Game Notes
WESTERVILLE, Ohio—The Otterbein University football team, coming off a surprising 8-2 year, opens the new season with the Cardinals from St. John Fisher College, 1:30 p.m., Saturday in Memorial Stadium.
Also on tap Saturday, the athletic department will unveil the Edwin L. “Dubbs” Roush Hall of Champions beginning at 11 a.m. in the Clements Recreation Center. The Hall pays homage to some of Otterbein’s finest student-athletes, teams and athletic history, all searchable on three touchscreen monitors.
St. John Fisher, ranked 24th by D3football.com in its preseason poll, returns seven starters on offense and four on defense from last season’s 8-3 squad. The Cardinals finished in a four-way tie for third place in the Empire 8 Athletic Conference.
Second-year head coach Tim Doup, voted Ohio Athletic Conference Coach of the Year last season, is impressed with the physicalness of the St. John squad.
“Their offensive line lines up and comes after you,” Doup said. “They just hand the ball off. It’s scary how well they run the football. If we can stop the run and force them to throw, I’ll feel pretty good.”
Senior running back Cody Miller should be the go-to guy in Saturday’s game. Miller rushed for 1,023 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2012. He averaged 5.3 yards a carry. The Cardinals also return their leading receiver, senior Kevin Francis, who made 31 catches for 428 yards and two touchdowns last season.
D3football All-East region pick Mason Judd, a senior defensive nose guard, is back to lead the St. John Fisher defense. Judd made 69 tackles, including 22 for a loss of 70 yards. He collected seven pass sacks.
Otterbein, meanwhile, returns 45 lettermen, including five starters on offense and seven on defense.
D3football All-American Pat Seesholtz, tabbed the best lineman in the OAC in 2012, and Zach Grieves, a second team All-OAC pick, return to anchor the defensive line at the end positions. Both seniors now, Grieves led the team in tackles (66) while Seesholtz finished with most tackles for loss (17) and quarterback sacks (10.5) last year. Seesholtz, though, is listed as questionable for Saturday’s game after aggravating an off-season injury in camp.
Other returning starters include senior inside linebacker Eric Mitchell, senior outside linebacker Wes McKeever, senior safety Jaylin Kennedy, junior safety Jordan Bonifas, and senior cornerback Alex Cameron.
On the offensive side, senior quarterback Ben Sizemore, who took over the starting role following an injury to Aaron Kingcade in the sixth game last season, returns. Sizemore went 2-1 over his three starts, his one loss coming to Mount Union, completing 52 of 106 pass attempts for 696 yards and six touchdowns.
Otterbein’s top receiver a year ago, senior wide receiver Steven Carpenter, also returns to the starting lineup. Carpenter, an honorable mention All-OAC selection, led the team in catches and yards, making 32 receptions for 502 yards and three touchdowns. Junior Derik Rudolph, in a backup role last season, is the team’s top returnee at running back, rushing for 193 yards on 44 carries.
The Cardinals return just two offensive linemen, sophomore center Grant Noppenberger, and junior right tackle Joshua Gebelle.
The Cardinals return all three of their kickers, junior Nick Ganus, kickoffs and field goals, junior Alana Gaither, extra points, and sophomore Jordan Keaton, punts.
Following a bye week, the Cardinals return to action Sept. 21, opening OAC play. The Cardinals will host Wilmington College at Homecoming. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
