Pioneers host John Carroll on Homecoming
John Carroll (1-4, 1-3 OAC) at Marietta (3-2, 2-2 OAC)
1:30 p.m. • Saturday, Oct. 14 • Don Drumm Stadium

Game Notes (.pdf)
Oct. 11, 2006
MARIETTA, Ohio — The Pioneers welcome the Blue Streaks of John Carroll University Saturday (Oct. 14) to Don Drumm Stadium. Marietta College will look to celebrate its 2006 Homecoming with a victory over John Carroll, something that has yet to happen in the 18 years of the gridiron series. The Streaks lead the series 17-0-1; the teams tied in 1995.

In addition to the traditional Homecoming festivities at halftime, Marietta will have two special ceremonies before the game. First, a ceremony is schedule to formally thank the donors of the McCoy Athletic Center, which houses the Pioneer football offices, weight room and new locker room. Secondly, another ceremony will follow to present Dad Vail Championship rings to the members of Marietta’s 2006 men’s varsity 8 shell and coaches.

Here is a look at both teams:

John Carroll University: The Blue Streaks, who almost upset No. 3 Capital on Saturday, have lost three straight games and four of its first five. Their lone win has been a 42-7 victory against Heidelberg. After five games, John Carroll ranks sixth in the League in scoring, averaging 20.4 points. The Streaks rank fourth in total offense (310.4) — fourth in passing (207.8) and fifth in rushing (102.6). JCU is the sixth-most penalized team in the OAC, giving up an average of 46.4 penalty yards in its first five games. The Streaks have converted 11-of-13 red-zone chances and 24-of-61 third down opportunities this season.

Senior running back Matt Divis, who is averaging 56.4 yards, leads the team in rushing. Freshman Rudy Kirbus made his first career start last week and JCU has used three different quarterbacks this season. In three games, Kirbus has completed 26-of-53 passes for 350 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions. Sophomore transfer Mark Petruziello has passed for 369 yards and four touchdowns on 35-of-52 passing, while junior Steve Spence has connected on 24-of-49 passes for 308 yards and two scores. Senior Joe Konrad is JCU’s main receiving threat, pulling in an OAC-best 34 catches for 508 yards and eight touchdowns. No other wide out has more than nine catches this season and only one, Divis, has a TD reception.

The Streaks’ defense has allowed 21.6 points per game this season, which ranks sixth in the OAC. John Carroll has surrendered an average of 91.6 yards on the ground and 154.8 yards through the air. The Streaks, who have -11 turnover margin, have recorded 10 sacks and four interceptions on the year.

Sophomore Matt Nettling leads the team in tackles with 37, including a team-high six for loss. Senior Dave Graves has added 35 stops, while three others have over 20 this season. Senior punter Bill Goodrich has averaged 37.0 yards on 22 punts, which ranks fifth in the OAC. Freshman Chris Melhorn has converted 1-of-2 field goal attempts with a long of 25 yards. JCU, led by a pair of sophomores, is averaging 19.5 yards in kick returns. The Streaks have collected 85 first downs, while its defense has allowed 66 first downs.

Marietta College: The Pioneers are looking to win for the second straight week and knock off the Streaks for the first time ever. Marietta’s offense has averaged 25.8 points and 407.4 yards this season, both third-best in the OAC. Of those yards, 54.0 come on the ground, while 353.4 are through the air. The Pioneers lead the Conference in passing offense (third in nation) and are ranked seventh in rushing offense. Marietta has converted 31-of-69 third downs and 15-of-19 red-zone chances in 2006. The Pioneers have a -8 turnover margin.

Individually, senior quarterback Jason Vrable has completed 120-of-202 passes for an OAC-high 1,767 yards with 12 touchdowns this season. Junior Chad McDaniel leads the team (second in the OAC) with 33 grabs for 456 yards and three scores. Senior Jason Curry has added 26 receptions for 481 yards with six touchdowns, while senior Nic North has grabbed 27 passes for 395 yards and one TD. Sophomore Garrett Banks is the team’s leading rusher, averaging 19.2 yards per game and 2.0 yards per carry. Vrable is contributing 1.9 yards per carry and 15.6 yards per game with his legs. Sophomore Pat Lane is 4-for-6 in field goals with a long of 26 yards and 11-for-14 in PATs. Curry is averaging 36.4 yards per punt.

Marietta’s defense enters the week ranked seventh in total defense. It is allowing 307.2 yards per game. The Pioneers rank sixth against the pass (209.8) and seventh against the run (97.4). Marietta has recorded 10 sacks, 29 tackles for loss and four interceptions this season. The Pioneers have allowed their opponents to convert 17-of-21 red zone chances, including 12 touchdowns. Offenses are converting 39% (27-of-70) of their third-down opportunities against Marietta.

Junior middle linebacker Brian Hahn leads the team with 42 tackles (third in the OAC), while sophomore middle linebacker Grant Cowell has added 31 stops. Hahn (7.5) and junior nose tackle Clay Ream (4.5) lead the team in tackles for loss.

Marietta is averaging 14.6 yards on kick returns and 5.5 yards on punt returns this year. Penalties have been a factor, as the Pioneers have committed 39 penalties for 280 yards. Marietta trails slightly in time of possession, holding onto the ball from an average of 29:10, while on defense for 30:31.

THE RECORDS: Saturday is Week 7 of the 2006 season. Marietta opened the year with victories over Emory & Henry (28-20) and Baldwin-Wallace (37-31), fell at Otterbein (24-27) and Capital (10-52), before knocking off rival Muskingum (30-10). John Carroll opened with a loss to Wooster (22-30) then defeated Heidelberg (42-7). It has since lost three in a row, falling to Ohio Northern (8-23), Baldwin-Wallace (8-24) and Capital (21-24).

GAME TIME: 1:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 14, Don Drumm Stadium.

THE COACHES: Marietta’s Curt Wiese is in his first season as the leader of the Pioneers. Wiese, the offensive coordinator of the Pioneers for the last three years, earned his bachelor’s degree from Minnesota State-Mankato in 1999. John Carroll’s Regis Scafe is in his eighth year as the Streaks’ head football coach. The 1971 graduate of Case Western had a 53-21 record in his first seven years at JCU and has a 69-55 career record, which includes five years with his alma mater. Scafe is 7-0 all-time against MC.

ALL-TIME SERIES: The Blue Streaks and the Pioneers meet for the 19th time on the gridiron in 2006. John Carroll leads the series 17-0-1. The only game that has not ended in a Streaks’ victory was a 21-21 tie in 1995.

LAST MEETING: The two teams met at Don Drumm Stadium in the third game of the year in 2005, with John Carroll picking up the 48-17 win. Jason Vrable was held to just 9-of-18 for 78 yards, while the ground game produced 199 yards. Brian Hahn led MC’s defense with seven tackles. JCU’s Doug Phillips threw for 345 yards and three scores, while Brandon Oing ran for another 66 yards and a TD in the win.

LAST GAME FOR MARIETTA: The Pioneers broke open a close game with rival Muskingum by scoring twice, once on offense and the other on defense, in a span of 29 seconds en route to a 30-10 win. Vrable broke the school’s career records for passing yards and touchdowns. Hahn led the defense with 11 stops and a 33-yards interception return for a touchdown.

LAST GAME FOR JOHN CARROLL: The Streaks’ bid to upset No. 3 Capital fell short, as a tipped pass in the final minute fell into the hands of a Crusader receiver for the game-winning score in Capital’s 24-21 victory. Freshman Rudy Kirbus, who made his first collegiate start completed 16-of-33 passes for 198 yards, while senior Matt Divis ran for 106 yards on 29 carries.

GREAT COVERAGE: Saturday’s football game is being broadcast live by WMRT-FM 88.3, Marietta College’s campus radio station. John Carroll will also carry the game locally in University Heights on WJCU-FM 88.7.

LISTEN ONLINE: Marietta College is now proud to offer its fans on the World Wide Web the opportunity to listen to all 10 Pioneer football games through a partnership with Stretch Internet. All you need is QuickTime. For more information visit Marietta’s athletic web site: http://pioneers.marietta.edu. Archives are also available to listen to or to purchase.

SPECIAL WELCOME: The Pioneers would like to extend a special welcome to the Marietta High School Band, who will be performing both before the game and at halftime.

NEXT GAME: On Saturday, Oct. 21, Marietta will travel to Ohio Northern, while John Carroll will visit Muskingum. Both games will begin at 1:30 p.m.

PIONEER PASSING: The 2006 Marietta team is currently ranked third in the nation in passing offense, averaging 353.4 yards. Of the 229 teams in NCAA D-III, only Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C. (396.4) and Alma (Mich.) (358.0) are averaging more yards passing this season.

MAKING HISTORY: Vrable broke two more career passing record Saturday against Muskingum and now holds the school record in pass completions (413), yards (5,024) and touchdowns (33). He is just 46 attempts shy of tying the only other record for quarterbacks. Vrable is also just 116 yards from tying the single-season school record for passing yards, a mark (1,883) that he set in 2005.

CLIMBING UP THE CAREER CHARTS: Pioneer senior receiver Jason Curry, who is ranked third on MC’s career receiving-yards list with 1,556 yards, has 17 career touchdown receptions and needs three more to break the record set by Antonio Hutton ‘97. Curry is also ranked second all-time in punts (183) and punt yards (6,721).

GETTING OFF TO A QUICK START: Marietta will look to get off to a fast start out of the locker room this season after struggling in the first and third quarters in 2005. The Pioneers were outscored 60-37 in the first quarter and 69-14 in the third quarter last year. So far in 2006, Marietta has been outscored 45-14 in the first quarter, but has a 31-3 advantage in the third frame. Saturday was the first time the Pioneers held the lead at halftime.

RED-ZONE STAND: Marietta will look build upon its success in the red zone last year, when it converted 24-of-33 (72.7%) of its chances. 18 of its 24 scores were touchdowns. On the other hand, the Pioneers must improve on the defensive side of the ball, as they allowed scores in 36-of-43 chances, including 32 touchdowns. This year MC has converted 15-of-19 chances on offense and allowed teams to score on 17-of-21 trips.

NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT: The OAC has a large presence in the top of the national polls this week. In the AFCA poll, released Oct. 10, Mount Union was ranked first, Capital fourth and Ohio Northern 19th. The d3football.com poll also had Mount Union at No. 1, with Capital at No. 4 and Ohio Northern at No. 17.

THIS WEEK IN THE OAC: Other OAC games on tap this weekend include Otterbein (2-3, 1-3 OAC) at Heidelberg (0-5, 0-4 OAC), Baldwin-Wallace (4-1, 3-1 OAC) at Muskingum (1-4, 1-3 OAC), Wilmington (2-3, 2-2 OAC) at Mount Union (5-0, 4-0 OAC) and Capital (5-0, 4-0 OAC) at Ohio Northern (4-1, 3-1 OAC).

HOMECOMING: Saturday is Homecoming at Marietta. Welcome to all alums and we hope you enjoy the weekend.