Upset-minded Pioneers host No. 1 Purple Raiders on Senior Day
No. 1 Mount Union (9-0, 8-0 OAC) at Marietta (6-3, 5-3 OAC)
1:30 p.m. ? Saturday, Nov. 11 ? Don Drumm Stadium

Game Notes (.pdf)
Nov. 8, 2006
MARIETTA, Ohio — The Pioneers, who enter with a three-game winning streak, will look to close out the season with an upset of No. 1 Mount Union Saturday (Nov. 11) afternoon at Don Drumm Stadium. The Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) match-up is slated for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff. Saturday is Senior Day and senior football players and student athletic trainers will be recognized before the game.

Here is a look at both teams:

Mount Union College: The reigning National Champions Purple Raiders enter the final game of the regular season undefeated and ranked atop all of the national polls. Mount Union has won 17 consecutive games and 61 straight road games. The Purple Raiders have already clinched at least a share of their 15th straight OAC title.

Through nine games, Mount Union ranks first in the League and nation in scoring, averaging 50.2 points. The Raiders also rank first nationally in total offense (506.0)—third in passing (239.8) and first in rushing (266.2). Mount Union is the most penalized team in the OAC, giving up an average of 94.9 penalty yards. The Purple Raiders have converted 45-of-54 (.833) red-zone chances and 51-of-97 (.526) third down opportunities this season.

Sophomore tailback Nate Kimic, who is averaging 133.7 yards, leads the team and OAC in rushing. Senior Mike Jorris, the team’s signal caller, has completed 92-of-147 passes for 1,413 yards and 20 scores while throwing just three interceptions. He leads the nation in passing efficiency (184.14). Junior wideout Pierre Garcon is Mount Union’s main receiving threat, pulling in 42 catches for 822 yards and 12 touchdowns.

The Purple Raider’s defense has allowed a nation’s best 7.0 points per game this season. Mount Union has surrendered an average of 166.9 yards—18.9 yards on the ground and 148.0 yards through the air. The Raiders, who have +16 turnover margin, have recorded 37 sacks and 12 interceptions on the year.

Junior linebacker Matt Rees leads the team with 43 tackles, while senior Justen Stickley and junior Nick Barren have added 35 stops. Senior safety Matt Kostelnik leads the team in sacks (7.0) and interceptions (4). He has also scored four defensive touchdowns this year.

Punter Greg Mitchell is averaging 37.9 yards on 16 punts in 2006. Mike Zimmerman has converted 9-of-14 field goal attempts with a long of 39 yards.

Mount Union is averaging 22.0 yards in kick returns. The Raiders have collected 202 first downs, while its defense has allowed just 63 first downs. Mount Union trails slightly in time of possession, holding onto the ball for 29:39 while on defense for 30:06.

Marietta College: The Pioneers, who have already locked up a winning season, are looking to end the year with their biggest win in history. Marietta’s offense has averaged 23.4 points and 375.0 yards this season, each rank third in the OAC. Of those yards, 78.1 come on the ground, while 296.9 are through the air. The Pioneers lead the Conference in passing offense (fourth in nation) and are sixth in rushing offense. Marietta has converted 51-of-121 (.421) third down and 25-of-32 (.781) red-zone chances in 2006. The Pioneers have a -6 turnover margin.

Senior quarterback Jason Vrable, who now holds every single-season and career passing record, has completed 190-of-342 passes for an OAC-high 2,672 yards with 19 touchdowns and 13 interceptions this season. He is also first in the OAC and fourth in the nation in total offense (327.2 yards per game) Junior Chad McDaniel is tied for the team lead (third in the OAC) with 49 grabs for a single-season record 741 yards and five scores. Senior Jason Curry has added 45 receptions for 729 yards with eight touchdowns, while senior Nic North has grabbed 49 passes (third in the OAC) for 611 yards and two touchdowns. Vrable is the team’s leading rusher, averaging 30.3 yards, while sophomore Garrett Banks has added 17.9 yards per game. Senior fullback Corey Jacobs is also averaging 13.0 yards.

Sophomore Pat Lane is 7-for-10 in field goals with a long of 26 yards and 18-for-22 in PATs. Curry, the Pioneers’ new all-time leader in punts and punting yards, is averaging 34.8 yards. 10 of his 37 punts have been downed inside the 20 yard line.

Marietta’s defense enters the week ranked sixth in total defense. It is allowing 335.9 yards per game. The Pioneers rank eighth against the pass (228.2) and sixth against the run (107.7). Marietta has recorded 18 sacks, 58 tackles for loss and 10 interceptions this season. The Pioneers have allowed their opponents to convert 23-of-36 (.639) red zone chances, including 14 touchdowns. Opponents are converting 35% (45-of-128) of their third-down opportunities against Marietta.

Junior middle linebacker Brian Hahn leads the team with 72 tackles (seventh in the OAC), while sophomore middle linebacker Grant Cowell has added 62 stops. Hahn (10.0) and junior Clay Ream (9.5) lead the team in tackles for loss.

Marietta is averaging 19.0 yards on kick returns and 5.9 yards on punt returns this year. Penalties have been a factor, as the Pioneers have committed 65 penalties for 519 yards. Marietta trails slightly in time of possession, holding onto the ball from an average of 28:47, while on defense for 31:13.

Marietta Game Notes

THE RECORDS: Saturday is the final week of the 2006 season. Marietta (6-3, 5-3 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) and Wilmington (27-14). Mount Union (9-0, 8-0 OAC) has posted victories over Averett (64-7), Otterbein (71-14), Muskingum (62-0), Heidelberg (58-0), Ohio Northern (49-7), Wilmington (65-9), Baldwin-Wallace (14-0), Capital (38-12) and John Carroll (31-14).

GAME TIME: 1:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 11, 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. Mount Union’s Larry Kehres is in his 21st year as the Purple Raiders’ head football coach. The 1971 graduate of Mount Union has an overall record of 240-20-3 and is a seven time national Coach of the Year. Kehres is 20-0 all-time against Marietta.

ALL-TIME SERIES: The Purple Raiders and the Pioneers meet for the 45th time on the gridiron in 2006. Mount Union dominates the series (35-8-1). Mount Union won the first meeting, 20-0, in 1933 and has won 26 straight. Marietta’s last win came in 1977.

LAST MEETING: A 100-yard first-quarter fumble return by Shawn Ellies gave Marietta a 7-0 lead, only for Mount Union to score 59 unanswered points en route to the victory, its 110th straight over an OAC opponent. The Pioneers became the first to score against the Raiders in the first quarter of 2005. Mount Union racked up an OAC record 755 yards in the win.

LAST GAME FOR MARIETTA: All three facets of Marietta College's football team made valuable contributions Saturday afternoon to help the Pioneers defeat the Wilmington College Quakers on the road, 27-14. Marietta's defense forced five turnovers and allowed just one score, its offense racked up 421 yards and four touchdowns and the special teams blocked a field goal attempt and returned a kickoff for the game-winning score in the fourth quarter.

LAST GAME FOR MOUNT UNION: The Purple Raiders closed the home portion of regular season play with a 31-14 win over conference rival John Carroll University Saturday afternoon. The victory clinched the Raiders at least a share of an unprecedented 15th consecutive OAC Championship and 18th overall.

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. Mount Union’s WRMU-FM 91.1 and WDPN-AM 1310.

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.

BLUE ALERT: Saturday is a Blue Alert game for the football team. All Blue Crew members are asked to wear their shirts and are eligible to participate in the halftime contest.

SPECIAL WELCOME: The Pioneers would like to extend a special welcome to the MC Symphonic Wind Ensemble.

SENIOR DAY: Saturday (Nov. 11) will be Senior Day for 12 Pioneer football players and four student athletic trainers. The student-athletes will be honored for their dedication to the program before the game.

PIONEER PASSING: The 2006 Marietta team is currently ranked fourth in the nation in passing offense, averaging 296.9 yards. Of the 229 teams in NCAA D-III, only Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C. (349.2), Alma (Mich.) College (348.41), and Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Ind., (300.9) are averaging more passing yards this season.

MAKING HISTORY: Vrable, who now holds the school record in every single-season and career passing category, broke the single-season record for attempts and tied the record for touchdown passes Saturday. He is now 199-of-342 and thrown for school record 2,672 yards with 19 touchdowns this fall. With one game remaining, his career stats show 483-of-869 passing for 5,929 yards and 40 touchdowns. Vrable is also closing in on the OAC’s top-10 lists for passing stats in a season.

BATTLING FOR A RECORD: Pioneers’ senior receiver Jason Curry and junior wideout Chad McDaniel both surpasses the previous school record for receiving yards in a season, which was 720. McDaniel has a slight 12-yard edge with 741 yards. McDaniel and senior Nic North are also closing in on the single-season reception record of 54. Both have 49 catches this year.

CLIMBING UP THE CAREER CHARTS: Pioneers’ senior receiver Jason Curry, who is ranked second on MC’s career receiving-yards list with 1,804 yards, tied Antonio Hutton ‘97 for the career touchdown record (19). He also matched Hutton’s record for TD receptions in a season (8) Saturday. Curry also moved into a tie for fifth place on the school’s reception list (114) and needs five catches to move into a tie for third all-time.

PUNTING PROWESS: On Saturday, Curry passed Bob Jones ‘79 to become the school’s all-time leader in punts (202) and punting yards (7,355).

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 51-24 advantage in the third frame.

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 25-of-32 chances on offense (18 TD) and allowed teams to score on 23-of-36 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 Nov. 5, 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 (7-2, 6-2 OAC) at Capital (8-1, 7-1 OAC), Heidelberg (0-9, 0-8 OAC) at Muskingum (1-8, 0-8 OAC),
Otterbein (4-5, 3-5 OAC) at John Carroll (5-4, 5-3 OAC) and Wilmington (3-6, 3-5 OAC) at Ohio Northern (5-4, 4-4 OAC). All games are afternoon games.

WINTER SCHEDULE CARDS: Winter schedule cards are now available. Pick one up at the gate or stop by the Athletics office. Action begins November 17.