Saturday’s Game: Allegheny Gators (7-2, 4-2 NCAC) at Ohio Wesleyan (3-6, 3-3 NCAC)
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Opening Kickoff:
Saturday’s season finale is a North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) matchup between Allegheny and Ohio Wesleyan. It is the 26th time the two teams have met since the series began in1984. The Gators lead the Battling Bishops 19-6 in the series, winning seven out of the last 11 contests. Last year, Allegheny defeated Ohio Wesleyan 10-7 in overtime to finish the season .500. The last Battling Bishop win was a 17-10 victory in 2007. Ohio Wesleyan is riding a two-game winning streak, while Allegheny lost for the first time in four games last weekend.
First meeting: 1984 (Ohio Wesleyan 21, Allegheny 17)
Last meeting: 2008 (Allegheny 10, Ohio Wesleyan 7)
Most points by one team: 1995 (Allegheny 61, Ohio Wesleyan 0)
Largest margin of victory: 1995 (Allegheny 61, Ohio Wesleyan 0)
Smallest margin of victory: 2004 (Ohio Wesleyan 17, Allegheny 14), 2008 (Allegheny 10, Ohio Wesleyan 7)
Shutouts in the series – 3, all by Allegheny (1986 – Allegheny 21, OWU 0) | 1995 – (Allegheny 61, OWU 0) | 1998 – (Allegheny 27, OWU 0)
Last Week:
Aaron Huffman scored the first three touchdowns and threw for another to help 12th-ranked Wittenberg chalk up 570 yards of offense and defeat Allegheny 52-10 last Saturday. The Tigers snapped the Gators four-game winning streak and claimed their ninth overall NCAC title. Despite the loss, Allegheny became the first team this season to score on the Tigers in the first half. T.J. Salopek found Matt Griffith with a 19-yard pass for the Gators only touchdown of the afternoon. Salopek completed 13 of 28 passes to move into second in passing attempts on the program’s career chart. Ryan Zipf added three points with his ninth field goal of the season from 32 yards out.
Last Week Part II:
The top-ranked Wittenberg defense held Allegheny to its lowest-offensive output of the season with 189 yards. The Gators rushed for 46 yards, their second-lowest total since the loss to Wabash where they recorded only 43 yards on the ground. Allegheny also tallied 143 yards in the air, all accumulated by T.J. Salopek to put him 71 yards away from second place on the all-time passing chart .
On the season, Salopek has amassed 2,213 yards on 193 completions while throwing 13 touchdowns and only being picked off five times. He currently ranks second in the NCAC in passing average per game with 245.9 yards.
Last Week Part III:
Allegheny only had possession for 25:56 against Wittenberg on Saturday. In the first quarter alone, the Gators had their hands on the ball for just 3:51, but managed to score their only touchdown of the game.
The Last Meeting:
Ryan Zipf nailed a game-winning field goal in overtime to lead Allegheny past Ohio Wesleyan 10-7 on Nov. 15, 2008. C.J. Bell intercepted the Battling Bishops' quarterback Mike Fisher at the Allegheny 5-yardline to stop OWU on its first possession in the extra stanza. That set the stage for Zipf, who connected on the game-winner for the second time in as many weeks as both field goals measured over 30-yards in length, with the Wittenberg game-winner coming from 37 yards out. The Battling Bishops had a 37-yard field goal attempt blocked by Sasha Kauert in the first quarter and were in Allegheny territory three other times in the first half, but the Gator defense played tough, forcing two punts and a fumble to prevent Ohio Wesleyan from putting any points on the board in the first half.
Super Schleihauf:
Andy Schleihauf recorded seven tackles against Wittenberg to push him over the 200 total tackles mark for his career. He heads into the final game with 201 tackles, including 87 solo and 114 assisted. Schleihauf ranks second in the conference and 20th in Division III statistics with 11.22 tackles per game.
Pick’em Up:
C.J Bell, who led the team in interceptions last year with five, made his first pick of the season against Wittenberg on Saturday. Last season, Bell recorded two interceptions against the Tigers and had another one in the season finale against Ohio Wesleyan to help the Gators post back-to-back overtime victories. The senior has six interceptions for his career.
Dynamic Duo:
As a team, Allegheny is putting up an average of 415.8 all-purpose yards per game - a total that encompasses rushing, receiving and return yards. The duo of Terry Hartford and Jake Vite have accounted for 41.7 percent of that yardage. The top two offensive players are averaging 173.4 yards per game. Hartford leads the group with 97.8 all-purpose yards per game. Of his 880 yards, 516 have come in the air, while 208 is from kick returns and 146 on punt returns.
Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year:
Go to www.coachoftheyear.com or www.alleghenysports.com and vote for head coach Mark Matlak for Libert y Mutual Division III Coach of the Year. Active football coaches in all NCAA divisions with a winning record are eligible to receive the 2009 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award. The winner in each division is chosen using a combination of fan votes and votes received from members of the Selection Committee. The award provides each coach with $50,000 to donate to the charity or charities of his choice, as well as a $20,000 grant to donate to his school's alumni association.