PDF Release | Season Preview | Great Midwest Preview

The Malone University football team takes on Concordia University (MI) this Saturday, September 1st at 1:00 pm at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in its 2018 season opener.

**GameDay Information**
For questions and concerns about Tom Benson Stadium, parking, tickets, entrances, seating, concessions etc., please read the visitors guide: https://malonepioneers.com/news/2017/9/20/football-welcome-to-tom-benson-stadium-gameday-information.aspx

Media Information
Live Video: portal.stretchinternet.com/malone
Live Radio: ESPN 990 AM | espn990.com
Twitter: @Malone_Football | @maloneathletics

Gameday Storylines
Malone Begins 26th Season of Football with Tough Test Against Concordia
The Pioneer football program hit the quarter-century mark last season and will begin year 26 on Saturday in its season opener against Concordia University. At 9-2, the Ann Arbor based institution won more games than its University of Michigan counterparts last season and enters the year ranked #16 in the NAIA. Malone and Concordia have met once before when the Pioneers defeated the Cardinals, who were in the midst of their maiden season, 27-0, in 2011. The Pioneers return for year two in the renovated Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium where they have not won since the 2014 Homecoming against Northern Michigan.
 
Blasiole Makes Return to Pioneer Backfield
Redshirt senior running back Matt Blasiole was a true freshman during the 2014 season. He ran for 87 yards in that win over Northern Michigan, setting up the Pioneers' fifth touchdown in the 42-35 overtime victory with a 63-yard rush in the fourth quarter. Blasiole has gone on to become Malone's fourth all-time leading with 2,184 yards and he is sixth all-time with 23 total touchdowns. After suffering a season-ending injury in week two last fall, Blasiole returns for a fifth year of eligibility, needing 928 yards to become the Pioneers' all-time leading rusher. If he maintains the pace from his sophomore and junior seasons, when he averaged 101.3 yards per game, he will hit the illustrious mark in the final game of the season. Blasiole and redshirt senior kicker Marcus Moeller are the only two remaining players who were active during the last win at then Fawcett Stadium.
 
All-Conference Award-Winners
Blasiole and Moeller, who have both won three G-MAC Player of the Week awards in their careers, and wide receiver Ashton Dulin headline a list of returning All-Conference selections. In addition to being named First Team G-MAC All-Conference in 2017, Dulin and Moeller were both named All-Super Region 1 by the Don Hansen Football Gazette. Junior left tackle Zak Hill was voted Second Team G-MAC All-Conference in 2017 while senior center JD Stamper was All-Conference in 2016. Moeller and Blasiole, an All-Conference back in 2015 and 2016, also lead the list of G-MAC All-Academic team honorees, which includes offensive lineman Blake Cary, defensive lineman Keith Williams, and student assistant Tyler Howell.
 
Dulin Emerges as All-American Hopeful
Ashton Dulin earned his first postseason football award in 2017 on the heels of a breakout junior season in which he caught 59 passes for 1,050 yards and 10 touchdowns. Already an All-American in track, Dulin produced All-American level numbers on the gridiron last fall, ranking 15th in DII in receiving yards. Among the 14 receivers ahead of him, 13 were voted All-Americans by various organizations. Dulin also ranked 11th in DII in all-purpose yards, averaging 171.2 yards per game.
 
The 2017 & 2018 Indoor and Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year has his name listed 20 times in the Malone history book and he owns the school record in single-game receiving (235) and all-purpose yards (367). Dulin enters his senior season with 128 career receptions, 37 shy of Derek Deardorff's all-time mark of 165. His 2,204 receiving yards trail Deardorff by 631 yards and his 3,508 all-purpose yards are 1,334 yards shy of Justin McLean's school record total. The multi-talented receiver has caught at least one pass in 28 of 29 career games, including 21 straight and he has dazzled the home crowd. Dulin averaged 132.6 yards per game and scored seven of his 10 touchdowns at home in 2017. He collected a school record 235 yards receiving in last year's home opener.
 
A Homecoming, Of Sorts
While Dulin put on a show at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium on Saturdays last fall, a number of Pioneer freshmen were playing under the stadium's Friday night lights in 2017. Canton McKinley graduates Prayer Wise, Lonnie Richardson-Parr, Charles Hall V, John Mack II, Darius Houston, Chance Gardner, and Ja'Von King all called the stadium home. Fellow freshman Markell Stephens-Peppers won a State Championship at Benson Stadium in 2017…His high school teammate, Concordia starting right tackle James Williams, is one of seven Cardinals from Ohio on Saturday's two-deep making the return to their home state.
 
Pioneers to Watch
Offense: Redshirt sophomore quarterback Deandre Clayton will be making his first collegiate start on Saturday as part of a Malone offense that features nine returning starters, including right guard Blake Cary, who is coming off a season-ending injury in week one of 2017. Pioneer fans will get their first look at right tackle Matt Guevremont and running back Keon Singleton. Both transferred to Malone in the offseason: Guevremont from Chabot Junior College, Singleton from Division I Kent State.
 
Defense: Like Cary, safety Lamon Mathison, a Michigan native, returns from an injury that derailed his 2017 season. He is joined in the secondary by Division I transfer Kei Beckham, who makes his first start as a Pioneer. Sophomores Mason Alexander and Austin Jewell will face the difficult challenge of replacing four-year mainstay Ryan Weber at middle linebacker. Weber was one of six senior All-Conference defenders lost to graduation from last year's team
 
Concordia at a Glance
The Cardinals won a school record nine games in 2017 and advanced to the NAIA Playoffs where they lost to eventual national runner-up Reinhardt in the opening round. Concordia is led by second-year head coach Joshua Schumacher, who began his time at the school as a defensive coordinator in 2013. Concordia is member of the Mid-States Football Association (MSFA), the former conference of Malone from 1994-2011.
 
Under Schumacher's guidance, the Cardinals produced an NAIA top-10 scoring defense (19.4 ppg) and run defense (105.5 ypg) last season. Offensively, the balanced Concordia squad was one of six teams to average at least 200 yards passing and 200 yards rushing. Additionally, the Cardinals committed the third-fewest turnovers (10) of any team in the NAIA, which bodes favorably against a Malone defense that has forced the fewest turnovers (19) of any Division II team over the last two seasons.
 
Cardinals to Watch
Offense: Junior running back Joe Conner, a two-time First Team All-Conference selection, was second in the MSFA and fifth in the NAIA in rushing yards (1,449) a season ago and he led the Cardinals with 15 touchdowns. Quarterback Roger Engle will be making just his second career start on Saturday. Wide receiver Donte Desalle averaged over 20 yards a catch as Concordia's top target in 2017.
 
Defense: Senior middle linebacker Andrew O'Hara was named First Team All-MSFA after leading the team in tackles for loss (11) and sacks (3.5) in 2017. Linebacker Jay Koski, Second Team All-MSFA, recorded a team-high 82 tackles along with nine tackles for loss and three sacks. Safety Tim Koehler, Second Team All-MSFA, led the Cardinals' aggressive secondary with four interceptions last season.
 
By the Numbers
4 – Kicker/punters in NCAA Division II last season who averaged at least 38.0 yards per punt, made 5 field goals, and recorded 14 or more touchbacks on kickoffs. Marcus Moeller was the only one of those four who did not allow a touchback on a punt.
9 – Shutouts in the history of the Malone football program. The Pioneers last shutout came in the 2011 blanking of Concordia.
14.8 – Tackles per game by graduated All-American linebacker Ryan Weber in 2017. Weber led DII and was second among the 662 teams in all of NCAA football last year. Malone's top-3 returning tacklers Matt Ramsey, Dawalyn Washington, and Jaylon Doss combined for 13.5 tackles per game in 2017.
54.5 – Percent of Malone's receiving yards were by Ashton Dulin in 2017. Only Dorren Miller of Carson Newman's option-heavy attack accounted for a higher percentage (58.9%) of his team's total in DII. Miller is in NFL preseason camp with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
99 – Wins in the history of Malone football, including 11 in season openers. The Pioneers will hit the century mark with a win over Concordia on Saturday.
 
Looking Ahead
Malone will host Lake Erie College in a mutual G-MAC opener next Saturday, September 8th at Tom Benson Stadium at 7:00 pm.