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Bulldogs Begin 2007 Campaign At Home
Complete Release in PDF Format
Aug. 29, 2007
HOME STAND: Butler will play four of its first five 2007 football games at home, beginning with a non-league test this weekend. The Bulldogs will kickoff the college football season against visiting Albion at the Butler Bowl on Saturday, Sept. 1, at 1 p.m. (ET). The game will be the first of four consecutive non-league contests for the Bulldogs. Butler will enter its second season under head coach Jeff Voris and will be looking to build on last year's 3-8 finish. The three wins matched Butler's victory total for the previous three years combined, and the Bulldogs' two Pioneer Football League wins doubled the team's league victory total of the previous three seasons! Voris has 39 letterwinners returning from last season, including 15 players who started more than half of Butler's 2006 games. Albion, coming off a 5-5 campaign, owns three straight wins over the Bulldogs, including a 31-10 decision in last year's season-opener in Michigan. The Bulldogs are looking for their first victory in a season-opener since 2002. Butler had three wins in the Butler Bowl last season. VETERAN LEADERSHIP: A year ago, Butler honored 12 senior players at the final home game of the season. This year's ceremony should take twice as long. Head coach Jeff Voris has 24 seniors on his 100+ player roster, and 11 of those fourth-year players are expected to be in Butler's starting lineup against Albion. Five of Butler's seniors - wide receiver Nate Miller, offensive guard Jeff Kincaid, linebacker Mike Marzotto and safeties Alex Davis and Dale Murzyn - each will be making a third consecutive start against the Britons. Butler's senior class includes eight three-year lettermen and eight two-year letterwinners. The Butler seniors are seeking their first win over Albion.
AIR SUPPLY: A year ago, the Bulldogs gained 221 of their 243 total offense yards at Albion via the pass. Senior T. J. Brown was one of two Butler quarterbacks who split time in that game, and he completed nine of 16 passes for 135 yards. He was on the field for both of Butler's scoring drives against the Britons, and he started the first drive with a 42-yard pass to wide receiver Nate Miller. Brown went on to start nine games for the Bulldogs, and he finished the year with 1,572 passing yards, a .506 completion percentage and 10 touchdown passes. T. J. Brown is one of just 11 Butler quarterbacks to pass for more than 1,500 yards in a season. ALL-LEAGUE: Four of Butler's returning players earned All-Pioneer Football League honors last year. Senior defensive end Chris Marzotto was Butler's lone first team All-PFL pick a year ago, while his bother, senior linebacker Mike Marzotto, received second team all-league recognition. Senior wide receiver Nate Miller and junior placekicker Jordan Quiroz each earned honorable mention on the 2006 All-PFL team. FAMILY AFFAIR: Butler boasts two of the top defensive performers in the Pioneer Football League, and they share more than a last name. Brothers Chris and Mike Marzotto both have earned All-PFL recognition for two straight years, and both have received Butler's top defensive award. Chris, a defensive end, was named Butler's Defensive MVP in 2005, while Mike, a linebacker, received the team's Defensive MVP award last season. Mike, who has 200 career tackles, is the top returning tackler in the league. He finished third in the circuit with 91 tackles a year ago. Chris, boasting 107 career tackles, is second among league returnees in tackles with loss after recording 12.5 last year. He boasts 20 career tackles for loss and 10 career quarterback sacks. CATCH THIS: Head coach Jeff Voris has six of his top seven pass receivers back from last season, led by top pass catcher Nate Miller. A senior wide receiver, Miller caught 52 passes for 551 yards and five touchdowns in 2006. He ranked second in the PFL in total receptions, and he tied the seventh-highest single season total for receptions in Butler football history. Miller had three catches for 70 yards against Albion a year ago. Also back for the Bulldogs are junior Dan Bohrer, senior Derek North, senior Tom Mulvihill, junior Eric Notestine and senior Aaron Shaw. Bohrer tied for second on the team with 33 catches last year, while North was fourth with 23. Mulvihill added 18 receptions, Notestine had 11 and Shaw finished with eight. RUN DOWN: The Bulldogs lost leading rusher Brian Holthaus to graduation, but head coach Jeff Voris won't have a shortage of candidates for the top running back spot. Senior Derek North was Butler's second-leading rusher a year ago, and he has 33 career games under his belt. Sophomore Ricky Trujillo earned a varsity letter as a defensive back a year ago, but he's making the switch to running back this season. And Voris added Ball State transfer Scott Gray, a former all-state running back at state champ Lowell High School in 2005. Derek North scored Butler's first 2006 touchdown on a six-yard run at Albion. BULLDOG BITS: •The NCAA has dropped the use of the football labels I-A and I-AA. Beginning this season, Division I football programs will be classified either as Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) or Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Programs that compete in the postseason bowl system are now FBS, while schools that compete in the NCAA Championship are FCS. Butler is classified FCS. •The Bulldogs have selected seniors Chris Marzotto and Greg Pachacz as captains for the 2007 season. Marzotto started all 11 Butler games at defensive end last season, while Pachacz started all 11 contests at fullback. •Junior linebacker Michael Bennett tied his career-high with nine tackles at Albion last year. A year earlier, Bennett was named Butler's Special Teams Player of the Game for his performance against the Britons. •Junior Jordan Quiroz, who led the Bulldogs in scoring last season, tallied his first points of 2006 on a 24-yard field goal at Albion. Quiroz went on to hit nine of 13 field goal attempts on the season, and he finished with a team-high 44 points. •Senior safety Alex Davis led the Bulldogs in pass interceptions (4) and finished second on the team in tackles (71) in 2006. •Junior Dan Bohrer came up with his first collegiate pass reception at Albion last season. He finished the game with four catches for 44 yards. •Junior Rob Noel, who saw action as a defensive tackle at Albion last year, will be starting at offensive guard against the Britons this year. Noel started Butler's final seven games last year as an offensive lineman. •Head coach Jeff Voris has added three new assistant coaches to his staff this season. Nick Anderson, a former assistant coach at Manual High School in Indianapolis, has been named cornerbacks coach for the Bulldogs, while Geoff Roell, a running backs coach in the Perry Township school district, has taken over as running backs coach. Danny Sears, a former standout wide receiver at Franklin College, has been named wide receivers coach for the Bulldogs. •The preseason poll of Pioneer Football League coaches tabbed Butler seventh in this year's race. A year ago, the Bulldogs were picked eighth in the preseason poll, but wound up finishing in a tie for fifth in the final league standings. |
