When the Wilmington College football travels to Marietta 6 p.m. Saturday, it will result in an interesting match-up.
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The game will pit the league's worst rushing offense (Marietta) against the league's second-worst rushing defense. The Pioneers are averaging just 117.7 yards per game, while WC is allowing 219.7 yards. The numbers can be a little skewed as Wilmington faced the league's best rushing offense (Capital), while MC played against the league's best rushing defense (Mount Union) already this season.
"Marietta is a program that is going through some rebuilding, like we are," said Wilmington head coach Stacey Hairston. "They do a lot on offense to get you out-leveraged with a lot of different shifts and motions to gain an advantage. They do a lot offensively that you have to prepare for."
Marietta features a two-headed monster at running back in freshmen Nick O'Neal and Masai McDaniel. They present different problems as leading rusher, O'Neal, is listed at 252 pounds, while McDaniel weighs just 180.
The Fightin' Quakers can expect a heavy dose of the running game, especially after yielding 189 yards to Otterbein last week.
"Otterbein had a good game plan and we didn't do a good of getting off blocks," said Hairston. "When they have 5 for 5, that's not a huge issue unless you can't get off blocks. Somebody has to win somewhere, so I assume we are going to see a similar game plan."
O'Neal has 155 yards on 38 carries with one touchdown, and McDaniel has gained 128 yards on 36 attempts.
When the Pioneers attack through the air, junior quarterback Lucas Havens is completing just 47.5 percent (29-of-61) of his passes with one touchdown and three interceptions. Senior Tannon Roberts is his favorite target with 10 receptions for 132 yards, while senior Josh Llaneza has eight catches for 104 yards.
Wilmington will face an aggressive defense that "flies around" and is third in the league in passing defense. Not exactly a remedy for a passing offense looking to find its way.
Sophomore Austin Jarbo (Gratis, OH/Preble Shawnee) has improved his completion percentage in every game, but the overall results aren't where Hairston believes they can be. He is completing 58.1 percent (36 of 62) of his passes for 381 yards, five touchdowns and three picks.
Forty-one percent of his completions went to junior Justin Lee (Middletown, OH/Madison), who has 18 catches for 213 yards and three touchdowns. The lack of production from All-American Jeremy Duncan (Cincinnati, OH/Archbishop Moeller) is a concern. He has seven receptions on the season, three of them coming from back-up quarterback Brandon Mitchell (Pittsburgh, PA/Fox Chapel) in the fourth quarter of the Capital game.
"Offensively, we have to be more effective throwing the ball, and at the same time continue running the ball," said Hairston. "That was a big issue after the (Otterbein) game and it was something addressed with the coaching staff. Our goal is to make sure (we are balanced offensively), if not, it could be a long day."
On the bright side for Wilmington is the play of sophomore Chase Manica (Shelbyville, KY/Shelby County) and the running game. Manica has eclipsed the 100-yard plateau in the last two games, and the team is 20 yards shy of the 2013 total. Wilmington gained just 662 yards on the ground, and has 642 yards through three games.
No matter the surrounding circumstances in the game, Hairston conveys one message.
"This isn't about Marietta; it's about us," said the second-year coach. "We have the talent and we know we can play, but the problem is we haven't done it yet. And we haven't done it consistently for four quarters. It's not about what other teams do; it's about what we do. Our biggest enemy has been ourselves, so once we get that corrected I can be more worried about what we need to do to stop other teams."