2013 Siena Heights University Football
Siena Heights Saints (3-2, 0-1 MSFA Mideast) vs
Marian Knights (2-3, 1-0 MSFA Mideast)
Saturday, Oct. 12 - 1 p.m. - Adrian, Michigan
Live Coverage: Jerry Hayes (play-by-play), Doug Goodnough (color commentary), Siena Heights Sports Network (SHUSAINTS.COM), WLEN 103.9 FM
For a complete PDF version of game notes, click HERE.
THE GAME
The Siena Heights football team will host its second consecutive home game when the defending NAIA champion, Marian (Ind.), visits on Saturday, Oct. 12, for a 1 p.m. kickoff at O'Laughlin Stadium. The contest is a Mid-States Football Association Mideast League game for both teams.
The Saints are coming off a 28-17 loss to then-sixth-ranked Saint Francis (Ind.). They held a halftime lead, but struggled during the final 30 minutes. The Saints went ahead, 17-14, as time expired on the first half as kicker Victor Bodrie connected for a 34-yard field goal. From there, the visiting Cougars scored the game's final 14 points.
Linebackers Tyler Karcher and Trenton Bragg led the SHU defense with 11 1/2 and 10 1/2 tackles, respectively, while Sederick Dunbar II made an interception.
On offense, quarterback Matt King completed 19 of 27 passes for 223 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Wide receiver Reggie Blackmon added five receptions for 70 yards while tight end Donovan Campbell had five catches for 65 yards and a score.
In the running game, Ja'Tice Shaw II had 13 carries for 59 yards and a TD while fellow running back Travis Damron rushed 17 times for 53 yards.
SHU scored all 17 of its points during the second quarter, including back-to-back touchdowns to help itself to a 14-7 lead.
Marian snapped a three-game losing streak in its previous contest, taking a 21-19 victory over 23rd-ranked Robert Morris (Ill.) in MSFA Mideast action.
Running back Tevin Lake had 32 carries for 142 yards and a touchdown while fellow RB Robert Gibson compiled six rushes for 60 yards and three receptions for 44 yards.
Marian quarterback Joey Hecklinski completed 17 of 28 passes for 293 yards and a score. His top two targets included wide receiver Anthony Jones Jr., who had four catches for 55 yards, and wide receiver Taylor Summa, who finished with three catches for 103 yards and a TD.
For the Knight defense, defensive backs Shaquille Ash, Eric Price and Daniel Rojas had 4 1/2 tackles apiece. Price had a half-sack.
Also, defensive lineman Alexander Wetmore and linebacker Narvin Powell recorded sacks while defensive end Bryan Derence was credited with a half-sack.
THE COACHES
Jim Lyall (Michigan '74) is in his third season as head coach for Siena Heights, where he now has a 7-8 varsity record. He is 110-100-1 all-time as a collegiate varsity football coach. During SHU's 2011 club season, Lyall went 8-1. He was previously the head coach at Adrian, where he compiled a 103-92-1 varsity slate.
Mark Henninger (Wittenberg, Ohio '96) is in his first year as head coach for Marian. He is 28-27 all-time as a six-year varsity football coach, including a 2-3 mark for the Knights. He was previously head coach for NCAA Division III program North Carolina Wesleyan, compiling a 26-25 record while earning one USA South Conference Coach of the Year award. Prior to becoming a head coach, he was an assistant at Millikin (Ill.), Waverly (Iowa) and Wittenberg.
UP NEXT...
The Saints will make their shortest road trip of the season with a trip up to Ann Arbor for a matchup with Concordia at Riverbank Stadium. The MSFA Mideast teams will take on one another on Oct. 19 at 1 p.m.
The Cardinals, who are currently 1-4 overall and 0-1 in the MSFA Mideast, will visit Taylor (Ind.) for a 1 p.m. contest on Oct. 12. CUAA earned its first win in program history on Sept. 14, claiming a 35-21 victory over Alfred State (N.Y.).
SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS
Defending NAIA champ Marian is off to a slow start, falling from No. 2 in the NAIA preseason rankings to being completely absent from both the Top 25 and receiving-votes category. The team earned a total of 25 individual All-MSFA Mideast honors in 2012; only eight players returned from that group.
A pair of All-MSFA Mideast First Team performers have returned: running back Tevin Lake and outside linebacker Robert Palmer. Once again, Lake has been the Knights' top rusher as he has compiled 114 carries for 549 yards and six touchdowns. He is ranked 20th in the NAIA in yards rushing. Palmer had seven total tackles and an interception on defense.
Marian also brought back a pair of Second Team players and four honorable mentions. The Second Teamers include running back Clifford Brown and Zack VanDeman while the honorable mentions are wide receiver Anthony Jones Jr., offensive lineman Sean Egenolf, linebacker Ryan Hartnett and defensive back Taylor Howenstine.
Jones has 25 catches for 386 yards and two scores. On defense, Hartnett has compiled 22 1/2 total tackles (4 1/2 for-loss), including two sacks and a forced fumble. Howenstine has 17 total tackles, five pass breakups, one interception and one fumble recovery.
MU quarterback Joey Hecklinski ranks 27th on the NAIA passing yards list. He has completed 80 of 138 throws for 1,033 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions.
Cornerback Eric Price has also been solid for the Knights. He's compiled 18 1/2 tackles, including a half-sack, seven breakups and two interceptions.
Marian's three losses have come against ranked teams in 2013 -- two squads in the NAIA, Saint Xavier (Ill.), which was fourth, and Grand View (Iowa), which was ninth; and one team from NCAA Division III -- Wisconsin-Oshkosh, which was ranked 10th on the D-III poll. The Knights have not lost to an unranked opponent since Oct. 31, 2009, when MU fell to Taylor (Ind.), 36-35.
LAST TIME WE MET
The Saints dropped a 31-3 contest to No. 3 Marian (Ind.) in MSFA Mideast action at O'Laughlin Stadium on Sept. 8, 2012.
Linebacker Tyler Karcher had 7 1/2 sacks, defensive lineman Jordan Martin recovered a fumble and defensive back DeShawn Gilbert made an interception to lead the Saints' defensive effort.
SHU trailed 10-0 at halftime before getting its only points on a 21-yard field goal by kicker Jonah Harter. The visiting Knights then ran off 21 consecutive points to pull away.
Other top tacklers for the Saints included defensive back Sederick Dunbar II, who had 6 1/2 stops, and linebackers Trent Bragg and Chris Vann, who finished with six tackles apiece.
Offensively, the Saints gained 209 yards. Running back Travis Damron had 11 carries for 32 yards and tight end Donovan Campbell caught three passes for 23 yards.
Siena Heights' longest play happened when the hosts faked a punt. Punter Kyle Timmis found defensive back Michael Butler for a 29-yard reception on fourth-and-1. The Saints converted their field goal later on the drive.
Both Matt King and Travis Zajkowski saw action at the quarterback position. King was 8 of 15 for 45 yards while Zajkowski went 3 of 7 for 35 yards.
The Knights were led by quarterback Adam Wiese, who completed 21 of 31 passes for 301 yards and four touchdowns. Running back Tevin Lake had 19 rushes for 75 yards and two receptions for 75 yards.
For the Marian defense, defensive lineman Seth Vondersaar made six tackles while he, linebackers Devin Bennett, Dan Brunke, Avenor Jacquet, Obed Jean and Garrett Pritt finished with half-sacks. Defensive back Courtney Dodd had one interception, which he returned 50 yards.
Marian opened the scoring on a six-yard pass from Wiese to running back Brandon Sherman and then increased the advantage to 10 points on a 41-yard field goal by kicker Michael Josifovski.
After Harter's three-pointer, Wiese connected with Lake, tight end Nathan Jones and wide receiver Anthony Jones Jr. on touchdown passes of 68, 6 and 29 yards, respectively.
STREAK SNAPPED
The Saints' run of shutout football came to an end on the first possession for Saint Francis (Ind.) last week. After turning the ball over on its half of the field, Siena Heights allowed a 12-play, 48-yard drive to paydirt as the Cougars took an early 7-0 lead.
SHU had posted shutouts in its previous two games -- 30-0 over Waldorf (Iowa) and 14-0 against Olivet Nazarene (Ill.). Time-wise, the shutout streak lasted 128:56, beginning during the fourth quarter of Siena Heights' 35-31 victory over Saint Joseph's (Ind.).
BACK ON THE OUTSIDE
Prior to its game against Saint Francis (Ind.), SHU received its first-ever ranking in the NAIA coaches' poll and was rated as the No. 25 team in the nation. Since then, the Saints have fallen out of the Top 25, but are still in the receiving-votes category with three points.
Siena Heights was completely absent from the poll two week ago -- in both the Top 25 and "receiving votes" category -- but managed to catch the attention of enough voters around the NAIA to completely bypass the RV portion, thus making SHU's appearance in the receiving-votes portion as its first.
THROW SOME D'S
Despite last week's setback, the Siena Heights defense can still lay claim to being one of the tougher units to score upon in the NAIA. The team is currently ranked seventh in the entire NAIA in points allowed per game (16.6), trailing only Grand View (Iowa) within the conference. The Vikings are rated fourth in the nation (14.4).
Linebacker Tyler Karcher is the squad's leading tackler with 37 stops. The next three leading tacklers include linebacker Trenton Bragg (28), defensive back Sederick A. Dunbar II (26 1/2) and defensive back DeShawn Gilbert (24).
Dunbar has also compiled two interceptions, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery while Gilbert has three interceptions and six credited pass breakups. Gilbert's three picks has him tied for seventh in the NAIA rankings. He also leads the MSFA in passes defended (9).
Defensive lineman Kyle Connors holds the team lead in sacks (3) while Karcher and defensive linemen Jordan Martin and C.J. Marious are tied for the team lead in tackles-for-loss (4).
The Saints' defense rates first in the MSFA in opponents' passing effiency (106.5) -- a statistic that also has it ranked 16th in the NAIA.
PASSING ATTACK
Quarterbacks Matt King and Travis Zajkowski and a pair of receivers -- tight end Donovan Campbell and wide-out Reggie Blackmon -- have certainly provided the Saints with a much-improved passing attack thus far in 2013.
Last season, Siena Heights totaled 137 completed passes for 1,461 yards and a 119.06 rating. The Saints are well ahead of the pace needed to break those marks; currently, they have 86 completions for 1,149 yards and a 151.63 rating. The passing rating has the team ranked 11th in NAIA pass efficiency. The Saints are third in the MSFA behind Saint Francis, Ill. (173.4) and Saint Ambrose, Iowa (161.1).
SHU's completion percentage has improved to 63.2 percent (56.4 last year) and its yards-per-game average has jumped from 146.1 to 229.8. Also, the Saints had 12 touchdown passes in 2012; so far in 2013, they have nine.
King has seen the bulk of playing time under center, completing 66 of 100 throws for 853 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions. His 153.5 passing efficiency rating has him ranked 10th in the NAIA. The senior from Rockville, Ind., is also the Saints' third-leading rusher with 30 carries for 104 yards and one TD, which came on a 33-yard scamper.
Campbell continues to lead the receiving corps. He has made 31 receptions for 427 yards and six touchdowns. In two varsity seasons, Campbell has accumulated 72 catches for 941 yards and 12 scores. He is 59 yards from becoming the first Saint to eclipse the 1,000-yards-receiving plateau.
Campbell is tied for 17th in the NAIA with 31 total receptions. He's also in sole possession of 231st with 427 receiving yards. In the MSFA, he is tied for sixth in receptions per game and ranks sixth alone in receiving yards per game.
Wide receiver Reggie Blackmon has come on lately himself and now totals 14 catches for 220 yards and three TDs while Drew Milligan, running back-turned-slot receiver, has 12 grabs for 117 yards.
KEEPING IT CLEAN
Penalties were a major factor in Siena Heights' season-opening loss to then-No. 19 Grand View (Iowa) as the Saints racked up 11 fouls for 114 yards. Since then, SHU has totaled 17 penalties worth 146 yards in the four games since that opener.
GO FOUR IT
SHU has outperformed opponents on fourth-down plays in 2013, converting 5 of 11 opportunities. Opponents have gone 2 of 8. In the Saints' loss to USF, the Blue and Gold was 0 of 1 on fourth-down plays while the visiting Cougars went 2 of 4, becoming the first opponent to succeed against SHU on fourth.
REWRITING HISTORY
Two teams have truly bottled up SHU's rushing attack over the past two years: Grand View and Saint Francis (Ind.). The Saints picked up 29 yards on 33 rushes in their 37-25 loss at GVU -- the lowest total in SHU varsity history. The second-lowest amount happened during Siena Heights' 31-7 loss to Saint Francis (32 for 73) while the third-lowest came in the 2013 season opener against Grand View (31 for 88).
In last week's home game against Saint Francis (Ind.), the Saints more-than-doubled their rushing output from their 2012 meeting with the Cougars. SHU compiled 162 yards on 41 carries. Running back Ja'Tice K. Shaw II led the way with 13 rushes for 59 yards and a score that he powered in from seven yards out. Fellow RB Travis Damron compiled 17 runs for 53 yards.
TWO NEW RECORDS
Linebacker Tyler Karcher recorded a new single-game record for the Saints' varsity era last week, making 11 1/2 tackles. The previous record was held by fellow linebacker and captain Trenton Bragg, who had 10 1/2 stops during SHU's 36-34 triple-overtime loss at Iowa Wesleyan in 2012.
Tight end/punter Lyle Van Fleteren also inked his name into the Siena Heights record books with the longest punt in program history. He booted the ball 54 yards against USF, edging the previous record of 53 yards by Kyle Timmis (during 28-14 win over Taylor, Ind., in 2012).
FOLLOW THE MARCH
All Siena Heights football games will be webcast on the Siena Heights Sports Network, which can be accessed via the Stretch Internet link on WWW.SHUSAINTS.COM. Live stats can be followed online at WWW.SHUSAINTS.COM.
SHSN will provide live video for each Saint home game. Play-by-play will be called by Jerry Hayes while Doug Goodnough will provide color commentary. Zach Stultz is the producer. Games will be archived in Stretch's on-demand feature.
SHSN and WLEN 103.9 FM have also enjoyed a three-year partnership. All games will be audio-streamed online at WLEN.COM while select games will be broadcast live on the radio.
HAVE AN AWESOME FRICKIN' THURSDAY
Frickers Restaurant of Adrian will replay Siena Heights football games every Thursday at 8 p.m. at its establishment. Frickers is a supporter of Siena Heights Athletics, providing food to the press box for every SHU Football home game.
