Marietta hosts No. 16 Ohio Northern on Homecoming
No. 16 Ohio Northern (4-2, 3-2 OAC) at Marietta (1-5, 1-4 OAC)
1:30 p.m. • Saturday, Oct. 20 • Don Drumm Stadium

Game Notes (.pdf)
Oct. 17, 2007
MARIETTA, Ohio — The Marietta College football team returns home to Don Drumm Stadium to play host to No. 16 Ohio Northern University Saturday (Oct. 20) afternoon on Homecoming. It will be the Pioneers fifth game against a team that has been ranked at one point this season. Both programs are looking to bounce back from loss. Ohio Northern fell 24-6 at No. 5 Capital, while Marietta lost 27-9 at John Carroll. A year ago, the Pioneers upset the Polar Bears, 16-6, in Ada, Ohio.

Here is a look at both teams:

Ohio Northern University: The Polar Bears, ranked as high as No. 8 by the d3football.com poll this season, are coming off back-to-back losses against No. 1 Mount Union (44-0) and No. 5 Capital (24-6). After six games, Ohio Northern ranks sixth in the OAC in scoring, averaging 20.8 points. The Polar Bears rank sixth in total offense (316.3). They are ninth in passing (188.7) and fourth in rushing (127.7). Ohio Northern is the second-least penalized team in the OAC, giving up an average of 44.0 penalty yards. The Polar Bears have converted 12-of-14 red-zone chances and 35-of-97 third down opportunities this season.

Junior quarterback Jeff Pankratz runs the team's offense in 2007. He has completed 77-of-158 passes and thrown for 924 yards with seven touchdowns and three interceptions. Junior All-OAC tailback R.J. Meadows leads a talented backfield. He has rushed 111 times and netted 515 yards with five touchdowns. Meadows leads the league in carries and is second in yards per game (85.8). Senior Trevis Stephens has added 40 carries for 190 yards and one score. Junior Ben Wittwer is ONU’s go-to wide receiver, pulling in 28 receptions for 395 yards. Senior wide out David Delk has caught 18 passes for 264 yards and four scores.

The Polar Bears’ defense is allowing 17.3 points per game, which ranks fifth in the league. ONU has surrendered an average of 108.8 yards on the ground and 174.0 yards through the air. The Polar Bears, who have a +8 turnover margin, have compiled 26 sacks and eight interceptions this season.

Senior Lenny Trusnik leads the OAC in total tackles with 62. He also has 3.5 sacks. Junior Cullen Rasmussen and Chade Porter had added 33 stops each.

Sophomore Jake Heaphy is 7-of-8 in field goal attempts with a long of 40. He has also averaged 39.4 yards on 38 punts. Ohio Northern, led by freshman Michael Busch, is averaging 22.1 yards in kick returns and 7.5 yards in punt returns. The Polar Bears have collected 115 first downs, while its defense has allowed 99. Ohio Northern is controlling the clock for 30:30 while on defense for 29.13.

Marietta College: The Pioneers are working to get all aspects of the game going at the same time in order to turn their season around. Marietta's offense has averaged league-low 13.2 points and 265.7 yards this season, which ranks ninth. Of those yards, 95.2 come on the ground, while 170.5 are through the air. The Pioneers are ranked tenth in passing offense and eighth in rushing offense. Marietta has converted 29-of-92 third down and 13-of-22 red-zone chances in 2007. The Pioneers have a -14 turnover margin.

Individually, sophomore quarterback Dexter Hughes is 74-of-160 passing, throwing for 791 yards. He has thrown four touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Freshman Ryan Dawson leads the team with 27 catches for 342 yards and three scores, while senior Chad McDaniel has added 26 catches for 308 yards. Senior Joe Webb leads the ground attack with 66 rushes for 279 yards (46.5 yards per game). Junior Garrett Banks has added 21.8 yards per game, while sophomore George Davis has contributed 19.7 yards per game and scored two touchdowns.

Junior Pat Lane is 4-for-9 in field goals and 7-for-8 in PATs. Senior John Bensie is averaging 33.8 yards on 35 punts. Marietta is averaging 17.5 yards on kick returns and 7.2 yards on punt returns this year. The Pioneers have committed an OAC-low 29 penalties for 249 yards.

Marietta's defense enters the week ranked sixth in total defense. It is allowing 419.5 yards per game. The Pioneers rank sixth against the run (128.3 yards per game) and eighth against the pass (291.2 yards per game). Marietta has recorded 12 sacks and 39 tackles for loss this season. The Pioneers have allowed their opponents to convert 22-of-31 red zone chances, including 16 touchdowns. Opponents are converting 40% (41-of-102) of their third-down opportunities against Marietta.

Senior linebacker Brian Hahn leads the team and is third in the OAC with 60 total tackles, including 10.5 for loss. Junior linebacker Grant Cowell and senior linebacker Carter Shaver have added 52 and 48 tackles, respectively. Marietta is trailing in time of possession, holding onto the ball for an average of 28:24, while on defense for 31:36.

Week 8 Game Notes

THE RECORDS: Saturday is week eight of the 2007 season. Marietta enters 1-5 overall and 1-4 in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC). No. 16 Ohio Northern is 4-2, 3-2 in the OAC.

GAME TIME: 1:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 20, Don Drumm Stadium in Marietta, Ohio.

THE COACHES: Marietta's Curt Wiese is in his second season as the leader of the Pioneers. Wiese, the offensive coordinator of the Pioneers for three years before becoming the head coach, earned his bachelor's degree from Minnesota State-Mankato in 1999. Dean Paul is in his fourth season as Ohio Northern’s head coach. The 1990 graduate of Mount Union, who spent the previous five seasons at Thomas More, has a coaching record of 26-10 at ONU and 66-22 overall.

ALL-TIME SERIES: The Polar Bears lead the all-time series, which began in 1910, 23-9-1. Marietta snapped a 10-game losing streak to Ohio Northern a year ago, and the Polar Bears have won 18 of the last 20 meetings.

LAST MEETING: The Pioneers traveled to Ada looking for the big upset and pulled it off with a 20-6 victory over the No. 20 Polar Bears. Marietta’s defense kept Ohio Northern out of the end zone and its offense did not turn the ball over. Jason Vrable threw a pair of touchdowns in the win. Brian Hahn led the defense with 10 stops.

RADIO COVERAGE: WMRT-FM 88.3, Marietta's student radio station, will be at Don Drumm Stadium to broadcast the game. WONB-FM 94.9 will be covering the game for Polar Bear fans.

LISTEN ONLINE: Marietta College is proud to once again 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 the athletic web site: http://pioneers.marietta.edu.

LIVE STATS: Live statistics of Saturday’s football game will be available at http://pioneers.marietta.edu.

HOMECOMING: Marietta College would like to welcome back all of the Alumni on campus for Homecoming. We hope that you enjoy the weekend. Check out the schedule of events on page 8.

QUICK START: Marietta will look to get off to a fast start out of the locker room after struggling in the first half in 2006. The Pioneers were outscored 65-34 in the first quarter and 67-49 in the second quarter last year. On the other hand, Marietta outscored its opponents 51-38 and 88-72 in the third and fourth quarters, respectively. This year, the Pioneers have been outscored 41-9 in the first quarter, 51-10 in the second quarter and 58-21 in the third quarter and 45-39 in the final frame.

RED-ZONE STAND: Marietta has scored in 13 of its 22 trips to the red-zone this season; nine of the scores have been touchdowns. The Pioneers' defense, however, has allowed scores in 22-of-31 red-zone possessions, including 16 touchdowns.

THIS WEEK IN THE OAC: A full slate of OAC games are slated for Oct. 20. Capital is at Otterbein. Baldwin-Wallace travels to Mount Union. In addition, Muskingum visits John Carroll, and Heidelberg heads to Wilmington. All games are slated for 1:30 p.m.

NEXT GAME: On Saturday (Oct. 27), Marietta will travel to Tiffin, Ohio, to take on Heidelberg at 1:30 p.m., while Ohio Northern plays host to Baldwin-Wallace at 1:30 p.m.

STUDENT SECTION: The bleachers in the south end zone on Saturday are reserved for Blue Crew members. The Pioneers appreciate your support.

IN-GAME ENTERTAINMENT: The Pioneers would like to welcome the Warren High School Band, who will be performing throughout the afternoon, including pre-game and at halftime.

NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT: The OAC has a large presence in the top of the national polls this week. The d3football.com poll had Mount Union at No. 1, with Capital at No. 5 and Ohio Northern at No. 16. The Purple Raiders were also atop the AFCA poll, while the Crusaders were sixth.

WINTER SCHEDULE CARDS: Winter schedule cards are now available. Pick one up near the gate or stop by the Athletics office.