The Wilmington College football team returns home 1 p.m. Saturday looking for its first win of the season, and they will face possibly the best set of offensive skills weapons they have seen this season.
LIVE STATS l VIDEO l WC NOTES l 'BERG NOTES
"Heidelberg is a very good team, one that poises a huge threat with their offense," said Wilmington head coach Stacey Hairston. "They are one of the top scoring teams in the conference with the top producers in the conference. They are a very dangerous team with weapons across the board."
Heidelberg brings in the top receivers (Donteea Dye) and top running back (Cartel Brooks) to Williams Stadium.
Brooks, the reigning OAC Back of the Year, is 24th nationally with 831 yards on 108 carries with 10 touchdowns. In the win over Marietta, he ran for a season-high 249 yards and two touchdowns.
"Cartel Brooks is a very good back, very shifty with a lot of speed," said Hairston. "He is a difference maker on the football field. He is a guy that we have to try and keep bottled up somehow, and not let him get into the open field, because once he does – he is very, very dangerous."
Dye leads the OAC with 118.7 yards per game with 48 catches and 10 touchdowns. His 48 receptions is more than twice the nearest 'Berg receiver, Mark Delisa with 22.
Hairston believes one of the solutions in limiting the 'Berg offense is simple, "We have to tackle better, and be more physical. That will always help you against teams like Heidelberg."
Offensively, Wilmington will be starting its third quarterback this season as freshman Daniel Crusan (Miami, FL/Palmetto) will be behind center. While he may be the third starter this season, he showed promise early – starting the preseason scrimmage. He has yet to attempt a varsity pass this season.
"Anytime you lose your signal caller, it's tough," said Hairston. "You see it at any level, see it on Saturday's and you see it on Sunday's. Teams that lose their starting quarterback end up struggling. For us it was a sophomore, and behind him is four freshmen."
Given the fact Crusan will be making only his second varsity appearance, you can expect Heidelberg to stay true to its defensive form.
"They are going to be very aggressive with pressure and blitzing," said Hairston. "That has kind of been their downfall in a couple games where they have given up a lot of yards and points. They hang their hat on their defensive backs covering, and if you don't get pressure, they can give up some yards."
Senior Ben Poirier is the main disruptive force for the Student Princes. The defensive tackles leads the team with 7.5 tackles for loss and is tied for the team lead with 4.5 sacks. Additionally, his presence can be felt on the amount of blockers he eats up freeing the way for leading tacklers, Clay Staib (72 stops) and Andy Kujawa (45 stops), to make plays.
The Student Princes, whose two losses are to Mount Union and Heidelberg, probably believes that three strong performances at the end of the season could land them in the NCAA playoffs with an 8-2 records – just like last season.