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2008 OAC Preview

                                                                  by Mark Grossman

     Since the early 1990’s, the Ohio Athletic Conference has seen Mount Union firmly entrenched as the king of the conference as evidenced by their 16 consecutive titles ('92-'07) with second place being a constant revolving door.

     In the mid-1990’s it was the John Carroll Blue Streaks led by All-Everything linebacker London Fletcher that were battling the Raiders for OAC supremacy, capped by the Blue Streaks’ earning a 1997 playoff bid and ultimately falling to Mount Union again in the quarterfinals.

     From 1999 through 2001 it was the Ohio Northern Polar Bears led by the talented offensive trio of Jamal Robertson at running back, Steve Vagedas at receiver and quarterback and Shane Franzer who stepped forward to challenge the Raiders.  The ONU years were capped by playoff runs in both 1999 and 2000 that ended in losses at Mount Union Stadium.

     The 2002 season saw John Carroll return to the second place spot under the guidance of All-American quarterback Tom Arth.  The 2002 Blue Streaks squad was shipped to the East Region by the NCAA Selection Committee and won their way back to Alliance for a re-match with the Raiders in the National Semifinals.

     The 2003 Baldwin-Wallace team was the next challenger to the throne as the Yellow Jackets earned a playoff spot on the strength of their second place OAC finish, but lost a second round contest to Wheaton College of the CCIW.

     Ohio Northern pushed the Raiders for the conference title in 2004, and beat the Raiders in 2005 to snap Mount Union’s 100 game regular season win streak, but lost to John Carroll and Capital to finish in a second place tie with Capital in 2005.  Capital on the strength of their second place OAC finish which included a head-to-head win over ONU and a tightly contested regular season game versus MTU, received one of the last 2005 Pool C playoff bids and earned a re-match with the Raiders in the North Region Finals that ended in a three-point loss.

     2006 was more of the same for the Capital Crusaders as they once again lost by three points to Mount Union in the North Region Finals.  In fact, the three closest games Mount Union played in all of 2005 and 2006 were the above mentioned match-ups with Ohio Northern and Capital.

     In last year’s preview we wondered if Capital could survive the graduation of All-Everything quarterback Rocky Pentello, but after finishing in second place and qualifying for the NCAA Playoffs for a third consecutive year, Coach Collins proved his program is a lot more than one stud quarterback named Pentello.

     However questions abound for the Capital program once again as Jim Bickel replaces Jim Collins who left for Saginaw Valley State University.  If Bickel can build from the great foundation laid by Collins, the Crusaders will become the first team in the Mount Union dynasty to push the Raiders for the OAC title in four consecutive seasons, which in my mind, would break the revolving door trend and cement them as the Raiders' primary competitor for the conference crown for years to come.

     As we head into training camp, there are questions all around the OAC.  Will Capital be able to survive the loss of the program’s architect?  Will Ohio Northern and RJ Meadows duplicate their 2005 upset of the Raiders?  Will Baldwin-Wallace and John Carroll improve on their 6-4 seasons or continue their slide to mediocrity?  Will Mike Hallett’s Heidelberg Student Princes continue their meteoric rise from the ashes?  Which team is most likely to get mired in the OAC cellar?  To answer these questions, let’s take a look around the OAC for 2008:

 Team Capsules (Listed in order of 2007 final standings)

Mount Union Purple Raiders / 2007 record: 14-1 overall, 9-0 OAC (1st Place)

     After an extremely successful 2007 season that included their 16^th consecutive OAC title and a return trip to the Stagg Bowl, the Raiders will look toward a wealth of young talent to replace 17 graduating starters.

     Though the Raider offense returns only three starters from ’07, Larry Kehres has a great core to build around with quarterback Greg Micheli and running back Nate Kmic returning for their senior seasons.  Also returning to the starting lineup is tight end Chad Reynolds.

     Similar to the offense, the Raider "D" has serious holes to fill as only two starters return from last year’s defense that lead the nation in total defense, rush defense, pass efficiency defense and scoring.  The defensive line and linebacker were areas hit the hardest by graduation as only Joseph Millings returns at defensive end.  The secondary’s sole returnee is cornerback Daryl Ely.

     Though you won’t find him listed on the player roster, the biggest “returnee” from ’07 is Head Coach Larry Kehres who comes into his 23^rd season at the helm of the Raider program with a remarkable record of 260-21-3.

     (FYI, a more in depth look at the 2008 Raiders will be published prior to the start of fall camp.)

Capital Crusaders / 2007 record: 8-3 overall, 7-2 OAC (2nd Place)

     The 2008 season looks very promising as Capital returns 15 starters from a surprising 2007 squad that earned second place in the OAC and qualified for the playoffs despite losing starting quarterback Marty Assman early in the season.

     The offense returns nine starters overall, but only junior wideout Evan Blake earned any recognition (Honorable Mention) from the OAC’s coaches in the post season awards.  Obviously factoring into the lack of offensive production last season was the absence of Assman under center.  Assman was very highly regarded by Collins and was expected to seamlessly take over for Pentello.  However when he went down with an injury late in the fourth quarter against Marietta (week 4), so did the explosiveness of the Crusader offense.  Prior to his injury, Capital was averaging over 30 points a game.  After the injury, that number dropped to 16.

     Collins spent the rest of the season searching for a viable replacement under center with both Wade Bartholomew and Robbie Thayer making starts.  The lack of offensive production wasn’t limited to the quarterback position either.  In an effort to find some semblance of a running game, Collins played starting defensive end Zac McKenzie at tailback in the regular season finale versus Baldwin Wallace and in the playoffs versus Wis-Whitewater.  McKenzie responded by breaking off a 37-yard run against B-W that produced the longest run of the entire season.  The bad news is that McKenzie was a senior and that the two running backs that he replaced (Matt Merritt and Ty Parks) both return.

     The offensive line returns four starters in junior left guard Bill Giblin, junior center Cory Dutcher, senior right guard Rodney Cyrus, junior Chad Davis.  The lone loss up front is a big one though with First- Team All-OAC left tackle Adam Persing graduating.  The first option at left tackle is Josh Holton, a 6’-3”, 240 lbs senior from Amanda Clearcreek.

     Returning with Assman at the skill positions is junior slot receiver Evan Blake (Honorable Mention All-OAC), sophomore wide receiver Matt White and senior tight end Mando Ancona.  The running back position sees both junior Matt Merritt and senior Ty Parks return to battle for playing time once again.  The open receiver slot will most likely be filled by either junior Michael Zag or senior Joe Riley.

     So while they return a ton of starters on offense, one really has to question the actual production we can expect from them in ’08.  It’s understandable that losing the starting quarterback would hurt the offense, but it’s surprising that an inexperienced signal caller meant that much to the offense.  It’s even more surprising Capital didn’t have any viable depth behind Assman.  With the recruiting ability of Collins, I would have expected better depth behind Assman.

     While there might be questions about the strength of the offense, the Capital defense will be a clear strength of the team as they return six starters, including all three linebackers, from a defense that was easily the OAC’s second best behind Mount Union. A critical note about the Capital defensive roster is that they return the entire second string defense from ’07, many of which will be entering their junior years.  This is in direct contrast to Mount Union that not only loses nine starters, but also has lost much of the immediate depth behind them too.

     The only real losses that might be hard to replace is defensive end Nick Bucci and cornerback James Starks, both of whom were First-Team All-OAC performers.  Josh Ramey (6-2, 220), a junior from Mansfield, is expected to fill Bucci’s spot and Evan DeLuca (5-11, 180) a junior from Huron, is expected to fill Starks’ spot.  The other two graduating starters were role players that should easily be replaced.

     As a group, the D-line was the hardest hit by graduation with only Ryan Redman (6-5, 300) a defensive tackle returning for ’08.  Expected to fill the other spots along with Josh Ramey are senior Nick Sadler at end and Drew Ruble at tacklet.

     The linebackers return intact with seniors Pete Ankrom and Brett Welch on the outside and junior Matt Haegen in the middle.

     The secondary returns senior strong safety CJ Steele and junior free safety Ronnie Smith.  Expected to join DeLuca as a first time starter at cornerback is junior Drew Stimmel.

     The biggest question for the Crusaders this season is on the sidelines with Bickel, a longtime defensive coordinator, now being elevated to head coach after the departure of Collins to Saginaw Valley State University and the hiring of Manny Matsakis as offensive coordinator.  Matsakis is an 1984 graduate of Capital and has an extensive coaching resume which includes stops at Kansas State, Hofstra, Wyoming and Texas Tech.  Looking at the programs where Matsakis has been, it looks like the Crusaders will continue their pass-happy attack.

     Their season starts at home versus Adrian, who finished fourth last season in the much weaker MIAA conference, and looks to be an easier opener than Wittenberg had been the last few years.  OAC play opens with three tune-ups against Heidelberg, Wilmington and Marietta before the week 5 showdown at Mount Union.  The end of Capital’s schedule could very well decide its chances of another playoff birth with back-to-back trips to Ohio Northern and Baldwin Wallace. 

Ohio Northern Polar Bears / 2007 record: 7-3 overall, 6-3 OAC (3rd Place)

     Since the 2005 shocker over Mount Union in Dean Paul’s first season in Ada, the Polar Bears have been respectably “decent”, which does not match the expectations for an ONU program that was pushing the Raiders to the very brink less than a decade ago.  The ’06 season was a dismal 6-4 mainly due to key injuries, but ’07 wasn’t much better at 7-3 and didn’t include any of the injury excuses that ’06 had.  Last season saw ONU score at a rather pedestrian 23 points per game pace and surrender 17 points per contest.  If the Polar Bears hope to improve in the win/loss columns, those numbers need to be significantly separated by more than only 6 points.

     Once again carrying the load will be senior running back RJ Meadows, a Second-Team All-OAC selection last season after earning First-Team honors in ’05 and ’06.  Meadows is a workhorse-type back that can get the tough yards, but he’s not a big play threat.  Tarry Summers, his bruising full back, has graduated leaving senior Curt Shepherd to lead the way thru the line in ONU’s power running game.

     The O-line returns three starters, sophomore left guard Pat Baker, junior center Pat Smith and senior right guard Steve Francis, but none of them earned any level of All-OAC recognition and therefore the line play is expected to be average once again.  The likely replacements are junior left tackle Rick Ingold and sophomore right tackle Pat Dochenetz.

     Since the graduation of Franzer in 2000, the Polar Bears have been searching for a quarterback to make plays, not just hand off.  Through the last four signal callers (Jeff Soliday, Corey Minnfield, Adam Quirk and Jeff Pankratz), Ohio Northern has been winning in spite of their QB’s, not because of them.  Need proof?  The Polar Bears finished dead last in passing offense last season, even behind 0-10 Muskingum.  2006 wasn’t much better as they ended with the ninth worst passing “O” immediately ahead of only a Muskingum team coached by Jeff Heacock who absolutely refused to throw the ball.

     If ONU hopes to climb back up the conference standings, they need the strong right arm of sophomore Kyle Simmons from Orrville to be the difference.  Simmons showed flashes of talent last season as he split time with junior Pankratz, but I’m fully expecting him to completely take the reins this season.

     Simmons’ favorite targets are likely to be senior wide receiver Stephen Gill (Second-Team All-OAC) and junior tight end Ben Wittwer (Honorable Mention All-OAC).  Both are solid, but are not game breakers, meaning Simmons’ is going to have to shoulder much of the load in the passing game.  The other receiver spot will most likely be filled by Brook Crawford, a 6-2 junior from Findlay.

     Defensively the Polar Bears return seven starters but lose a pair of First-Team All-OAC performers in middle linebacker Lenny Trusnik and cornerback Steve Gunter.  Trusnik and Gunter were the heart and soul of the defense and their production and leadership will be very hard to replace.  Headlining the returnees are senior DT Jake Fallis (Second-Team All-OAC) and senior defensive back Chane Porter (Honorable Mention All-OAC).

     Returning with Fallis on the D-line is junior end Josh Horn.  Expected to fill the two open spots are senior end Alan Strange and junior tackle Anthony Azzarello.

     The linebacking core returns a pair of juniors on the outside in Gabe Washington and Adam Jones.  Attempting to fill the huge hole in the middle created by the graduation of Trusnik is junior Jake Myers (6-2, 235).

     The secondary returns junior cornerback Eric Wenzler and senior safeties Chane Porter and Cullen Rasmussen.  Junior Stefan Buchanan is expected to take over for the graduated Gunter at field corner.

     Based on Ohio Northern’s performance against Mount Union, which is the only time I saw them live and going against the Raiders isn’t always the best gauge of a team’s ability, the D-line appeared to be the biggest weakness on the defense.  The Raider O-line completely dominated the line of scrimmage and having to replace two starters along the defensive front isn’t a likely recipe to improve the group’s production.

     For the Polar Bears to improve on their 7-3 record, and possibly to even maintain that record, Paul is going to have to get significantly more production out of his quarterback and D-line this season.  I think improved QB play is possible with Simmons displacing Pankratz, but I don’t see the young depth at DT and DE to improve the defensive front.

     The schedule maker sure put a premium on Northern starting fast with a season opener at North Central (IL), who won the always tough CCIW and lost to Wis-Whitewater in the second round of the playoffs, followed by a week 2 trip to face Mount Union at night.  By the evening of September 20^th, the Polar Bears could be looking at a very promising 2-0 start or an early 0-2 ruination of their season.  I’m betting on the latter.

Baldwin-Wallace Yellow Jackets / 2007 record: 6-4 overall, 5-4 OAC (Tied for 4th Place)

     The Baldwin-Wallace program is a model of consistency.  Unfortunately it’s a model of consistently “slightly above average”.

     Outside of the ’02 and ’03 seasons when the Jackets were led by Michigan State transfer Dan Larlham at quarterback, B-W has been hovering slightly above .500 mark.  The ’02 and ’03 seasons were the only ones where they finished any higher than third place in the OAC and can be directly attributed to the play making ability of Larlham.  Since the 1999 season, their overall winning percentage is 64.1%.  Remove the two Larlham led seasons and the winning dips to 58.6%.

     Eight players earned some level of All-OAC recognition last season, but unfortunately Second-Team All-OAC defensive tackle Joe Kowalski is the only returnee for ’08.  So not only did the Yellow Jackets have an average team last season, almost all of the noticeable talent they did have has graduated.  The biggest loss is four-time First-Team All-OAC punter Kevin Soflkiancs.  It doesn't look good when a program with the history of B-W’s finds its punter as its most dangerous weapon.

     The Jacket offense will attempt to re-build around back-up junior quarterback Anthony Gardner who takes over full-time for graduating Mickey Mental.  Though Gardner gained some valuable experience splitting time with Mental last season, he’ll be joined by a very inexperienced group of skill players as the only three offensive players that earned OAC honors last year, running back Nick Ranallo, wide reciever Vinny Latessa and tight end Vinnie Sette, have graduated.  One bright spot for Gardner is the O-line where three starters and all five back-ups return.

     The offense returns five starters overall with senior linemen Broc Dial, John DiMattio and Jon Wilson leading the way.  The only real playmaker for B-W is senior receiver Matt Lepley, a Second-Team All-OAC selection back in 2006.  The last returner is fullback Craig Lindsley who is really just another guard lining up in the backfield as evidenced by his offensive totals being two receptions and zero carries in ten games.

     Defensively the Jackets return six starters led by Second-Team All-OAC defensive tackle Joe Kowalski and Scott Goodwin (6-3, 225), a sophomore safety that plays and looks more like a linebacker.  Beyond them there is a rather non-descript group of youngsters that will be expected to fill the holes left by All-OAC players LB Luke Chronister, CB Darren Cereshko and DT Matt Leber.

     The other returning starters are senior defensive end Jeremiah Chronister, sophomore outside linebacker Ryan Kish, junior free safety Ryan Clokley and senior cornerback Karl Schreiber.

     After opening the last couple years with Augustana (IL), the Jackets open at Franklin (IN), the winners of the HCAC last season.  By name recognition only the opener sounds easier, but Augustana isn’t the Augustana of old and Franklin has raised its level of play considerably in claiming the respectable Heartland Conference.  The OAC schedule is well spaced with no back-to-back contests against the expected conference juggernauts.

     The review of the returning depth chart and statistics reveals that B-W might be lucky to duplicate its 6-4 record this season even though they return 11 total starters.

     The biggest news surrounding the Baldwin-Wallace football program this offseason is the renovations occurring at Finnie Stadium as a result of a sizable contribution from the Tressel brothers (Dick, Dave and Jim) in honor of their parents, longtime B-W football coach Lee Tressel, and Eloise Tressel.  The Tressel brothers provided the lead gift to replace the turf on the football field which will now be named Tressel Field.  The turf upgrade is definitely a welcome site for opposing players as the old “Magic Carpet” was really more like “Magic Concrete.”

John Carroll Blue Streaks / 2007 record: 6-4 overall, 5-4 OAC (Tied for 4th Place)

     After ending 2006 with a disappointing 5-5 record, the Blue Streaks nearly repeated the feat finishing at 6-4 and tying for fourth place in the OAC with Baldwin-Wallace and Otterbein.  The difference between ’06 and ’07 was an opening week win over Wooster.

     The Streaks were lucky to finish with a winning record last season after surrendering more points (22.6 per game) than they scored (21.5  per game).

     JCU returns eight starters including senior quarterback Mark Petruziello, both running backs and four linemen for an offense that was lackluster in ’07.  At first glance, returning eight starters looks good, but none of those players earned any level of All-OAC honors last season and therefore it’s questionable to expect significant improvement from the Streak offense in ’08.

     In fact, no John Carroll offensive player earned All-OAC last season which is a little surprising for a program that produced All-American quarterback Tom Arth.  To highlight the oddity of no honorees is that Muskingum, which finished 0-10, and John Carroll were the only schools without at least one offensive player honored by the conference coaches.

     The offensive returnees are left tackle Kevens Dorsainvil, center Tim Heffernan, right guard Chris Marhofer, right tackle Philip Bokovitz, wide receiver Frank Ross, fullback Matt Harmon and tailback Tyler Gingrich.

     Defensively the Streaks return six starters including First-Team All-OAC defensive end Ken Bevington, and Second-Team All-OAC performers Mike Nettling at middle linebacker and Carlo Melaragno at free safety.

     The other three returning starters are defensive tackle Dane Schaffer, cornerback Doug Mayer and strong safety Joseph Cigas.  The secondary looks to be the strongest overall group with seven of the top eight players returning from the ’07 depth chart.  For the Streaks to win games, their defense is going to carry the load.

     The season starts with a home date against Thomas More, who finished with a 4-6 record in the Presidents Athletic Conference last season.  Thomas More appears to be a pretty comparable opener to last year’s contest against Wooster who finished 4-6 in the NCAC.  The OAC slate opens with a trip to Baldwin-Wallace which should be a good, even pairing between programs that are fighting to climb from the middle of the standings.  Their season will likely be made or lost in weeks 6 thru 8 when JCU faces Capital, Ohio Northern and Mount Union is successive contests.

Otterbein Cardinals / 2007 record: 5-5 overall, 5-4 OAC (Tied for 4th Place)

     Coach Joe Loth’s Cardinal program is a hard one to figure out.  They had a very surprisingly successful 2005 season finishing with a 7-3 record which earned him OAC Coach of the Year honors.  2006 saw the Cardinals slide back to a seventh place finish in the OAC with a 3-6 conference record.

     With 15 of 22 starters returning for 2007 and a handful of Division I transfers coming in, including highly regarded quarterback Jack Rafferty from Western Kentucky University, last season had the making of another good one in Westerville.  However, they disappointingly lost the opener against a Defiance team that would end up 5-5 in the respectable, but weaker HCAC and then two of their first three OAC games.  Putting a quick end to their season before the calendar turned to October.

     So for 2008, what can we expect to see in Westerville?  Numbers wise, the Otterbein offense returns six starters headlined by First-Team All-OAC performers Andy Fries at left tackle and Eric Yates at fullback as well as Honorable Mention All-OAC quarterback Jack Rafferty.  The other returnees are senior center Frank Tropfenbaum, senior right guard Nate Russell and senior right tackle Jamie Albert.  With four returning senior O-linemen, Rafferty should have the confidence to sit in the pocket.

     Receiving targets are thin as both wideouts have graduated including First-Team All-OAC receiver Scott DeLong.  The only returnee is junior tight end Michael Detwiler.

     Defensivel, the Cardinals return six starters from a rather porous defense that surrendered 28 points per game, which matches the offensive output and makes sense in analyzing their 5-5 record.  Most telling was their rush defense, where they finished the ’07 season as the OAC’s seventh worst.

     The linebacking core returns intact, led by Second-Team All-OAC middle linebacker Eric Burnsides.  Joining Burnsides is junior outside linebacker Will Longsdorf and senior outside linebacker Corey Spellman.  The D-line returns senior defensive ends Jim Dodderer and Alex Kriss.  The secondary was hit the hardest by graduation as only senior strong safety John Wahler returns.

     The 2008 season begins with winnable home contests versus Bethany College (4-6 in the Presidents Athletic Conference) and then 0-10 Muskingum.  It gets a little tougher in week 3 when the Cardinals face an Ohio Northern squad that could be in a very bad mood after facing North Central and Mount Union to open its season.  The always competitive match-up with cross-town rival Capital comes in week 7.

     Unless Loth as brought in some serious playmakers via transfer, specifically to find some receiving targets for Rafferty and to shore up the D-line, it appears that Otterbein is likely to repeat its 5-5 record this season.

Heidelberg Student Princes / 2007 record: 4-6 overall, 3-6 OAC (7th Place)

     The hiring of Mike Hallett before the 2007 season had the campus and alumni abuzz with excitement.  In Hallett’s introduction to the College, he indicated that “We’re going to shock the Ohio Athletic Conference and the rest of the country”.

     Well it didn’t take him long to fulfill that promise as they broke their 36-game losing streak in a week one win over Oberlin and then shocked the conference and world in style in week 5 when they blitzed Baldwin-Wallace by the count of 42-20.  Only a last second loss to Otterbein (34-31), after leading most of the fourth quarter when the Cardinals scored with 27 seconds left kept the Berg from a .500 record.

     We expected The ’Berg to improve under the tutelage of Hallett, but I don’t think anyone thought they would go from three consecutive 0-10 seasons to being less than a minute away from a .500 record in just one season.  To highlight the magnitude of the turnaround, in the seven year period between the 2000 and 2006 seasons, the Student Princes won a TOTAL of 4 games.  It’s no wonder Hallett won the OAC’s Coach of the Year award.

     The Student Princes return eight starters on offense, seven of which are seniors, headlined by First-Team All-OAC running back Kenny Sims, Second-Team All-OAC wide receiver Dawond Roddy, Second-Team All-OAC left tackle James Blankenship and Honorable Mention ALl-OAC wide receiver Lucas Bauer.  Most importantly for Hallett’s offense is the return of all five linemen, giving The 'Berg offense a strong foundation to build upon.  Also returning to provide depth is nine of the eleven back-ups.

     Hallett does have a significant hole to fill with the graduation of quarterback Steve West, who earned Second-Team All-OAC honors.  The heir apparent under center is sophomore Andrew Miller (6-1, 185).  The best friend for a new quarterback is the presence of a strong running game behind an experienced O-line, which is exactly what Miller has joining him in the huddle.

     Defensively, The ’Berg returns nine starters led by Second-Team All-OAC defensive back Fran Cavotta and Honorable Mention All-OAC defensive end Matt Grieves.  Also returning to provide depth for Hallett’s defense is nine of the eleven back-ups from last season.

     When adding in returning sophomore place kicker Jesse Hawkins, a Second-Team All-OAC performer last season and senior punter Jimmy May, the Student Princes return 19 of 24 starting positions.

     When looking through the roster, it sure appears that Hallett’s rise through the OAC will really take off this season with the amount of starters and back-ups he has returning.  Their turnaround from three consecutive 0-10 seasons to a 4-6 record in just one season has rejuvenated the program and I’m sure has the young 'Berg players working harder than ever.

     Their season starts with a home date against Westminster (PA) who finished 5-5 overall and 2-4 in the President’s Athletic Conference.  Things get interesting very quickly after that with weeks 2 through 6 being a gauntlet of Capital (H), John Carroll (A), Otterbein (H), Ohio Northern (H), Mount Union (A) and Baldwin Wallace (A).  Once they get past the top six teams from last season, finishing the season with Wilmington, Marietta and Muskingum will feel like a vacation.

     This is a program that’s definitely on the rise.  The key for this season will be to maintain that momentum through the meat of the schedule and to handle the added expectations.  There’s no doubt they snuck up on some teams in ’07 (can you say B-W?), but that won’t be the case in ’08.  It will be very interesting to see how they fare.

Marietta Pioneers / 2007 record: 3-7 overall, 3-6 OAC (8th Place)

     As I expected after the graduation of quarterback Jason Vrable, Marietta returned to the lower third of the conference in ’07 with Dexter Hughes under center.  In my opinion, much of Hughes’ struggles last season can be directly attributed to the lack of experience he saw while backing up Vrable in 2006.  Under recently departed Head Coach Curt Wiese, Hughes was completely ignored as he attempted only 3 passes (completing none) and rushed 3 times for 5 yards in 10 games behind Vrable two seasons ago.

     So even though Marietta entered 2007 with seven offensive starters returning, they had no quarterback in a QB-based offense.  As a result, the Pioneers struggled mightily in finishing the season at 3-7 overall.

     Hopefully however things are looking up on the river as Wiese has been replaced by Jeff Filkovski, the 2007 Ohio Athletic Conference co-Assistant Coach of the Year.  Filkovski was the offensive coordinator at Heidelberg last year under Hallett and was the offensive coordinator for the Cologne Centurions of NFL Europe before that.

     If the Filkovski name sounds familiar to the old-timers that have been following Mount Union for a while, that might be because he led the Allegheny Gators to a 26-15 victory over the Raiders in the 1990 playoffs at Mount Union Stadium on their way to the Division III National Championship.

     Joining Hughes in the offensive huddle this season is sophomore Second-Team All-OAC wide receiver Ryan Dawson, sophomore tight end Zach Lashaway, junior left tackle George Frisch and senior full back Garrett Banks.  With four new O-linemen, Hughes will likely have protection problems to go along with the lack of potential targets.

     Hopefully for Hughes, Filkovski brings his balanced attack from Heidelberg and gets away from the pass-only offense that Marietta was known for under Wiese.  Unless you have a solid O-line and weapons at wide receiver (which Marietta doesn’t), passing the ball 50+ times a game will get your quarterback killed and “L’s” in the win/loss column.

     Defensively, the Pioneers return six starters but lose their best two players from last season in nose guard Clay Ream and linebacker Brian Hahn, both of whom earned First-Team All-OAC honors.  The only All-OAC player returning on “D” is senior Honorable Mention All-OAC linebacker Grant Cowell.

     Also returning is junior defensive tackle Andrew Doerr, junior linebacker John D’Angelo, senior strong safety Alan Tracewell, junior free safety JR Gibson and sophomore cornerback Seth Allman.

     What can we expect from the Pioneers this season?  Probably not much.  They return decent numbers (11 of 22 starters are back), but they must find a new offensive line and lack difference playmakers at the skill positions on offense.  The replacement of  Wiese on the sidelines should be an upgrade considering Filkovski’s background, but it’s probably safe to assume that Marietta will once again be a lot closer to the bottom of the OAC than they’d like to be.

     At least Marietta has a reasonable opener at nearby Thiel (3-7 in ’07) instead of traveling halfway across the nation to get drilled by St. John's (MN).  The OAC slate opens at Wilmington, one of the few conference contests where Marietta would be favored.  From there the schedule gets noticeably tougher with Baldwin-Wallace, Capital, John Carroll and Ohio Northern in succession.  The Pioneer season is likely to end with a “thud” as Mount Union comes to town on Senior Day.

Wilmington Quakers / 2007 record:  2-8 overall, 2-7 OAC (9th Place)

     In the ‘07 Preview, I asked the following:  “After leaving the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference in 1999 with a 9-1 record and splashing onto the OAC scene in 2000 with a 7-3 record, the Wilmington Quakers have been in steady decline.  The 2001 season ended with a 5-5 record and the last five seasons have seen the Quakers alternate between 3-7 and 2-8 records.  So the question is will history repeat itself with a 2-8 record for 2007?”

     The answer of course was “YES” as the Quakers once again found themselves near the bottom of the OAC with a 2-8 record.  So the question for ’08 is whether the trend will continue and produce a 3-7 record?

     Barry Wulf’s offense returns nine starters including four players that earned All-OAC honors last season headlined by senior First-Team All-OAC wide receiver Marque Jones, senior First-Team All-OAC tight end Wes Anders, sophomore Second-Team All-OAC running back Marc Otte and senior Honorable Mention All-OAC wide receiver Brandon Hiatt.  In fact, Wilmington returns more All-OAC offensive players than any other team, including Mount Union.  This core of players led a pretty impressive improvement in scoring from only 10.6 points per game in 2006 to a respectable 22.2  points per contest in 2007.

     Pulling the trigger once again is junior quarterback Billy Blackburn, a starter since his first day on campus and a previous recruit of Kehres that chose to stay close to home instead.  Paving the way for an offense loaded with returning talent is four starting offensive linemen.  The O-line was very young last year and should be much better with a year of experience under its belt.  The only knock on junior left tackle CJ Potter, junior sophomore Luke Harris, sophomore center Randy Swain and right tackle Adam Salyers is their lack of bulk as they only average 6-2, 247.

     I do find it rather interesting that the running back, both receivers and the tight end all earned conference accolades but the guy responsible for getting them the ball did not.  With ’08 being Blackburn’s thrid season at quarterback with a wealth of talent at the skill positions around him and a more experienced line in front, I’d be shocked to see him shut out of the awards again this year.

     Defensively, the Quakers return seven starters from a squad that surrendered a league worst 41+ points per game last season.  Their lone All-OAC defender from ’07 was defensive end Chad Adams, but he has graduated along with two of the other D-linemen leaving a large hole upfront for the Quakers to fill if they have any hope of improving their league worst rush defense.  The only returnee on the line is sophomore defensive tackle Will Buck, a 5-8, 275 fireplug.

     Overall, I think the Quakers will be hard pressed to drastically improve on their customary 2-8 / 3-7 record.  They should be able to score points with the best of the OAC, but their defense was horrendous and it’s doubtful that simply another year of experience will make that big of a difference.

     Their season once again starts against a quality Mount St. Joseph team that has won the last four HCAC conference crowns and is likely to do the same again this season.  The OAC slate opens with a potentially winnable game against Marietta before the big boys come calling.

Muskingum Muskies / 2007 record: 0-10 overall, 0-9 OAC (10th Place)