Pioneers visit fourth-ranked Crusaders in week five
Marietta College (1-2, 0-2 OAC) at #4 Capital University (3-0, 2-0 OAC) • 1:30 p.m. • Saturday, Oct. 4 • Bernlohr Stadium

Oct. 1, 2008
MARIETTA, Ohio — The 2008 Marietta College football season continues in week five on Saturday (Oct. 4) afternoon when the Pioneers visit Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) rival and fourth-ranked Capital University. Kickoff is slated for 1:30 p.m. on Homecoming at Bernlohr Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. [Complete Game Notes (.pdf)]

Here is a look at both teams:

Capital University: Led by first-year head coach Jim Bickel, the 2008 Capital University football team (3-0, 2-0 OAC) is ranked fourth in both the d3football.com Top 25 and AFCA Coaches' Poll. Capital ranks third in the OAC in scoring, averaging 40.0 points. The Crusaders rank third in total offense (485.3). They are first in passing (340.0) and fourth in rushing (145.3). Capital is the fourth-most penalized team in the OAC, giving up an average of 68.7 penalty yards. The Crusaders have converted 13-of-15 red-zone chances (10 touchdowns) and 11-of-39 third down opportunities this season. Capital is controlling the clock for 29:28 while on defense for 30:32. The Crusaders have collected 69 first downs, while its defense has allowed 41.

Junior Marty Assmann, the reigning OAC Offensive Player of the Week, has completed 56-of-97 passes and thrown for an 895 yards with eight touchdowns without an interception. He is ranked second overall in passing yards per game (298.3). Sophomore Dominic D'Andrea leads the rushing attack with 36 carries for 175 yards and three scores. Senior Derick Alexander is Capital's top wide receiver, pulling 19 receptions for 316 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore Matt White and junior Evan Blake have added 12 catches for 223 yards and 10 catches for 216 yards and four scores, respectively.

The Crusaders' defense is allowing 19.7 points per game, which ranks fourth in the league. Capital has surrendered an average of 48.0 yards on the ground and 235.0 yards through the air, which ranks second and seventh, respectively. The Crusaders, who have a +4 turnover margin, have compiled 10 sacks and six interceptions this season. The Crusaders have allowed their opponents to convert 6-of-9 red zone chances, including five touchdowns. Opponents have converted 12-of-46 (.261) third-down opportunities against Capital.

Senior Pete Ankrom and sophomore Drew Stimmel lead the squad and in total tackles with 22, while sophomore Sam Jacobs has added 18 total hits. Freshman Garrett Bennington is 3-of-5 in field goal attempts with a long of 32 yards. Junior Tom Gantner is averaging 32.0 yards on 12 punts in 2008. Capital, led by sophomore Kevin Wehby, is averaging 15.9 yards in kick returns and 9.2 yards in punt returns.

Marietta College: Head Coach Jeff Filkovski's Marietta College football team (1-1, 0-1 OAC) is averaging 14.7 points and 335.3 yards this season, which rank ninth and seventh in the OAC, respectively. Of those yards, 120.0 come on the ground and 215.3 are through the air. The Pioneers are ranked seventh in passing offense and sixth in rushing offense. Marietta has converted 14-of-41 third down and 3-of-4 red-zone chances (two touchdowns). The Pioneers enter with a -9 turnover margin. Marietta is trailing its opponents slightly in time of possession, holding onto the ball for an average of 29:18, while on defense for 30:42. The Pioneers are the fifth-most penalized team, giving up 68.0 yards on 21 infractions.

Individually, junior quarterback Dexter Hughes is 51-of-95 passing, throwing for 599 yards. He has thrown four touchdowns and three interceptions. Hughes ranks seventh in the OAC in passing yards per game (199.7). Sophomore Cory Kriechbaum leads the team with 14 receptions for 199 yards, while junior Marty Mueller has added 13 catches for a team-high 255 yards and two scores. Kriechbaum and freshman Jake Long, who has eight grabs for 83 yards, both have one touchdown reception. Junior Lamar Hunter leads the ground attack with 54 rushes for 265 yards and one score. He is ranked third in the OAC, averaging 88.3 yards. Senior Garrett Banks has added 18 rushes for 75 yards.

Marietta enters the week ranked eighth in scoring defense, giving up 32.3 points. The Pioneers rank eighth in total defense. It is allowing 385.3 yards per game. The Pioneers rank fifth against the run (117.3) and eighth against the pass (268.0). Marietta has recorded seven sacks and 19 tackles for loss to go along with one interception this season. The Pioneers have allowed their opponents to convert 11-of-12 red zone chances, including 10 touchdowns. Opponents have converted 13-of-40 (.325) third-down opportunities against Marietta.

Senior Grant Cowell leads the team with 23 total stops, while junior Corey Lemke and senior Clinton Thompson have added 21 and 18 hits, respectively. Sophomore Nick Perko is averaging 37.6 yards on 13 punts. Marietta, led by Kriechbaum, is averaging 22.5 yards on kick returns and 8.9 yards on punt returns.

Week 5 Game Notes

THE RECORDS: Saturday marks the fourth game of the 2008 season for both teams. Marietta College is 1-2 overall and 0-2 in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC). Capital University is 3-0 overall and 2-0 in league play.

GAME TIME: 1:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 4, Bernlohr Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

THE COACHES: Marietta's Jeff Filkovski is in his first season as the leader of the Pioneers. Filkovski was named the 2007 OAC Assistant Coach of the Year while the offensive coordinator at Heidelberg College. 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. Capital's Jim Bickel is in his first year with the Crusaders after spending the previous seven seasons as associate head coach/defensive coordinator at Capital. He is a 1977 graduate of Denison University

ALL-TIME SERIES: Saturday marks the 78th time that the two teams will meet on the gridiron. The series began in 1927 with Marietta winning 14-0. The Crusaders, who lead the series 47-28-2, have won the last seven meetings. The Pioneers' last win in came by the score of 52-21 in 2000.

LAST MEETING: Ninth-ranked Capital and its nation-leading defense held Marietta scoreless in a 27-0 win at Don Drumm Stadium on Sept. 29, 2007. The Pioneers did compile 84 yards rushing against a defense that had previous allowed -12 over its first three games. Joe Webb led the attack with 16 carries for 77 yards. Dexter Hughes finished 11-of-32 and threw for 68 yards. Brian Hahn finished with a game-high 13 tackles, while Clay Ream blocked a pair of field goal attempts in the loss. Capital's Marty Assmann completed 18-of-35 passes for 228 yards with two scores, both to Mando Ancona. James Starks led the Crusader defense with eight total stops.

LAST GAME FOR MARIETTA: The Pioneers entered halftime of Saturday's game with visiting Baldwin-Wallace down only 17-9, but the Yellow Jackets broke the game open with 28 third-quarter points en route to a 45-16 victory. Dexter Hughes finished the night by completing 14-of-29 passes and threw for 192 yards with a pair of touchdowns. Junior Lamar Hunter paced Marietta's ground attack with 17 rushes for 60 yards to go along with four receptions for 33 yards and one touchdown. Senior Grant Cowell led all tacklers with 13 total hits, including two sacks.

LAST GAME FOR CAPITAL: The Crusaders used an aerial assault to defeat Wilmington, 48-28, Saturday in Columbus. Junior quarterback Marty Assmann finished 24-of-43 and threw for a career-high 454 yards with three touchdowns. Senior wide out Derick Alexander made seven catches for 138 yards and one score. Sophomore Dominick D'Andrea led the ground game with 12 carries for 49 yards and one touchdown. Sophomore Drew Stimmel paced the defense with 11 tackles, while senior Ronnie Smith had a pair of interceptions, which he returned for a total of 70 yards and one score.

RADIO COVERAGE: Marietta College is scheduled to have WMRT-FM 88.3, its student radio station, broadcast the game for Pioneer fans. The students 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 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 Marietta's athletic web site: http://pioneers.marietta.edu. Archives are also available to listen to or to purchase.

ESCORES: Marietta fans can once again receive scores, schedule updates and alerts directly on their cell phone or email by signing up for eScores at http://escores.stretchinternet.com.

STAY UP TO DATE: Visit http://pioneers.marietta.edu to stay up to date on 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 2008 fall sport media guides. They will be made available at all home contests and in the athletics office.

83RD SEASON OF OAC PLAY: Saturday's game will continue Marietta's 83rd season of football in the OAC. The Pioneers, who joined the league in 1926, are 303-433-29 (.415) all-time in Conference play.

NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT: The OAC has two teams ranked in both the d3football.com Top 25 and AFCA Coaches' Poll. Mount Union sits atop both polls, and Capital is fourth.

NATIONAL REPRESENTATION: Marietta's roster currently features 85 total student-athletes—50 from Ohio, 11 from Pennsylvania, nine from Florida, eight from West Virginia, two from Texas and one from Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Michigan and Massachusetts.

CAPTAINS ANNOUNCED: Marietta College will have three captains during the 2008 season: senior running back Garrett Banks, senior linebacker Grant Cowell and senior linebacker Joe Deppen.

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 2007. The Pioneers were outscored 72-30 in the first quarter and 110-38 in the second quarter last year. On the other hand, Marietta outscored its opponents 59-54 in the final frame. This year the Pioneers have been outscored 17-13 in the first quarter, 40-3 in the second quarter and 28-7 in the third quarter. Marietta does hold a 21-12 advantage in the fourth quarter.

CONTROLLING THE CLOCK: Marietta will look to do a better job controlling the clock in 2008. Last year, the Pioneers trailed in time of possession in eight of 10 games, and opponents held the ball for an average of 3:38 more than Marietta. This year, Marietta is holding onto the ball for an average of 29:18, while on defense for 30:42.

TURNOVERS: Marietta needs to improve its turnover margin. In 2007, the Pioneers ranked 10th in the OAC and 222nd in NCAA Division III with a -17 turnover margin. Through three games, Marietta has turned the ball over 10 times.

THIS WEEK IN THE OAC: There is a full slate of games on the OAC schedule this week. At 1:30 p.m., Wilmington visits John Carroll and Muskingum travels to Ohio Northern. Baldwin-Wallace also hosts #1 Mount Union at 2 p.m. and Otterbein plays at Heidelberg at 7 p.m.

NEXT GAME: On Oct. 11, Marietta is home to take on John Carroll University, while Capital travels to Alliance for a showdown with Mount Union. Both games will kickoff at 1:30 p.m.

SHOE-RECYCLING DRIVE: Marietta College's Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) is sponsoring a shoe-recycling drive.The program allows individuals to drop off their unwanted athletic shoes at either the Dyson Baudo Recreation Center or Upper Gilman on campus, as well as various other locations in Marietta such as the O'Neill Senior Center, Marietta Family YMCA and Marietta High School. The donated shoes must be athletic shoes of any brand. Gently used shoes will be donated to EVE, Inc. and the Salvation Army of Parkersburg, W.Va. The final drop off time and location is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 1 at the College's Gathering Place so please bring your old shoes to any one of the five drop-off locations starting on Sept. 22 and continuing until Nov. 1.