Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets host No. 1 Mount Union Purple Raiders
Saturday, November 3, 2012
1:30 p.m.
Tressel Field at George Finnie Stadium
Seniors' and Parents' Day
Download the complete Yellow Jacket Games Notes in .pdf format by clicking HERE.
RADIO -- BW campus radio station WBWC, 88.3 FM, broadcasts all home and away Yellow Jacket football games. You also can listen to the games live via the WBWC Internet Web site atwww.wbwc.com. The pregame show generally starts 20 minutes prior to kickoff. For more information, please call the station offices at (440) 826-2145 or its listening line at (440) 826-2187. Senior Kelly Rosemond (krosemon@bw.edu) is the Sports Director.
VIDEO -- BW broadcasts all of its home game live on its athletic website. You can watch the game live via webcast at http://www.bwyellowjackets.com/sports/fball/2012-13/videos/mount_seniorsday.
Today's Game -- The 15th-ranked (AFCA/ American Football Coaches Association poll) Baldwin Wallace University Yellow Jacket football team hosts Ohio Athletic Conference arch-rival and the No. 1-ranked University of Mount Union at The George Finnie Stadium on Seniors' and Parents' Day in Berea. This game is a battle for first place in the OAC Standings and has possible NCAA Division III Playoff implications.
The Yellow Jackets enter this game 7-1 overall and 6-1 in the OAC following a 66-14 victory in Berea last Saturday (Oct. 27) versus Marietta College at Finnie Stadium. BW has beaten Bluffton University (45-13), John Carroll University (32-28), Muskingum University (13-6 in overtime), Ohio Northern University (22-20), Wilmington College (49-17), Capital University (39-16) and Marietta (66-14), but lost to Otterbein University (38-17).
The Purple Raiders enter this game with a 8-0 overall and 7-0 OAC record following a 33-14 victory against second place Heidelberg University in Alliance last Saturday (Oct. 27) at Mount Union Stadium. Mt. Union has beaten Franklin, Ind. College (45-7), Muskingum (57-0), Marietta (52-0), Ohio Northern (54-0), Wilmington (66-0), Capital (62-0), Otterbein (51-0) and Heidelberg.
Series Notes -- The Yellow Jackets and the Purple Raiders have previously met 50 times on the gridiron with Mount Union holding an 28-21-1 series lead, including a thrilling 25-20 victory a year ago in Alliance and victories in each of the past 17 meetings. The series began in 1896 with the Yellow Jackets defeating the Purple Raiders, 10-0. The last Yellow Jacket win came in 1994 when the Yellow Jackets beat Mount Union, 23-10, in Alliance.
Last Meeting -- No.2-ranked the University of Mount Union overcame a 20-19 deficit to win 25-20 via a 29-yard TD pass on a 4th-down-and-11 situation with 2:14 left in the game. The Yellow Jackets trailed 3-0 after one quarter, 6-0 at halftime and 19-0 before scoring 20 straight points to take a 20-19 lead. Following a Purple Raider TD that gave Mt. Union its 19-0 lead with 4:29 left in the third quarter, current BW junior NCAA Division III All-American track sprinter and first-team All-OAC wide receiver and kick return specialist Josiah Holt (Elyria/Grafton Midview) returned the ensuing kickoff 85 yards for a TD and current junior placekicker Chris Mohler (Kent/ Roosevelt) added the point-after-touchdown kick to make the score 19-7 with 4:16 remaining. Following a defensive stop and punt, B-W drove 58 yards in seven plays and current senior safety and "wildcat" quarterback Andrew Dziak (Maple Heights/Padua Fransiscan) scored on a 3-yard run of the first play of the fourth stanza. Mohler's PAT kick made it a 19-14 game with 14:53 left. Then following another defensive stand and punt, Dziak drove the Jackets 58 yards in 15 plays and scored on a 1-yard run with 5:53 left to take a 20-19 lead. Mt. Union then drove 68 yards in 10 plays for the winning score as Matt Piloto threw a 29-yard TD pass to current senior WR Chris Denton on a 4th-down-and-11 situation. BW had one last chance, but current senior QB Ryan O'Rourke's (Avon/ Senior) 4th-down pass with 10 seconds left fell incomplete.
Scouting the Yellow Jackets -- Offensively, the Yellow Jackets average 35.5 points and 379.4 yards of total offense per game, including 196.2 yards rushing and 183.1 passing yards. Ryan O'Rourke runs the offense and has completed 94-of-166 passes for 56.6 percent for 1395 yards with 17 TD's and seven interceptions. He also ran the ball 45 times for 96 yards and three TD's. In addition, sophomore "wildcat" QB Michael Slack (Casselberry, Fla./Pine Castle Christian Academy) and Andrew Dziak also see action. Slack is 3-of-6 passing for 32 yards and has rushed for 192 yards in 35 attempts with three TD's. Dziak has completed 5-of-6 passes for 38 yards and has rushed for 85 yards in nine attempts. In the backfield, senior All-OAC RB Tyler Lohr (Kent/Roosevelt) combines with sophomores Sebastian Zuluaga (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast) and Nolan Sordyl (Gurnee, Ill./Warren Township) and freshman Isaac Reed III (Lehigh Acres, Fla./Lehigh). Lohr tops the team with 391 yards in 88 attempts with two TD's. Zuluaga is second with 297 yards in 68 attempts with three TD's. Reed is third with 246 yards in 39 attempts with two TD's. Sordyl, who is utilized near the goal line, has 140 yards in 29 trips with three TD's. The receiving corps are led by Josiah Holt, TE Aaron Manders (Toledo/Cardinal Stritch) and WR Gabe Adams (Hudson). Holt has a team-leading 32 catches for 551 yards and five TD's. Manders has 13 catches for 217 yards and four TD's. Adams has 10 grabs for 154 yards. The line is anchored by senior Academic All-OAC tackle Clay Wolf (Parma Heights/Padua Franciscan) and junior guard Jason Cook (Streetsboro).
Defensively, BW allows 19 points and 314.1 yards of total offense per game, including 128.5 rushing and 185.6 passing yards. BW has forced its opponents into making 14 turnovers for a plus-four (+4) in the giveaway-takeaway category. The line is led by returning senior All-OAC tackle Max Wagner (Mentor) and senior end Joe Fitch (Elyria/Elyria Catholic). Fitch tops all linemen with 30 tackles and leads the team with 9.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 QB sacks. Wagner has 19 tackles. Junior MLB Michael Stacchiotti (Girard) tops all tacklers with 60 stops and is followed by senior Academic All-OAC safety Tom Goebel (Brunswick/Padua Franciscan) with 43 tackles with one interception and one fumble recovery, junior safety Zach Barley (Hudson) with 38 tackles and three interception, senior Academic All-OAC LB Nick Milano (North Royalton/Padua Franciscan) with 35 tackles, senior LB Brian Ellis (Ft. Mitchell, Ky./Dayton) with 34 tackles and one interception and Dziak with 26 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and three QB sacks.
On special teams, Holt and starting CB Kevin Johnson (Maple Heights/St. Ignatius) are two of the best kickoff return men in Division III. Most teams either kick short or kick away from them. Holt averages 30.3 yards in seven returns and has three career kick return TD's. Johnson averages 30.9 yards in seven attempts with one TD this season and two in his career. Junior CB Kory Gillissie (Parma/St. Ignatius) and senior backup WR Pat LaGuardia (Brunswick/Padua Franciscan) return punts. LaGuardia tops the team with a seven-yard average in 12 returns. Junior placekicker Chris Mohler (Kent/Roosevelt) is solid on 32-of-34 PATs and has made 7-of-10 field goals for 53 points to rank first on the team in scoring. Junior Matt Harmon (Canfield) is the punter after averages 35.4 yards per punt with 10 landing inside the opponent's 20-yard line.
BW's Last Game -- In BW's last game, a 66-14 victory against Marietta College at Finnie Stadium in Berea on October 27, senior QB Ryan O'Rourke led the Yellow Jacket offense and accounted for five TD's as he completed 11-of-14 passes for 210 yards and four TD's and ran for 41 yards on five attempts and a score. The defense was led by nine Yellow Jacket defenders with five tackles respectively.
Scouting the Purple Raiders -- Offensively, Mount Union averages 52.5 points and 519.9 yards of total offense per game, including 258.1 rushing and 261.8 passing yards. Sophomore QB Kevin Burke is the key to the offense as he has completed 103-of-149 passes for 1669 yards for 69.1% with 17 TD's and three interceptions. Sophomore QB Roman Namdar has also appeared in seven games and has completed 34-of-39 passes for 390 yards for 87.2% with four TD's and one interception. The top receivers are seniors Chris Denton, Jasper Collins and Shannon Stewart and junior Jack Nicholls. Denton has 34 catches for 525 yards and two TD's. Collins is second with 31 grabs for 621 yards with a team-high eight TD's. Stewart has 20 for 306 yards and four TD grabs. Nicholls has 12 for 176 yards and two TD's. Senior RB T.J. Lattimore has 650 rushing yards in 96 attempts and 12 TD's. Freshman RB Mason Minnich has carried the ball 43 times for 248 yards and one TD.
Defensively, the Purple Raiders are led by senior safety Nick Driskill with 46 tackles, two sacks and leads the team with 12 tackles for loss. Senior LB Charles Dieuseul has 37 tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss. Sophomore DE Ted Rosalva leads the team in sacks with four. In the secondary, senior CB Isaiah Scott leads the team with five interceptions and seven break ups.
On special teams, senior Tyler Almeida is the PK and senior Brandon Mathie handles the punting duties. Almeida is 46-of-50 in PAT kicks and 6-of-6 in field goal attempts. Mathie averages 37.3 yards per punt in 16 attempts with five landing inside the opposition's 20-yard line. Blair Skilliter returns kickoffs and averages 44.0 yards in four returns. Denton returns punts and averages 14 yards in 27 attempts and four scores.
Mount Union's Last Game -- In Mount Union's last game, a 33-14 victory against Heidelberg University at Mount Union Stadium in Alliance on October 27, sophomore QB Kevin Burke led the Purple Raider offense as he completed 13-of-17 passes for 216 yards and three TD's and ran the ball 16 times for 77 more yards and a score. Senior starting cornerback and backup RB Blair Skilliter rushed for a career-high 97 yards in 19 attempts with a TD and senior RB T.J. Lattimore had 95 yards in 15 attempts. Overall, Mt. Union outgained Heidelberg, 493-295. The defense was led by the trio of sophomore DE Ted Rosalva, senior All-American and Academic All-American Nick Driskill and linebacker Charles Dieusuel with nine tackles each. Rosalva also had a pair of tackles for loss.
