Game:             Taylor (IN) University    4-5   
                          at Malone University    4-6
Date:                Saturday November 12, 2011
Kickoff:             1:00 p.m. EST at Fawcett Stadium
Broadcasts:    WNPQ 95.9 FM, www.thelight959.com
                          12:45 p.m. EST pre-game (Clint Scroggs – play-by-play; Larry Ridgeway - Color)
Live Stats:       http://www.sidearmstats.com/malone/football/index.htm
Live Video:      http://www.malonepioneers.com/streaming
Tickets:            $5.00 adults; $2.00 students/senior citizens; children 12 and under are free
**As part of the second annual “Tailgate Against Hunger”, fans will be admitted to the game free of charge with the donation of at least one non-perishable food item.  All proceeds and donations collected at the game by the Malone SIFE (Students In Free Enterprise) Team and the Canton Kiwanis Club will benefit the Stark County Hunger Task Force. Every $1 collected will buy 7 pounds of food for the food pantry **

For more information on the "Tailgate Against Hunger", click here.

Series:    
Malone holds a 7-6 edge in the all-time series between the two schools.  Although the Pioneers had won four straight meetings with the Trojans from 2005-2008, Taylor has posted victories in each of the last two years.  Last season, the two squads met at Taylor's Jim Wheeler Stadium with the Trojans registering a 12-7 triumph. 

Coaches: 
Malone – Eric Hehman is in his second season as the Pioneers' head coach, having led Malone to a 7-13 overall mark since taking over the reins of the program in 2010.  Prior to arriving at Malone, Hehman had spent the previous five years as the head coach at NCAA Division III Greenville (IL) College where he led the Panthers to a 28-22 record and a berth in the 2009 NCCAA Victory Bowl.
Taylor – Ron Korfmacher is in his fourth season as the head coach at Taylor and has guided the Trojans to a 19-21 overall mark.  After struggling through a 2-8 campaign in 2008, Taylor posted its first set of back-to-back winning seasons in over a decade with a 7-3 record in 2009 and a 6-5 mark in 2010.  Korfmacher had spent 23 years as an assistant at Taylor before becoming the head coach.

Last Season's Records: Malone 3-7 (2-5 MSFA Mideast), Taylor 6-5 (4-3 MSFA Mideast)

Malone Notes – The Pioneers will look to conclude 2011 on a strong note with their Senior Day match up against Taylor…Last week, Malone suffered a 38-35 home loss in a back-and-forth contest against Quincy (IL) University…The Hawks managed to rally back from a 35-28 fourth-quarter deficit, pulling ahead for good on a 23-yard field goal with 35 seconds remaining…The Pioneers currently rank fourth out of the MSFA's 19 teams in kickoff returns with an average of 22.3 yards on 60 attempts….Malone's defense is also tied for fourth in the MSFA in sacks, now with 22 on the year.

Malone players to watch:  As he has done all season, WR Justin McLean provided several big plays for the Pioneers in Saturday's game against Quincy, racking up 197 all-purpose yards…McLean continues to lead the MSFA in all-purpose yardage, now with an impressive average of 166.4 yards per game… So far this season, McLean has provided six scoring plays of 60 yards or more, including TD receptions of 94, 81, 67 and 61 yards and kickoff returns for touchdowns of 99 and 90 yards…In all, McLean has posted 33 catches on the year for 638 yards (19.3 average), ran back 31 kickoffs for 884 yards (28.5 average) and returned 13 punts for 128 yards (9.8 average)…With his current kickoff-return average of 28.5, McLean is on track to break the Pioneer single-season record of 25.7 which was set by Leif Erickson in 1999…Through his nine games played, QB Will Szpor has completed 139 of 243 passes (57.2%) for 1459 yards and 10 TD's…Szpor has also gained 55 rushing yards this season and registered one of his two rushing touchdowns on a 20-yard carry last week against Quincy…In eight games played, RB Emil Chambliss has now registered 342 rushing yards and seven TD's (five rushing, two receiving)… LB Antonio Scassa has tallied a team-high 74 total tackles with 6.0 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks… LB Matt Vick follows with 69 tackles and an interception…DB Logan Francis picked off a pass and returned it 25 yards for a TD in last week's narrow loss…On the year, Francis has posted 51 total tackles, forced two fumbles and intercepted two passes.

Taylor Notes – Like Malone, Taylor will also be looking for win number five in its final game of the season…The Trojans won four of their first six games in 2011 but have since dropped three straight, including a 46-14 home loss last week to the NAIA's then 11th-ranked team, the University of Saint Francis (IN)…Taylor and USF were tied 14-14 at halftime before the Cougars put the game away with 32 unanswered second-half points….The Trojans picked off a total of four USF passes last week (two of which they returned for touchdowns)…Taylor currently ranks third in the MSFA with a total of 15 interceptions on the year… The Trojans have now scored a total of seven touchdowns on defense this year with six interceptions and one fumble recovery returned for scores.

Taylor players to watch: QB Nick Freeman has completed 122 of 215 pass attempts (56.7%) on the season for 1316 yards with 13 TD's and 10 interceptions…WR Darvon Blackmon has been Freeman's favorite target, having snagged 44 receptions for 503 and four TD's…WR Chris Stutzman has also made a big impact, both in the passing game and on special teams…Stutzman has pulled in 39 catches on the year for 503 yards and two scores…He has also ran back two kickoffs for touchdowns (98 and 90 yards) and is currently averaging 27.6 yards on 18 kickoff returns…TE Matt Orvis has posted 18 catches for 176 yards with three TD's…RBs Jake Fidler and Taylor Johnson have each seen a considerable amount of time in the Trojan backfield…Fidler has picked up 374 rushing yards and one TD on 110 carries while Johnson has gained 268 rushing yards on 106 attempts with three touchdowns….DB Luke Currens has been a playmaker on defense for the Trojans this year, returning two interceptions and a fumble recovery for touchdowns…In all, Currens has racked up six interceptions on the year to go with two fumble recoveries, nine pass breakups and 37 total tackles…Like Luke Currens, DB Nick Gathrite has given opposing quarterbacks plenty of headaches as he has also picked off six passes on the year, two of which he has returned for scores…In addition to his interceptions, Gathrite has also broken up six passes, forced a fumble, blocked a kick and made 32 total tackles…LB Bryan Onuselogu paces the Trojan defense with 80 total tackles, including eight tackles for loss.

2011 Rosters
Malone  |  Taylor

2011 Statistics
Malone  |  Taylor