BY JEFF FALK

 PHOTOS COURTESY OF LVC

The 2016 edition of the Lebanon Valley College football program certainly wasn’t the first team to get off to a slow start under a new head coach. But the difficulties LVC encountered seemed more related to developmental issues than any adjustments to a new authority figure.

Perhaps the best that the Flying Dutchmen can hope for this season is to learn from that experience.

Given the large number of seniors LVC graduates annually, the amount of carry-over from one season to the next is minute. So what that means for Lebanon Valley is that there will be little momentum to be captured from last year’s season-ending winning streak.

Last season, Lebanon Valley went 4-6 under new head man and long-time offensive coach Joe Buehler. After starting 1-6, the Flying Dutchmen finished with a flurry, in the form of a three-game win streak.

But the past is the past. And it has really little to do with the present.

“I don’t think so,” said Buehler of the getting-used-to-the-new-head-coach hypothesis. “For a long time, I was running a lot of things in our program. I’ve been coaching 29 years and I’m surrounded by guys who have been doing it for the same number of years. I think it had to do more with the development of our team and the growing up we did as the season went along.

“I have a great staff,” added Buehler. “I’m really fortunate to be surrounded by great teachers of the game and great students of the game.”

The Flying Dutchmen will open their current season on Saturday at 1 p.m., on the home turf of Arnold Field against Franklin and Marshall. The Diplomats were at least partly responsible for last year’s slow beginning, with their 30-6 triumph over Lebanon Valley in Lancaster.

“I remember our improvement as the season went on,” said Buehler of last year. “Where we started and where we finished were two different places. It took us awhile to get started.

“I would say we definitely tackled better later in the season,” Buehler added. “We grew into a new defense. And I thought the change in quarterbacks helped us improve.”

Buehler is currently working with 129 student-athletes on his roster, 28 of whom are members of the class of 2018. The Flying Dutchmen return seven starters on offense, and depending upon how one counts them, ten to 13 starters, on a very veteran defense.

“I would say ‘yes’ to both,” said Buehler, when asked if LVC entered training camp seeking to improve in specific areas or as a team overall. “We knew we had some holes to fill in. In the spring, we had to improve the passing game. On defense, it was just continue to build. For those guys, it was just improving as football players.

“I’d say we’re where we should be,” continued Buehler. “We need this final week to prepare. We’ve got to make every practice count. We certainly have work to do.”

The Flying Dutchmen offense will revolve around senior quarterback Tyler Sterner, junior tailback Ryan Fink, senior tailback Jon Jones and versatile senior athlete Tim Pirrone. The men up front are spearheaded by fifth-year senior offensive tackle Bob Van Horn.

“I’d like to beat F&M,” said Buehler, a native of Palmyra. “It’s one day at a time. Our team motto is: ‘Win the Day’. If we keep our goals reasonable by being the best men and the best football players we can be, then we’ll have a shot. If we can do that, there’s not a team on our schedule we can’t beat.

“We had an intra-squad scrimmage recently and I was thrilled,” continued Buehler. “We did not lose anyone to injury. We got the work in without getting anyone hurt. The passing game has improved and the running game is still strong. We’ve got to clean up some things offensively. The defense made some plays, which I was excited about. But we tackled better.”

That defense has the potential to be very good.

Senior linebackers Tom Garner and Tom Gallagher are both three-year guys, as is defensive back Spencer Moser. In play-makers Blake Lutz and Zach Adams, Lebanon Valley possesses one of the finest safety tandems in the Middle Atlantic Conference.

“I feel that’s where it starts for us,” said Buehler of the defense. “If they play to their capabilities we have a chance to win every football game we play. I would say defensively it’s about being consistent and staying consistent.

“We run well defensively and we have tremendous depth,” Buehler continued. “On the defensive line, we have nine guys who can contribute. Our safeties can do good things. They can fly around and their communication is really good.”

21017 Lebanon Valley College Football Schedule

2017 MAC Football Preseason Coaches’ Poll

1. Delaware Valley – 75 (5)
T2. Stevenson – 72 (3)
T2. Albright – 72 (2)
4. Widener – 55
5. King’s – 47
6. Lycoming – 38
7. Lebanon Valley – 33
8. Wilkes – 27
9. FDU-Florham – 19
10. Misericordia – 12