Game 10 Football Preview
Marietta Pioneers (6-3, 5-3 OAC) at No. 15 Ohio Northern (7-2, 6-2 OAC)
1:00 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 13
Dial-Roberson Stadium • Ada, Ohio

Nov. 11, 2004
MARIETTA, Ohio - The Pioneers wrap up their regular season on the road against No. 15 Ohio Northern Saturday (Nov. 13). Marietta needs a win to finish in a tie for second place in the Ohio Athletic Conference, while the Polar Bears are looking to stay alive for a Pool C bid into the NCAA Tournament.

Here is a look at both teams:

Ohio Northern University : The Polar Bears are riding a two-game win streak and enter the final week of the regular season with a load of confidence, having defeated then ranked No. 5 Capital (38-35) and Wilmington (23-6) during their most recent run. They also had a streak in which they won four in a row, prior to their 41-27 loss to No. 1 Mount Union. The Polar Bears have the second highest scoring offense (31.6 ppg) and third-best scoring defense (17.2 ppg) in the OAC. They lead the league with a +15 turnover margin. Zach Weber leads a ground attack that averages 160.2 yards per contest. The senior nets 6.4 yards per rushing attempt and has totaled 878 yards this season (97.6 ypg). Sophomore Derek Garrod adds 44.9 yards per game on the ground. Senior Corey Minnfield leads the aerial assault. He has completed 117-of-218 pass attempts for 1,446 yards and 17 TD. Minnfield has thrown just four interceptions and his 160.7 yards per game ranks third on the OAC. Minnfield's favorite receiver is Greg Evilsizor, who has pulled in 45 receptions for 767 yards (85.2 ypg) this season. Rob Dellaposta has also proven to be a threat for ONU. He has caught 33 passes for 348 yards (38.7 ypg), while five other Polar Bears average over 10 yards per game through the air this season. Charlie Webb has connected on 7-of-13 field goal attempts and 31-of-36 PATs in 2004. The defense is led by Jason Trusnik, who has collected 92 tackles, 44 solo, on the year. The junior leads the nation with 18 sacks for 132 yards; he has added 30.5 tackles for a loss, broken up one pass, forced three fumbles, recovering four, and blocked one kick. Rick Danison has 61 tackles, including 6.5 sacks, while Aaron Esposito has 58 stops. Rusty Midlam leads the OAC with seven interceptions.

Last week for ONU: The Polar Bears got 305 yards passing from Corey Minnfield, 184 yards receiving from Greg Evilsizor and 130 yards rushing from Zach Weber in route to a 23-6 win over Wilmington Saturday (Nov. 6).

Marietta College: The Pioneers have their sights on a second place finish in the OAC, but need a win at Northern to lock it up. Marietta currently shares third place with three other teams with one week to play in the season. Marietta ranks sixth in the OAC in scoring offense (18.2 ppg) and fifth in scoring defense (19.2 ppg). The Pioneers have a +4 turnover margin, which is tied for second in the Conference. Steven Wagner's 945 yards (105 ypg) on the ground ranks second in the league. He has scored seven TD. QB Jason Vrable is 94-of-154 for 1,017 yards with four TD and six interceptions this season. Mike Valiante leads the team with 23 catches for162 yards, while Chris Sidick (21 receptions for 238 yards), Jason Curry (15 receptions for 253 yards) and Chad McDaniel (11 receptions for 144 yards) have all made impacts at wide receiver. The Pioneer defense is led by seniors Thadd Sharrett and Nate Brownrigg. Sharrett has a team-high 81 tackles, 42 solo and 11 for a loss, on the year. He has also totaled two sacks, five break ups, four QB hurries and forced one fumble. Brownrigg has added 68 stops, including 6.5 for a loss. Clay Ream, Brett Munn and Anthony Huffman have also shined on defense this season.

Last week for MC: The Pioneers upset then ranked No. 20 Baldwin-Wallace 26-0 Saturday (Nov. 3). Wagner had 24 carries for 138 yards (5.8 ypc) and Vrable finished the day 8-of-15 for 117 yards. MC's J. J. Wheeler scored on a 93-yard return on a blocked field goal attempt and Anthony Banks had a 57-yard interception return for a TD in the win, the first over B-W since 1996.

Series: Saturday marks the 31st meeting between the Polar Bears and the Pioneers on the gridiron. ONU leads the all-time series, dating back to 1910, 21-8-1. Marietta has lost the last eight meetings. The Pioneers’ last win was in 1995 when they pulled out the 29-27 victory.

Last meeting: Justin Papania completed 29-of-40 passes for 340 yards and a TD in ONU's 21-13 win. Sharrett had a team-high 17 tackles, while Sidick added 13 in his first game at middle linebacker. Munn also scored on a 30-yard interception. Weber ran for 115 yards and a TD for ONU and Jeff Soliday completed 19-of-31 passes for 261 yards. Evilsizor added 7 receptions for 136 yards.

About the coaches: Marietta’s Todd Glaser (UW-Eau Claire ‘93) enters his second season with the Pioneers, after guiding the team to a 2-8 mark last year. He is MC’s 26th coach and has a record of 8-11. Prior to joining Marietta, Glaser was the defensive coordinator at UW-Eau Claire for four seasons. Ohio Northern’s Dean Paul (Mount Union ‘90) is in his first season with the Polar Bears, leading them to a 7-2 record. He spent the last five years with Thomas More, guiding the Saints to a 40-12 record.

National recognition: Marietta's Anthony Banks and Thadd Sharrett were named to the Week 10 Team of the Week by d3football.com for their efforts against Baldwin-Wallace. Sharrett had 14 tackles, nine solo, as well as five tackles for loss, a sack, a pass broken and a forced fumble in the win. He also added three quarterback hurries... Banks had two interceptions in Marietta's victory. His third quarter interception was returned 57 yards for a TD to put MC ahead 23-0. His second pick came late in the fourth frame and was returned to 39 yards to the B-W 21, stalling another Yellow Jacket drive. The sophomore also tallied seven tackles, including five solo stops in the win... The Polar Bears moved up six spots and are ranked No. 15 in this week’s D3Football.com poll after being ranked No. 21 last week... Ohio Northern is also No. 18 in the American Football Coaches Association Division III poll, a move upward of five spots, and is No. 19 in the Don Hansen’s Football Gazette magazine poll this week, an increase of four spots.

Noteworthy: Chris Sidick needs two kickoff returns to break the NCAA DIII all-time record (104)... Sidick broke the NCAA DIII all-time kickoff return yards record with his lone return last week and has now totaled 2,211 yards...The Pioneers are 5-0 when Steven Wagner rushes for over 100 yards... Mike Valiante needs eight receptions to break Antonio Hutton’s school record for career receptions (151)... Marietta clinched its first winning season since 1998 (6-4)... MC's 26-0 shutout of B-W was its first since 1996... The last time the Pioneers finished a season in second place in the OAC was in 1995 when they went 7-1-1 in the league... Northern has clinched its first winning season since 2001... Evilsizor now has 141 receptions in his career, just four shy of the ONU record 145 grabs by Steve Vagedes from 1995-99... Weber has had 11 career games in which he rushed for over 100 yards... Trusnik leads the nation in sacks with 18... 2004 is the first time in 57 seasons that ONU plays on campus, as they opened Dial-Roberson Stadium earlier this season.

Great Coverage: Saturday’s football game is being broadcast live by WMRT - FM 88.3, Marietta College’s campus radio station. Their broadcast can also be heard live online at www.mariettaonline.com.

First & Ten Luncheon: Join the MC coaches Monday at noon in the Trustee's Conference room in the Dyson Baudo Recreation Center for the final First & Ten luncheon, as the recap the Northern game.

Marietta’s probable starters:

Offense
QB      —            16            Jason Vrable
TB       —            20            Steven Wagner
FB       —            44            Corey Jacobs
WR     —            14            Jason Curry
WR     —            11             Chris Sidick
TE       —            80            Bryan Adams
LT       —            66            Gary Snyder
LG       —            54            Jason Price
C         —            64            Joe Brennan
RG      —            76            Lance Parrish
RT       —            79            Kellen Dunlap

Defense
DT       —            50          Pete Hashman
NT       —            98         Clay Ream
DT       —            94          Jeff Mast
OLB    —            41          Anthony Huffman
ILB       —            52          Brian Hahn
OLB    —              3           Thadd Sharrett
ILB    —             39          Nate Brownrigg
CB      —            25          J. J. Wheeler
CB      —            2            Brett Munn
FS       —           12            Lonnie Meyers
SS       —            9            Anthony Banks