Game Notes (PDF)
MARIETTA, Ohio – Marietta College football will open the
Andy Waddle era Saturday (Sept. 6) with a 7:00 p.m. kickoff at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. The Pioneers will be looking to avenge last year's 26-23 loss to the Spartans in Don Drumm Stadium.
The game marks the first as head coach for Waddle, who became the 29th coach in Pioneer football history. Waddle came to Marietta after spending the last eight seasons as an assistant at his alma mater Wittenberg University. The Tigers won four North Coast Athletic Conference championships and made four trips to the NCAA tournament with Waddle on staff.
Waddle has plenty of experience returning from last year's Pioneer squad. Marietta returns 31 lettermen and 17 starters from the 2012 team. Nine starters are back on offense, five on defense and three special teams players.
Fifth-year senior quarterback
Tom Fulton (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn Hills) is back for his second season as the starting signal caller. Fulton completed 151-of-325 passes a year ago for 1,850 yards and 14 touchdowns. He was picked off 16 times.
Providing depth at quarterback will be a pair of sophomores.
Lucas Havens (Granville Summit, Pa./Troy Area) and
Axten Franzoy (Las Cruces, N.M./Mayfield) have both received a lot of reps during camp and have shown great promise.
Marietta also welcomes back one of the top wide receiver tandems in the Ohio Athletic Conference in seniors
Kirby Harris (Greenville, S.C./South Side) and
Tannon Roberts (West Palm Beach, Fla./Berean Christian). Harris led the Pioneers with 47 receptions for 682 yards and seven touchdowns last fall. Roberts was second with 39 catches for 560 yards. He had a pair of touchdown receptions.
Junior tight end
Josh Llaneza (Westerville/South) also returns to the starting lineup. Sophomore
Thomas Hinkle (Fredericktown, Ohio/Fredericktown), the No. 2 quarterback last fall, has moved to tight end where the Pioneers can take advantage of his 6-foot-3, 243-pound frame.
The key to Marietta's success on offense this year will be the play of the offensive line. Pioneer quarterbacks were sacked 52 times last year and Marietta averaged just 40.1 yards per game rushing.
The good news is all five starters return on the line in addition to some key reserves. Seniors
Tito Jeffries (Lore City/Buckeye Trail) (left tackle),
Ryan Brown (Farmington, Ark./Farmington) (center) and
Jon Keener (Athens/Athens) (right guard) will be counted on to control the line of scrimmage.
Marietta will have some fresh faces running the ball in 2013. Junior transfer
Tim Conner (Cleveland/Glenville) will get the start at running back and he will be joined by freshman
Patrick Lewis (Ironton/Ironton). Sophomores
Brendan Adkinson (Bellevue, Ohio/Bellevue) and
Ahshai Stewart (Cincinnati, Ohio/Withrow) will handle the duties at fullback.
On the defensive side of the ball, Waddle will be looking to senior linebacker
Jake Hammer (Wadsworth/St. Vincent-St. Mary) to lead the way. Hammer, a second team All-OAC pick, led the OAC and was ranked 16th in the nation last year with 115 total tackles.
The rest of the linebacking corps is in goods hands with senior
Gerrell Nowling (Cleveland/Shaw), junior
Cody Rice (Orrville/Orrville) and sophomores
Dean Myers (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Canal Winchester) and
Daryl DeWindt (Lilburn, Ga./Meadowcreek).
Waddle feels the secondary may be the strength of the Pioneer defense this fall. Three starters return in seniors
Keith Cherry (Live Oak, Fla./Suwannee) and
Robert Brown (Middleburg, Fla./Nathan B. Forrest) and junior
Charles Dixon (Columbus/Groveport Madison). Joining the three returners will be freshman
Corey Hunsberger (Washington, Pa./Trinity) who had a great preseason camp.
Most of the starting defensive line from a year ago is gone, but the cupboard is far from bare. Seniors
Keeland Bryant (Houston, Texas/Booker T. Washington),
Andrew Gorman (Apopka, Fla./Ocoee), Tyree Bryant,
Franklin Holmes (Vineland, N.J./Vineland) and
Hogan Hamilton (Woodsfield/Monroe Central) give Marietta leadership up front. Sophomores
Joe Ortega (Fresno, Texas/Hightower) and
Kyle Dotson (Columbus/Groveport Madison) will get the starting nod at the two defensive end positions against Case.
Marietta will have new faces handling the kicking and punting duties this year. Punting will be freshman
Chas Miller (Little Hocking/Warren) and sophomore
Dominic Tremaglio (Painesville/Riverside) will take care of the placekicking.
One of the top punt returners in the OAC averaging 17.7 yards per return, Dixon will again be back deep on punts.
After the trip to Case Western this weekend, the Pioneers will take a week off before their home-opener on September 21 when Capital University comes to Don Drumm. Fans can follow the Pioneers all season long at
pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at
facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on Twitter.
