Menlo Football

Whitworth Pirates (4-1)
vs.
Menlo Oaks (1-3)
Saturday, October 23rd, 2004
12:00 PM
Connor Field

IT’S HOMECOMING!!!!: Menlo College welcomes back it’s alumni for the annual Homecoming celebration. There will be a number of great events, including a pre-game party, halftime celebrations, and the “JAMMIN’ on the Green” party, featuring Barron Edward’s Motown 60’s Revue.

GETTING READY FOR THE PIRATES: The Menlo College Football team returns to action this Saturday afternoon when the Oaks (1-3) take on the Whitworth Pirates (4-1) as part of this year’s annual Homecoming festivities. The Oaks are coming off their only bye week of the season. Back on October 9th, Menlo fell to Cal Lutheran 33-22. Whitworth is coming off a 38-21 victory against Puget Sound last Saturday in Spokane. The Pirates piled up 529 yards of offense and took advantage of four second half turnovers to put away the Loggers.

LAST TIME OUT: Despite 147 yards on the ground from sophomore Eddie Conner, the Kingsmen gained their first win of the season 32-22. The game see-sawed in the first half as the teams traded field goals in the first quarter and touchdowns in the second quarter. Marvin Stickel had an 18-yard reception in the second quarter that helped Menlo to a 10-3 advantage, all of which was erased two and a half minutes later, as Craig Herrera was on the receiving end of a 32-yard strike from Danny Jones. In the second half, Jones and Herrera would reconnect on two scores, the last of which went for 79-yards. Those touchdowns would be on the front and back end of a Russ Fukushima touchdown from Dustin Guglielmelli. Tyler Ruiz would punch the ball in from one yard out in the fourth quarter to put the host Kingsmen up 29-20 but it was the play of the Oaks special teams unit that would keep them in the game. Junior Galen Perry blocked the PAT after the Ruiz score, which Richard Vedder returned for a pair of points. Jones had his finest day in uniform, as the Kingsmen quarterback threw for 353 yards and three touchdowns. Criag Herrera had seven receptions for 196 yards, as the hosts ran 81 plays to the tune of 524 yards. The Oaks received another strong performance from Eddie Conner, as he followed up his 157 yards of total offense a week ago with 147 yards, a career high, on the ground. Dustin Guglielmelli, in his first extended action of the year, threw for 92 yards while starter Adam Hazel had another 47.

THE SERIES: Whitworth holds a 3-1 edge in the all-time series. The Pirates have won the last two meetings.

LAST SEASON: The Pirates used three special plays to score three touchdowns on the way to a 30-24 win over Menlo in Spokane.

WHEN THE OAKS HAVE THE BALL: When the Oaks take the field on offense this Saturday, they will do so with a new signal caller. Freshman Dustin Guglielmelli will takes the reins for the first time as the starting quarterback for the Oaks. Against Cal Lutheran, Guglielmelli did a solid job, going 9of 19 for 92 yards and a touchdown pass. The ground game has been led this season by freshman Eddie Conner. Conner has run for 283 yards this season, averaging 67 yards a game. Leading the receiving corps is senior Marvin Stickel, with 23 catches for 254 yards and four touchdowns. Tight end Joey Risi has 17 catches on the year and one score.

THE PIRATES ON DEFENSE: On defense, the Pirates are led by senior linebacker Jeremy Scroggins (38 tackles) and junior linebacker Daniel Jones (38 tackles). Freshman defensive lineman Justin Rundle has three sacks this season. The defense is allowing 442 yards of offense by the opposition this season.

WHEN THE PIRATES HAVE THE BALL: Sophomore Joel Clark is the signal caller for Whitworth this season. On the year he has thrown for 1300 yards and has 11 touchdown passes, while averaging 261 yards per game. His favorite targets are sophomore Jared Thomas and junior Kyle Snell, both with 23 catches on the year. Thomas has 469 yards and three touchdowns and Snell has 322 yards and two touchdowns. Freshman Kyle Havercroft has enjoyed success this season, running for 423 yards and eight touchdowns. Havercroft has been slowed by a concussion suffered last week against Puget Sound, but he is expected to play.

THE OAKS ON DEFENSE: The duo of defensive backs Kenny Wolfe and John North lead the defense for the Oaks. Wolfe has recorded 23.5 tackles, including five and a half tackles for loss, including one sack. North leads the team with 26 tackles and has one interception on the year. As a defense, the Oaks are giving up 340 yards of total offense by the opposition. The pass defense is giving up 168 yards per game.