Mike Drass, who also serves as the Director of Athletics at Wesley, completed his 17th season as Wesley’s Head Football Coach leading the Wolverines to a record of 143-44-1 through the end of the 2009 season.
During the past five seasons, Wesley's 58 victories are the third most in Division III and the team has won 12 NCAA playoff games during the run, advancing to the national semifinals three times and one trip to each the quarterfinals and the second round.
Including his four years as an assistant coach before taking over the Wesley program, Drass has been on the sideline for all but one win in the program's Division III history. He also guided the team into the Atlantic Central Football Conference in 1998 and the Wolverines have won eight ACFC Championships and posted an .833 win percentage in conference play.
The 2009 version of Wesley football tied a school record with 13
wins and posted the second undefeated regular season for the
Wolverines since 2006 to finish fourth in the final national
rankings for the season. The squad won the NCAA Division III
South Region Championship and advanced to the national semifinals
after winning the program's fifth straight ACFC Championship.
Drass also won his seventh ACFC Coach of the Year Award during the
season. In addition to his Coach of the Year Award, the
Wolverines featured both the conference's Offensive and Defensive
Player of the Year among 19 all-conference selections. Wesley
produced the D3football.com South Region Defensive Player of the
Year, The ECAC Southwest Player of the Year, seven D3football.com
All-South Region picks, 10 ECAC All-Stars, and AFCA All-American
and four D3football.com All-Americans.
His 2008 team finished 9-2 and won its fourth straight ACFC
Championship. The squad also earned a bid to the NCAA
Division III Championships for the fourth consecutive year,
advancing to the second round. The ACFC Coach of the
Year, his squad also produced the Offensive, Defensive and Special
Teams Players of the Year in the conference. In addition to
19 All-ACFC selections, the Wolverines had five ECAC All-Stars,
five D3football.com All-South Region players and a trio of
student-athletes who combined for five All-America honors.
Wesley finished the 2007 season with a record of 11-2 and went
undefeated in conference play to win its third consecutive ACFC
Championship. The Wolverines also advanced to the NCAA Division III
Championship Quarterfinals. Wesley finished the season ranked fifth
in both of the major top 25 rankings - the American Football
Coaches Association and D3football.com. It was the highest ever
season-ending ranking for the program. Coach Drass was also named
ACFC Coach of the Year for the sixth time after the season.
The 2007 team also earned the prestigious Lambert-Meadowlands
Trophy, recognizing supremacy in Eastern college football, and the
ECAC Division III Team of the Year Award, both for the first time
in school history.
|
|
By the Numbers |
| 1 | Gagliardi Trophy Winner |
| 1 | Lambert Meadowlands Trophy |
| 1 | ECAC Team of the Year Award |
| 2 | Undefeated Regular Season |
| 3 | NCAA Division III South Region Championships |
| 3 | D3football.com South Region Players of the Year |
| 4 | Seasons of at least 10 wins |
| 5 | Consecutive NCAA Appearances |
| 5 | Consecutive ACFC Championships |
| 5 | Associated Press All-Americans |
| 6 | ECAC Bowl Appearances |
| 6 | NCAA Division III Playoff Appearances |
| 6 | Undefeated ACFC Seasons |
| 7 | ACFC Coach of the Year Awards |
| 8 | ACFC Championships |
| 9 | AFCA All-Americans |
| 12 | NCAA Postseason wins |
| 13 | School Record for Wins in a season |
| 16 | D3football.com All-Americans |
| 32 | Football Gazette All-Americans |
| 40 | Atlantic Central Football Conference Victories |
| 63 | ECAC All-Stars |
| 143 | Career Wins |
| 170 | All-ACFC Selections |
Drass was named American Football Monthly Division III Coach of the Year in 2006 as the Wolverines won their second consecutive NCAA South Region Championship. The Wolverines defeated The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor 34-20 to advance the the NCAA Division III Semifinals posting a 13-1 record. Drass was honored as the Atlantic Central Football Conference Coach of the Year after the 1998, 2000 2001, 2005 and 2007 seasons. In March of 1993 Drass was named the Wolverines third Division III coach, after spending three years as the defensive coordinator.
The Wolverines, committed to success on the field and in the classroom, stress an academics first approach to college football. “Football at Wesley College is about a cap and gown, not a helmet and shoulder pads,” says Drass “I get the most satisfaction when one of our players walks across the graduation stage. Our belief is simple: There can be no success on the field unless there is progress toward a degree in the classroom.”
Drass has coordinated the Wesley defense and has spearheaded the
Wolverines’ recruiting since his arrival at Wesley in 1989.
Wesley led the ACFC in total defense in 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002,
2005, 2007, 2008 and 2009. The Wolverine defensive unit has held
top 25 total defense ranking 10 of the last 15 seasons. This past
season, the Wolverines' defense was ranked in the national top 20
in total defense, pass efficiency defense and tackles for loss.
Coach Drass began his coaching career at North Penn High School in
Blossburg, Pennsylvania in 1983. Following two seasons as an
assistant, he spent two years as the school’s head coach
before accepting a coaching position at Mansfield University. At
his alma mater, he developed the reputation of being an outstanding
recruiter. In 1989, he was hired at Wesley as the defensive line
coach and recruiting coordinator.
As a player, Drass was a two-time All-PSAC selection as an
offensive lineman and captain of the Mountaineers his senior year.
Coach Drass originally hails from Glen Mills, Pennsylvania and
attended Penncrest High School.
Coach Drass is an active member of the American Football Coaches
Association. He has served as the chairman of the Division III All
American selection Committee and has served two terms as the
District II Chairman of the AFCA Rules Committee. Coach Drass is a
member of the ECAC Championship committee for football. He and his
wife Laurie reside in Dover and have one child Molly Ann (9).
Coach Drass Coaching File
1983-84: Assistant Coach, North Penn High School
1985-86: Head Coach, North Penn High School
1987-88: Assistant Coach, Mansfield University
1989-92: Assistant Coach, Wesley College
1993-Present: Head Coach, Wesley College
Coach Drass Year-by-Year Won Loss Record
Year |
Record |
Pct. |
ACFC |
Pct. |
Notes |
| 1993 | 7-3-1 | .682 | -- | ECAC Bowl Game | |
| 1994 | 8-2 | .800 | -- | ||
| 1995 | 8-3 | .727 | -- | ECAC Bowl Game | |
| 1996 | 7-2 | .777 | -- | ||
| 1997 | 7-3 | .700 | -- | ECAC Bowl Game | |
| 1998 | 7-3 |
.700 | 3-0 |
1.000 | ACFC Champions; ECAC Bowl Game |
| 1999 | 6-4 | .600 | 4-2 | .667 | |
| 2000 |
9-2 |
.818 | 6-0 |
1.000 | NCAA First Round; ACFC Champions |
| 2001 | 7-3 | .700 |
3-0 |
1.000 | ACFC Champions; ECAC Bowl Game |
| 2002 | 5-5 | .500 | 1-2 | .333 | |
| 2003 | 6-4 | .600 | 1-2 | .333 | |
| 2004 | 8-2 | .800 | 4-1 | .800 | |
|
2005 |
12-2 |
.857 |
4-1 |
.800 | NCAA Semifinals; NCAA South Region Champions; ACFC Champions |
|
2006 |
13-1 |
.929 |
4-0 |
1.000 | NCAA Semifinals; NCAA South Region Champions; ACFC Champions |
|
2007 |
11-2 |
.846 |
4-0 |
1.000 | NCAA Quarterfinals; Lambert Meadowlands Trophy; ECAC Team of the Year; ACFC Champions |
| 2008 | 9-2 | .818 | 3-0 | 1.000 | NCAA Second Round; ACFC Champions |
| 2009 | 13-1 | .929 | 3-0 | 1.000 | NCAA Semifinals; NCAA South Region Champions; ACFC Champions |
| Career | 143-44-1 | .763 | 40-8 | .833 | Six NCAA Tournament
Appearances Eight Conference Titles |
Chip Knapp enters his 20th season as a member of the Wesley
coaching staff and his 18th as the offensive coordinator. Since
taking over the offensive reigns in 1991, Knapp has built the
Wolverines into one of the most powerful offensive machines in
Division III football.
In 2008, under his guidance, sophomore quarterback Shane McSweeny
finished second in Division III in pass efficiency and was named
the ACFC Offensive Player of the Year, and the team finished 25th
in scoring offense (35.1).
Under his tutelage, the 2007 offense set school records with
3,237 rushing yards and 6,192 total yards. The offense ranked ninth
in the nation in yards per game (476.3), 18th in scoring offense
(35.9) and 20th in rushing offense (249.0). The squad also set
individual game records for total offense and rushing yards.
In 2006, Knapp’s offense ranked eighth in scoring offense at
36.9 points per game. The Wolverines ranked in the top 25 in
passing offense with 247.7 yards per game and quarterback Chris
Warrick threw for over 3,300 yards and 33 touchdowns. The Wesley
attack also featured the national leader in receiving yards in
Michael Clarke (1,304) and produced a 1,000-yard rusher in ACFC and
ECAC Rookie of the Year Aaron Jackson.
His 2005 offense rated fifth in scoring offense and finished in the
top 30 in passing yards. In 2004 the Wolverines ranked 17th in the
nation with 251.7 yards rushing per game. In 2001 Wesley finished
in the Top 10 in the nation in total offense (fifth), passing
offense (fourth), and scoring offense (sixth), averaging 45.6
points a game.
“Chip Knapp is one of the most talented coaches in Small
College football today,” says Wolverine head coach Mike Drass
“We are fortunate to have him on our staff.”
Under his direction players, such as Chris Warrick, Jason Visconti,
Jimmy Connolley, Petie Davis, Fran Naselli and Brandon Steinheim,
finished their careers among the most prolific players in D-III.
Davis finished among the 10 best in career rushing yards, Connolley
and Visconti among the 20 most efficient passers and Steinheim set
the D-III mark for consecutive 100-yard rushing games. Naselli was
a three-time All-American and Visconti ended his career holding
every Wesley and ACFC passing record throwing for over 7,700 yards
and 77 Touchdowns in his career, until Warrick surpassed his marks
by tossing for over 10,000 yards and 100 touchdowns.
A 1987 graduate of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, Knapp
received a degree in economics. A two-year letterwinner for the Big
Red, he won the starting quarterback job his junior season before a
knee injury ended his year at midseason. Knapp bounced back to be
named the program’s “Comeback Player of the Year”
during his senior year.
Prior to arriving at Wesley in the spring of 1989, Knapp was an
assistant at Cornell and also served as a graduate assistant at
Kansas. Chip and his wife Cindy reside in Dover. They have three
children Benjamin (12), Eleanor (9), who both attend Campus
Community School at Wesley College and Emma (4).
A former All-ACFC quarterback in 1998 for the Wolverines, Steve Azzanesi is in his seventh year at Wesley College after joining the coaching staff in January of 2002.
Azzanesi's main responsibility is coaching wide receivers and he has produced a first team all-conference receiver in each of the past six seasons, while also serving as the Wolverines recruiting coordinator. In addtion to his responsibilities on the gridiron, Azzanesi is the Assistant Athletic Director for Promotions at Wesley.
Coach "Azz" was a four-year letterwinner and starting quarterback for the Wolverines in 1998. He led Wesley to a 7-3 mark and an ECAC Bowl game his senior season. Azzanesi passed for 1,234 yards and 12 touchdowns, while rushing for 252 yards and scoring four times on the ground in 1998. Azzanesi was also a three-year starter at shortstop on the Wolverines baseball team.
In 2000, Azzanesi graduated from Wesley with a degree in Communications & Accounting, graduating with over a 3.0 GPA and was a member of the ACFC All-Academic Team. After graduation, Azzanesi worked at WBOC TV-16 as a sports reporter, before returning to his Alma Mater. Azzanesi completed his Masters in Business Administration from Wesley in May 2004. Coach Azzanesi is a native of Wilmington, Delaware and a graduate of St. Elizabeth High School. Coach "Azz" played for Coach Joe Hemphill, a Wesley alumnus, where he quarterbacked the Vikings to a State Championship in 1994.
Coach Azzanesi resides in Milford with his wife Margaux and
their sons Luke and Paul.
Chris Sfamurri is in his third season assisting with the offensive line at Wesley and his first as a f full-time member of the coaching staff.
Sfamurri was a four year member of the Wolverines' offensive line and overcame a devastating injury to return for his senior season in 2007, when he helped block for an offense that set numerous school rushing and total offense records.
Sfamurri was a member of three ACFC Champion and NCAA Playoff teams with Wesley.
He earned his bachelor's degree in physical education from Wesley in 2010.
Wesley College head football coach Mike Drass has announced the addition of Leroy Thompson, a former standout at Delaware State and in the Arena Football League, to the Wolverines’ coaching staff.
Thompson played collegiately at Delaware State for former Hornet head coach Bill Collick. He earned Kodak First Team All-America honors as a senior in 1992, when he paced the team with 89 tackles and 11 sacks. The previous year, he set school records with five sacks in a game against North Carolina A&T and 16 in one season. A two-time All-Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference selection, his 30 career quarterback sacks rate third all-time for the Hornets.
Thompson, who will work with Wesley’s defensive line, comes to Wesley after spending one year on the coaching staff at Lincoln University (Pa.) through the National Football League Players Association/NCAA Internship Program. While there, he helped the second year program win two more games than the previous season, working with a defensive unit that shaved nearly two touchdowns per game off of its points allowed.
After his career at Delaware State, Thompson went on to play in both the National Football League and the Canadian Football League before a productive 13-year stint in the Arena Football League as a linebacker, fullback, and defensive end. When he retired, he ranked in the top five in nearly every rushing category in AFL history and became just the sixth player in league history to rush for over 1,000 career yards in 2006. Thompson also won the 2002 AFL Built Ford Tough Man of the Year and won an Arena Bowl Championship in 1999 with Albany.
"Coach Thompson brings great experience having played professionally and coaching on the college level last season," Drass noted. "His experience will be a big plus working with our defensive line this year as we undertake the difficult task of replacing Tom Smith, who did an outstanding job for us over the years."
He replaces 12-year Wesley assistant Tom Smith, who left the Wolverines to pursue other coaching opportunities.
Tim Kane is in his second year on the Wesley College coaching staff after completing his playing career in 2007. Kane will once again help with the Wesley linebacking corps.
Kane was a four year member of the Wolverines and played on three ACFC Champion teams during his career and played on Wesley's two NCAA Division III South Region Championship teams in 2005 and 2006.
Kane earned his bachelor's degree from Wesley in sport management in 2009.
Shawn Plews enters his eighth year coaching on the Wesley staff, serving as the Special Teams Coordinator since 2005. Plews also has coached the Wolverine running backs for the past three seasons.
In 2008, Wesley featured a dominant special teams unit, that
broke several NCAA records. As a team, the Wolverines led the
nation in punt return average (18.6), ranked third in kick returns
(26.1) and eighth in net punting (35.7). Return specialist
Larry Beavers finished the season with eight total return
touchdowns and set an NCAA all division record with 13 career
runbacks. The punt coverage unit also set a record by
allowing a negative five yards for the season. Meanwhile, the
Wesley running backs covered over 200 yards per game.
The Wesley special teams turned in stellar seasons in 2007. The
kick return unit ranked ninth in Division III at 23.31 yards per
return, while the punt return unit rated 22nd at 12.44 yards per
return. Beavers was named an All-American, finished fifth in the
nation with 30.5 yards per return and set the Wesley career and
single season touchdown return records. Punt returner Blair Newman
ranked 14th in the nation at 13.6 yards per return and had one
return for a touchdown.
Plews has also coached tight ends during his tenure on the
staff.
A stellar athlete at Wesley College, Coach Plews was a four-year
letter winner and a three-year starter at Wesley. Coach Plews
graduated in 2001 with a degree in Physical Education. He earned
All-ACFC honors his junior and senior seasons. Coach Plews caught
65 passes and 10 touchdowns for the Wolverines in his career. He
graduated from Chesapeake High School in Pasadena, Maryland, where
he was a quarterback.
Coach Plews is employed by the Capital School District and received
his Master’s Degree in Education at Wesley College in 2006.
He and his wife, Jen, reside in Dover with their daughter, Addison.
Coach Healy is his third year of his second stint with
the Wolverines, after previously assisting on the Wesley staff from
1995-2000. He was also a member of the men’s lacrosse
coaching staff for the Wolverines during that time.
In 2007 and 2008, he worked extensively with Wolverine tight end
Jon Lanouette, who earned All-America honors and became Wesley's
all-time leading receiver. In 2009, however, Healy moves to
the defensive side of the ball and will work with the
linebackers.
Healy left the Wesley staff in 2000 to focus on coaching high
school lacrosse, where he has had success at every stop. He coached
Dover High School to the state tournament in each of his five
seasons as the head coach and won the 2007 and 2009 DIAA
Championship as the head coach at Salesianum, where one of his
assistants is fellow Wesley assistant football coach Shawn Plews.
His teams have produced four All-Americans and Healy has been named
the DIAA Coach of the Year three times.
Healy was a four-year member of both the Wesley College football
and men’s lacrosse teams before graduating in 1995. He was a
four-year letterwinner on the gridiron and ended his career as one
of the Wolverines' all-time leading lacrosse scorers.
A Long Island native, Healy resides in Dover with his wife, Sheri,
and their two daughters, Olivia and McKenna.
Coach Delgado returns to the Wesley staff for his 10th season and will coach the kickers, adding stability to the Wolverine kicking game.
In 2008, punter Sean McAndrew was named All-ACFC first team and
the Wolverines ranked eighth in Division III in net punting
(35.7).
Chris Carlton, Wesley's kicker from 2003-2005, broke all of the
Wolverines kicking records under his tutelage. Carlton's
successor, Chris Cattanea, broke several season marks in 2006.
Wesley's 2007 kicker, Collin Blugis, was named the Atlantic Central
Football Conference Rookie of the Year.
A native of Kansas City, Missouri, Delgado graduated from the
University of Maryland and has assisted with the Caesar
Rodney’s freshmen team and has coached baseball for ten
years. He completed his Master’s in Education Counseling at
Wilmington College in 2000 and currently is a guidance counselor in
the Capital School District.
Coach Delgado is married to Mary, a Wesley Alum, and they have five
children, Larry Jr., Monica, Joseph, Madeline and Cecilia.
Coach Robinson joined the Wesley College staff in the spring of
2006, bringing 30-plus years of coaching experience along with a
lot of energy to the Wolverine staff.
Coach Robinson has coached football at Division I-AA Delaware State
University and Hampton University along with Woodbridge High
School, Dickinson High School and was the head coach at Lake Forest
High School in the early 1990s.
His son, Bryan, was a three-time D3football.com South Region
Defensive Player of the Year and All-American at Wesley.
Currently, Coach Robinson is a driver education teacher at
Dickinson High School. Coach Robinson and his wife Phyllis also
have a daughter Angela who is pursuing a Psychology degree at
Wesley College.
The versatile Coach Feldman returns to the Wolverine staff for
his ninth year and will assist with the defense. Coach Feldman has
coached all over the field during his run at Wesley, coaching the
tight ends in 2000, working with the outside linebackers in 2001,
the defensive line in 2002 and back to linebackers in 2003.
Coach Feldman graduated from Peekskill Military Academy in 1967. He
served in the United States Marine Corps from 1968 to 1972. While
in the Corps he was stationed in Vietnam with the 1st Recon
Battalion in 1969 and 1970. Feldman received the Purple Heart twice
for being wounded in combat. Feldman has coached football since
1985 when he began coaching at Smyrna High School. He has also been
an assistant with the varsity baseball and basketball teams for the
past ten years at Smyrna. In 1999, Feldman had the opportunity to
coach football with his oldest son Michael at Smyrna, an experience
that he deeply cherishes.
Coach Feldman is the father of three boys Michael, 31 (a coach at
Smyrna High School), Matthew, 28 and Brett, 26. Larry and his wife,
Nancy, reside in Dover.
Steve Scanlon joins the Wesley College coaching staff in 2009 after finishing his playing career last fall. He will work with the tight ends.
Scanlon, who played his senior season as a graduate student, was a member of a senior class at Wesley that won 45 games, won four straight ACFC Championships and advanced to the NCAA Playoffs all four years. The fullback/tight end was a member of the Wolverines' two South Region Championship teams in 2005 and 2006.
Also a resident director at Wesley, Scanlon is pursuing his
master's degree in Education.
Bobby Maguire joins the Wolverine staff this fall after completing his playing career in 2007.
Maguire was an ACFC All-Academic selection as a player and was a member of three conference championship teams, all of which advanced to the NCAA postseason. Maguire played on the Wolverines' NCAA South Region Championship teams in 2005 and 2006.
Maguire earned a degree in accounting in 2009 from Wesley and is
currently serving as a graduate assistant in the Peter Biefield
Weight Room while he pursues his master's in business
administration.
Eric Czerwinski is in his first year as the video coordinator for the Wesley College football program.
Czerwinski was a 20-year veteran of the United States Air Force, who retired in June 2009. He received an associates degree in aviation maintenance in 2003 from the Community College of the Air Force. He is currently seeking a bachelor's degree in history at Wesley.
Czerwinski and his wife Kim are the parents of one daughter,
Kim.
