points on special teams in the game including a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown.
• Concord held a 417-301 advantage in total offense, but were intercepted four times and went 0-for-3 in the red zone (two INTs and missed FG.

Notebook

• Wesleyan ranks second in the country with 24 sacks through five games.
• Saturday marked the first time in 2012 the Bobcats' defense did not register at least five sacks.
• Wesleyan is the only school in the country with three players in the top-25 in sacks.
• Jesse Robertson is second in Division-II in solo tackles with 39.
• Jonas Celian is sixth in D-II with seven sacks on the year.
• Robertson and Brian Vukela are tied for fifth in the nation with 11.5 tackes for a loss each.
• The Bobcats are fourth in the nation in red zone defense allowing 11 scores on 20 attempts (55 percent), to rank fourth in the country. 
• Shepherd leads the nation in red zone defense allowing scores on just three of 10 opposition opportunities inside the 20.
• Wesleyan leads the WVIAC and is tied for 20th in D-II with a +6 turnover margin.
• The Bobcats are 152nd out of 156 teams in Division II in third down conversions, managing just 21 conversions in 90 attempts (19.4%).
• Wesleyan is also 152nd in yards penalized per game, averaging 105.8 yards per contest.

Still Anybody's Race

• After an 0-3 start it seemed like all hope was lost for Wesleyan to have a crack at the 2012 WVIAC crown, but the Bobcats head to Shepherd still with a chance to at least share the league title if the can win out.
• Currently the league has only two teams with winning records (Shepherd and Charleston).

NFL Ties

• West Virginia Wesleyan has become a home for former NFL talent looking to break into the coaching ranks.
• Assistant Head Coach Anthony Thomas is starting his second season in Buckhannon after an eight year NFL career where he was Rookie of the Year in 2001 with the Chicago Bears. Thomas played college football at the University of Michigan where he led the Wolverines to the 1997 National Championship.
• Defensive Coordinator Eric Brock played two seasons with the Atlanta Falcons. Brock was a three-year letterwinner at Auburn University.
• The newest addition to the Wesleyan coaching staff has been that of former Pittsburgh Steeler and two-time Super Bowl Champion running back Willie Parker.
• Nate Montana, the son of Joe Montana, is also in Buckhannon.

Home Field Advantage

• Wesleyan has won 14 of the last 15 games played on the grass at Ross Field.
• The loss to Bentley snapped a 12-game win streak at Ross Field.

Road Blues

• Wesleyan has compiled an 20-7 overall record since the start of 2010, but has managed just a 7-6 record on the road.
• Under Jonas Jackson, the team is just 4-4 on the road.
• Each of the four games the Bobcats have surrendered 200+ rushing yards have come on the road.

Hall of Fame Pedigree

• Nate Montana has two challenges this season; first, he is the son of a Super Bowl Champion and Pro Football Hall of Famer (Joe Montana), second is that he has to fill the shoes of Adam Neugebauer (who led D-II in passing yards and touchdowns).
• Montana completed 27-of-49 passes in his debut for 255 yards, a pair of touchdowns and two interceptions.
• Montana rolled up 413 yards on 37-of-66 passing against Seton Hill with four touchdowns and no interceptions. He earned WVIAC Offensive Player of the Week honors for his performance.
• His success continued against Urbana hitting on 27-of-56 passes for 341 yards, three touchdowns and was intercepted once.

90 Plays a Game

• Jonas Jackson set a goal this season for his team to run 90 plays a game.
• The team ran a school-record 92 plays against Seton Hill, and ran 90 plays in the victory over Urbana.
• The Bobcats are 152nd out of 156 teams in Division II in third down conversions, managing just 21 conversions in 90 attempts (19.4%).
• Of the 90 attempts, 39 have been third and 10 or more yards to go.

Red Zone

• The defense has limited opponents to scores on just 11-of-20 (eight TDs, three FGs) attempts inside the 20.The 55% of scores given up by Wesleyan ranks fourth in D-II.

Ends of Fury

• West Virginia Wesleyan is second in D-II with 24 sacks on the year.
• The pressure on the  quarterback is being generated by All-American defensive end Jonas Celian is sixth in D-II with seven sacks.
• Celian, a native of North Lauderdale, Fla., racked up 12 sacks last season and is in second place on Wesleyan's all-time sack list with 36.5.
• While Celian gets a lot of notice from opposing offenses,  of equal attention on the other side is Brian Vukela who also registers in the top 10 in career sacks.
• The senior from Bethel Park, Pa. has 20.5 career sacks, needing just one sack to move into third all-time.
• Celian and Vukela combined for three and a half sacks against Millersville.
• Junior college transfer Marcus Spearman is also causing havoc with five sacks in 2012.
• Celian, Vukela and Spearman have combined for 11.5 sacks this season.

Catch Me if You Can

• The Wesleyan pass attack is one that cannot be slowed by keying on any single player. Receivers have totaled 106 receptions, running backs 25 and and tight ends have 14 catches.
• Five Wesleyan receivers are over the 100 yard mark for the season (four receivers, one tight end), and three have over 250 yards.
• Bobcat pass catchers are averaging 11.1 yards per reception with 12 touchdowns.

Mussel Up

• Redshirt sophomore quarterback, Jeremy Musselman, missed the Millersville game with an injury, but did not miss a beat when his number was called against Bentley—leading the Bobcats on a seven play 70 yard drive ending in a touchdown pass to Nyme Manns.
• Musselman tossed for 245 yards and two scores on 18-of-31 passing against West Liberty.

Scouting the Rams

• Monte Cater is in his 26th season in Shepherdstown and his 31st overall as a head coach. Cater is 186-85-1 as the Rams head coach and 217-108-2 overall.
• The Rams are led by senior signal caller Bobby Cooper who is 84-of-145 with 935 yards, seven touchdowns, but has thrown four interceptions.
• Shepherd has a trio of backs that will tote the ball led by Mike Haynes who has 239 yards on 39 attempts with a pair of touchdowns. Jihad Rasheed has 144 yards on 34 carries, two touchdowns and a team-best 4.2 yards per carry. Kenny Williams has racked up 116 yards on 33 carries and has a team-high four touchdowns.
• Larry Lowe is the Rams leading receiver with 22 catches for 231 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
• Senior linebacker A.J. Parrish led the Rams' defense with 32 tackles on the year. Defensive end Howard Jones has four sacks, while Keon Robinson has a pair of interceptions including one returned for a touchdown.
• Robinson and D.J. Scott provide a threat for the Rams on special teams. Scott and Robinson have a combined four special teams TDs (Scott three, Robison one). Scott has two punts and one blocked field goal return while Robinson has one kickoff return to go along with three interception returns for TDs.

Upper Class

• The Wesleyan roster consists of 49 upperclassmen, including 20 seniors and 29 juniors.

Ricky on the Return

• Wesleyan junior Ricky Conner broke through last season as the team's primary punt returner, taking in 32 of the teams 33 returns.
• Conner needs just 58 yards to crack the top-five in punt return yards at Wesleyan.

Kasper Kicks

• Wesleyan struggled a season ago in the kicking game, hitting on just 45% of field goals and 86% of extra points.
• This season, help has arrived in the form of Denmark native Kasper Bernild.
• Bernild hit on 80% of his field goal attempts in the 2010 Danish National League with a long of 53 yards.
• Bernild is 7-for-14 on the year with a long of 43 yards. His seven makes are tied for fourth in the country.

The Beef

• Two-time first team All-WVIAC performer Shannon Breen returns top his alma mater as the offensive line coach.
• the interior with a sophomore (Andrew Spate) and true freshman (Dylan Dopson) at the guard positions as well as a true freshman at center (Jerri Petite).
• The offensive line is anchored by senior right tackle Kevin Goetaski who has played in 20 games in the orange and black making 16 starts.
• Senior John Kramer fills the othe tackle position for the Bobcats.

Black Hats

• Wesleyan steps away from the white helmets with black paws worn in 2012.
• The new look domes are black with orange paws, an idea conceived by coach Jackson as a way to make his players proud to be Bobcats.

The End of the WVIAC

• West Virginia Wesleyan, along with the other eight football playing schools, will be vying for the final WVIAC football crown as they move into the Mountain East Conference.

Last Season vs. Shepherd

• Last season's meeting with Shepherd was one of the most memorable in WVIAC history as the Bobcats rallied from a two score deficit with eight minutes to play to down Shepherd 45-44 in overtime. John Maddox stuffed a two-point attempt on the games final play to seal the victory.
• Adam Neugebauer threw for 412 yards and six touchdowns on 41-of-66 passing in the win.
• The Wesleyan defense racked up 14 tackles for loss in the game led by three each from Jake Leninsky and Brian Vukela.

2011 Review

• The Wesleyan football team rolled to a 9-0 start before dropping the final two games of the regular season, finishing 9-2 overall and 6-2 in league play.
• Wesleyan led Division II, averaging 384.3 passing yards per game.
• Adam Neugebauer, Jon Meadows and Jonas Celian all earned All-American status.
• Meadows and Neugenbauer each set 2 school single season records. (Meadows: receptions (99) and receiving yards (1,275) (Neugebauer passing touchdowns (40) and yards (4,111).
• The 2011 Bobcats also set seven single game records as a team, along with nine single season records.