When: Saturday, September 23, 2006 at 1:30 p.m.
Where: Bluffton, Ohio – Dwight Salzman Stadium
On the Radio: Listen live to Bluffton University football on WDOH 107.1 FM.
Bluffton University will celebrate Community Day with the Beavers 2006 home opener versus the Kalamazoo College Hornets. This marks only the fifth meeting between these two clubs and the first since Bluffton shut out the Hornets, 33-0, in 1987.
The Head Coaches
Greg Brooks enters his fourth year at the helm of the Bluffton University football team. The Beavers have accumulated a 10-22 mark during Brooks’ tenure as the head coach. Brooks previously served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Bluffton, leading the Beavers to their best offensive seasons in school history. He also served as the head baseball coach at Bluffton prior to assuming the role of football head coach.
Terrance Brooks is entering his second season as head coach of the Hornets following a three-year stint as the assistant head coach at Shenandoah University (Va.). He led the Hornets to a three-game improvement and unblemished mark at home in his first season at Kalamazoo. In 2006, Brooks was one of 20 coaches selected to attend the NCAA Football Coaching Academy in Indianapolis.
Bluffton-Kalamazoo Series History
The Beavers hold a 2-1-1 advantage in the all-time series with the Hornets, including a pair of lopsided victories in favor on Bluffton in 1986-1987. Nineteen years later, Bluffton welcomes MIAA member Kalamazoo to Salzman Stadium for its 2006 home opener on Community Day at Bluffton University.
Last Week’s Contests
Adrian 17, Bluffton 6
The Bluffton University football team went to the road for its second straight game and fell, 17-6, to a hungry Adrian College squad that was shut out in the first game at its new Multi-Purpose Performance Stadium a week ago by the Defiance College Yellow Yackets, 10-0. Although the Bulldogs were without the services of Head Coach Lyall, who sat out the contest due to health reasons, Adrian took advantage of the clock to drop the Beavers to 0-2 for the 2006 season.
Adrian put together a 12-play, 58-yard drive early in the second stanza as quarterback Andy Denryter completed short passes and picked up yards with his feet before T.J. Williams took a handoff and found the end zone from five yards out to give the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead. On the ensuing kickoff, Jeremy Anderson (South Rockwood, Mich./Airport) found a seem and went untouched for 95-yards giving the Beavers hope. A blocked extra-point left the score at 7-6 with eight minutes to play in the first half. Another clock-draining six-minute drive came up empty for the Bulldogs, but when Bluffton had a chip shot field goal blocked as time expired, Adrian held on to a slim 7-6 halftime advantage.
Bluffton was unable to put together an extended drive in the third quarter and the lack of time on the field by the Beavers' offense began to show on the other side of the ball. The Bulldogs did an excellent job of keeping the Bluffton defense on the field as Adrian sapped the Beavers with a seemingly impossible 14-play, 15-yard drive during the third and fourth quarters which resulted in a 43-yard field goal.
The Bluffton offense struggled for the second straight game as it picked up only 153 yards, including a lackluster 52 yards on the ground. Often hurried and looking for protection, Jared Owens (Van Wert/Crestview) connected on 12-of-17 passing attempts for 108 yards. Junior Anthony Bryant (Reynoldsburg/Reynoldsburg) picked up four receptions for 24 yards but the Adrian defense kept him from any long gains. Aaron Whitlock (Grove City/Central Crossing) caught three passes for 23 yards and Andrew Ramthun (Springfield/Southeastern) hauled in two passes for 24 yards, including an 18-yarder in the first half. Anderson scored the lone touchdown for the Beavers on a 95-yard kickoff return in the second quarter.
Sam McCullough (Bluffton/Bluffton) led everyone with 17 tackles, including five solos. Junior Taylor Iceman (Lucas/Lucas) finished with 13 stops while junior Edward Jackson (Dayton/Northridge) registered 12 tackles and two TFL's in only his second game at linebacker for the Beavers. Senior Erick Buddin (Ypsilanti, Mich./Ypsilanti) picked off a Bulldog pass deep in Bluffton territory and returned it 58 yards before an illegal block negated most of the gain.
Adrian used a 20-minute time of possession difference to wear the Beavers out as the Bulldogs ran 72 plays compared to only 38 for Bluffton and outgained the Beavers 333 yards to 153 yards. With the loss, the Beavers fall to 0-2 while Adrian improves to 1-1.
Austin 17, Kalamazoo 14
The Kalamazoo College football team traveled to Austin College in Texas for its 2006 season opener on Saturday, September 16.
Austin College struck first with a 70-yard Ryan Cowley rush on the second play from scrimmage. The Hornets knotted the contest at the 6:18 mark when Tim Kaselitz snuck in from the one-yard line.
After going ahead 14-10 midway through the second quarter, Kalamazoo gave up a one-yard touchdown run with two minutes to play in the first half which turned out to be the final score in the contest.
The Austin Kangaroos controlled the ball for 37 minutes as they amassed 291 yards on the ground.
Tim Kaselitz and Jordan Tallman combined for 18-of-39 passing for 140 yards and one touchdown through the air. Mike Leifeld hauled in 10 passes for 93 yards while Stephen Johnston carried the ball 12 times for 49 yards. Ross Dalrymple and Jim Backoff each notched 10 tackles for the Hornets.
Leading the Beavers
Senior Jared Owens has completed 24-of-36 passes for 180 yards against a pair of standout defenses, Centre and Adrian. Junior Anthony Bryant leads the Beavers with nine receptions for 57 yards while Aaron Whitlock has five catches for 30 yards.
Junior linebacker Sam McCullough has a team-high 25 tackles, including 10 solos to lead the Bluffton defense. Taylor Iceman has twenty stops and linebacker Eddie Jackson is third with 16 tackles. Senior tackle Bryan Lloyd (Elida/Bath) leads the Beavers with three quarterback sacks.
Jeremy Anderson was named HCAC special teams’ Player of the Week after returning a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown in the Beavers’ 17-6 loss at Adrian.
Next up for the Beavers and Hornets
Bluffton will travel to Franklin College to open the 2006 Heartland Conference season on Saturday, September 30, 2006. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Kalamazoo will travel to Westminster on September 30, for a 1:30 p.m. start.
