Pioneers head north in an attempt to subdue the Polar Bears
Marietta (3-3, 2-3 OAC) at No. 20 Ohio Northern (4-2, 3-2 OAC)
1:30 p.m. • Saturday, Oct. 21 • Dial-Roberson Stadium

Game Notes (.pdf)
Oct. 18, 2006
MARIETTA, Ohio — The Pioneers travel to northwestern Ohio Saturday (Oct. 21) for an Ohio Athletic Conference fourth-place showdown. The 20th-ranked Polar Bears will be hungry for a win after dropping two straight to nationally ranked teams. Marietta will be looking to stay in the race for a spot in the top tier of the OAC standings and rebound from a Homecoming loss to John Carroll.

Here is a look at both teams:

Ohio Northern University: The Polar Bears began the year with four straight wins and climbed as high as ninth in the national polls, before falling to No. 1 Mount Union (49-7) and No. 4 Capital (17-10) in the last two weeks. After six games, Ohio Northern ranks fifth in the League in scoring, averaging 21.7 points. The Polar Bears rank sixth in total offense (301.5)—ninth in passing (142.7) and second in rushing (132.3). ONU is the sixth-most penalized team in the OAC, giving up an average of 64.0 penalty yards in its first six games. The Polar Bears have converted 15-of-20 (.750) red-zone chances and 30-of-81 (.370) third down opportunities this season.

Sophomore running back R.J. Meadows, who is averaging 120.7 yards, leads the team and OAC in rushing. Senior Adam Quirk leads the team under center for a final season. Quirk has completed 67-of-116 passes for 696 yards and three scores while throwing three interceptions. Junior David Delk is ONU’s main receiving threat, pulling in 18 catches for 210 yards. Ben Wittwer and Meadows have each caught at least 12 passes on the year.

The Polar Bears’ defense has allowed 16.0 points per game this season, which ranks fourth in the OAC. Ohio Northern has surrendered an average of 89.8 yards on the ground and 132.3 yards through the air. The Polar Bears, who have -3 turnover margin, have recorded 20 sacks and three interceptions on the year.

Junior Lenny Trusnik leads the team with 40 tackles, while his brother senior Jason Trusnik has added 31 stops, including 7.5 sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss. Austin Netzley also has two interceptions.

J.C. Casper has taken over the punting duties of last and is averaging 34.0 yards on 13 punts. Jack Heaphy has converted 6-of-7 field goal attempts with a long of 46 yards.

ONU is averaging 22.3 yards in kick returns. The Polar Bears have collected 92 first downs, while its defense has allowed 72 first downs. ONU has a slim advantage in time of possession, holding onto the ball for 32:10 while on defense for 27:50.

Marietta College: The Pioneers are looking to regroup following a disappointing performance against John Carroll. Marietta’s offense has averaged 22.7 points and 370.2 yards this season, which rank fourth and third in the OAC, respectively. Of those yards, 47.5 come on the ground, while 322.7 are through the air. The Pioneers lead the Conference in passing offense (third in nation) and are ranked ninth in rushing offense. Marietta has converted 34-of-80 (.425) third down and 16-of-21 (.761) red-zone chances in 2006. The 2006 Pioneers have a -10 turnover margin.

Individually, senior quarterback Jason Vrable has completed 139-of-238 passes for an OAC-high 1,936 yards with 13 touchdowns this season. Junior Chad McDaniel leads the team (second in the OAC) with 38 grabs for 501 yards and three scores. Senior Jason Curry has added 31 receptions for 533 yards with six touchdowns, while senior Nic North has grabbed 31 passes for 419 yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore Garrett Banks is the team’s leading rusher, averaging 16.7 yards per game and 2.1 yards per carry. Freshman George Davis has added 14.5 yards, while Vrable is contributing 13.8 yards per game with his legs.

Sophomore Pat Lane is 4-for-6 in field goals with a long of 26 yards and 12-for-15 in PATs. Curry is averaging 36.3 yards per punt.

Marietta’s defense enters the week ranked sixth in total defense. It is allowing 321.7 yards per game. The Pioneers rank sixth against the pass (217.5) and the run (104.2). Marietta has recorded 13 sacks, 37 tackles for loss and five interceptions this season. The Pioneers have allowed their opponents to convert 19-of-25 (.760) red zone chances, including 13 touchdowns. Offenses are converting 39% (32-of-83) of their third-down opportunities against Marietta.

Junior middle linebacker Brian Hahn leads the team with 49 tackles (third in the OAC), while sophomore middle linebacker Grant Cowell has added 38 stops. Hahn (7.5) and Cowell (5.5) lead the team in tackles for loss.

Marietta is averaging 14.4 yards on kick returns and 5.7 yards on punt returns this year. Penalties have been a factor, as the Pioneers have committed 41 penalties for 305 yards. Marietta trails slightly in time of possession, holding onto the ball from an average of 28:07, while on defense for 31:53.

THE RECORDS: Saturday is Week 8 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) only to lose to John Carroll (7-20). Ohio Northern opened with wins over Millikin (28-14), Muskingum (36-7), John Carroll (23-9) and Otterbein (26-0), but has fallen to No. 1 Mount Union (7-49) and No. 4 Capital (10-17) in recent weeks.

GAME TIME: 1:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 21, Dial-Roberson 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. Ohio Northern’s Dean Paul is in his third year as the Polar Bears’ head football coach. The 1990 graduate of Mount Union had a 16-4 record in his first two years at ONU after going 40-12 in five years as the leader of Thomas Moore’s football program. Paul is 2-0 all-time against MC.

ALL-TIME SERIES: The Polar Bears and the Pioneers meet for the 33rd time on the gridiron in 2006. Ohio Northern leads the series 22-8-1 and has won 10 straight. Marietta won the first meeting, 5-3, in 1910 and its last win came by the score of 29-27 in 1995.

LAST MEETING: The two teams met at Don Drumm Stadium in the final game of the year in 2005, with Ohio Northern rolling to a 58-7 victory. Steven Wagner broke the 3,000-yard mark in his final game at MC. Jason Vrable went 16-of-32 for 158 yards to set the school record for completions (164) and passing yards (1,883). Ohio Northern racked up 257 yards rushing in the win with Derek Garrod (105 yards) and R.J. Meadows (94 yards) sharing the load. Adam Quirk also went 16-of-24 for 300 yards and four TD.

LAST GAME FOR MARIETTA: The Pioneers suffered a 20-7 Homecoming loss to the Blue Streaks. John Carroll held Marietta’s aerial attack to just 169 yards, almost 200 below their season average. The Pioneers managed just 15 rushes for 15 yards in the loss. Vrable did break his own single-season record for passing yards in the game (1,936) and senior Jason Curry moved into second place in career receiving yards (1,608).

LAST GAME FOR OHIO NORTHERN: The Polar Bears allowed 10 fourth quarter points in a 17-10 loss to No. 4 Capital Saturday. Meadows ran for 188 yards on 29 carries. Quirk connected on 14-of-24 passes for 112 yards and one score in the loss.

GREAT COVERAGE: Saturday’s football game is being broadcast live by WMRT-FM 88.3, Marietta College’s campus radio station., and by WMOA-AM 1490. Ohio Northern will also carry the game locally in Ada on WOBN-FM 94.9.

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.

NEXT GAME: On Saturday, Oct. 28, Marietta will play host to Heidelberg at 6 p.m., while Ohio Northern will visit Baldwin-Wallace for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff.

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RING CEREMONY: At halftime of the Heidelberg game, the 2006 Marietta College baseball national championship team will be on hand for a formal ring ceremony and to be recognized by the fans.

PIONEER PASSING: The 2006 Marietta team is currently ranked third in the nation in passing offense, averaging 322.7 yards. Of the 229 teams in NCAA D-III, only Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C. (370.0) and Alma (Mich.) College (348.7) are averaging more yards passing this season.

MAKING HISTORY: Vrable, who now holds the school record in career pass completions (413), yards (5,024) and touchdowns (33), is just 10 attempts shy of tying the only other record for quarterbacks.

CLIMBING UP THE CAREER CHARTS: Pioneer senior receiver Jason Curry, who is ranked second on MC’s career receiving-yards list with 1,608 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 (187) and punt yards (6,864).

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 48-14 in the first quarter, but has a 38-10 advantage in the third frame. The Pioneers have only held the lead at halftime once, which was against Muskingum.

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 16-of-21 chances on offense and allowed teams to score on 19-of-25 trips.

NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT: The OAC has a large presence in the top of the national polls this week. In the AFCA poll, released Oct. 17, Mount Union was ranked first and Capital fourth, while Ohio Northern and Baldwin-Wallace received votes. The d3football.com poll also had Mount Union at No. 1, Capital at No. 4 and Ohio Northern at No. 20. Baldwin-Wallace also had votes in the poll.

THIS WEEK IN THE OAC: Other OAC games on tap this weekend include Otterbein (3-3, 2-3 OAC) at Capital (6-0, 5-0 OAC), Baldwin-Wallace (5-1, 4-1 OAC) at Mount Union (6-0, 5-0 OAC), Muskingum (1-5, 1-4 OAC) at John Carroll (2-4, 2-3 OAC) and Heidelberg (0-6, 0-5 OAC) at Wilmington (2-4, 2-3 OAC).