WILMINGTON, Ohio – The Wilmington College football team opens the 2021 fall season at home against Southern Virginia University on Saturday afternoon. Kickoff from Townsend Field is slated for 1:30 p.m.
The Teams: Wilmington and Southern Virginia (SVU). The Fightin' Quakers begin the traditional season in the fall looking to improve upon a 2-3 record in the abbreviated 2021 spring season (which replaced the 2020 fall season) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Knights also competed in a shortened season in the spring, winning 1-of-4 contests.
The Coaches: Bryan Moore, a 1999 graduate of Hiram College, begins his fifth season leading Wilmington's football program. Moore began instilling his vision on the program having brought in three large freshman classes, and that has paid off on the field with multiple victories each of the last two seasons. Previously, Moore spent time at both Bluffton University and Heidelberg. Edwin Mulitalo is in his third season as the head coach at Southern Virginia. A 10-year veteran of the NFL, he played collegiately at the University of Arizona and won a super bowl with the Baltimore Ravens during the 2000-01 season.
The Offenses: Wilmington returns two All-Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) wide receivers in Itika Wynn Jr. and Ace Taylor as well as 4-of-5 starters on the offensive line in Dylan Fawley, Dylan Gau, Ben Petrey and Caleb Deaver. Wynn Jr. and Taylor combined for 53 receptions and six touchdowns while the offensive line was named to the D3football.com Team of the Week once last season. The Quakers will need to replace three-year starting quarterback Kyle Barrett and establish a more consistent running game from a season ago. For Southern Virginia, Davis Pinkston threw for 161 yards per game during his junior season and Cade Nelson averaged 76 yards on the ground with one touchdown.
The Defenses: The Quakers return the majority of a much-improved defense unit in the spring of 2021. Wilmington, under the guidance of reigning OAC Assistant Coach of the Year Corey Fillipovich, improved in nearly every statistical category including most notably: points allowed (41.4 to 27.6), yards allowed (438 to 309) and rushing yards allowed (197 to 86). All-OAC selections Tavion Bryant (a D3football.com All-American and the OAC's Gene Slaughter Award winner), Tre'Quez Parks, Brandon Weaver, Xzerious Stinnett and Jarod Lee all look for big seasons after garnering All-OAC recognition last season. Jason Siaosi tallied 42 tackles with a forced fumble for the Knights' defense while Justin Mitchell had two interceptions.
Tale of the Tape (Spring 2021): Points per game – Wilmington 17.6, SVU 17.5, points per game allowed – Wilmington 27.6, SVU 30.5, yards per game – Wilmington 379.0, SVU 274.8, yards per game allowed – Wilmington 308.8, SVU 363.5, passing yards per game – Wilmington 281.0, MSVU 164.5, passing yards per game allowed – Wilmington 223.3, SVU 222.3, rushing yards per game – Wilmington 98.0, SVU 110.3, rushing yards per game allowed – Wilmington 85.8, SVU141.3.
Series History: Wilmington has not played Southern Virginia since becoming an NCAA Division III member in the early 1990s.
Coverage: Live statistics and live video of the game will be available – visit the links above.
Social Media: Follow Wilmington athletics on social media! The Fightin' Quakers have a presence on Facebook (Wilmington College Athletics) as well as Twitter and Instagram (@DubCQuakers).
Up Next: The Quakers open OAC play at Heidelberg University next Saturday.
