Wilmington College will host the Baldwin-Wallace College Yellow Jackets in Ohio Athletic Conference action 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Williams Stadium.
The Quakers (0-5 OAC, 0-6 overall) are coming off a 31-6 loss at Marietta, a game that saw Wilmington come up empty-handed on two scoring opportunities trailing 17-6.
"The final score is very misleading," Wilmington head coach Ken Minor said. "It was tight until they scored a couple late touchdowns. Like a lot of games this year, we fought, but kind of shot ourselves in the foot."
Baldwin-Wallace was a 20-7 winner over Ohio Northern last week. The Yellow Jackets (4-1, 5-1) would be undefeated, if not for a fourth-quarter comeback by Capital that lifted the Crusaders to a 14-11 win over BW in week 3.
"They are really good. They just don't have any weaknesses," Minor said of the Jackets. "They alternate 13 seniors in and out on their defense and they play great as a unit. It was a surprise that they lost to Capital, but that just shows you that anybody can beat anybody in the OAC. Other than that game, they have dominated people."
Both teams will look to their running games Saturday. Baldwin-Wallace junior Tyler Lohr has rushed for 107 yards per game while Wilmington junior Tyrell Richardson (Columbus/Centennial) picked up season-high 59 yards against Marietta.
"It was the first time since the first week of the season that Tyrell was feeling better. He still isn't 100 percent yet, but he is getting better by the day," Minor said. "Our offensive line took a lot of pride that they were going into a game that was going to be more run than pass oriented. Lohr isn't that big, but he runs really hard. He has good speed and really carries a punch."
The quarterback match-up features Wilmington's Brandon Arehart (Wilmington) against BW junior Ryan O'Rourke. They will lead their offenses against defensive units that apply pressure at the point of attack. Baldwin-Wallace defensive end Derron Hamilton leads the nation with 11 quarterback sacks.
"Hamilton stands out on film. We are very concerned about him. He is a sack machine who has a motor that won't stop," Minor said.
Wilmington's future has been brightened by the play of a talented freshman group this season. On the defensive side, Joe Joe Knecht (Lancaster), Devon Burton (Waynesville), Andy Apking (Cincinnati/Purcell Marian) and Kody Brentlinger (Zanesfield/Benjamin Logan) have become regulars. Offensive newcomers on the impact list are tight end Matt Stooksbury (Centerburg/Highland) and linemen Tyler DeVore (Springfield/Greenon), Scott Duncan (Liberty Township/Lakota East) and Brandon Krugh (South Vienna/Northeastern).
"I am really proud of the way our freshmen have responded this season," Minor said. "When you recruit young men, you really don't know how they are going to adapt to the college game. These guys have really come in and done a nice job for us. They earned their jobs by practicing hard and playing hard."
