Marietta heads to Westerville Saturday in search of upset against #18 Otterbein
Marietta College (2-5, 1-5 OAC) at #18 Otterbein College (7-0, 6-0 OAC) • 1:30 p.m. • Saturday, Nov. 1 • Memorial Stadium

Oct. 28, 2008
MARIETTA, Ohio — The 2008 Marietta College football season continues in week nine on Saturday (Nov. 1) afternoon when the Pioneers visit Ohio Athletic Conference rival #18 Otterbein College. Kickoff is slated for 1:30 p.m. at Memorial Stadium. [Complete Game Notes (.pdf)]

Here is a look at both teams:

Otterbein College: Led by sixth-year Head Coach Joe Loth, the 2008 Otterbein College football team (7-0, 6-0 OAC) is attempting to secure its best start in school history with a win on Saturday. Otterbein ranks second in the OAC in scoring, averaging 41.0 points. The Cardinals rank third in total offense (405.9). They are fifth in passing (194.7) and second in rushing (211.1). Otterbein is the fifth-most penalized team in the OAC, giving up an average of 54.0 yards on 53 infractions. The Cardinals have converted and OAC-best 34-of-38 red-zone chances (29 touchdowns) and 42-of-76 third down opportunities this season. Otterbein is controlling the clock for 33:29 while on defense for 26:31. The Cardinals have collected 152 first downs, while its defense has allowed 86.

Junior Jack Rafferty has completed 83-of-131 passes and thrown for 1,261 yards with 13 touchdowns and three interceptions. Sophomore Colton Coy is the team's leading rusher, having run for 599 yards and eight scores on 85 carries. Junior Eric Yates has added 92 carries for 462 yards and eight more touchdowns. They rank second (85.6 yards) and third (77.2 yard) in rushing in the OAC, respectively. Junior Ryan Rowley has caught a team-high 40 passes for 556 yards and six scores. Senior Dan Gendron has added 12 receptions for 204 yards and one score.

The Cardinals defense is allowing 12.3 points per game, which ranks second in the league. Otterbein has surrendered an average of 95.4 yards on the ground and 174.6 yards through the air, which ranks second and fourth, respectively, in the OAC. The Cardinals, who have a +11 turnover margin, have compiled 24 sacks and 37 tackles for loss this season. They have allowed their opponents to convert 13-of-21 red zone chances, including 10 touchdowns. Opponents have converted 32-of-94 third-down opportunities against Otterbein. Sophomore Justin Hochstetler leads the squad in total tackles with 39, while senior Eric Burnsides has added 38 total hits.

Senior B.J. Wanninger is 6-of-8 in field goal attempts, hitting from a long of 42 yards. Wanninger has also averaged 38.8 yards on 11 punts in 2008. Otterbein, led by Gendron, is averaging 24.2 yards on kickoff returns to go along with an average of 8.5 yards on punt returns.

Marietta College: Head Coach Jeff Filkovski's Marietta College football team (2-5, 1-5 OAC) is averaging 12.3 points and 279.3 yards this season, which rank 10th and ninth in the OAC, respectively. Of those yards, 103.7 come on the ground and 175.6 are through the air. The Pioneers are ranked ninth in passing offense and eighth in rushing offense. Marietta has converted 30-of-95 third down and 11-of-14 red-zone chances (seven touchdowns). The Pioneers enter with a -16 turnover margin, which ranks 233-of-235 in NCAA Division III. Marietta is leading its opponents in time of possession, holding onto the ball for an average of 30:13, while on defense for 29:47. The Pioneers are the sixth-most penalized team, giving up 53.6 yards on 43 infractions.

Individually, junior quarterback Dexter Hughes is 105-of-199 passing, throwing for 1,101 yards. He has thrown five touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Hughes ranks ninth in the OAC in passing yards per game (157.3). Sophomore Cory Kriechbaum leads the team with 34 receptions for 360 yards and one touchdown. Freshman Jake Long has added 17 grabs for 173 yards and two scores. Junior Lamar Hunter leads the ground attack with 111 rushes for 422 yards and one score; he has also caught one touchdown pass. He is ranked seventh in the OAC, averaging 60.3 yards. Senior Garrett Banks has added 69 rushes for 252 yards.

Marietta enters the week ranked eighth in scoring defense, giving up 30.9 points. The Pioneers rank eighth in total defense. It is allowing 394.0 yards per game. The Pioneers rank seventh against the run (148.6) and ninth against the pass (245.4). Marietta has recorded 15 sacks and 49 tackles for loss to go along with one interception this season. The Pioneers have allowed their opponents to convert 21-of-22 red zone chances, including 19 touchdowns. Opponents have converted 32-of-91 third-down opportunities against Marietta. Senior Grant Cowell leads the team with 53 total stops, while junior George Davis has 49 hits and sophomore Adam Tate has 41 tackles.

Senior Corey Lemke has converted all four of his field goal attempts, hitting from a long of 36 yards, in 2008. Sophomore Nick Perko is averaging 33.8 yards on 39 punts. Marietta, led by Kriechbaum and Davis, is averaging 21.4 yards on kickoff returns and 8.2 yards on punt returns.

Week 9 Game Notes

THE RECORDS: Saturday marks the eighth game of the 2008 season for both teams. Marietta College is 2-5 overall and 1-5 in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC). #18 Otterbein College is 7-0 overall and 6-0 in league play.

GAME TIME: 1:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 1, Memorial Stadium in Westerville, 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. Otterbein's Joe Loth is in his sixth year with the Cardinals. The 1991 graduate of Otterbein is 30-27 at his alma mater and 37-49 in his collegiate coaching career, which includes three years at Kean University.

ALL-TIME SERIES: Saturday marks the 81st time that the two teams will meet on the gridiron. The series, which is tied at 40-40, began in 1892 with Marietta winning 6-0. Otterbein has dominated the series since 1999, claiming victory in eight of the last nine match-ups.

LAST MEETING: The Cardinals and the Pioneers combined for 731 passing yards in a 41-23 Otterbein victory on Sept. 22, 2007, at Don Drumm Stadium. Dexter Hughes came off the bench to throw for 263 yards and two scores, while Paul Stelzer threw for 394 yards and five touchdowns. Marietta's Ryan Dawson had seven catches for 101 yards and Chad McDaniel added six catches for 103 yards, while Otterbein's Scott DeLong caught 10 passes for 155 yards. JR Gibson had a game-high 13 stops to the lead the Pioneers' defense, while a pair of Cardinals had nine tackles in the win.

LAST GAME FOR MARIETTA: The Pioneers overcame a 16-10 halftime deficit to defeat visiting Muskingum 30-22 on Homecoming Saturday (Oct. 25). Freshman wide receiver Jahmaal Jones caught a pair of second half touchdown passes from freshman backup quarterback Andrew Keller. Junior starter Dexter Hughes completed 14-of-25 passes and threw for 110 yards and one score before leaving the game with an injury in the third quarter. Keller finished 5-of-5 for 47 yards and two touchdowns. Cory Kriechbaum caught a game-high and career-high 10 passes for 80 yards. Freshman wide receiver Jake Long pulled in four receptions for 34 yards, including the touchdown, while Jones had three grabs for 34 yards and two scores. Junior defensive back George Davis led all tacklers with 11 total hits, including nine solo stops. Sophomore defensive end Adam Tate and senior linebacker Grant Cowell both added six total tackles for the Pioneers.

LAST GAME FOR OTTERBEIN: The Cardinals remained undefeated with a 38-9 victory at rival Capital Saturday (Oct. 25). Junior quarterback Jack Rafferty completed 13-of-21 pass attempts for 253 yards and one touchdown. He also finished with 35 yards and a pair of TD's on 12 carries. Junior wide out Ryan Rowley led all receivers with eight receptions for 114 yards. Sophomore running back Colton Coy rushed for 63 yards on 14 carries. Senior defensive end Mike King led Otterbein with eight tackles.

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. Both radio crews 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 304-436-29 (.414) all-time in Conference play.

NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT: The OAC has three teams ranked in the d3football.com Top 25 and in the AFCA Coaches' Poll. Mount Union remains atop both polls, while Otterbein is ranked #18 by d3football.com and #15 by the AFCA..

NATIONAL REPRESENTATION: Marietta's roster currently features 75 total student-athletesÑ45 from Ohio, 10 from 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.

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 30:13, while on defense for 29:47. Since the start of the 2007 season, The Pioneers are 3-3 when winning the time of possession but just 1-10 when trailing in time of possession.

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 59-19 in the first quarter, 77-13 in the second quarter and 45-14 in the third quarter. Marietta does lead 40-35 in the fourth quarter.

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 seven games, Marietta has turned the ball over 21 times and has a -16 turnover margin, which ranks 10th in the league and 233rd in the nation.

THIS WEEK IN THE OAC: There is a full slate of games on the OAC schedule this week at 1:30 p.m. Heidelberg plays host to Wilmington, Ohio Northern visits Baldwin-Wallace, Capital welcomes Muskingum and John Carroll is at Mount Union.

NEXT GAME: On Nov. 8, Marietta returns home to take on Heidelberg, while Mount Union and Otterbein meet in Westerville. 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.