SID: NORTHERN MICHIGAN SPORTS INFORMATION David Faiella Office Phone: 906-227-1013 E-mail: dfaiella@nmu.edu FOOTBALL NEWS Sept. 17, 2009 NORTHERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY 2009 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE Overall: 1-1 - GLIAC: 1-1 Sept. 5 at Northwood L/21-23 Sept. 12 Tiffin W/62-0 Fall Sports Kickoff Sept. 19 at Michigan Tech 1 p.m. Sept. 26 Ferris State 4 p.m. Homecoming Oct. 3 at Saginaw Valley State 12 p.m. Oct. 10 Wayne State 1 p.m. Oct. 17 Hillsdale 1 p.m. Family Weekend/Band Day Oct. 24 at Findlay 12 p.m. Oct. 31 at Grand Valley State 7 p.m. Nov. 7 Indianapolis 1 p.m. Senior Day The Game The Northern Michigan University Wildcats (1-1, 1-1 GLIAC) stays in the U.P. to take on the Michigan Tech Huskies (0-2, 0-2 GLIAC) in Houghton. Last week the 'Cats defeated Tiffin (62-0) in the NMU home opener. MTU lost on the road to Ashland (34-28). On the Air The Point (100.3 FM) will carry the 'Cats all season long. The games are also available over the internet at www.nmu.edu/ SportsAthletics/, go to the For 'Cat Fans link and follow the directions for WNMU. Ryan Beckman will bring you the action. All home games are available live via B2 by following the link http://webb.nmu.edu/sportsathletics/ (Watch the Game Live). The Coaches Bernie Anderson is in his fourth season at NMU as he is 11-21 with the Wildcats. He spent 19 seasons as the head coach at Michigan Tech where he was 93-96. Anderson's overall collegiate record now stands at 104-117. He won his 100th career game with a 27-23 win at Gannon on Nov. 3, 2007. Tom Kearly is in his fourth season at MTU, he took over the reins for Anderson when he moved to NMU. Kearly is 20-12 at MTU. 1401 Presque Isle Avenue Marquette, MI 49855 FAX: 906-227-2492 Internet: www.nmu.edu/sportsathletics/ The Series NMU leads the all-time series against the Huskies with a 40-37-5 slate. The 'Cats have only won once in the past five meetings. The win was a 34-27 decision in Marquette during the 2007 season. Last year in Marquette the Huskies took the game 47-21. NMU's last trip to Houghton was in 2006 as the 'Cats were on the losing end of a 42-14 score. Looking at Michigan Tech MTU has dropped its first two games of the year to open the season. The Huskies are averaging over 395 yards a game in total offense (395.5 yards), defensively they are giving up 467.5 yards an outing. MTU is averaging 154 yards on the ground per outing and 241.5 passing. On the other side of the ball MTU is giving up 152 yards a game rushing and 315.5 yards passing a game. Phil Milbrath leads the Huskies on the ground with 208 yards on 41 carries and he has three of the six rushing touchdowns. Steve Short has been under center the first two games for MTU as he has passed for 483 yards on 42-75-0 with three touchdowns. Two Huskies have hauled in 10 or more passes on the season. Bobby Slowik leads the way with 14 catches for 233 yards as he has two touchdowns. Steve Worthy has 11 catches for 81 yards. Mike Rittenour and David Carmody each have 19 total tackles to lead the Huskies. Rittenour has nine solo and 10 assisted tackles while Carmody has 12 solo and seven assisted. A Look at the NMU Offense The 'Cats are averaging 453.0 yards a game on 906 yards of total offense. On the ground NMU has gained 596 yards on the ground (298.0 yards per game) and 310 yards passing (155.0 yards per game). Antonio Wallace leads the 'Cats on the ground with 152 yards on 14 carries. He has scored four of the nine rushing touchdowns on the season. Brandon Smith is second on the list with 132 yards on 17 carries. Carter Kopach has thrown for 254 yards on 17-30-1. He has thrown two touchdowns. Zach Nichols has been the favorite target with six catches for 93 yards. Blake Crider and Brian Mitz each have a touchdown catch. The Kicking Game Garrett Peck has six punts on the season for 265 yards (42.7 avg). Jon Laue is averaging 61.4 yards a kickoff as he has kicked off 13 times for 798 yards. Rockne Belmonte has yet to connect for a field goal. He has one attempt on the season for 37 yards against Northwood in the first game. Belmonte has made 10 of his 11 extra points. 1
Special Teams Wallace and Joe Nowicki each have three punt returns to lead the team. Wallace has 103 yards and a touchdown. Brandon Smith has four kickoff returns for 109 yards (27.2 avg). A Look at the NMU Defense Nathan Yelk leads the 'Cats with 16 total tackles (12 solo and four assisted). Two other players have 11 total tackles on the season as they are John Blessing (six solo and five assisted) and Zach Gauthier (seven solo and four assisted). Rickey Neaves has a team-high two-and-a-half tackles for loss while Blessing and Cedric Douglas each have a sack. coach with the shutout over Tiffin NMU scored the first four times it had the ball against Tiffin and five of its first six possessions The NMU defense held Tiffin to three first downs Next Week NMU will host Ferris State next week (Sept. 26) for Homecoming. Road Woes NMU has won only once away from Marquette over the past two plus seasons. The only win was a 27-23 decision over Gannon in Erie, Pa. (Nov. 3, 2007). With the loss to Northwood to open up the season the 'Cats are now 1-10 in the past 11 games away from Marquette. Shutout The shutout of Tiffin was the first for the 'Cats since a 24-0 decision over MTU during the 2000 season. It was also the most points a NMU tam has scored in the Superior Dome since a 58-0 win over St. Francis in 1998. Wallace Wallace took the first punt of the game and returned it for an 82- yard return. It was the first punt return for a touchdown for the 'Cats since 1997. Wallace has scored 30 of NMU's 83 points on the season. He has a team-high five touchdowns. The Miner s Cup The Miner s Cup was created in 2002 through the efforts of Northern Michigan University and Michigan Tech University and its respective ROTC units to give to the winner of the NMU- MTU football game each year. The trophy itself is an authentic miner s helmet, which was found at a Houghton area antique store, mounted on a wooden base. The home team has won the trophy five of the seven games. Results: 2002 at MTU 34, NMU 13 2003 at NMU 35, MTU 24 2004 at MTU 45, NMU 6 2005 MTU 42, at NMU 21 2006 at MTU 42, NMU 14 2007 at NMU 34, MTU 27 2008 MTU 47 at NMU 21 This and That Smith had a career day against Tiffin with 91 yards on seven carries NMU leads the GLIAC in scoring offense (41.5 avg), scoring defense (11.5 avg), total defense (196.0 avg/g), rushing offense (298.0 yards/g), pass defense (81.5 avg/g) and penalties (9.5 avg/ g) Wallace is sixth in the GLIAC in rushing (76.0 avg/g) and leads the conference in scoring (15.0 pts/g) and touchdowns (5) Smith leads the conference in kick return average (27.2 avg) Bernie Anderson recorded his first shutout as the NMU head 2 GLIAC Standings Through games of Sept. 12 GLIAC Overall W L Pct. W L Pct. Findlay 2 0 1.000 3 0 1.000 Grand Valley State 2 0 1.000 3 0 1.000 Northwood 2 0 1.000 2 0 1.000 Ashland 2 0 1.000 2 1.500 Hillsdale 1 1.500 2 1.667 Saginaw Valley State 1 1.500 2 1.667 Wayne State 1 1.500 2 1.667 Northern Michigan 1 1.500 1 1.500 Ferris State 0 2.000 1 2.333 Indianapolis 0 2.000 1 2.333 Michigan Tech 0 2.000 0 2.000 Tiffin 0 2.000 0 3.000 LAST WEEK'S RESULTS Saturday, Sept. 12 at Findlay 43, Ferris State 7* at Northwood 23, Hillsdale 21* at Ashland 34, Michigan Tech 28* at Northern Michigan 62, Tiffin 0* Wayne State 27 at Indianapolis 23* *- GLIAC Game THIS WEEK'S GAMES Saturday, Sept. 19 Northwood at Saginaw Valley State, 12 p.m.* Findlay at Wayne State, 12 p.m.* Northern Michigan at Michigan Tech, 1 p.m.* Ashland at Tiffin, 1:30 p.m.* Grand Valley State at Ferris State, 7 p.m.* Indianapolis at Hillsdale, 7 p.m.* *- GLIAC Game
NORTHERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY DEFENSIVE DEPTH CHART 49 55 Tackle Scott Avery 6-3, 248, Sr. Daniel Catalano 6-4, 260, Jr. Nose Guard Matt Forward 6-0, 290, So. 59 94 Zach Anderson 6-3, 280, Rfr. 98 91 Tackle Jacob Reimer 6-5, 260, Sr. Tony Propson 6-2, 265, So. 29 45 Defensive End John Blessing 6-1, 235, Jr. Cedric Douglas 6-0, 212, So. 13 52 Linebacker Zach Gauthier 5-11, 210, Sr. Edwin Knoblock 6-1, 230, So. Linebacker Nathan Yelk 5-10, 235, Sr. Josh Droese 6-0, 203, Rfr. 47 44 51 56 Defensive End Demitri Stewart 6-2, 195, Jr. Eric Wells 6-3, 210, Jr. 9 23 Corner Back Marcus Tribble 6-1, 185, So. Jacob Lehmann 5-10, 190, So. 6 43 Strong Safety Ricky Neaves 6-0, 213, Jr. Andrew Strobel 5-10, 185, Jr. 32 30 Free Safety Anthony Marietti 5-11, 190, So. Junior Michel 6-0, 180, Jr. Corner Back 31 28 DJ Oke 5-9, 185, Jr. Joe Nowicki 5-8, 170, So. MT SPECIAL TEAMS 15 Placekicker Jon Laue 5-11, 195, Sr. 99 Snapper Punter Garrett Peck 6-4, 210, So. Holder Justin Merckx Tyler Schrauben 12 6-1, 200, Sr. 80 6-0, 200, Sr. 3
NORTHERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY OFFENSIVE DEPTH CHART 74 73 Left Tackle Left Guard Center Jace Daniels Jason Dumont 6-4, 285, Fr. 79 6-3, 310, Jr. 70 Chad Pepper Jonathan Kraai 6-7, 315, So. 64 6-3, 310, So. 76 Jack Rustman 6-3, 310, Sr. Brett Angel 6-0, 250, Jr. Right Guard Nicholas Owens 61 6-2, 300, Sr. Andy Vasquez 6-2, 278, Jr. 62 68 78 Right Tackle Jonathan Otto 6-3, 295, Sr. Jordan Mancl 6-4, 275, Rfr. 87 80 Wide Receiver Dustin Brancheau 6-0, 190, Jr. Tyler Schrauben 6-0, 200, Sr. 10 3 Quarterback Carter Kopach 6-2, 205, So. Ben Hempel 5-11, 185, Sr. 19 5 Tight End Blake Crider 6-5, 260, Jr. Craig Thompson 6-4, 235, So. 40 26 Full Back Brandon Reynolds 5-10, 270, So. Brennan VanEffen 6-2, 220, So. 21 20 Running Back Mark Bossuah 5-11, 203, Sr. Brandon Smith 5-11, 185, So. Wide Receiver 2 Zach Nichols 6-3, 215, Sr. Brian Mitz 83 6-2, 215, Jr. MT SPECIAL TEAMS 87 27 Punt Returners Kick Returners Dustin Brancheau Brandon Smtih 6-0, 190, Jr. 20 5-11, 185, So. Antonio Wallace 5-8, 187, Fr. 28 Joe Nowicki 5-8, 170, So. 4
Northern Michigan Overall Team Statistics (as of Sep 15, 2009) Team Statistics NM OPP SCORING 83 23 Points Per Game 41.5 11.5 FIRST DOWNS 47 19 Rushing 33 11 Passing 11 8 Penalty 3 0 RUSHING YARDAGE 596 229 Yards gained rushing 639 272 Yards lost rushing 43 43 Rushing Attempts 98 62 Average Per Rush 6.1 3.7 Average Per Game 298.0 114.5 TDs Rushing 9 0 PASSING YARDAGE 310 163 Comp-Att-Int 21-38-1 19-41-1 Average Per Pass 8.2 4.0 Average Per Catch 14.8 8.6 Average Per Game 155.0 81.5 TDs Passing 2 1 TOTAL OFFENSE 906 392 Total Plays 136 103 Average Per Play 6.7 3.8 Average Per Game 453.0 196.0 KICK RETURNS: #-Yards 5-124 14-261 PUNT RETURNS: #-Yards 7-143 4-81 INT RETURNS: #-Yards 1-0 1-52 KICK RETURN AVERAGE 24.8 18.6 PUNT RETURN AVERAGE 20.4 20.2 INT RETURN AVERAGE 0.0 52.0 FUMBLES-LOST 5-3 7-4 PENALTIES-Yards 4-19 7-47 Average Per Game 9.5 23.5 PUNTS-Yards 6-256 13-476 Average Per Punt 42.7 36.6 Net punt average 22.5 25.6 TIME OF POSSESSION/Game 33:13 26:47 3RD-DOWN Conversions 11/22 3/24 3rd-Down Pct 50% 12% 4TH-DOWN Conversions 1/4 1/3 4th-Down Pct 25% 33% SACKS BY-Yards 2-9 3-20 MISC YARDS 0 0 TOUCHDOWNS SCORED 12 2 FIELD GOALS-ATTEMPTS 0-1 3-4 ON-SIDE KICKS 0-0 0-0 RED-ZONE SCORES 8-10 80% 2-3 67% RED-ZONE TOUCHDOWNS 8-10 80% 0-3 0% PAT-ATTEMPTS 11-12 92% 2-2 100% ATTENDANCE 2835 2618 Games/Avg Per Game 1/2835 1/2618 Neutral Site Games 0/0 Score by Quarters 1st 2nd 3rd 4th OT Total Northern Michigan 27 21 14 21 0 83 Opponents 0 14 3 6 0 23 5
Northern Michigan Overall Individual Statistics (as of Sep 15, 2009) Rushing gp att gain loss net avg td lg avg/g Antonio Wallace 2 14 156 4 152 10.9 4 44 76.0 Brandon Smith 2 17 139 7 132 7.8 1 26 66.0 Mark Bossuah 2 27 137 6 131 4.9 3 18 65.5 Brennan VanEffen 1 15 69 1 68 4.5 1 11 68.0 Carter Kopach 2 11 81 20 61 5.5 0 41 30.5 Chris Bucalo 1 11 39 2 37 3.4 0 13 37.0 Zach Gauthier 2 1 14 0 14 14.0 0 14 7.0 Brandon Reynolds 2 1 4 0 4 4.0 0 4 2.0 Ben Hempel 1 1 0 3-3 -3.0 0 0-3.0 Total 2 98 639 43 596 6.1 9 44 298.0 Opponents 2 62 272 43 229 3.7 0 22 114.5 Passing gp effic comp-att-int pct yds td lg avg/g Carter Kopach 2 143.12 17-30-1 56.7 254 2 49 127.0 Ben Hempel 1 108.80 4-8-0 50.0 56 0 21 56.0 Total 2 135.89 21-38-1 55.3 310 2 49 155.0 Opponents 2 82.91 19-41-1 46.3 163 1 25 81.5 Receiving gp no. yds avg td lg avg/g Zach Nichols 2 6 93 15.5 0 40 46.5 D. Brancheau 2 3 19 6.3 0 8 9.5 Craig Thompson 2 2 39 19.5 0 21 19.5 Blake Crider 2 2 38 19.0 1 24 19.0 Antonio Wallace 2 2 13 6.5 0 9 6.5 Christian Jessie 1 1 49 49.0 0 49 49.0 Brian Mitz 1 1 23 23.0 1 23 23.0 Brandon Smith 2 1 13 13.0 0 13 6.5 Jared Buss 1 1 10 10.0 0 10 10.0 Tyler Schrauben 1 1 7 7.0 0 7 7.0 Brandon Reynolds 2 1 6 6.0 0 6 3.0 Total 2 21 310 14.8 2 49 155.0 Opponents 2 19 163 8.6 1 25 81.5 Punt Returns no. yds avg td lg Antonio Wallace 3 103 34.3 1 82 Joe Nowicki 3 40 13.3 0 20 D. Brancheau 1 0 0.0 0 0 Total 7 143 20.4 1 82 Opponents 4 81 20.2 1 62 Interceptions no. yds avg td lg Zach Gauthier 1 0 0.0 0 0 Total 1 0 0.0 0 0 Opponents 1 52 52.0 0 52 Kick Returns no. yds avg td lg Brandon Smith 4 109 27.2 0 46 Joe Nowicki 1 15 15.0 0 15 Total 5 124 24.8 0 46 Opponents 14 261 18.6 0 26 Fumble Returns no. yds avg td lg Total 0 0 0.0 0 0 Opponents 0 0 0.0 0 0 6
Northern Michigan Overall Individual Statistics (as of Sep 15, 2009) PAT Scoring td fg kick rush rcv pass dxp saf pts Antonio Wallace 5 - - - - - - - 30 Mark Bossuah 3 - - - - - - - 18 Rockne Belmonte - 0-1 10-11 - - - - - 10 Brian Mitz 1 - - - - - - - 6 Brennan VanEffen 1 - - - - - - - 6 Blake Crider 1 - - - - - - - 6 Brandon Smith 1 - - - - - - - 6 Anthony Leandri - - 1-1 - - - - - 1 Total 12 0-1 11-12 - - - - - 83 Opponents 2 3-4 2-2 - - - - - 23 Total Offense g plays rush pass total avg/g Carter Kopach 2 41 61 254 315 157.5 Antonio Wallace 2 14 152 0 152 76.0 Brandon Smith 2 17 132 0 132 66.0 Mark Bossuah 2 27 131 0 131 65.5 Brennan VanEffen 1 15 68 0 68 68.0 Ben Hempel 1 9-3 56 53 53.0 Chris Bucalo 1 11 37 0 37 37.0 Zach Gauthier 2 1 14 0 14 7.0 Brandon Reynolds 2 1 4 0 4 2.0 Total 2 136 596 310 906 453.0 Opponents 2 103 229 163 392 196.0 Field Goals fg pct. 01-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-99 lg blk Rockne Belmonte 0-1 0.0 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 FG Sequence Northern Michigan Opponents Northwood 37 40,(34),(36),(41) Tiffin - - Numbers in (parentheses) indicate field goal was made. Punting no. yds avg lg tb fc i20 50+ blk Garrett Peck 6 256 42.7 46 2 0 0 0 0 Total 6 256 42.7 46 2 0 0 0 0 Opponents 13 476 36.6 50 0 2 1 1 0 Kickoffs no. yds avg tb ob retn net ydln Jon Laue 13 798 61.4 0 0 Anthony Leandri 1 61 61.0 0 0 Total 14 859 61.4 0 0 18.6 42.7 27 Opponents 7 386 55.1 0 1 24.8 37.4 32 7
Northern Michigan Overall Individual Statistics (as of Sep 15, 2009) All Purpose g rush rcv pr kr ir total avg/g Antonio Wallace 2 152 13 103 0 0 268 134.0 Brandon Smith 2 132 13 0 109 0 254 127.0 Mark Bossuah 2 131 0 0 0 0 131 65.5 Zach Nichols 2 0 93 0 0 0 93 46.5 Brennan VanEff 1 68 0 0 0 0 68 68.0 Carter Kopach 2 61 0 0 0 0 61 30.5 Joe Nowicki 2 0 0 40 15 0 55 27.5 Christian Jessie 1 0 49 0 0 0 49 49.0 Craig Thompson 2 0 39 0 0 0 39 19.5 Blake Crider 2 0 38 0 0 0 38 19.0 Chris Bucalo 1 37 0 0 0 0 37 37.0 Brian Mitz 1 0 23 0 0 0 23 23.0 D. Brancheau 2 0 19 0 0 0 19 9.5 Zach Gauthier 2 14 0 0 0 0 14 7.0 Jared Buss 1 0 10 0 0 0 10 10.0 Brandon Reynol 2 4 6 0 0 0 10 5.0 Tyler Schrauben 1 0 7 0 0 0 7 7.0 Ben Hempel 1-3 0 0 0 0-3 -3.0 Total 2 596 310 143 124 0 1173 586.5 Opponents 2 229 163 81 261 52 786 393.0 8
Northern Michigan Overall Defensive Statistics (as of Sep 15, 2009) Tackles Sacks Pass defense Fumbles blkd ## Defensive Leaders gp ua a tot tfl/yds no-yds int-yds brup qbh rcv-yds ff kick saf 47 Nathan Yelk 2 12 4 16 2.0-8..... 1.. 29 John Blessing 2 6 5 11 1.0-8 1.0-8. 1..... 13 Zach Gauthier 2 7 4 11 1.5-12. 1-0...... 6 Ricky Neaves 2 8 1 9 2.5-7.. 2. 1-0... 31 DJ Oke 2 4 3 7 0.5-2.. 1.. 1.. 32 Anthony Marietti 2 4 2 6... 1..... 41 Mike Boren 1 3 3 6 0.5-0........ 45 Cedric Douglas 2 2 3 5 1.5-2 1.0-1....... 51 Demitri Stewart 2 2 3 5 0.5-3........ 98 Jacob Reimer 2 3 2 5 1.0-4........ 52 Edwin Knoblock 2 4. 4......... 9 Marcus Tribble 2 3 1 4......... 30 Junior Michel 2 1 2 3 0.5-1........ 14 Zach Pierson 2 1 2 3..... 1-0... 91 Tony Propson 1 1 1 2......... 20 Brandon Smith 2 2. 2...... 1.. 77 Mike Hanschmann 1 1 1 2 0.5-1........ 49 Scott Avery 2. 2 2......... 10 Carter Kopach 2 1. 1......... 46 Anthony Vella 1. 1 1......... 99 Garrett Peck 2 1. 1......... 83 Brian Mitz 1 1. 1......... 15 Jon Laue 2 1. 1......... 23 Jacob Lehmann 2. 1 1..... 1-0... 94 Zach Anderson 1 1. 1 1.0-3..... 1.. 36 Cody Kangas 1 1. 1......... 56 Eric Wells 2 1. 1......... TM TEAM 1 1. 1 1.0-6..... 1.. 59 Matt Forward 2 1. 1......... 48 Jesus Wright 1. 1 1......... 53 Tyler Kruzel 1. 1 1......... 55 Daniel Catalano 1. 1 1......... 21 Mark Bossuah 2........ 1-0... Total 2 73 44 117 14-57 2-9 1-0 5. 4-0 5.. Opponents 2 94 42 136 10-35 3-20 1-52 5 1 3-0 4.. 9