Marietta Football Game Notes (PDF)

THE RECORDS: Saturday marks the 2010 Ohio Athletic Conference opener for both teams. Marietta and Muskingum both began the season with victories on Sept. 4. The Pioneers defeated host Thiel 28-7, while the Fighting Muskies took down visiting Defiance 19-13 in double overtime.

GAME TIME: 6 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 18, Don Drumm Stadium in Marietta, Ohio.

THE COACHES: Marietta's Jeff Filkovski is in his third 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. Muskingum's Al Logan is in his fourth year as the Fighting Muskies head football coach. The 1982 graduate of Muskingum has an 8-23 record at his alma mater.

ALL-TIME SERIES: Saturday marks the 89th time that the two teams will meet on the gridiron. The series began in 1897 with Marietta winning 36-0. Muskingum holds a 46-40-2 advantage against Marietta, but the Pioneers have won eight of nine over the Fighting Muskies. Eight of those outcomes have been decided by less than eight points, including Muskingum's 15-12 win a year ago.

LAST MEETING: [Box Score] [Recap] 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 Oct. 24. The win helped the Fighting Muskies snap an eight-game losing streak in the series. Lamar Hunter (South Euclid/Brush) carried the ball a career-high 40 times and ran for 151 yards and both Marietta touchdowns. Andrew Keller (Cincinnati/Glen Este) finished 6-of-16 and threw for 78 yards. Three of those receptions came from Chad Walker (Spring Hill, Fla./Central), who finished with 57 yards. Palmer Smith led Muskingum's rushing attack with 18 carries for 64 yards. Jake Burns completed 9-of-16 passes for 76 yards and a score. Ben Smith pulled in a game-best four catches for 41 yards in the win. Adam Tate (Chesterhill/Federal Hocking) and Kevin Donnellan (Parma/Normandy) led Marietta with seven stops each, while three Fighting Muskies had eight hits on the day.

SHRINE GAME/RIVER CITY BOWL: Marietta and Muskingum teamed up to start a new tradition in 2009. The longtime rivals now battle for an annual Shrine Trophy. Muskingum currently holds the trophy after its victory last year. The schools' local Shrine Clubs are helping to sponsor the event. All revenue from the concession stand will go directly to charity. Saturday also marks the sixth annual River City Bowl. A free tailgate will be available for fans of both teams behind the stadium beginning at 4:30 p.m.

CALLING ALL FOOTBALL ALUMNI: Marietta College invites you to take part in Alumni Day Sept. 18. It is a great opportunity to relive some old memories and make some new ones. To register visit https://secure.www.alumniconnections.com/olc/pub/MRO/events/MRO2303007.html or call the Alumni Office at 1-800-274-4704. Registered alumni will be recognized at halftime.

DON DRUMM STADIUM PROJECT: The Pioneers will also kickoff the Don Drumm Stadium Project with a halftime ceremony on Sept. 18. For more information on the Don Drumm Stadium Project visit http://pioneers.marietta.edu/index.aspx?path=dds.

WATCH THE ACTION: Today's game is being broadcast live on WTAP's FOX Parkersburg (Channel 14 on Suddenlink Cable) and online at WTAP.com. It will re air on Sunday at 9 a.m.

RADIO COVERAGE: Marietta College is scheduled to have WMRT-FM 88.3, its student radio station, and WMOA-AM 1490 broadcast the game for Pioneer fans. The broadcast will take the air with a short pregame at 5:50 p.m. Muskingum University will also have its student station cover the game for its fans.


LIVE STATISTICS: Marietta will offer fans around the world an opportunity to track the action with live statistics available at http://www.sidearmstats.com/marietta/football/.

NEXT GAME: On Sept. 25, Marietta will visit University Heights, Ohio, for a match-up with John Carroll University at 2 p.m. Muskingum travels to Ada, Ohio, to take on Ohio Northern University at 1:30 p.m.

85TH SEASON OF OAC PLAY: Saturday's game will begin Marietta's 85th season of football in the OAC. The Pioneers, who joined the league in 1926, are 171-314-11 (.356) all-time in Conference play.

THIS WEEK IN THE OAC: All 10 OAC schools are in action against each other in week three. #18 Otterbein hosts #11 Ohio Northern and #1 Mount Union visits John Carroll at 1:30 p.m. Heidelberg welcomes Baldwin-Wallace at 2 p.m. Marietta and Muskingum battle at Don Drumm Stadium at 6 p.m. Wilmington plays host to Capital at 7 p.m.

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

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.

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 2010 football media guides. They will be made available at all home contests and in the athletics office.

CAPTAINS ANNOUNCED: Marietta College will have four captains during the 2010 season: senior offensive lineman Cameron Kiger (Rockbridge/Logan), senior fullback Rich Klingel (Marion/River Valley), senior defensive lineman Pete Santagate (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township) and senior defensive lineman Adam Tate (Chesterhill/Federal Hocking).

NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT: The OAC has three teams ranked in the d3football.com Preseason Top 25: #2 Mount Union, #11 Ohio Northern and #18 Otterbein.

NATIONAL REPRESENTATION: Marietta's roster currently features 94 total student-athletes—52 from Ohio, 12 from Florida, 8 from Pennsylvania, 4 from Texas, 3 from West Virginia, 2 from California, Georgia, Maryland and South Carolina, 1 from Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York.

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 85-20 in the first quarter and 105-30 in the second quarter of 2009.

CONTROLLING THE CLOCK: Marietta will look to dominate the time of possession in 2010. Last year, the Pioneers led in time of possession in five games. This year, Marietta will look improve that number and to turn that time into more points on the scoreboard.

TURNOVERS: Marietta needs to improve its turnover margin. In 2009, the Pioneers ranked 10th in the OAC and 222nd in NCAA Division III with a -14 turnover margin. Marietta enters week three with a +3 turnover margin after its five interceptions against Thiel.

DID YOU KNOW: Marietta held Thiel to just seven points in week one. It was the first time since upsetting #20 Ohio Northern 16-6 on the road in 2006 that the Pioneers allowed single-digit points. The streak of giving up at least 10 points spanned 33 games.

TAKE A KID TO THE GAME DAY: Mark your calendar for Oct. 9 when Marietta will once again participate in the national “Take a Kid to the Game” program. Kids, ages 14 and younger, will receive a free ticket with the purchase of a full-priced adult ticket ($5) to watch the Pioneers and Purple Raiders battle in Ohio Athletic Conference football action