MARIETTA, Ohio — The 2009 Marietta College football season begins Saturday (Sept. 5), when it plays host to Thiel College from Greenville, Pa. Kickoff with the Tomcats is slated for 2:30 p.m. at Don Drumm Stadium. The Pioneers will attempt to win their season opener for the eighth time in 10 years and perform well in front of the 5th annual River City Bowl crowd. [Complete Game Notes (PDF)]

The 5th annual River City Bowl will include a free tailgate for fans of both teams starting at 1 p.m. The tailgate will feature free soda, hot dogs, bratwurst and many other treats outside the stadium. In addition, the first 300 fans through the gate will receive a 2009 River City Bowl t-shirt. At halftime, the winners of the local Pepsi Punt, Pass & Kick, held earlier that day, will be announced. The Tyler Consolidated High School Marching Band will also perform throughout the game.

Here is a look at both teams:

Thiel College: First-year Head Coach Kurt Reiser will feature eight returning starters on both sides of the ball as the Tomcats look bounce back from an unexpected 2-8 season a year ago. Offensively, Thiel will feature a conservative, ball-control oriented attack led by senior quarterback Willie Bova. Bova ranks among Thiel's all-time top quarterbacks in several categories. He earned All-Presidents' Athletic Conference honorable mention after completing 194-of-363 passes and throwing for 2,227 yards and 17 touchdowns in 2008. Returning to the tailback position after missing all of last season due to injury will be senior Dan Hess. Hess has a chance to graduate as the school's all-time leading rusher. Sophomore Ross Gargano will also see opportunities in the backfield for the Tomcats. Senior wide out Brendan Taylor will lead a talented receiving corps for Bova.

Defensively, Thiel figures to be strong up front and led by junior tackle William Haase, a preseason second team All-American by Consensus Draft Services. He will be aided in the trenches by juniors tackle Zack Woody and end Matt Shields. The linebacker corps may be the deepest and strongest part of the Thiel defense. Sam Swartzfager returns for a fifth year of eligibility after having been injured last season. Senior inside backer Mike Clemens, as well as senior Clint Walker and junior Bobby Shew on the outside, are all returning starters. The defensive backfield will feature Bryan Villegas at free safety and Cody Sirgey at cornerback.

Marietta College: It will be another growing year for the Marietta College football team in 2009. Second-year Head Coach Jeff Filkovski admits that the Pioneers' roster will once again be bottom-heavy in its class makeup, but the squad has the talent to compete each week against its Ohio Athletic Conference opponents. Marietta's game plan will remain the same in 2009. It will revolve around running the football and a “get after it” approach on defense. The Pioneers welcome 46 players back from last year's squad. That core is comprised of 21 lettermen—six seniors, seven juniors and eight sophomores—and features nine returning starters on offense and seven more on defense.

All-OAC honorable mention pick Clinton Thompson (Waverly, W.Va., Williamstown) as well as George Davis (Warren, Newton Falls) and Lemke, Corey (Loundonville, Loundonville) will anchor the defensive backfield again as seniors. Sophomore Dan Starr (Senecaville, Buckeye Trail) is back as a starting linebacker, while juniors Adam Tate (Chesterhill, Federal Hocking) and Pete Santagate (Venetia, Pa., Peters Township) and sophomore Cody Andrews (Carmichael, Pa., Carmichaels Area) return on the defense line. Lemke also returns as the Pioneers' place kicker.

Senior All-OAC honorable mention running back Lamar Hunter (South Euclid, Brush), aided by junior fullback Rich Klingel (Marion, River Valley), will carry the offense, while sophomore Andrew Keller (Cincinnati, Glen Este) will lead the competition for snaps at quarterback. Junior Cory Kriechbaum (Marietta, Marietta) and sophomore Jahmaal Jones (Valrico, Fla., Bloomingdale) both return as wide receivers; junior Zach Lashaway (Wauseon, Evergreen) is back at tight end. The offense line will return seniors George Frisch (Glenshaw, Pa., Shaler Area) and Chris Carter (Amesbury, Mass., Amesbury) as well as sophomore Matt Myers (Zanesville, Maysville).


THE RECORDS: Saturday marks the 2009 season opener for both teams. Marietta and Thiel finished the 2008 campaign with 2-8 records. The Pioneers also went 1-8 in the Ohio Athletic Conference, while the Tomcats were 1-6 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference.

GAME TIME: 2:30 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 5, 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. Thiel's Kurt Reiser begins his first year as the Tomcats' head football coach. The 1993 graduate of Allegheny was an assistant for eight seasons with Thiel.

ALL-TIME SERIES: Saturday is the seventh time that the two teams will meet on the gridiron. The series began in 1921 with Marietta, who holds a 5-1 advantage, winning 22-0. Thiel's lone victory came by the score of 13-6 in 1923. Marietta also won 7-0 in 1924, 20-16 in 1994, 36-0 in 1995 and 21-18 in 2008.

LAST MEETING: The Pioneers scored a touchdown in the final minute of their season opener to defeat the host Tomcats 21-18 on Sept. 6, 2008. Marietta piled up 471 yards of total offense; 395 came through the air and 76 was on the ground. The Pioneers limited the Tomcats to just 267 yards, which included 70 yards on the ground and 197 through the air. Dexter Hughes (Woodsfield/Monroe Central) finished the game 29-of-43 and threw for 348 yards and two scores in the win. Marty Mueller had eight catches for a game-high 157 yards, while Cory Kriechbaum (Marietta/Marietta) added nine receptions for 127 yards to go along with a 47-yard touchdown pass. Thiel's Willie Bova completed 19-of-33 passes for 197 yards and two scores, and Tim Van Horn pulled in 11 catches for 121 yards and one score. Defensively, Grant Cowell (Perrysville/Loundonville) paced the Pioneers with seven total stops, while Tom Butera had a game-high 10 hits for the Tomcats.

MEMORABLE REUNION: Marietta coach Jeff Filkovski and Thiel coach Kurt Reiser will be forever linked in Allegheny College football history, as Filkovski hit Reiser for the game-winning touchdown pass to give the Gators the 1990 NCAA Division III National Championship.

SEASON OPENERS: The Pioneers have pulled out victories in 13 of the last 15 season openers. Marietta is opening at home for the first time in four years. The Pioneers' last loss to start a year was at #3 Saint Johns (Minn.) University in 2007.

RADIO COVERAGE: Marietta College 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 2:20 p.m. Thiel College is also slated to have its local station cover the game for fans back in Greenville, Pa.

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.

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.

SCHEDULE CARDS: Free Fall Schedule Cards are now available. Stop by the athletics office to pick one up today.

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 two teams ranked in the d3football.com Preseason Top 25: Defending champion #1 Mount Union and #24 Otterbein.

NATIONAL REPRESENTATION: Marietta's roster currently features 91 total student-athletes—52 from Ohio, 10 from Pennsylvania, 9 from Florida, 8 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 outscored 87-26 in the first quarter and 108-20 in the second quarter of 2008.

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, including their game against the Tomcats. This year, Marietta will look to turn that time into more points on the scoreboard.

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 WEEK IN THE OAC: There is a full slate of games on the OAC schedule this week. Baldwin-Wallace welcomes Franklin, Capital visits Adrian, Heidelberg travels to Westminster, John Carroll plays host to Thomas More, Mount Union is at St. John Fisher, Muskingum travels to Defiance, Ohio Northern welcomes North Central, Otterbein make the trek to Bethany and Wilmington is at home against Mount. St. Joseph.

NEXT GAME: On Sept. 19, Marietta will play host to Wilmington for its Ohio Athletic Conference opener. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. Thiel will return to the field when it plays host to Albion College on Sept. 12 at 1:30 p.m.

PUNT PASS & KICK: Local youth are invited to help kick off the 2009 Marietta College football season by participating in a NFL Punt, Pass & Kick (PPK) competition. The event, hosted by the River Rats Browns Backers and sponsored by Pepsi, will take place at Don Drumm Stadium. Established in 1961, the PPK program is the oldest NFL Youth Football program. Winners of each division (8-9, 10-11, 12-13, and 14-15) will be introduced during halftime of Marietta's game. PPK is free and open to youth ages 8-15. Registration will begin at 11 a.m. and the competition will start at 11:30 a.m. Everyone must bring a birth certificate and wear tennis shoes (No cleats). Participants will receive a complementary ticket for them and two guests to the afternoon's Marietta College game. For more information on NFL Punt, Pass & Kick, please contact Barry Taylor at (740) 236-6062.