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John Carroll University Athletics

home of the Blue Streaks
Josh McLean
Tim Phillis, News Herald

Week 4 Football Preview: No. 22 Blue Streaks Hope for Homecoming Hurrah

| By: Logan Potosky, Staff Writer
John Carroll's defense looked good last week, and hopes to shut down a strong Muskingum offense.
UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio -- It's Homecoming Weekend in University Heights, and this Saturday, the No. 22 John Carroll Blue Streaks (1-2, 1-1 OAC) seek a bounce-back victory against the up-and-coming Muskingum Fighting Muskies (3-1, 2-1 OAC).

While John Carroll suffered their second loss of the season last week, they did compete until the very end with top-five ranked Mount Union, falling 28-14 in University Heights. Even though the Blue Streaks fell to 1-2, they still maintain a spot in the D3football.com Top 25, ranking 22nd in the nation in Division III.

However, the Blue and Gold realize that another tough task lies ahead in Muskingum this week.

"This is a 3-1 team that's playing well, and performing well offensively," said Head Coach Rick Finotti. "In the way they beat ONU [Ohio Northern University], the way they played a tough game against Marietta, who's a great team. This is a good football team. They're tough. They're physical."

Muskingum is off to their best start since 2011, with two key OAC victories so far this season. The first was a 33-31 win over Ohio Northern on September 11, and the second was a 62-14 win over Wilmington this past Saturday. Those 62 points were the most they have scored in a game since 1960.

JOHN CARROLL OFFENSE vs. MUSKINGUM DEFENSE

In Week 4, points were tough to come by against a stingy Mount Union defense. However, the passing game was able to make a couple of big plays to keep the Blue Streaks in the game.

John Carroll had just 233 yards of total offense against Mount Union last week, with 188 through the air, and just 45 on the ground. Junior WR Brennan Fugh had a pair of receiving touchdowns against Mount Union in Week 3, so the Blue Streaks will look to continue to feed him the ball. On the contrary, they also look to get the ground game going again.

"I think for us, it kind of goes back to us being us, really establishing the run and getting those first downs." Finotti said.

Fifth-year senior QB Jake Floriea leads the charge for the JCU offense for his third consecutive season. He comes into today's matchup completing 58.8% of his passes for 614 yards, five touchdowns, and one interception. Fifth-year seniors Anthony Amata and Preseason All-American Blake Herideen anchor the offensive line in front of Floriea.

The John Carroll rushing attack is led by senior running back Demerius Goodwin (49 carries, 308 yards, 4 TD; 6 receptions, 42 yards) and junior back Matthew Buser (22 carries, 99 yards; 6 receptions, 32 yards). The Blue and Gold receiving core is anchored by junior wideout Brennan Fugh (9 receptions, 201 yards, 2 TDs), Devin Limerick (12 receptions, 94 yards, 1 TD), and Keyshawn Colmon (7 receptions, 69 yards). And finally, sophomore tight end Tadas Tadarunas (4 receptions, 42 yards) and senior Gavin Martik (3 receptions, 39 yards, 1 TD) round out the skill positions on the JCU offense.

The Fighting Muskies' defense begins with a stout front four, with players like senior defensive linemen Sean Andor (17 total tackles, 1 TFL, 1 INT, 1 PBU) and Chris Shakespeare (15 total tackles, 2 TFLs, 1 sack). Freshmen linebackers Azarious Williams (Team-leading 34 total tackles, 2.5 TFLs) and Toleo Malone (23 total tackles, 2.5 TFLs, 2 sacks, 1 FF, 1 FR) have both made early strong impacts for Muskingum as well.

In the secondary, the Fighting Muskies are led by junior defensive back Tristan Howell (27 total tackles, team-best 2 INTs, 2 PBUs, 1 TFL, 1 blocked kick) and senior Brian Brown (25 total tackles, team-best 3 PBUs, 2 FFs, 1 INT). Also look for senior DB Cortez McGinnis to make plays in the secondary, as he has 1.5 tackles for loss, a fumble recovery, and a pass breakup. 

JOHN CARROLL DEFENSE vs. MUSKINGUM OFFENSE

The John Carroll defense has a tough challenge ahead of them this week, as they will try to contain the reigning OAC Offensive Player of the Week in Muskingum's quarterback, Jordan Garrett.

"He's phenomenal. Great arm, athletic, great decision-maker. He's right up there in terms of top quarterbacks in the state," Finotti said. "You can tell that he's a good leader."

The defensive line is the foundation for the Blue Streak defense. Leading the "Men of Mayhem" are junior edge rusher Ross Valenti, who leads the team with 3.5 tackles for loss and three sacks, and senior end Jack Burton, who has nine total tackles, 2.5 TFLs, and half of a sack this season.

The Blue and Gold has a considerable amount of experience at linebacker, with senior linebackers Hunter Orlando (24 total tackles, 1.5 TFLs, 0.5 sacks) and Luke Brown (25 total tackles, 2 TFLs, 1 FF, 1 FR, 1 PBU) leading the way. John Carroll has plenty of secondary experience as well, including senior safety Nate Leopold (12 total tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1 INT), graduate student DB Tyshawn Jones (25 total tackles, 1 TFL, 1 FR) and graduate student corner Alec Wallace (9 total tackles, 1 INT, 1 PBU, 1 FF). Sophomore cornerback Elijah Chungu is also an emerging talent with a team-leading four pass breakups so far this season.

Muskingum will have their offense led onto the field by senior QB Jordan Garrett. So far this season, he has completed 70-of-124 passes for 924 yards, eight touchdowns, and three interceptions. Garrett is a dual-threat quarterback, as he also has three rushing touchdowns, tied for the team lead. He was named OAC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against Wilmington, in which he finished 16-of-24 passing for 292 passing yards, four passing touchdowns, zero interceptions, and a rushing touchdown.

The main catalyst of the Fighting Muskies running game is junior back Donny Wilkinson, who has 54 carries for 216 rushing yards and three touchdowns this season. Muskingum has an abundance of talented receivers, including juniors Travis Roberson (team-best 17 receptions, 186 yards, team-best 3 TDs), Zuri Edmondson (14 receptions, 258 yards, 1 TD), and Ja'Lin Goodman (13 receptions, team-best 273 receiving yards, 1 TD). Be on the lookout for a pair of playmaking sophomores in tight end Gannon Unger and wideout Travanti Keitt as well, who have two receiving touchdowns apiece.

SPECIAL TEAMS

For special teams, on the John Carroll side, they are led by senior punter Andy Han (17 punts, 589 yards, 4 inside 20) and graduate student kicker Grant Gonya (2-4 FG, 9-9 XP, 13 kickoffs, 729 yards, 6 TB). In terms of the return game, graduate student returner JJ Olivera (four kick returns, 48 yards) and freshman returner Evan McVay (2 kick returns, 57 yards) field kicks, while senior returner Nate Leopold (four punt returns, 35 yards) fields punts for the Blue Streaks.

For Muskingum, sophomore kicker Hunter Albers is 2-of-4 on field goals, with a long of 23 yards, and 18-of-20 on extra points. Sophomore punter Colin Scozzofava has 10 punts for 385 yards, including six inside the 20-yard line. Finally, the main returners for the Fighting Muskies are a pair of sophomore wide receivers, in Travis Roberson (4 kick returns, 75 yards; 2 punt returns, -9 yards) and Travanti Keitt (3 kick returns, 55 yards; 1 punt return, 13 yards).

All in all, John Carroll seeks a return to its winning ways, while Muskingum comes into University Heights with a considerable amount of talent, aiming to build onto their team's best start in 10 years. The Blue Streaks understand the task at hand, and know what they need to do in order to achieve their goal of going 1-0 this week.

"We've just got to go back to fighting for every inch, execution, and making sure that we play smart football," Finotti said.
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