Game:                Malone University                                    .              0-0   
                            at Notre Dame College                                         0-0
Date:                   Saturday, September 7, 2013
Kickoff:              1:00 p.m. EDT at Falcon Field (South Euclid, Ohio)
Broadcasts:      ESPN 990 AM, www.espn990.com
                            12:45 p.m. EDT pre-game (Clint Scroggs – play-by-play, Larry Ridgeway – color)
Live Stats:          http://www.sidearmstats.com/ndc/football
Tickets:              $8.00 reserve seats; $5.00 general admission

Series:       
Saturday's contest will mark the third all-time meeting between the Pioneers and Falcons.  Malone won the first-ever match-up at NDC in 2011 by a final of 31-23. The Falcons evened the series last fall in Canton, coming away with a 36-19 victory.

Coaches:   
Malone – Eric Hehman enters his fourth season as the Pioneers' head coach, having tallied an 8-23 record through his first three years in Canton.  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.
Notre Dame – Adam Howard became Notre Dame's first head football coach in January of 2009 and has guided NDC to an 10-23 mark since the Falcons began varsity competition in the fall of 2010 (Notre Dame posted an 8-0 record as a junior varsity program in 2009).  Howard served six years as the defensive coordinator at Baldwin-Wallace College prior to starting the Falcon program.

Malone Season Preview: Article  |  Video

Last Season's Records: Malone 1-9 (1-9 GLIAC), Notre Dame 3-8 (2-8 GLIAC)

Malone Notes: 2013 not only marks the 21st year of intercollegiate football at Malone, it also signals the start of a new era for the Pioneers as the program begins its first year of competition as active members of NCAA Division II…Malone has tallied a 10-9-1 mark in its first 20 season openers….The Pioneers are 5-5-1 all-time  in season openers played on the road…The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) lived up to its reputation as one of the toughest conferences in all of NCAA DII during Malone's first year in the league last fall…With a year of GLIAC competition under their belts and the addition of a talented recruiting class, the Pioneer players and coaches will be looking to improve upon their 2012 average of 280 yards of offense per game while reducing their opponents' average output of 430 yards per contest.

Malone players to watch:  Junior QB Will Szpor is back for his third year as the Pioneer signal caller and will be looking to build upon his 2012 effort...As a sophomore, he completed 107 of 207 passes (51.69%) for 1,329 yards and nine scores...RBs Justin Davis & Bryce Pratt, who both sat out last season after transferring, figure to play a large role in the Pioneer backfield… Returnees Reggie Terrell, Steven Niewiedzial, and Malik Felton could also figure into the RB equation after combining to tally 897 rushing yards and seven TD's a year ago...WRs AT Turner & Josh McLaughlin will try to fill the void left by the graduation of Justin McLean…Turner snagged 23 passes for 250 yards in 2012 while McLaughlin hauled in 23 catches for 239 yards…Safety Demarco Donaldson is back to anchor an experienced secondary… Donaldson finished second in the GLIAC last fall with an average of 11 tackles per game…He also broke up seven passes and forced five fumbles and earned 2013 Preseason NCAA DII All-Ohio recognition from OhioCollegeFootball.com…P Frank Dufour joined Donaldson on the OCF Preseason All-Ohio Team after averaging 38.8 yards per kick in 2012.

Notre Dame Notes: After competing as affiliate GLIAC members in 2012, the Falcons will open their fourth season of varsity football as charter members of the Mountain East Conference, a new NCAA Division II league comprised of Urbana University, the University of Virginia's College at Wise and several former members of the WVIAC (West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference)…NDC was projected to finish eighth among 11 schools in the MEC preseason poll…The Falcons return 16 starters, eight on each side of the ball…Saturday's contest will mark the first-ever football game at Notre Dame's brand new on-campus turf field…The Falcons have tallied a 1-2 mark in their first three season openers…Last fall, NDC was effective on offense, piling up an average of 28 points and 391 yards per game…However, the Falcons had trouble slowing down opponents, giving up 46 points and 442 yards  per outing.

Notre Dame players to watch: Junior QB Ray Russ returns to lead the Falcons' high-tempo offense after hurling for 2,265 yards and 23 touchdowns in his first year as the starter in 2012… Also returning is tailback Pedro Powell, who was recently named to the USA College Football Division II Preseason All-America Third Team …In 2012, Powell set a school record for rushing yards in a single season (and ranked second in the GLIAC) with 1,460 yards, while reaching the endzone 11 times…Russ's three favorite targets from last season also return in junior wide outs Colton Wallace and Mikhail Morgan and junior tight end Ray J. Brown…Morgan led Notre Dame with 54 catches for 639 yards in 2012…Wallace entered the 2012 season with just one career catch, but burst onto the scene, snagging 14 TD's…Brown, meanwhile, caught at least one pass in every game in 2012 en route to a 34-catch and 355-yard season… On defense, the Falcons return their top six tacklers including senior DBs Mo May, Bo Grunder and Josh Remark…May, an OCF Preseaon All-Ohio selection, led Notre Dame with 84 tackles and two interceptions last year while Grunder and Remark each contributed 81 tackles and an interception.

2013 Rosters
Malone  |  Notre Dame

2012 Statistics
Malone  |  Notre Dame