Pioneers welcome Blue Streaks for week six showdown at Don Drumm
John Carroll University (3-1, 2-1 OAC) at Marietta College (1-3, 0-3 OAC) • 1:30 p.m. • Saturday, Oct. 11 • Don Drumm Stadium

Oct. 9, 2008
MARIETTA, Ohio — The 2008 Marietta College football season continues in week six on Saturday (Oct. 11) afternoon when the Pioneers s play host to Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) rival John Carroll University. Kickoff is slated for 1:30 p.m. at Don Drumm Stadium. [Complete Game Notes (.pdf)]

Here is a look at both teams:

John Carroll University: Led by 10th-year head coach Regis Scafe, the 2008 John Carroll University football team enters with a 3-1 overall record and is 2-1 in the OAC. John Carroll ranks fifth in the OAC in scoring, averaging 26.5 points. The Blue Streaks rank fifth in total offense (386.2). They are fifth in passing (271.8) and sixth in rushing (114.5). John Carroll is the third-least penalized team in the OAC, giving up an average of 49.8 penalty yards. The Blue Streaks have converted 16-of-21 red-zone chances (11 touchdowns) and 20-of-46 third down opportunities this season. John Carroll is controlling the clock for 30:45 while on defense for 29:15. The Blue Streaks have collected 88 first downs, while its defense has allowed 75. Senior Mark Petruziello has completed 93-of-129 passes and thrown for 1,054 yards with 10 touchdowns and four interceptions. He is ranked fourth overall in passing yards per game (263.5). He is also the team's leading rusher with 48 carries for 129 yards and one score. Sophomore Mark Elsaesser and junior Kenneth Owens have added 14 carries for 97 yards and 18 carries for 96 yards, respectively. Junior Frank Ross is John Carroll's top wide receiver, pulling in 30 receptions for 308 yards and two touchdowns. Junior Rebere Sparks has added 20 catches for 206 yards, Scottie Williams has contributed 18 catches for 232 yards and Peter Spachner has caught 15 passes for 162 yards. All three also have two touchdown receptions.

The Blue Streaks' defense is allowing 16.8 points per game, which ranks fourth in the league. John Carroll has surrendered an average of 110.2 yards on the ground and 192.2 yards through the air, which also rank fourth in the OAC. The Blue Streaks, who have a -1 turnover margin, have compiled 10 sacks and 21 tackles for loss with two interceptions this season. They have allowed their opponents to convert 8-of-9 red zone chances, including six touchdowns. Opponents have converted 24-of-54 (.444) third-down opportunities against John Carroll. Senior Michael Nettling, the reigning OAC Defensive Player of the Week, leads the squad and in total tackles with 47, while senior Derek Buell has added 33 total hits. Senior Josiah Kedzior is 5-of-7 in field goal attempts with a long of 32 yards. Junior Jeff Javorek is averaging 38.9 yards on 14 punts in 2008. John Carroll, led by Ross, is averaging 18.3 yards in kick returns, led by senior Carlo Melarango, is averaging 6.5 yards in punt returns.

Marietta College: Head Coach Jeff Filkovski's Marietta College football team (1-3, 0-3 OAC) is averaging 12.5 points and 316.0 yards this season, which rank ninth and seventh in the OAC, respectively. Of those yards, 111.2 come on the ground and 204.8 are through the air. The Pioneers are ranked seventh in both passing offense and rushing offense. Marietta has converted 17-of-56 third down and 4-of-5 red-zone chances (three touchdowns). The Pioneers enter with a -8 turnover margin. Marietta is leading its opponents slightly in time of possession, holding onto the ball for an average of 30:39, while on defense for 29:21. The Pioneers are the fifth-most penalized team, giving up 62.5 yards on 26 infractions. Individually, junior quarterback Dexter Hughes is 68-of-127 passing, throwing for 738 yards. He has thrown four touchdowns and four interceptions. Hughes ranks seventh in the OAC in passing yards per game (184.5). Sophomore Cory Kriechbaum leads the team with 17 receptions for 219 yards, while junior Marty Mueller has added 16 catches for a team-high 273 yards and two scores. Kriechbaum and freshman Jake Long, who has 11 grabs for 124 yards, both have one touchdown reception. Junior Lamar Hunter leads the ground attack with 71 rushes for 313 yards and one score. He is ranked fourth in the OAC, averaging 78.2 yards. Senior Garrett Banks has added 26 rushes for 104 yards.

Marietta enters the week ranked ninth in scoring defense, giving up 33.8 points. The Pioneers rank ninth in total defense. It is allowing 421.8 yards per game. The Pioneers rank sixth against the run (151.8) and eighth against the pass (270.0). Marietta has recorded nine sacks and 26 tackles for loss to go along with one interception this season. The Pioneers have allowed their opponents to convert 13-of-14 red zone chances, including 12 touchdowns. Opponents have converted 15-of-48 (.313) third-down opportunities against Marietta. Senior Grant Cowell leads the team with 27 total stops, while junior Corey Lemke has 24 hits and senior Clinton Thompson and junior George Davis have added 23 hits, respectively. Sophomore Nick Perko is averaging 33.9 yards on 25 punts. Marietta, led by Kriechbaum, is averaging 21.0 yards on kick returns and 7.8 yards on punt returns.

Week 6 Game Notes

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

GAME TIME: 1:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 11, Don Drumm Stadium in Marietta, 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. John Carroll's Regis Scafe is in his 10th year with the Blue Streaks. The 1971 graduate of Case Western Reserve University is 67-31 at John Carroll and 83-65 in his 15-year career.

ALL-TIME SERIES: Saturday marks the 21st time that the two teams will meet on the gridiron. The series began in 1929 with John Carroll winning 25-6. The Blue Streaks have never lost to the Pioneers and hold a 19-0-1 lead in the series. The tie came in game two of 1995 when Marietta finished 8-1-1.

LAST MEETING: John Carroll took advantage of five Marietta turnovers in the second half to score 20 unanswered points and pull out a 27-9 win at Don Shula Stadium on Oct. 13, 2007. The Blue Streaks out gained the Pioneers 390-216 in the win. Marietta's Joe Webb finished with 22 carries for 92 yard, while John Carroll's Tyler Gingrich had 19 carries for 99 yards. Dexter Hughes completed 9-of-24 passes and threw for 115 yards; Mark Petruziello connected on 18-of-31 passes and threw for 246 yards and three scores. Pat Lane hit field goals from 28, 22 and 40 yards to account for Marietta's scoring.

LAST GAME FOR MARIETTA: The Pioneers fell on the road to #4 Capital, 38-6, on Saturday. Marietta dominated the time of possession, holding on to the ball for 34:45, but Capital dominated the play on the field, racking up 531 yards of total offense compared to Marietta's 258 yards. Junior quarterback Dexter Hughes completed 17-of-32 passes and threw for 139 yards. Freshman backup Andrew Keller accounted for Marietta's only score with an eight-yard touchdown run in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. Junior tailback Lamar Hunter led the Pioneers' ground game with 17 carries for 48 yards, while senior running back Garrett Banks added eight rushes for 29 yards to go along with a team-high four catches for 29 yards. Sophomore defensive end Adam Tate paced the defense with a career-high 11 tackles.

LAST GAME FOR JOHN CARROLL: The Blue Streaks scored a pair of touchdowns in the final three minutes to hold off visiting Wilmington College, 31-17, on Saturday. Mark Petruziello finished 26-of-40 and threw for 325 yards and two scores. Frank Ross caught eight passes for 73 yards, while Peter Spachner had six catches for 79 yards; both caught one touchdown. Tyler Gingrich finished with 12 carries for 39 yards and two more touchdowns. Matt Nettling had a game-high 17 total tackles in the win..

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.

IN-GAME ENTERTAINMENT: The Pioneers would like to welcome the Williamstown High School marching band, who will be performing throughout the day, including during pre-game and at halftime.

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 303-434-29 (.414) all-time in Conference play.

NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT: The OAC has three teams ranked in both the d3football.com Top 25 and AFCA Coaches' Poll. Mount Union remains atop both polls and Capital is fourth. In addition, Otterbein is ranked #25 by d3football.com and #24 by the AFCA.

NATIONAL REPRESENTATION: Marietta's roster currently features 79 total student-athletes—47 from Ohio, 11 from Pennsylvania, seven from Florida, eight from West Virginia, two from Texas and one from Colorado, Connecticut, 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 31-13 in the first quarter, 54-3 in the second quarter and 38-7 in the third quarter. Marietta does hold a 27-12 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 30:39, while on defense for 29:21.

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 four games, Marietta has turned the ball over 12 times and has a -8 turnover margin.

THIS WEEK IN THE OAC: There is a full slate of games on the OAC schedule this week. #4 Capital visits #1 Mount Union, Baldwin-Wallace is at #25 Otterbein, Ohio Northern travels to Heidelberg and Muskingum makes its way to Wilmington. All game will kickoff at 1:30 p.m.

NEXT GAME: On Oct. 18, Marietta visits Ada, Ohio, for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff with Ohio Northern University. That night, John Carroll will play host to Capital at 7 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.