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Tim Phillis, News Herald

Week 8 Football Preview: Blue Streaks Set to Celebrate Huge Senior Class vs. Wilmington

| By: Luke Potosky, Senior Staff Writer
The Blue Streaks are blessed to have a host of great seniors. 
UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio -- This Saturday, the No. 22/25 John Carroll Blue Streaks (5-2, 3-1 OAC) host the Wilmington Fightin' Quakers (0-7, 0-6 OAC) in an Ohio Athletic Conference contest on Senior Day in University Heights, Ohio.

This year's senior festivities, however, have somewhat different circumstances than previous years. 

"We're going to have 35 guys out there with their parents, and that's always an emotional thing," said Head Coach Rick Finotti. "It's my first recruiting class. I've been so honored to coach these fifth-year guys and the group of fourth-year seniors; I'm going to miss those guys, but I'm so excited for their futures."

The last time Wilmington and John Carroll Football squared off ended up being a runaway 42-0 win for the Blue & Gold in 2019 when many of the soon-to-be graduating seniors' careers were blossoming.

For this season, JCU's only blemishes on their schedule are two quality losses to two top 15 teams in the country; Washington & Jefferson and Mount Union. Besides that, they have won every other game on their schedule by at least one score; most recently a nail-biting 19-10 victory over Marietta.

Despite the important win over the Pioneers last week, the Blue Streaks dropped to No. 25 in the D3Football.com Top 25 Poll and stayed at No. 22 in the AFCA Coaches Poll.

Heading into Saturday, John Carroll has won each of its last ten matchups against the Fightin' Quakers and has had some incredible offensive performances under Coach Finotti.

In the last three matchups against Wilmington, the Blue & Gold have amassed 1648 total yards of offense, including 1049 rushing yards.

For the Fightin' Quakers, they continue to search for their first win this season. They nearly opened the season with a win but fell to Southern Virginia 41-34. Last week against Baldwin Wallace, they fell behind early and dropped a 41-7 contest to the Yellow Jackets.

JOHN CARROLL OFFENSE vs. WILMINGTON DEFENSE
In Week 7, the John Carroll offense struggled against a stout Marietta defense front seven and was held to a season-low in rushing yards. With that in mind, Coach Finotti emphasized that the goal this week was to test the leadership of the offense and be able to execute at a higher efficiency.

In his final home game at the helm, starting quarterback Jake Floriea has completed 131 of his 210 passing attempts for 1,614 yards and 10 touchdowns. However, Floriea and the entire offense would not be as successful without the protection from the offensive line which features Blake Herideen, Luke Gibbons, Anthony Bonacci, Anthony Amata, John Kidner, and Nathan Westrich. Coach Finotti had high praise for the fifth-year seniors in Floriea, Herideen, Amata, and Westrich; saying that they have done so much and battled for the football program.

This year, John Carroll's rushing attack has evolved from a dynamic duo into a terrific trio. Senior Demerius Goodwin (116 carries, 582 yards, six TDs; six receptions, 42 yards) is the main workhorse back. In terms of the number two back, the duties are split between junior Matthew Buser (46 carries, 270 yards, three TDs; seven receptions, 46 yards) and emerging freshman Evan McVay (39 carries, 306 yards, two TDs; ten receptions, 59 yards).

The Blue Streaks' receiving corps is anchored by a rising star in junior Brennan Fugh, who leads the team in receptions (36), receiving yards (718), and receiving touchdowns (six). He is complemented by many other receivers, including seniors Keyshawn Colmon (16 receptions, 192 yards) and Devin Limerick (22 receptions, 165 yards, one TD), as well as tight end Tadas Tatarunas (12 receptions, 116 yards).

The Wilmington defense continues to look to find its groove and hopes to stymie some of the balance the JCU offense possesses. It may be a tough task, however, as they haven't held the Blue & Gold to under 38 points since 2009.

The Fightin' Quakers defense starts with their three-man front in Brandon Lemley (seven tackles, 1.5 sacks, one fumble recovery), Perry Gardiner (14 tackles), and Brandon Weaver (17 tackles, 2.5 TFLs, one forced fumble).

Jake Sheriff (22 tackles, two TFLs), Tavion Bryant (21 tackles, 3.5 TFLs, one forced fumble), and Jarod Lee (45 tackles, two sacks, one fumble recovery) all lead the linebacking corps. Lee, a freshman, ranks second on the team in tackles.

The Wilmington secondary features four or five defensive backs at a time. Xzerious Stinnett (29 tackles, 1.5 TFLs, one forced fumble), Jalaun Covington (15 tackles, five pass breakups), Quentin Davis (18 tackles, two interceptions, one forced fumble), and Austin Aiello (16 tackles, two TFLs) are all active in the defensive secondary. But perhaps nobody is more active than Tre'Quez Parks (58 tackles, 2.5 TFLs) who tallied a career-high 20 tackles in last week's loss to Baldwin Wallace.

WILMINGTON OFFENSE vs. JOHN CARROLL DEFENSE
Last week, it was the Blue Streak defense who made plays when they needed to preserve a win over Marietta. From a pick-six to the persistent wreaking of havoc in the backfield, the JCU defense will look to sustain their solid form from last week and continue to improve.

The JCU defense starts with defensive ends Ross Valenti (21 tackles, six TFLs, 3.5 sacks) and Bricker Thiel (19 tackles, 8.5 TFLs, 6.5 sacks, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries). Thiel has burst onto the scene in recent weeks, totaling an impressive 7.5 TFLs, 5.5 sacks, and three fumble forces/recoveries in just the last two games alone. Rotating in has been Jack Burton (11 tackles, 2.5 TFLs) and veteran Harrison Richardson. The interior defensive line has seen a solid and steady rotation of Ben Grafton (nine tackles), Nick Costanzo (12 tackles, 1.5 TFLs, one fumble recovery), and Daniel Garcar (20 tackles, three TFLs, two sacks).

Senior linebackers Hunter Orlando (38 total tackles, two TFLs) and Luke Brown (38 total tackles, three TFLs, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries) continue to lead the very experienced linebacking group. Fifth-year athletes Tyshawn Jones (team-high 50 tackles, two TFLs, two fumble recoveries, one interception) Brian Robinson (13 tackles, 1.5 TFLs), and Tyler Thimons (16 tackles) will be heavily featured as well. Jones returned an interception for a touchdown in the final two minutes of the game last week against Marietta to help secure a win.

The Blue & Gold's secondary features the likes of Alec Wallace (12 tackles, one INT, one forced fumble), Jake Bunofsky (20 tackles, two TFLs, one INT), Josh McLean (21 tackles, three pass breakups), and sophomore Elijah Chungu (13 tackles, six pass breakups). 

But leading the unit as defensive captain is Nate Leopold (26 tackles, two TFLs, two interceptions), who plays his final home game as a Blue Streak along with Wallace and Bunofsky. 

"Nate has been a starter since he stepped foot on campus," Finotti said. "Whenever he wasn't able to practice, you could tell his presence was missed. He's really helped us mold this defense, and I'm so proud to have coached him."

On the other side of the ball, the fast Fightin' Quaker offense is led by sophomore Derek Larimer (115-191, six touchdowns, one rushing touchdown). Larimer made a splash in his college debut against Southern Virginia, throwing for 366 yards and two touchdowns. His offensive line features Dylan Fawley, Ben Petry, Riley Hubbard, Caleb Deaver, and Dylan Gau.

Wilmington's running attack will see carries from multiple backs, including Ben Hobbs (44 carries, 190 yards, two touchdowns) and Dallas Rawlings (51 carries, 197 yards). Rawlings averaged 13 yards per carry against Baldwin Wallace last week and looks to carry that momentum into the matchup with the Men of Mayhem.

Finally, perhaps the Fightin' Quakers' biggest strength on offense is their receiving core. Itika Wynn Jr. (31 receptions, 368 yards, two touchdowns) leads the fast bunch, followed behind by Ace Taylor (17 catches, 168 yards, one touchdown), Ameer Jackson (12 receptions, 153 yards), and Jamaun Clark (12 catches, 131 yards, one touchdown). Wynn is approaching the 2,000-yard career mark for receiving, sitting at 1,915 yards going into this matchup.

SPECIAL TEAMS
Finally, in terms of special teams, JCU senior punter Andy Han (26 punts, 918 yards, five inside the 20) and graduate student kicker Grant Gonya (7-13 FG (47 long), 21-21 XP; 34 kickoffs, 1,987 yards, 13 touchbacks) lead the punting and kicking units. Gonya drilled two field goals, including his season-best from 47 yards out last week to help secure the win.

In the return game, look for JJ Olivera (six kick returns, 96 yards) and Nate Leopold (seven punt returns, 74 yards) to lead the way for the Blue Streaks. Last week, however, it was the heroics of Devin Limerick (two kick returns, 120 yards, one touchdown) who returned a kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown to heavily swing momentum in favor of John Carroll.

For the Fightin' Quakers, Gabe Dolen (2-2 FG) leads the kicking unit, and Aaron Pardo is the punter (31 punts, 978 yards, four inside the 20). Leading the return game for Wilmington will be Ameer Jackson (17 kick returns, 411 yards, one touchdown) and Grant Foushee (two punt returns, 15 yards).

Coach Finotti captured the scene of today's game the best. 

"There has been a lot of time, sweat, and tears put into this place for these seniors. Today, there will be a lot of emotion, especially being at a place like John Carroll, Don Shula Stadium, and under the legacy of John Carroll Football. They (seniors) are going to have to fight that emotion back a little bit and hopefully use it in a positive way."
 
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