MARIETTA, Ohio - The home portion of the 2009 Marietta College football season wraps up Saturday (Oct. 31) afternoon when #7 Otterbein College puts its undefeated record on the line against the Pioneers on Senior Day at Don Drumm Stadium in Marietta, Ohio. Marietta will recognize its senior football players, cheerleaders and athletic training students before the game. In addition, it is Marietta Shrine Day. All of the proceeds from the gate and concession stand will be donated to the Marietta Shrine Club's charities. [Game Notes (PDF)]

Here is a look at both teams:

Otterbein College: Led by seventh- year Head Coach Joe Loth, the Otterbein College football team enters the game looking to remain undefeated. Otterbein ranks second in the OAC in scoring, averaging 33.9 points. The Cardinals rank second in total offense (440.4). They are seventh in passing (187.3) and first in rushing (253.1). Otterbein is the most penalized team in the OAC, giving up an average of 75.3 penalty yards in 2009. The Cardinals have converted 29-of-33 red-zone chances (26 touchdowns) and 43-of-75 third down opportunities this season. Otterbein is controlling the clock for 32:28 while on defense for 27:32. The Cardinals have collected 162 first downs, while their defense has also allowed 134.

Sophomore Austin Schlosser has completed 64-of-90 passes and thrown for 981 yards with 9 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. Junior Colton Coy is leading the OAC in rushing, average 111.0 yards in 2009. He has 135 carries for 777 yards and 7 scores. Senior Ryan Rowley is pacing the receivers with 32 catches for 409 yards and 6 touchdowns.

The Cardinals defense is allowing 21.1 points per game, which ranks third in the OAC. Otterbein has surrendered 160.3 yards on the ground and 185.0 yards through the air, which rank sixth in the OAC. The Cardinals, who have a +0 turnover margin, have compiled 11 sacks and 33 tackles for loss to go along with 8 interceptions this season. They have allowed their opponents to convert 11-of-17 red zone chances (9 touchdowns). Opponents have converted 33-of-74 third-down opportunities against Otterbein.

Senior Terrell White leads the squad in total tackles with 53. Junior Cole Edwards is second on the team with 44 stops. Junior David Brewer has averaged 36.8 yards on 12 punts and has 3-of-4 field goals. Otterbein is averaging 17.8 yards on kickoff returns and 8.5 yards on punt returns in 2009.

Marietta College: Head Coach Jeff Filkovski's Marietta College football team is looking to snap a five-game losing streak. Marietta is averaging 13.1 points and 278.3 yards this season. Both marks rank 10th in the OAC. Of those yards, 129.4 come on the ground and 148.9 are through the air. The Pioneers are ranked seventh in rushing offense and 10th in passing offense. Marietta has converted 34-of-83 third down and 14-of-19 red-zone chances (12 touchdowns). The Pioneers enter with a -14 turnover margin. Marietta leads its opponents in time of possession, holding onto the ball for an average of 30:25, while on defense for 29:35. The Pioneers are the third-least penalized team in the OAC, giving up an average of 48.9 yards.

Sophomore quarterback Andrew Keller (Cincinnati/Glen Este) is 78-of-127 passing, throwing for 878 yards. He has thrown 7 touchdowns and 4 interceptions in six games. Senior Lamar Hunter (South Euclid/Brush), the OAC's second leading rusher, leads the ground attack with 146 rushes for 656 yards. Hunter has rushed for 4 touchdowns this season. Junior Cory Kriechbaum (Marietta/Marietta) has pulled in a team-best 23 receptions for 175 yards, while sophomore Jahmaal Jones (Valrico, Fla./Bloomingdale) has added 20 catches for 259 yards. Both have caught 2 touchdowns.

Marietta enters the week ranked seventh in scoring defense, giving up 26.1 points per week. The Pioneers rank second in total defense. They are allowing 331.4 yards per game. The Pioneers rank fourth against the run (155.4) and fourth against the pass (176.0). Marietta has recorded 14 sacks and 37 tackles for loss to go along with 3 interceptions this season. The Pioneers have allowed their opponents to convert 21-of-26 red zone chances (15 touchdowns). Opponents have converted 41-of-95 third-down and 6-of-15 fourth down opportunities against Marietta.

Senior George Davis (Warren/Newton Falls) leads the Pioneers with 50 stops, while sophomore Dan Starr (Senecaville/Buckeye Trail) is second with 48 hits. Marietta's punters are averaging 33.4 yards on 26 punts. Marietta is averaging 16.2 yards on kickoff returns and 10.6 yards on punt returns in 2009.


THE RECORDS: Saturday marks the ninth week of the 2009 season. Marietta College enters the game 2-5 overall and 1-5 in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC). Otterbein College is 7-0, 6-0 in league play.

GAME TIME: 1:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 31, Don Drumm Stadium in Marietta, Ohio.

THE COACHES: Marietta's Jeff Filkovski is in his second season as the leader of the Pioneers. He is the former signal caller for the Cologne Centurions of NFL Europe. Filkovski, who earned his bachelor's degree from Allegheny College in 1991, led the Gators to a national championship in 1990. Otterbein's Joe Loth is in his seventh year as the Cardinals' head football coach. The 1991 graduate of Otterbein has a 39-29 record at his alma mater.

ALL-TIME SERIES: Saturday marks the 82nd time that the two teams will meet on the gridiron. The series, which Otterbein now leads 41-40, began in 1892 with Marietta winning 6-0. Otterbein has dominated the series since 1999, claiming victory in 9 of the last 10 match-ups.

LAST MEETING: #18 Otterbein remained undefeated with a 55-0 shutout of visiting Marietta on Nov. 1, 2008. The Cardinals out gained the Pioneers 411-256 in total offense. Lamar Hunter (South Euclid/Brush) ran for a team-high 64 yards, while JR Gibson (Sebring/West Branch) led the defense with 9 total tackles. Both Eric Yates and Colton Coy ran for over a 100 yards in the victory.

LAST GAME FOR MARIETTA: A goal line stand on the final play helped propel host Muskingum to a 15-12 comeback victory over Marietta in a Shrine Game battle between rivals. The victory helped the Fighting Muskies snap an 8-game Pioneer win streak in the series. Lamar Hunter (South Euclid/Brush) once again anchored the Pioneers' attack with second straight 100-yard game and third of the season. Hunter carried the ball a career-high 40 times and ran for 151 yards and both Marietta touchdowns. Adam Tate (Chesterhill/Federal Hocking) and Kevin Donnellan (Parma/Normandy) led Marietta with 7 total stops each, while three other Pioneers had 5 on the day.

LAST GAME FOR OTTERBEIN: Otterbein, trailing by 11 points with 13:30 to play, mounted two fourth-quarter scoring drives, with the game-winning drive covering 97 yards on 11 plays and ending in a 34-yard touchdown throw with 38 seconds to play in the game to knock off rival Capital 35-34.

RADIO COVERAGE: Marietta is scheduled to have WMRT-FM 88.3, its student radio station, broadcast the game for Pioneer fans. The broadcast will take the air with a short pregame at 1:20 p.m.

LISTEN ONLINE: Marietta College is proud to once again offer its fans on the World Wide Web a free opportunity to listen to all 10 Pioneer football games. For more information visit Marietta's athletic web site: http://pioneers.marietta.edu.

LIVE STATISTICS: Follow all of the action in Marietta by tracking live statistics at http://www.marietta.edu/athletics/livestats/xlive.htm.

SMS SCORES: Marietta fans can receive scores and alerts directly on their cell phone by signing up at http://pioneers.marietta.edu/member/sms_signup.aspx.

PIONEER NEWSLETTER: Want all of the latest athletics news sent directly to your e-mail? If so, sign up at http://pioneers.marietta.edu/subscribe.aspx. Fans can choose which sports they would like to follow.

STAY UP TO DATE: Visit http://pioneers.marietta.edu to stay up to date with all of the Marietta College athletics news.

MEDIA GUIDES NOW ON SALE: Pioneer fans can now purchase 2009 fall sport media guides. They will be made available at all home contests and in the athletics office.

NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT: The OAC has 4 teams ranked in the d3football.com Top 25: Defending champion #1 Mount Union, #7 Otterbein, #16 Capital and #19 Ohio Northern.

NATIONAL REPRESENTATION: Marietta's roster currently features 85 total student-athletes—49 from Ohio, 9 from Pennsylvania, 8 from Florida, 7 from West Virginia, 2 from California, Maryland and Texas and 1 from Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts and South Carolina.

CAPTAINS ANNOUNCED: Marietta College will have two captains during the 2009 season: senior defensive back George Davis (Warren/Newton Falls) and senior offensive lineman Chris Carter (Amesbury, Mass./Amesbury).

GETTING OFF TO A QUICK START: Marietta will look to get off to a fast start out of the locker room after struggling in the first half in recent years. The Pioneers were out scored 87-26 in the first quarter and 108-20 in the second quarter of 2008. So far in 2009, Marietta has been out scored 57-13 in the first quarter and 57-16 in the second quarter.

GALAXY PIZZA PLAYER OF THE GAME: This week's Galaxy Pizza Player of the Game will be announced on Saturday.

CONTROLLING THE CLOCK: Marietta will look to dominate the time of possession in 2009. Last year, the Pioneers led in time of possession in 7 games. This year, Marietta has led in time of possession in 3 of 7 games, holding onto the ball for an average of 30:25 while on defense for 29:35.

TURNOVERS: Marietta needs to improve its turnover margin. In 2008, the Pioneers ranked 10th in the OAC and 233rd in NCAA Division III with a -21 turnover margin. This year's turnover margin currently stands at -14.

THIS WEEK IN THE OAC: There is a full slate of 1:30 p.m. games on the OAC schedule this week: Baldwin-Wallace visits Ohio Northern, Mount Union travels to John Carroll, Capital is at Muskingum and Heidelberg makes the trek to Wilmington.

84TH SEASON OF OAC PLAY: Saturday's game will continue Marietta's 84th season of football in the OAC. The Pioneers, who joined the league in 1926, are 170-312-11 (.356) all-time in Conference play.

NEXT GAME: On Nov. 7, Marietta will visit Tiffin, Ohio, for a match-up with Heidelberg. The game will be played at Mayer Field, marking the first time in nearly 60 years that the Student Princes will play on campus. Otterbein, meanwhile, has a date with Mount Union in Alliance. Both games kick off at 1:30 p.m.

SHRINE DAY: Today's game is being sponsored by the Marietta Shrine Club. All of the proceeds from the gate and the concession stand will be donated to the Shrine's charities.

HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS: Mark your calendar for Jan. 26, 2010, as the world famous Harlem Globetrotters will be playing at Ban Johnson Arena beginning at 7 p.m. Tickets are on sale at the Marietta College Cashier's Window as well as at Peoples News (Marietta, Belpre, Parkersburg) and at www.ticketweb.com.