BC vs. Thiel preview

BC vs. Thiel

By Ben Risinger, SID
September 15, 2003

The Matchup

            When: Saturday, September 20, 2003 – kickoff at 1:30 pm

            Where:  Bluffton, Ohio – Dwight Salzman Stadium

            On the Radio: Listen live to Bluffton College football on WDOH 107.1 FM. The game can also be found on the internet at www.wdoh.com.

   Bluffton College opens the 2003 home campaign against the Thiel College Tomcats. The Beavers won on the road last week against Hiram 35-20. Thiel was shutout in their first game of the season on September 6, 42-0 by John Carroll University. Today also marks Carlin Carpenter Day. The former head coach will be honored with a barbecue dinner following the contest and a program to honor the coach and his wife Sharon at 6 p.m.

 

The Coaches

   Bluffton coach Greg Brooks (1-0) picked up his first head coaching victory last week in the Beavers opener. Brooks is no stranger to the Bluffton program having been the offensive coordinator for the past 23 years. He is a 1977 graduate of Ohio University where he was a quarterback and a four-year letterman for the Bobcats.

   Thiel is led by third-year coach Jack Leipheimer. Leipheimer owns a 5-16 overall record for the Tomcats. Prior to his stop at Thiel, Leipheimer was the defensive coordinator at Allegheny College from 1989-2000.

 

Series History

   Bluffton holds a 5-2 series advantage over the Tomcats. The Beavers only two losses to Thiel came last year and in 1997 when Bluffton was defeated 33-27 at home.


Last Year’s Contest

   Bluffton dropped the 2002 contest to Thiel, 37-6. The Beavers only score came with 16 seconds left in the first half when quarterback Brad Moore ran the option into the end zone, David Samsal’s kick was a miss to end the scoring for the game. Moore would end up injured off of the touchdown and would not return for the rest of the contest. The Tomcats would come out in the second half and score 37 unanswered points. The Bluffton defense held Thiel to just 109 yards in the first half, but the Tomcat offense exploded in the second half for 259 yards and 13 of their 19 total first downs in the game.

Last Week
   Bluffton won their opener 35-20 over Hiram. The Beavers converted two fumbles late in the game into touchdowns to help give them their final score. Thiel was not in action last week with a bye, but in week one John Carroll defeated the Tomcats 42-0 at home.

 

Leading the Beavers

   Sophomore running back Ben Dodds led the Beaver offense with 127 yards and two touchdowns. Senior Scott Flathers posted three touchdowns and 38 yards on the ground. Quarterback Jared Owens was 16 for 22 with 206 yards in the air. Senior Chris Sommers led the defensive effort with 11 tackles on the day.

 

Last Season Overall

   Bluffton finished the 2002 campaign at 3-7 (1-5 HCAC). Thiel finished 2002 at 3-7 overall and 2-3 in the President’s Athletic Conference.

 

Next up for the Beavers

   Bluffton will be at home again next Saturday for Take a Kid to the Game Day. Any local child can enter the game for free with the purchase of an adult ticket. Bluffton will take on Husson College out of Bangor, Maine with a 1:30 p.m. kickoff.