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The Malone University football team takes on Ohio Dominican University this Saturday, September 30th at 7:30 pm under the lights at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. For concerns about Tom Benson Stadium, parking, tickets, entrances, seating, concessions etc., please read the visitors guide at:
malonepioneers.com/news/2017/9/20/football-welcome-to-tom-benson-stadium-gameday-information.aspx
Media Information
Live Video/Stats:
portal.stretchinternet.com/malone
Live Radio: ESPN 990 AM |
espn990.com
Twitter:
@Malone_Football |
@maloneathletics
GameDay Storylines
Malone Opens Great Midwest Play
The Pioneers begin the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) portion of their schedule this week as they enter their second year in the conference and the first season with a full slate of conference games. Malone went 0-2 in the G-MAC last season, falling to both Alderson Broaddus and Kentucky Wesleyan. Malone opens its seven-game G-MAC schedule at home Saturday against a tough Ohio Dominican squad that went 7-4 in the GLIAC in 2016. The Panthers are 8-1 all-time against the Pioneers, including wins in each of their last eight meetings. Malone's only win over ODU came in 2004, the first year ODU had a football program. The two teams last met in 2015 when ODU came away with a 59-21 win.
Dulin Breaks Two School Records in Home Opener
Malone junior receiver
Ashton Dulin put on a show in front of the home crowd last week in the Pioneers return to Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. Dulin scored the game's first touchdown on an 85-yard catch and run early in the first quarter. He added a 54-yard reception that set up Malone's second score, then accounted for Malone's third score with a 53-yard touchdown catch late in the second. By halftime, Dulin had already broken the Malone single-game receiving record with 214 yards on six catches, surpassing the previous mark of 198 set by Josh Settlemire in 2005. Dulin finished the day with 235 yards receiving. He also compiled 132 yards on kickoff and punt returns on his way to setting another school record with 367 all-purpose yards, passing Justin McLean's 346 yards in 2009. Dulin's 367 yards is the second-most of any player in NCAA DII this season and the third-most overall. Dulin enters the week ranked 6th in the country in receiving (133.0 ypg) and 9th in all-purpose yards (203.0 ypg).
Top-Ranked Passing Attacks Will Be on Display Saturday
Malone quarterback
John Iacucci, the man responsible for getting Dulin the football, is 15th in Division II in passing yards per game (293.0) and 4th in yards per completion (16.6). His counterpart on Saturday, Ohio Dominican quarterback Grant Russell, is 8th in DII in passing yards per game (328.8) and third in completion percentage (73.2 %). The Pioneers and Panthers have relied heavily on their passing offense in the early going as 79.1% of Malone's and 76.0% of ODU's total offense has come through the air. Expect the aerial showcases to continue on Saturday as Ohio Dominican and Malone's pass
defenses rank 165th and 166th (out of 168 in DII) respectively.
Weber Making Tackles at Record-Breaking Pace
Malone middle linebacker
Ryan Weber, who entered last week's game ranked 2nd in the country in tackles per game, posted a career-high 20 tackles, the third-highest total in Pioneer history, in the loss to Missouri S&T. Weber now has 52 tackles this season and leads all players at every level of college football with 17.3 tackles per game. He is on pace to break the DII single-season record of 16.7 set in 2015. Weber also has 32 solo tackles on the season and his 10.7 per game average is on pace to break the DII mark of 9.5 as well. The Malone single season record for tackles is 142 set by Damon Williams in 12 games in 1995.
Zimmerly Selected as Finalist for William V. Campbell Trophy
Senior running back and special teams contributor
Jonathon Zimmerly was announced as a finalist by the National Football Foundation (NFF) for the William V. Campbell Award that recognizes the best scholar-athletes in the nation. Zimmerly was one of 181 finalists and one of just 30 in DII. The NFF will announce 12-14 finalists on November and each of them will receive a $18,000 postgraduate scholarship. To read more,
click here.
Pioneers to Watch
Offense: Senior receiver
Eian Elsass has been outstanding opposite Dulin, leading the team with 21 receptions. The sure-handed receiver was targeted 10 times last week and finished with eight catches for 69 yards. True freshman running back
Jayvon Hilton carried the ball a team-high 15 times in his first career start last Saturday against Missouri S&T.
Defense: The Pioneer secondary will be tested against the nation's 3rd-ranked passing offense. All-Conference safety
Daniel Tepe and corner
Jordan Johnson combined for 18 tackes against Missouri S&T. Tepe and Johnson have 12 career interceptions between them, the most among any pair of G-MAC teammates. The Malone defensive line will need to generate a constant pass rush. Look for defensive ends
Matt Ramsey and
Keith Harris to get pressure on the quarterback.
Ohio Dominican at a Glance
The Panthers are led by second-year head coach Kelly Cummings, who served previously as the ODU defensive coordinator from 2013-2015 and is 8-7 as the head coach. The Panthers will be on the road for the fourth time in five weeks when they come to Canton on Saturday, but their 1-3 record is deceptive. Ohio Dominican opened the season with road losses to ranked DII opponents California (PA) and Ashland and then dropped to 0-3 at FCS opponent Penn. Those three teams are a combined 10-1.
The Panthers made the most of their home opener last week, obliterating Lake Erie 51-0 in their first-ever G-MAC game. ODU comes into the week as the only team in the conference averaging over 500 yards a game. Last week against Lake Erie, the Panthers racked up 640 yards from scrimmage and 35 first downs. The ODU defense gave up 327 yards and 21 first downs but was still able to pitch the shutout.
Panthers to Watch
Offense: Senior quarterback Grant Russell has thrown for at least 275 yards and two touchdowns in all four games this season and has yet to throw an interception. The three-year starter has completed 69.4% of his passes over the course of his career. Playmaking receivers Cory Contini and David Turner both rank in the top-10 in DII in receptions per game. The pair have combined for four 100-yard receiving games this season.
Defense: Safety Tre McIntyre led the Panthers with 11 tackles last week. Freshman corner Shyoun Petteway collected nine tackles and an interception. He and fellow corner Tawain Gordon will be tasked with the difficult assignment of covering Elsass and Dulin on the outsides. Defensive end Brian Hunter leads the team with 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.
By the Numbers
11 – Times Malone has gone for it on 4th down this season. The Pioneers are 7th in the country in 4th down tries per game.
27.5 – The average margin of defeat in Malone's last eight games vs. ODU. In the last four, Malone has been outscored by 159 points (39.8ppg)
68.7 – The average length in yards of
Ashton Dulin's three touchdowns this season.
184 – The DII record for tackles in a season (set in 11 games).
Ryan Weber is on pace to make 173.
1582 – The official attendance at last Saturday's home opener, the largest attendance at a home opener since 2011.
Looking Ahead
Malone will be back on the road next Saturday, October 7th at 1:30 pm at Alderson Broaddus
