Marietta visits Ada for an OAC battle with Ohio Northern
Marietta College (1-4, 0-4 OAC) at Ohio Northern University (1-4, 1-3 OAC) • 1:30 p.m. • Saturday, Oct. 18 • Dial-Roberson Stadium

Oct. 16, 2008
MARIETTA, Ohio — The 2008 Marietta College football season continues in week seven on Saturday (Oct. 18) afternoon when the Pioneers visit Ohio Athletic Conference rival Ohio Northern University. Kickoff is slated for 1:30 p.m. at Dial-Roberson Stadium. [Complete Game Notes (.pdf)]

Here is a look at both teams:

Ohio Northern University: Led by fifth-year head coach Dean Paul, the 2008 Ohio Northern University football team enters with a 1-4 overall record and is 1-3 in the OAC. Ohio Northern ranks ninth in the OAC in scoring, averaging 15.8 points. The Polar Bears rank 10th in total offense (250.6). They are 10th in passing (140.0) and sixth in rushing (110.6). Ohio Northern is the least penalized team in the OAC, giving up an average of 35.2 penalty yards. The Polar Bears have converted 10-of-13 red-zone chances (nine touchdowns) and 22-of-67 third down opportunities this season. Ohio Northern is controlling the clock for 27:49 while on defense for 32:11. The Polar Bears have collected 77 first downs, while its defense has allowed 86. Sophomore Kyle Simmons has completed 42-of-79 passes and thrown for 165 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. Junior Matt Rothacker has completed 34-of-59 passes and thrown for 307 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Sophomore Brent Donley is the team's leading rusher, having run 217 yards and four scores on 50 carries. Junior Brook Crawford has caught a team-high 14 passes for 178 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore Sam Amidon has pulled in 10 receptions for 89 yards and one score.

The Polar Bears' defense is allowing 27.2 points per game, which ranks sixth in the league. Ohio Northern has surrendered an average of 130.4 yards on the ground and 190.2 yards through the air, which rank fifth and fourth, respectively, in the OAC. The Polar Bears, who have a -5 turnover margin, have compiled 12 sacks and 35 tackles for loss with three interceptions this season. They have allowed their opponents to convert 17-of-23 red zone chances, including 11 touchdowns. Opponents have converted 25-of-65 third-down opportunities against Ohio Northern. Junior Gabe Washington leads the squad and in total tackles with 40, while senior Josh Lokai-Owens has added 34 total hits. Junior Jake Heaphy is 1-of-1 in field goal attempts with a long of 30 yards. Heaphy has also averaged 38.6 yards on 22 punts in 2008. Ohio Northern, led by senior R.J. Meadows, is averaging 18.2 yards on kickoff returns and, led by sophomore Michael Bush, is averaging 7.7 yards on punt returns.

Marietta College: Head Coach Jeff Filkovski's Marietta College football team (1-3, 0-3 OAC) s averaging 11.2 points and 316.0 yards this season, which rank 10h and seventh in the OAC, respectively. Of those yards, 121.0 come on the ground and 195.0 are through the air. The Pioneers are ranked seventh in passing offense and fifth rushing offense. Marietta has converted 22-of-69 third down and 6-of-9 red-zone chances (three touchdowns). The Pioneers enter with a -13 turnover margin, which ranks 234-of-235 in NCAA Division III. Marietta is leading its opponents in time of possession, holding onto the ball for an average of 31:12, while on defense for 28:48. The Pioneers are the sixth-most penalized team, giving up 59.0 yards on 32 infractions. Individually, junior quarterback Dexter Hughes is 79-of-150 passing, throwing for 894 yards. He has thrown four touchdowns and nine interceptions. Hughes ranks eighth in the OAC in passing yards per game (178.8). Sophomore Cory Kriechbaum leads the team with 12 receptions for 266 yards, while junior Marty Mueller has added 18 catches for a team-high 325 yards and two scores. Kriechbaum and freshman Jake Long, who has 13 grabs for 139 yards, both have one touchdown reception. Junior Lamar Hunter leads the ground attack with 86 rushes for 378 yards and one score; he has also caught one touchdown pass. He is ranked fourth in the OAC, averaging 75.6 yards. Senior Garrett Banks has added 50 rushes for 191 yards.

Marietta enters the week ranked ninth in scoring defense, giving up 33.2 points. The Pioneers rank ninth in total defense. It is allowing 406.8 yards per game. The Pioneers rank seventh against the run (136.0) and 10th against the pass (270.8). Marietta has recorded 10 sacks and 29 tackles for loss to go along with one interception this season. The Pioneers have allowed their opponents to convert 17-of-18 red zone chances, including 16 touchdowns. Opponents have converted 20-of-62 third-down opportunities against Marietta. Senior Grant Cowell leads the team with 33 total stops, while junior George Davis has 30 hits and junior Corey Lemke has 27 tackles. Sophomore Nick Perko is averaging 33.7 yards on 26 punts. Marietta, led by Kriechbaum and Davis, is averaging an OAC-best 21.5 yards on kickoff returns and 7.3 yards on punt returns.

Week 7 Game Notes

THE RECORDS: Saturday marks the sixth game of the 2008 season for both teams. Marietta College is 1-4 overall and 0-4 in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC). Ohio Northern University is also 1-4 overall and 1-3 in league play.

GAME TIME: 1:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 18, Dial-Roberson Stadium in Ada, 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. Ohio Northern's Dean Paul is in his fifth year with the Polar Bears. The 1990 graduate of Mount Union College is 30-15 at Ohio Northern and 70-27 in his 10-year career.

ALL-TIME SERIES: Saturday marks the 35th time that the two teams will meet on the gridiron. The series began in 1910 with Marietta winning 5-3. The Polar Bears lead 24-9-1 all-time and have won 11 of the last 12 meetings. Marietta, however, defeated Ohio Northern 16-6 in their least meeting in Ada, which came in 2006.

LAST MEETING: Marietta lost 14-7 to visiting #16 Ohio Northern on Oct 20, 2007. The Pioneers had a costly penalty on the goal line as they were going in for the tying touchdown in the fourth-quarter. The Polar Bears kept them out of the end zone to preserve the win. Dexter Hughes finished 17-of-28 and threw for 169 yards and one score. Joe Webb ran 18 times for 52 yards, while Ryan Dawson caught six passes for 57 yards. Brian Hahn matched a career high with 15 stops. Adam Bogner led ONU's ground game with 21 carries for 80 yards, while Kyle Simmons completed 8-of-11 passes and threw for 141 yards and one touchdown to Sam Amidon, who caught six passes for 109 yards. Chane Porter paced the Polar Bear defense with 12 hits, including two sacks.

LAST GAME FOR MARIETTA: The Pioneers turned the ball over on six different occasions in a 31-6 loss to visiting John Carroll University on Saturday (Oct. 11) at Don Drumm Stadium. Marietta's offense racked up 160 yards on the ground and 156 yards through the air to total 316 yards against John Carroll. For the second straight week, Marietta dominated the time of possession, holding onto the ball for 33:21 while on defense for 26:39. Pioneer junior quarterback Dexter Hughes completed 11-of-23 pass attempts and threw for 156 yards but was picked off five times on the day. Sophomore wide receiver Cory Kriechbaum pulled in a team-high five receptions for 47 yards. Senior tailback Garrett Banks led all ball carriers with 24 rushes for 87 yards. Junior teammate Lamar Hunter added 15 carries for 65 yards. Senior place kicker Corey Lemke accounted for all of Marietta's points by hitting two field goals, the first from 36 yards in the first quarter and the second from 32 yards in the second frame. Junior defensive back George Davis paced Marietta's tacklers with seven total hits, all solo. Senior linebacker Grant Cowell added six stops, also all solo.

LAST GAME FOR OHIO NORTHERN: The Polar Bears earned their first win of the season by posting a 41-0 shutout victory at Heidelberg on Saturday (Oct. 11). Brent Donley ran 19 times for 102 yards and a career-high three TDs to lead the ONU offense. Max Rothacker completed 13-of-17 passes for 138 yards and a TD. Brook Crawford caught six passes for a career-high 99 yards and a score and Kenton Sneed carried 15 times for 88 yards for the Polar Bears. Gabe Washington had a career-high 15 tackles and a fumble recovery to lead the defense.

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 303-435-29 (.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, while Otterbein is ranked #21. Capital is now ranked #9 by d3football.com and #17 by the AFCA.

NATIONAL REPRESENTATION: Marietta's roster currently features 76 total student-athletes—45 from Ohio, 11from Pennsylvania, seven from Florida, eight from West Virginia, one 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 38-16 in the first quarter, 61-6 in the second quarter and 45-7 in the third quarter. Marietta does hold a 27-22 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 31:12, while on defense for 28:48.

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 five games, Marietta has turned the ball over 18 times and has a -13 turnover margin, which ranks second-to-last in the NCAA Division III.

THIS WEEK IN THE OAC: There is a full slate of games on the OAC schedule this week. At, 1:30 p.m., Heidelberg visits #1 Mount Union and Baldwin-Wallace is at Muskingum. In addition, #21 Otterbein host Wilmington in a 2 p.m. kickoff, while John Carroll welcomes #9 Capital for a 7 p.m. start time.

NEXT GAME: On Oct. 25, Marietta welcomes Muskingum to Don Drumm Stadium for a 1:30 p.m. Homecoming game, while Ohio Northern visits John Carroll for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff.

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.