Pioneers visit Quakers in search of third straight victory
Marietta (5-3, 4-3 OAC) at Wilmington (3-5, 3-4 OAC)
1:30 p.m. • Saturday, Nov. 4 • Williams Stadium

Game Notes (.pdf)
Nov. 1, 2006
MARIETTA, Ohio — The Pioneers, riding a two-game winning streak, will make their final road trip of the 2006 season when they visit Wilmington for an Ohio Athletic Conference week 10 battle Saturday (Nov. 4) afternoon.

Here is a look at both teams:

Wilmington College: The Quakers have won three of their last five games after beginning the season 0-3. Wilmington is coming off of a 35-0 loss at John Carroll. It was the fourth time that the Quakers have been shutout this season. After eight games, Wilmington ranks ninth in the League in scoring, averaging 11.0 points. The Quakers rank ninth in total offense (220.6)—seventh in passing (166.0) and tenth in rushing (54.6). Wilmington is the least penalized team in the OAC, giving up an average of just 40.5 penalty yards. The Quakers have converted 13-of-18 (.722) red-zone chances and 30-of-113 (.265) third down opportunities this season.

Senior running back Schuyler Streber, who is averaging 39.4 yards, leads the team in rushing. Freshman Billy Blackburn has taken most of the team's snap from under center this season. Blackburn has completed 97-of-190 passes for 1,034 yards and six scores while throwing six interceptions. Junior wideout Brandon Hiatt is Wilmington's main receiving threat, pulling in 33 catches for 401 yards and two touchdowns. Junior fullback Brent Scherz has added 24 grabs and three scores.

The Quaker's defense has allowed 25.2 points per game this season, which ranks seventh in the OAC. Wilmington has surrendered an average of 118.2 yards on the ground and 229.6 yards through the air. The Quakers, who have -6 turnover margin, have recorded 21 sacks and seven interceptions on the year.

Senior free safety Chad Otte leads the team with 70 tackles, including 49 solo stops, and five interceptions. Taylor Clark has added 62 tackles, while Zak Werner has a team-high 6.5 sacks. Drew Springer is the team's punter and is averaging 37.5 yards in 2006. Jon Bednarek has converted 4-of-4 field goal attempts with a long of 38 yards.

Wilmington is averaging 13.8 yards in kick returns. The Quakers have collected 108 first downs, while its defense has allowed 134 first downs. Wilmington trails slightly in time of possession, holding onto the ball for 28:23 while on defense for 31:37.

Marietta College: The Pioneers are looking to secure a winning season for the second time in three years and improve to 3-2 on the road with a win over the Quakers. Marietta's offense has averaged 23.0 points and 369.2 yards this season, which rank fourth and third in the OAC, respectively. Of those yards, 72.4 come on the ground, while 296.9 are through the air. The Pioneers lead the Conference in passing offense (fifth in nation) and are thanks to last week's 245 yard performance jumped from tenth to seventh in rushing offense. Marietta has converted 46-of-107 (.430) third down and 23-of-28 (.821) red-zone chances in 2006. The Pioneers have a -8 turnover margin.

Individually, senior quarterback Jason Vrable, one of The Football Gazette's Players of the Week, has completed 167-of-299 passes for an OAC-high 2,375 yards with 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions this season. He is also first in total offense (322.2 yards per game) Junior Chad McDaniel leads the team (third in the OAC) with 45 grabs for 683 yards and five scores. Senior Jason Curry has added 38 receptions for 594 yards with seven touchdowns, while senior Nic North has grabbed 41 passes for 541 yards and two touchdowns. Vrable is the team's leading rusher, averaging 25.4 yards, while sophomore Garrett Banks has added 17.6 yards per game. Freshman George Davis is also averaging 16.0 yards.

Sophomore Pat Lane is 7-for-9 in field goals with a long of 26 yards and 15-for-19 in PATs. Curry is averaging 34.5 yards per punt and 10 of his 30 punts have been downed inside the 20 yard line.

Marietta's defense enters the week ranked sixth in total defense. It is allowing 328.8 yards per game. The Pioneers rank seventh against the pass (212.2) and sixth against the run (116.4). Marietta has recorded 16 sacks, 51 tackles for loss and seven interceptions this season. The Pioneers have allowed their opponents to convert 23-of-32 (.719) red zone chances, including 14 touchdowns. Offenses are converting 38% (44-of-116) of their third-down opportunities against Marietta.

Junior middle linebacker Brian Hahn leads the team with 64 tackles (sixth in the OAC), while sophomore middle linebacker Grant Cowell has added 56 stops. Hahn (9.0) and junior Clay Ream (7.5) lead the team in tackles for loss.

Marietta is averaging 15.6 yards on kick returns and 5.7 yards on punt returns this year. Penalties have been a factor, as the Pioneers have committed 57 penalties for 434 yards. Marietta trails slightly in time of possession, holding onto the ball from an average of 28:17, while on defense for 31:43.

THE RECORDS: Saturday is Week 10 of the 2006 season. Marietta (5-3, 4-3 OAC) 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). It then lost to John Carroll (7-20) before upsetting Ohio Northern (16-6) and defeating Heidelberg (32-17). Wilmington (3-5, 3-4 OAC) opened the year with losses to Mount St. Joseph (0-34), Capital (0-43), and Baldwin-Wallace (0-14). It then beat Muskingum (20-0) and Otterbein (38-7) before losing to Mount Union (9-65). It followed the loss with a win against Heidelberg (21-14) and a loss to John Carroll (0-35).

GAME TIME: 1:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 4, Williams 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. Wilmington's Barry Wulf is in his second year as the Quaker's head football coach. The 1995 graduate of Wilmington went 2-8 in his first year and is now 5-13 with his alma mater. Wulf is 0-1 all-time against Marietta.

ALL-TIME SERIES: The Quakers and the Pioneers meet for the 16th time on the gridiron in 2006. Wilmington leads the series 8-7. Marietta won the first meeting, 68-7, in 1915 and is 3-3 since Wilmington joined the OAC in 2000. Wilmington, which has lost the last two, earned its last win over Marietta in 2003 (37-31).

LAST MEETING: A rekindled running game enabled Marietta to defeat Wilmington 18-3 in game eight of the 2005 season. Led by Steven Wagner's 126 yards, the Pioneers totaled 191 yards on the ground in the win. Jason Vrable completed 16-of-28 passes and threw for 210 yards and two scores, both to Jason Curry, who finished with four catches. Brian Hahn and Jeff Mast each had nine tackles in the game, while Clay Ream added eight. Brad Monk completed 11-of-27 passes for 115 yards and ran for 50 yards in his first start at Wilmington. Chad Otte led the Quaker defense with 11 stops.

LAST GAME FOR MARIETTA: Vrable led the Pioneers’ offense with both his arm and his legs in a 32-17 victory over Heidelberg. Marietta totaled 531 yards of offense in the game. Vrable ran for a career-high 125 yards and passed for another 286 yards. Corey Jacobs added 74 yards on the ground while Chad McDaniel had 125 yards receiving. Defensively, Grant Cowell had a team-high nine tackles, while Anthony Banks added six stops.

LAST GAME FOR WILMINGTON: The Quakers were shutout for the fourth time this season Saturday, falling to host John Carroll 35-0. Wilmington managed just 11 total yards in the loss. Otte and Jeremy Clingner each had 10 tackles in the game.

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.

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, Nov. 11, Marietta will close out the season at home against No. 1 Mount Union at 1:30 p.m. while Wilmington will visit Ohio Northern for a 1 p.m. game.

PIONEER PASSING: The 2006 Marietta team is currently ranked fifth in the nation in passing offense, averaging 296.9 yards. Of the 229 teams in NCAA D-III, only Alma (Mich.) College (352.1), Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C. (337.4), Linfield (Ore.) College (303.4) and University of La Verne (Calif.) (302.1) are averaging more passing yards this season.

MAKING HISTORY: Vrable, who now holds the school record in every career passing category, broke his single-season record for completions Saturday. He is now 167-of-299 and thrown for school record 2,375 yards with 17 touchdowns this fall. With two games remaining, his career stats show 460-of-826 passing for 5,635 yards and 38 touchdowns. Vrable is also closing on the single-season record for passing attempts (needs 11) and touchdowns (needs two).

CLIMBING UP THE CAREER CHARTS: Pioneers' senior receiver Jason Curry, who is ranked second on MC's career receiving-yards list with 1,669 yards, has 18 career touchdown receptions and needs two more to break the record set by Antonio Hutton '97. Curry is also ranked second all-time in punts (195) and punt yards (7,102). He needs two more punts and 194 yards to break those records.

GETTING OFF TO A QUICK START: Marietta has been looking 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 51-24 in the first quarter, but has a 51-17 advantage in the third frame. The Pioneers have now held a halftime lead in three of its last four games.

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 23-of-28 chances on offense (16 TD) and allowed teams to score on 23-of-32 trips (14 TD).

NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT: The OAC has a large presence in the top of the national polls this week. In the AFCA poll, released Oct. 31, Mount Union was ranked first and Capital 10th, while Baldwin-Wallace received votes. The d3football.com poll also had Mount Union at No. 1 and Capital at No. 5 while Baldwin-Wallace had votes in the poll.

THIS WEEK IN THE OAC: Other OAC games on tap this weekend include Baldwin-Wallace (6-2, 5-2 OAC) at Otterbein (4-4, 3-4 OAC), Muskingum (1-7, 0-6 OAC) at Capital (7-1, 6-1 OAC), John Carroll (4-4, 4-3 OAC) at Mount Union (8-0, 7-0 OAC) and Ohio Northern (4-4, 3-4 OAC) at Heidelberg (0-8, 0-7 OAC). All games are at 1:30 p.m.

NEXT SATURDAY IS SENIOR DAY: Saturday (Nov. 11) will be Senior Day for 13 Pioneers. The student-athletes will be honored for their dedication to the program before the game.