Matt Feeney, a senior
linebacker for John Carroll, leads the team -- which is second in
the nation in total defense -- in tackles wtih
38. John Carroll athletics photo |
There was an air of uncertainty about how John Carroll would be
on the defensive side of the ball during the 2013 season.
A new defensive coordinator was in town in Brandon Staley, and
that meant a new defense would be put into place.
Staley's credentials wouldn't be an issue. His resume was
impressive, having made coaching stops at Northern Illinois,
Division III powerhouse St. Thomas, junior college power
Hutchinson Community College in Kansas and at Tennessee.
The question was, how would the players adapt to what Staley was
trying to do with a team that didn't record any shutouts during a
6-4 campaign in 2012. Making the situation a little tougher was the
fact that Staley wasn't with the team until the start of fall
camp.
"We undersood we were going to have to stay focused and adapt to
what he was teaching us," said senior linebacker Matt Feeney, a
three-year letter-winner. "It was definitely different than what we
were used to, but coach [Staley] didn't let us make excuses. We
picked up on it quickly, and it's paid off."
The switch from a 4-3 to 3-4 front has indeed paid off for the
Blue Streaks, who have blanked three of their first four opponents,
including the last two. John Carroll rolled to a 28-0 win over
Otterbein two weeks ago and kept Capital off the scoreboard in a
54-0 win. The other shutout was a 41-0 win over St. Norbert in
the opener.
Only Baldwin Wallace has managed to score on the No. 21 Blue
Streaks, who still beat the Yellow Jackets 27-7.
Feeney has been key to the success, tallying 38 tackles, and he
said that while the defense is thrilled with its efforts up to this
point, it refuses to become complacent.
"We're not satisfied," Feeney said. "It comes down to us executing
every week and playing as hard as we can the entire game. We've all
bought into the system, but we know we have to keep working hard if
we are going to continue to win games."
Staley said the success of the defense, which is allowing only
177.5 yards per game, is a credit to the players and the effort
they put forth every week in practice and in games. He doesn't go
into each week stressing the importance of a shutout. All Staley
wants to see is his players go out and compete as hard as they can
for 60 minutes.
"If we play as well as we can, the results will take care of
themselves," Staley said. "Our focus is on one play at a time. We
are constantly communicating and making adjustments during the game
depending on what the opponent is doing. It's made a big
difference."
John Carroll was picked to finish fifth this season, but already,
it has beaten two of the teams picked in front of it (Baldwin
Wallace and Otterbein).
The Blue Streaks have forced seven turnovers and are holding
opponents to an 18 percent conversion rate on third down. They have
allowed just one red zone touchdown as well.
First-year head coach Tom Arth has been impressed with the steps
his defense has taken in a short of amount of time.
"The coaches do a good job of getting those guys ready to play,"
Arth said. "They've been together only a short time, but they have
handled everything very well. The experience they have does help
and they are very athletic. The big thing is they are always
working to get better as a unit."
Senior redshirt linebacker Mitch Krotz leads the defense with 41
tackles while defensive lineman David Porter has come through with
25 tackles.
Defensive backs Brody Zangaro (22) and Marty Gibbons (14) have
also been key contributors. Seven other players have at least 10
tackles.
"We have a great group of players, but the thing about the guys is
they take time to watch the film and are critical of
themselves. They want to learn from their mistakes and
improve. We've only been together as a defense since August. We all
know there is so much more we can get better at this year."
Feeney said the defense doesn't have a difficult time making those
adjustments because it is tested each week in practice by an
offense that has scored 27 or more in every game and is averaging
452 yards per game.
Mark Myers has thrown for 1,252 yards and 10 touchdowns while
DaQuan Grobsmith has rushed for 309 yards and six touchdowns.
Marshal Howell and Aramis Greenwood have each caught 21 passes on
the year. Both players have three touchdowns apiece as well.
"It's a tremendous help because we feel like we have one of the
best offenses in the country," Feeney said. "We enjoy going at it
with them because they challenge us. It keeps us sharp and focused.
Even our scout team offense does a great job of getting us ready
for games every week."
Arth said the team does indeed work well together in preparation
for games and admires the focus the team takes with it to the field
each week on game day.
"We have no problem getting them to go to work each day to get
ready for the next game," Arth said. "They understand you can't
look past anyone and that you have to be able to focus on what you
can do as a team to be ready for a game. This is a special group,
and if they continue to improve, we have a chance to be a very good
team."
Feeney is thrilled how things have worked out, and while he knows
the road doesn't get any easier to travel on going forward -- the
Blue Streaks close with nationally ranked Heidelberg and defending
national champion and top-ranked Mount Union --- he is enjoying the
ride n his final season.
"It's great, especially with this being my senior year," Feeney
said. "We've come together as a team, and it feels awesome to be
part of a winning team. Every game in our league is a challenge,
and we know we always have to be ready to play, but it's good to
see our hard work pay off. We want it to continue to pay off."
In the poll
No. 1 Mount Union extended the nation's longest
win streak to 19 games on Saturday with a 58-7 beating of Ohio
Northern in an OAC game in Ada.
The Purple Raiders (4-0, 3-0 OAC) held the Polar Bears (2-2, 1-2)
to 160 yards of offense, including only 82 in the opening half as
they built a 44-0 advantage.
Tre Jones helped fuel the impressive defensive effort by returning
an interception 36 yards for a touchdown. Tom Lally led Mount Union
with eight tackles and Alex
Kocheff tallied seven tackles and recovered a fumble.
Mount Union rolled up 631 yards of offense behind Kevin Burke's
304 passing yards. Burke threw four touchdown passes and rushed for
62 yards.
No. 12 Heidelberg played under the lights for the
first time since 2011 and lit up Marietta, rolling to a 68-17
victory on a night when Michael Mees threw for a career-high five
touchdowns. He was 13-of-18 for 180 yards as Heidelberg (4-0, 3-0
OAC) remained unbeaten.
The Student Princes scored 60 points for the second consecutive
week, marking the first time in school history that a Heidelberg
team has scored 60-plus points in back-to-back weeks.
Heidelberg rolled up 629 yards, and Cartel Brooks helped pave the
way as he rushed for 139 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Ryan Fischer returned a punt 77 yards for a score, and the Student
Princes limited the Pioneers (0-4, 0-3) to 268 yards of offense.
Andy Kujawa led the defense with nine tackles. Six other players
tallied at least five tackles.
Running back Mason Zurek shredded Wooster for 228 yards and two
touchdowns as No. 17 Wabash buried the Fighting
Scots 48-14 on Saturday in an NCAC game.
Michael Putko threw for 206 yards and one touchdown while Sean
Hildebrand caught four passes for 79 yards, including a touchdown
pass in the win.
Wabash led 38-7 at halftime and never let Wooster get on track.
Cody Buresh made his presence felt on defense as he racked up 12
tackles to go along with a sack and a forced fumble.
Nate Scola returned a fumble 66 yards for a touchdown and also
came through with nine tackles and three sacks.
No. 18 Wittenberg continued its dominance of
opponents, blasting, Hiram 49-9 on Saturday.
The Tigers (3-1, 3-0 NCAC) have outscored their last three
opponents 153-9 and are now 14-0 lifetime against the Terriers
(2-3, 1-3).
All but one of Wittenberg's scoring drives covered 53 yards or
less and Desi Kirkman helped lead the way on offense as three of
his six catches were for touchdowns. Kirkman tallied 140 yards and
Reed Florence threw for 237 yards and four scores.
The Tigers were stingy on defense, allowing only 204 yards, thanks
in part to the play of Brady Vanover. The freshman lineman tied for
the team-lead in tackles with 11 and also forced a fumble and
recovered a fumble. Spencer Leno racked up 11 tackles as well.
DaQuan Grobsmith pushed his career rushing total to 2,000 yards
and helped No. 21 John Carroll knock off Capital
54-0. The Blue Streaks were playing their first game as a ranked
team since 2007.
Grobsmith rushed for 117 yards for John Carroll (4-0, 3-0) and
also scored a career-high three touchdowns. Mark Myers threw for
242 yards. He completed 18 of his 20 passes, including two for
touchdowns to Alex Kline.
Matt Feeney and Mitch Krontz anchored the defense, which is one of
the best in the nation, by tallying 10 tackles apiece. John Carroll
limited the Crusaders to only eight first downs and one third-down
conversion.
Two school records fell in No. 23 Thomas
More's 61-0 Homecoming win over Geneva in
a PAC win on Saturday.
The Saints (4-0, 3-0 PAC) set a record for points in a quarter,
hanging 34 on the board in the first, and for points in a half with
55.
Thomas More came through with its third shutout in four games and
limited the Golden Tornadoes (3-2, 2-1) to 88 yards of offense.
Domonique Hayden gashed Geneva for 195 yards on 15 carries. He
scored three touchdowns as well. Geneva rolled up 426 yards of
total offense, with 304 of those
yards coming on the ground. Jensen Gebhardt threw for 99 yards and
two scores and also rushed for a touchdown.
Dylan Ruter played well defensively as he rolled up seven tackles.
Kyle Fuller returned an interception for a touchdown and also
racked up five tackles. He forced two fumbles as well.
Inside the OAC
Muskingum
moved into rare air as a football program on Saturday with its
35-28 overtime win against Wilmington.
The Muskies (1-3, 1-2), who rallied from a 21-point deficit for
the victory, became the 41st program in Division III history to get
to 500 wins as a program.
Muskingum outscored Wilmington 28-7 in the second half to force
overtime and got the win when Cody Williams hit Wes Rataiczak on a
13-yard touchdown pass in
the extra session. Otterbein stepped up on defense in overtime as
well, stopping the Quakers (0-4, 0-3) four times inside the
five-yard line on their overtime possession.
Rataiczak caught nine passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns
while Williams, making his first career start, threw for 182 yards
and a pair of touchdowns. He rushed for 46 yards.
Steven Vinson Jr. and Luke Weber tallied eight and five tackles,
respectively.
Tarrell Starckey had a big day on defense for Wilmington, racking
up 19 tackles. Jeremy Duncan caught eight passes for a
conference-record 327 yards and three touchdowns to aid
Wilmington's offense.
Drew Ervin came through with a career-best rushing performance and
Otterbein knocked off Baldwin Wallace 19-7 on
Saturday.
Ervin rushed for 234 yards and a touchdown for the Cardinals (2-2,
2-1 OAC), who racked up a total of 391 yards while holding the
Yellow Jackets (2-2, 1-2) to 301 yards. Ervin scored his lone
touchdown on a 76-yard run to give Otterbein a 13-7 lead at
halftime.
Ben Sizemore threw for 126 yards and a score while Eric Mitchell,
Wes McKeever and Austin Jones racked up eight tackles apiece.
Michael Slack played well in defeat for Baldwin Wallace, throwing for 114 yards and rushing for 65 yards, including 21 on a touchdown run in the opening quarter.
Inside the MIAA
Adrian cleared its first hurdle on the road to
another MIAA championship with a hard-fought 17-14 win over Hope in
the battle of the top two teams in the league's preseason poll.
The Flying Dutchmen were averaging 489.5 yards per game but
managed just 277 yards against the Bulldogs (4-1, 1-0 MIAA), who
beat Hope (3-2, 0-1) for the fifth time in the last six
meetings.
Aaron Tenney threw for 174 yards and a pair of touchdowns, both of
which found the hands of Nathan Hartline. Hartline's second
touchdown catch gave Adrian a 17-7 lead in the fourth quarter.
Hartline caught five passes for 128 yards.
Charles Fleck led Adrian with 11 tackles while Dontae Bridgeman
recorded a sack and forced a fumble in the win.
Shawn Jackson rushed for both of Hope's touchdowns and finished
his day with 251 yards on 22 carries. Jackson highlighted his
day with a 67-yard touchdown run.
Olivet remained the only MIAA team without a loss
as it opened league play with a 20-13 come-from-behind win over
Alma on Saturday. The Comets are 5-0 for only the fourth time in
program history after rallying from a 10-0 deficit. The last time
Olivet won its first five games was in 1967. It also beat Alma
(0-5, 0-1 MIAA) on the road for the first time since 1973.
Javier Lara scored on a 17-yard run on the third play of overtime
to put the Comets in front for good. Braden Black threw for 139
yards and also rushed for 86 yards. Tyre Alexander caught three
passes for 45 yards.
Noah Keefer and Curtis French were tough to deal with on defense
as they tallied nine and eight tackles, respectively. Alma
managed 279 yards of offense and was led by Jarrett Leister,
who threw for 201 yards on 14-of-27 passing. Tyler Watters caught
five passes for 97 yards. Olivet finished with 293 yards in the
win.
Inside the PAC
Ryan Hickey deflected a potential game-tying field goal attempt
by Westminster with 42 seconds remaining and helped Grove
City hang on for a 24-21 win over the Titans on
Saturday.
The Titans did get one more shot to tie or win, but Bobby Tuttle
intercepted a pass as time expired. Tuttle finished his day
with nine tackles while Chris Gibbs led the defense with 11
tackles. The Wolverines (3-2, 1-2 PAC) held the Titans (1-3, 1-2)
to 315 yards.
Grove City, which has won four of the last five against
Westminster, finished with 378 yards. Brian Pell was 19-of-34 for
162 yards. Pell also rushed for a touchdown.
Dak Britt led Westminster as he went 22-of-39 for 276 yards. Britt
threw one touchdown pass. This was the ninth time in the last 10
meetings that a game between
Grove City and Westminster has been decided by seven points or
less.
Matt Grimard became the first player in Bethany
history to go over 10,000 yards in a career ashe led the Bison to a
surprising 24-19 win over Washington and Jefferson on Saturday.
Aaron Frye secured the win by picking off a pass in the end zone
in the closing seconds as the Bison beat the Presidents for the
first time since 1982.
Bethany (2-3, 2-1) jumped in front 24-0 and then held on for the
thrilling win over the Presidents (3-2, 2-1).
Grimard completed 20 of his 38 passes for 335 yards and a
touchdown, and his 14-yard throw to Eric Blinn in the third quarter
put him over 10,000. Blinn caught five passes for 72 yards.
Tre Goode tallied eight tackles and deflected three passes to pace
the Bison on defense.
Dion Wiegand led the Presidents as he rushed for 190 yards and two
touchdowns. Matt Bliss threw for 273 yards and a touchdown.
Inside the NCAC
Mason Espinosa threw five touchdown passes in the opening half of action against Allegheny as Ohio Wesleyan rolled to a 50-7 win.
Espinosa was 16-of-18 for 290 yards in the opening half and
threw for 368 yards total. He completed a total of 24 passes on 28
attempts. Scott Jenkings caught seven catches for 109 yards.
Jenkins caught one touchdown pass.
Kevin Herman broke a school record for punt return yards in a game
as he returned five for 157 yards. The old record was 108 set back
in 1968.
DaVaughn DuBose tallied eight tackles to pace the defense. The
Bishops (3-1, 2-1) finished with 434 yards and limited the Gators
(0-5, 0-4) to 207 yards. Kyle Smith rushed for 77 yards and a
touchdown for the Gators.
Denison is 4-1 for the first time since 1986
after rallying for a 42-21 win over DePauw on Saturday The Big Red,
which is 3-1 in the NCAC, trailed 21-14 in the third before taking
a 35-21 lead into the final quarter of play.
Brandon Sklenar threw for 292 yards on 23-of-28 passing and also
threw four touchdown passes. He also rushed for 41 yards and a pair
of scores. His six touchdowns in one game tied the school record,
which was set in 1966. Sklenar's 14-yard run in the third broke the
21-21 tie and the Big Red never looked back.
Joel Elliott tallied nine tackles to pace Denison while Pat Foley
added eight tackles.
Matt Hunt threw for 217 yards and two touchdowns to lead the
Tigers (0-4, 0-3), who managed 297 yards of offense. The Big Red
rolled up 487 yards.
Inside the Tartans and Spartans
Carnegie Mellon scored two defensive touchdowns
in the third quarter and rolled to a 34-7 win over Saint Vincent on
Saturday.
Alexander D'Angelo returned a fumble 45 yards for a touchdown and
Jack Butler picked off a pass late in the third and bolted 68 yards
for the touchdown as the
Tartans (3-2) built a 21-0 lead and never looked back.
Troy Witt came through with the second 100-yard game of his career
as he carried the ball 18 times for 100 yards. Vince DeMarchi and
Eric Rolfes tallied six tackles apiece. DeMarchi also racked up
sack.
Carnegie Mellon finished with 262 yards of offense.
Case Western Reserve (1-4), which has lost three
consecutive games, did not play this past weekend and does not
return to action until Oct. 19 when it plays at Puget Sound.
Notes: The dedication of Bill Robinson Field in
Ada didn't go as well as hoped for Ohio Northern, which lost 58-7
to No. 1 Mount Union, but Patrick Angle played
well as he completed 17 of his 29 passes for 106 yards. The Polar
Bears finished with 160 yards...Justin Danzy
delivered a stellar performance in Kalamazoo's 38-31 win over Trine
on Saturday. Danzy completed 37 of his 51 passes for 423 yards and
four touchdowns. He rolled up 452 yards of total offense and was
named the league's player fo the week for the second time this
year...Carter Hill put together another stellar
effort as he led Waynesburg to a 35-21 win over Thiel on Saturday.
Hill was 31-of-40 for 314 yards and three scores. He also rushed
for a touchdown in the win on a day when the Yellow Jackets built a
21-0 lead and didn't look back...Oberlin got a strong defensive
performance in the second half, not allowing an offensive
touchdown, but the Yeomen fell 21-14 on Saturday. Kyle
Kessler and Kirby Livingston each tallied
10 tackles. Zach Kisley tallied seven tackles,
forced a fumble, recovered a fumble and picked off a pass.
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