Game:        Malone University                                     0-7 (0-7 GLIAC)   
                   at Lake Erie College                                  1-6 (1-5 GLIAC)
Date:          Saturday, October 24, 2015
Kickoff:       7:00 p.m. EDT at Jack Britt Memorial Stadium (Painesville, Ohio)
Audio:         www.malonepioneers.com/showcase
                   6:40 p.m. EDT pre-game (Clint Scroggs – play-by-play, Larry Ridgeway – color)
Live Stats:   http://www.lakeeriestorm.com/sports/fball/2015-16/boxscores/20151024_lr28.xml
Tickets:      $10.00 adults; $5.00 senior citizens (65+); $5.00 children (ages 4-12)

Series:       
Lake Erie holds a 2-1 edge in the all-time series.  The Storm tallied a 35-24 home win in 2012.  Malone picked up a 55-50 shootout victory in Canton in 2013 before LEC regained the series advantage with a 55-34 triumph at Benson Stadium last fall.

Coaches:   
Malone – Eric Hehman is in his sixth season as the Pioneers' head coach and has tallied an 11-49 record at Malone.  Prior to arriving in Canton, Hehman 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.
Lake Erie – Mark McNellie is in his eighth season at Lake Erie and has guided the Storm to a 28-56 mark since the program began play in 2008.  In all, McNellie has compiled 27 years of coaching experience, having spent 17 years as an assistant at Mercyhurst (PA) College and two years as an assistant at Fairmont State (WV) University before arriving at Lake Erie.

Last Season's Records: Malone 1-10 (1-9 GLIAC), Lake Erie 4-7 (3-7 GLIAC)

Malone Notes: The Pioneers fell to rival Walsh University this past Saturday by a final tally of 24-7…Malone opened the scoring with a touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter…Walsh fought back to grab a 10-7 advantage at intermission and then held the Pioneers off the scoreboard the rest of the way, tacking on a pair of second-half touchdowns to secure the victory…Although the two squads were nearly even in total yards and first downs, the Cavs managed to score all three times they reached the red zone while Malone was held scoreless on two of its three trips inside the Walsh 20-yard line…The Pioneer defense limited the Cavs to 273 total yards on Saturday which marked the lowest offensive output for an opponent this season…Malone is currently ranked 8th among the GLIAC's 15 teams in yards allowed, yielding 398.9 per contest…The Pioneer defense recovered two fumbles on Saturday and now has six fumble recoveries on the season, the fifth most in the conference.

Malone players to watch:  RB Matt Blasiole posted 86 rushing yards and a touchdown during Saturday's game…On the season, the sophomore tailback has tallied 738 rushing yards on 153 carries with 10 rushing TDs…Blasiole currently ranks third in the GLIAC in total rushing yards, third in rushing yards per game (105.4) and third in rushing TDs …His 10 rushing TDs rank as the fourth highest single-season total ever recorded by a Pioneer…Blasiole needs two more rushing scores to move past Malone Athletics Hall of Famer Dan DeGeorge for third on the program's all-time list for most rushing touchdowns in a season…In his second career start last week, QB John Iacucci completed 13 of 22 pass attempts for 139 yards.…WR Eian Elsass posted seven catches for 72 yards against the Cavs and currently leads the team with 30 receptions on the year for a total of 430 yards and two scores…LB Ryan Weber posted a team-high nine tackles against Walsh and is currently tied for fifth in the GLIAC with 65 total tackles…DB Lucas Haupt has 49 total stops on the year with six pass break-ups and a forced fumble…LB Dan Mower, who ranks third on the squad with 44 total tackles, posted six tackles and a fumble recovery against Walsh.

Lake Erie Notes: A late comeback attempt by the Storm fell just short at Saginaw Valley State  University last Saturday night as the Cardinals held on for a 37-34 victory…Lake Erie trailed by margins of 27-7 and 37-20 before using a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to pull within three…The LEC defense would then force a punt, giving the ball back to the Storm offense with 2:13 remaining…However, Lake Erie was unable to complete the comeback as the Saginaw Valley defense stopped the Storm on downs to preserve the win…LEC currently ranks among the GLIAC leaders in several offensive categories, including total yards (fifth at 484.4 per game), rushing (second with 269.6 yards per game) and first downs (third with 26.3 per contest)…Of LEC's 26 offensive touchdowns this season, 23 have been rushing and just three passing…Although the Storm defense has forced the second most turnovers in the GLIAC with six interceptions and eight fumble recoveries, the unit has also surrendered an average of 46.3 points and 516.1 yards per contest.

Lake Erie players to watch: Although he missed two games earlier this year, RB Anthony Bilal still paces the GLIAC in rushing, having picked up 888 yards on 142 attempts this season (6.3 average) with 12 rushing touchdowns…Bilal, LEC's career rushing leader, is averaging 177.6 rushing yards per game which is the second highest average in the nation…In addition, his 12 rushing TDs are the sixth most in the country…QB John Banyasz, who has started the last three games for the Storm, has completed 49 of 88 pass attempts on the season for 539 yards….WR Shane VanFleteren has been the primary target in the passing game with 38 receptions for 599 yards and one score…VanFleteren's average of 85.6 receiving yards per game ranks third in the conference…LB Nick Szabados paces the Storm defense with 50 total tackles…DLs Alec Heldreth and Devon Hood have combined for 10 of the Storm's 16 sacks this season…DB Tony Andrews, who led NCAA Division II with nine interceptions in 2014, has picked off two passes so far this season while tallying 14 tackles, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery…WR Dontrael Brown has averaged 28.4 yards on his 12 kickoff returns, including a 98-yard run back for a score against Ohio Dominican University.
 
2015 Rosters
Malone  |  Lake Erie

2015 Statistics
Malone  |  Lake Erie