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Butler Begins Road Stretch At No. 2-Ranked Drake
Oct. 4, 2007
Complete Release in PDF Format
TRAVELING BAND: Butler, coming off a three-game homestand, will begin a three-game road stretch in Des Moines, Iowa, against Pioneer Football League power Drake on Saturday, Oct. 6. The two PFL teams sharing the same nickname will square off in Drake's Homecoming game at Drake Stadium at 1 p.m. (CT, 2 p.m. ET). Drake began PFL play at home last weekend with a 48-20 victory over Valparaiso. It was Drake's 10th win in its last 13 PFL home games. First-year head coach Steven Loney has guided Drake to a 4-1 start, including a victory over No. 7-ranked Illinois State. Drake's lone setback came at the hands of Northern Iowa, a full-scholarship program. Butler dropped its PFL-opener at home to two-time defending Mid-Major national champ San Diego, 56-9. The unbeaten Toreros jumped to a 21-0 lead in the game, while rolling up their 16th straight PFL win. San Diego was ranked No. 1 in last week's NCAA Mid-Major national poll; Drake is ranked No. 2 in the same poll this week. Butler is looking for its first win in Drake Stadium since 1994. AIR QUALITY: San Diego, led by PFL Offensive Player of the Year Josh Johnson, unleashed a potent passing attack at Butler's Homecoming contest last weekend. Johnson passed for 406 yards and six touchdowns and ran for a seventh score to secure San Diego's fourth win of the season. The Toreros' quarterback tossed two touchdown passes in the first six minutes of the game, and he added three more scoring passes before halftime. San Diego finished with 621 yards in total offense, which was just 61 yards less than Butler's previous three opponents combined!
RUSH HOUR: Sophomore Scott Gray was given his first collegiate start in Butler's Homecoming game against San Diego, and he responded with a career-high 130 rushing yards on 29 carries. His total was the most by a Butler player since 2005, when Billy Nardini rushed for 140 yards against Jacksonville. Gray, who was starting in place of injured senior Derek North, had 80 yards in the first half against the Toreros and then added 50 yards in the second half. His 29 carries also were a career-high. A week earlier, Gray came off the bench against Missouri-Rolla and rushed for 97 yards on 20 carries. Scott Gray leads the PFL in scoring with 11 touchdowns. HIT MAN: Sophomore linebacker Derek Guggenberger recorded Butler's second double-figures total in tackles with five solo stops and five assists against San Diego. His 10 total tackles, which included one tackle for loss, led both teams. Guggenberger, a reserve linebacker, also owns Butler's other double-figures total for tackles this season with a career-high 11 stops against Hanover. He leads the Bulldogs and is tied for sixth in the PFL in total tackles with 35 through five games. He also leads the team in tackles for loss (5). Guggenberger has come off the bench to lead the Bulldogs in tackles in three of the first five games. RESERVE FUEL: Sophomore quarterback Matt Kobli directed Butler on its lone touchdown march against San Diego. The second-year signal caller entered the game in the fourth quarter and led Butler on a 78-yard drive in 14 plays and then finished the drive with a six-yard touchdown run, the first touchdown of his career. Kobli completed all four passes he attempted in the game for 27 yards, and he added 13 rushing yards on four carries. The Butler scoring drive consumed 8:18 off the clock. Matt Kobli has completed all five passes he's attempted in a Butler uniform. CONTROL CENTER: Despite the one-sided score, the Bulldogs had nearly a 10-minute advantage in possession time against San Diego. Butler controlled the ball for 34:54 in the contest, while San Diego had the ball for 25:06. The Bulldogs have had an advantage in possession time in each of their first five games this season. Butler leads the PFL in time of possession (34:43) through five games. RED ZONE: The Bulldogs continue to lead the PFL in "Red Zone" defense after five games. Butler's opponents have reached the "Red Zone" (inside the Butler 20-yard line) nine times in the first five games and have scored four times (44%). The Bulldogs are the only team in the PFL holding their opponents below 50% in the Red Zone. Butler also leads the PFL in Red Zone offense with 20 scores in 24 attempts (83%). IMPACT PERFORMERS: Running back Scott Gray ranks second in the PFL in "Impact Rushing" and wide receiver Tom Mulvihill ranks fifth in "Impact Receiving". Impact plays are defined as plays resulting in a touchdown or a first down. Gray has had 22 impact rushes out of 48 plays (45.83%), while Mulvihill has six impact catches out of eight receptions (75%). Senior Nate Miller is tenth in impact receiving with 11 impact catches out of 16 receptions (68.75%). FOURTH DOWN: Butler is tied with Dayton for the league lead in converting fourth downs. Both squads have been successful on six of eight fourth down attempts (75%). BULLDOG BITS: •Quarterback T. J. Brown needs 133 passing yards to catch Eli Stoddard (1994-97) in 10th place on Butler's all-time passing list. Brown has thrown for 2,862 yards during his Butler career. He currently ranks fifth in the PFL in passing average (157.4 ypg). •Junior Jordan Quiroz scored Butler's first points against San Diego with a 36-yard field goal. It was his fifth field goal this season and the 17th of his career. Quiroz is tied for third in the PFL in field goals (1.00 pg). •Senior punter Mike Morgan dropped two of his seven punts against San Diego inside the visitors' 20-yard line, including one that stopped on the one-yard line. Morgan has 11 punts inside the 20-yard line this year. •Linebacker Mike Marzotto, who sat out the Missouri-Rolla game with a sprained ankle, returned to Butler's lineup against San Diego and recorded four tackles. Marzotto is the PFL's active leader in career tackles (217). He led Butler with seven tackles against Drake last year. •Running back Derek North missed Butler's game against San Diego because of a shoulder injury. North leads the Bulldogs and ranks fourth in the PFL in rushing (82.5 ypg). He's expected back for the Drake game. •Defensive back Mark Kwiatkowski has chalked up 15 tackles in Butler's past two games. He had a career-high eight stops against Missouri-Rolla and then finished second on the team with seven tackles against San Diego. •Freshman Tadd Dombart continues to lead the PFL in pass interceptions with three. He also leads the league in punt returns (15.2 ypr), and he's tied for fifth in the league in passes defended (5). •Butler leads the PFL in team punt return average (13.5). •Sophomore Spencer Summerville ranks second in the PFL in kick return average. Summerville has returned five kickoffs for 167 yards (33.4 ypr). •Butler ranks second in the PFL in quarterback sacks with 18. Sophomore Derek Guggenberger and freshman Cody Bearden share the team lead with three sacks apiece. •Junior cornerback Ryan Schmidtz came up with two pass interceptions in Butler's game against Drake last year. |
