Nov. 15, 2005
GAME #12: The USD Toreros (10-1), the No. 1 ranked I-AA Mid-Major team, will take on No. 4 ranked Morehead State Eagles (8-3) for the 2005 PFL Championship this Saturday, November 19th, at 4:00 pm at Torero Stadium. Jack Murray (play-by-play) and Rick Hill (color analyst) call the action that can be heard via the internet at www.usdtoreros.com. San Diego owns a 12-game Torero Stadium winning streak, one win shy of matching the school record, and have also won their last seven games.
TICKET INFORMATION: Tickets for Saturday's PFL Championship game can be purchased now by calling the USD ticket office (619/260-7550) or ordering them online at www.usdtoreros.com. Ticket prices are $12 reserved (south side only), $10 general admission adult and $8 general admission child. "If we can get this stadium filled up for the PFL Championship game, the fans will enjoy watching this team play," states head coach Jim Harbaugh. "People that really love watching football will love the way these guys play hard for 60 minutes. Everyone is excited about Saturday's game with Morehead State."
SERIES RECORD: This is the first meeting between San Diego and Morehead State.
HEAD COACH Jim Harbaugh: Harbaugh is his 2nd season after a 7-4 mark in his rookie year. With this year's 10-1 record (10 wins a new USD record), he heads into the PFL title game with a 17-5 two-year mark (15-1 over last 16 games - matches USD mark set between 1980-82). Prior to being named USD's 11th head coach, he spent two seasons in the NFL as an offensive assistant with the Oakland Raiders. He spent 15 years in the NFL with five different teams - Chicago (1987-1993), Indianapolis (1994-97), Baltimore (1998), San Diego (1999-00) and Carolina (2001). A 1987 first round draft pick by the Chicago Bears, Jim played in 117 NFL games with 140 starts. For his career he completed 2,305 of 3,918 passes for 26,288 yards with 129 touchdowns. In 1995 he led Indianapolis to the AFC Championship game; was voted to the Pro Bowl; was named the 1995 Comeback Player of the Year and the AFC Player of the Year; and was runner-up in the NFL MVP voting. A 1986 graduate of Michigan, Jim was a 3-year starter for legendary coach Bo Schembechler. In his senior year in '86, Jim guided Michigan to a No. 2 national ranking while earning Big Ten Player of the Year honors and finishing 3rd in the Heisman race. Jim and his wife, Miah, have three kids - Jay, James, and Grace.
TOREROS RETAIN #1 IN MID-MAJOR POLL: USD (10-1) is the unanimous No. 1 team in The Sports Network Mid-Major Top 10 for the 5th straight week. The Toreros picked up all 25 first place votes. USD is followed by Dayton (9-1), Duquesne (6-3), Morehead State (8-3),Drake (6-4), Marist (6-3), Central Connecticut (7-4), Stony Brook (6-4), Monmouth (6-4), Jacksonville (4-4). The mid-major poll includes only I-AA teams from the PFL, MAAC, and NEC. For the 4th straight week USD received votes for the I-AA Top-25 poll with 36 points, up from 29 the previous week. The Toreros also kept their No. 1 rating in Don Hansen's Weekly Football Gazette and with Dopke.com. USD ranks 57th this week in the Sagarin Rating for all I-AA schools, but is listed 13th in the Bradley-Terry Rankings and 45th in the I-AA.org rating.
PFL NORTH STANDINGS/SCHEDULE: SAN DIEGO (4-0 PFL; 10-1), Dayton (3-1; 9-1), Drake (2-2; 6-4), Valparaiso (1-3; 3-8), Butler (0-4; 0-11).
TOREROS HOLD OFF MARIST - EARN SCHOOL RECORD 10TH WIN: The USD Toreros overcame a 14-0 first quarter deficit and then held off a solid Marist club 42-35 before a season-best 5,226 fans at Torero Stadium last Saturday. With their 7th straight victory, the No. 1 ranked Toreros improved to 10-1 with the 10 victories being a new single season USD record. Junior running back Jon Polk tied a school record with 4 rushing TDs as he totaled 69 yards on 17 carries. The Red Foxes first two scores were set up by Torero miscues. Their first possession was set up by a Huck Correia interception off of Josh Johnson. They followed that up with an 11-play, 70-yard drive with back Obozu Ehikioya rushing in for a 1-yard score at the 5:27 mark. About 1 ½ minutes later, USD muffed its punt attempt and Marist took over on USD's 20-yard line. Four plays later QB James Luft connected with Guy Smith for 9 yards and a 14-0 advantage. In the 2nd quarter USD answered with two scores of their own to knot the game at 14-all heading into the locker room. Johnson hit WR Adam Hannula for a 15-yard TD at the 8:59 mark, and five minutes later Jon Polk rambled in from 5 yards out for the first of his 4 TD rushes. The third quarter was very entertaining as both team's scored twice. USD took its first lead at the 10:03 mark, 21-14, when Polk scored on a 1-yard plunge that completed a 5-play, 51-yard drive. Marist surprised USD on its first play from scrimmage with Luft faking a handoff and then scampering around the right side and racing up the sideline for a 65-yard TD. USD responded with an 8-play, 66 yard drive as Josh Johnson ran it in on the leftside untouched for a 2-yard TD and 28-21 lead. Marist tied it at 28-all with 2:22 to go in the third as Ehikioya ran it in from 4 yards out to finish off a 9-play, 79 yard drive. In the 4th period the Toreros used back-to-back rushing TDs from Polk of 2 and 1 yards to take a commanding 42-28 advantage, but Marist made it interesting with Ehikioya's third TD of the game with 2:07 to go to make it 42-35. USD handled the on-side kick attempt and started at the Marist 48, but the Red Foxes forced USD into one final punt. Marist attempted two passes but the clock ran out on them for the final 42-35 contest. Defensively for USD the Toreros were paced by Ronnie Pentz (10 tackles); Philip Bretsch (10 tackles and his 55-yard interception return to the Marist 1-yard line that set up Polk's third score), and a trio of Toreros that totaled 7 stops - Chris Gianelli, Eric Bakhtiari and Jared Forrester. The offense, which was playing without the services of running backs JT Rogan and Kevin Herron, got big boosts from Polk, Josh Denton (52 yards) and Theo Nikolakopulos (35 yards). Adam Hannula added to his career record numbers by pulling down 7 receptions for 96 yards and 1 TD. Wes Doyle caught 4 balls for 56 yards. Marist was paced by back Obozu Ehikioya (100 yards rushing and 3 TDs), QB James Luft (14-22 for 201 yards) and LB Mike Giummo (14 tackles). Besides setting the record for wins in a season, USD also set new marks for points in a season (464), total yards for a season (5,269), team passing yardage (3,168), and total first downs (275). Josh Johnson completed 23-of-30 passes for 307 yards and 1 TD. He also added 25 yards rushing on 9 carries with 1 TD. He set new USD single season marks for completions (236), and total yards of offense (3,316). It was also USD's 12th straight win at Torero Stadium - a win on Saturday over Morehead State would tie the school mark of 13 straight home wins.
TOREROS CONTINUE TO RANK IN I-AA TOP-25 STATISTICS: The USD Toreros rank in 17 different I-AA statistical categories with the offense leading the way with nine: 1st in 3rd-down efficiency (54.1%), 2nd in scoring offense (42.18) and total offense (479.0), 7th in pass efficiency (166.03 rating), 8th in 4th-down conversions (68.4%), 9th in pass offense (288.0), 17th in turnover lost (15), and 23rd in kickoff returns (21.68) and fumbles lost (7). The Torero defense ranks 4th in pass efficiency defense (95.87 rating), 5th in scoring defense (15.0) and total defense (266.27), 7th in pass defense (146.09) and kickoff return yardage (15.33), 10th in 3rd-down efficiency defense (31.2%), 23rd in rush defense (120.2) , and 24th in turnover margin (+0.55). Individually Josh Johnson ranks 3rd in points responsible for (20.18), 6th in pass efficiency (169.0), 10th in total offense (293.3) and 12th in passing (21.45 completions per game), JT Rogan ranks 25th in all-purpose yards (129.4 ypg), Adam Hannula ranks 13th in total receiving yards (907), 17th in receptions per game (5.91), and 23rd in receiving yards per game (82.45), and kicker Hutch Parker ranks 24th in scoring (7.64 ppg).
HOW USD STACKS UP AGAINST PFL FOES: The Torero team and players also rank among the statistical leaders against their PFL counterparts - as a team USD ranks 1st in total defense (266.1 ypg), pass defense (146.1), pass offense (288.0 ypg), total offense (479.0), scoring offense (42.2 ppg), pass efficiency (166.0 rating), first downs (275), pass defense efficiency (95.9 rating), sacks against (10), 3rd-down conversions (54.1%), and red zone offense (87.1%). USD players that rank among the top-5 in PFL statistics include JT Rogan (3rd in rushing, 94.0 ypg and all-purpose running, 129.4; 4th in scoring TDs, 11; 4th in points, 6.6 ppg); Josh Johnson (1st in passing, 261.9 ypg; 1st in total offense, 293.3 ypg; 1st in pass efficiency, 169.0), Adam Hannula (1st in receptions per game, 5.91; 2nd in receiving yards, 82.5), Nick Garton (3rd in receptions per game, 4.55; 4th in punt returns, 7.9), Hutch Parker (1st in scoring, 7.6 ppg; 2nd in PAT kicking percentage, .96.6; 57x59; 3rd in field goals, 0.82 made pg;), Eric Bakhtiari (3rd in tackles for loss, 1.0), Adam Burke (3rd in passes defended, 0.82 pg), and Eric Stern (3rd in QB sacks, 0.41 per game). 11-GAME STATISTICAL LEADERS: Through 11 games the Toreros are being led by QB Josh Johnson (236-334 for 2,881 yards and 31 TDs), RB JT Rogan (940 rushing yards, 7 TDs; 35 catches for 298 yards & 4 TDs), WR Adam Hannula (65 catches for 907 yards and 9 TDs), WR Nick Garton (50 catches for 605 yards and 8 TDs), PK Hutch Parker (84 points; 9x14 FG and 57x59 PAT kicks), P George Villa (40.1 punting average), SS Philip Bretsch (61 stops, 3 interceptions), LB Kyson Hawkins (60 tackles; 12 for loss; 8 games only), DE Eric Bakhtiari (51 tackles; 13 for loss, 4.0 QB sacks), and CB Josh Brisco (4 interceptions).
Adam Hannula NEW CAREER LEADER: Senior receiver Adam Hannula caught an 8-yard TD pass from Josh Johnson in the Chapman game to become USD's all-time leading receiver with 33 TD receptions... he now owns all three career receiving marks, including receptions (239), touchdonw receptions (34) and receiving yards (3,389)... the previous record-holder was Dylan Ching ('96-99) - 189 catches for 3,111 yards and 32 TDs ... during his Torero career (42 games) Adam has caught at least 1 pass in every game; caught at least 1 TD in 24 games; and caught 5 or more balls in 30 games.
TORERO TIDBITS: Over the past 16 games the Toreros have gone 15-1 with the only loss being a hard-fought 20-17 loss at Ivy League member Princeton... the 15 wins in a 16-game stretch ties USD's best run ever (1980-82: won last 3 games in '80; went 9-1 in '81; and won first 3 games in '82... this is a correction from last week's release which stated our 14-1 mark in 15 games was a new Torero best)... USD's win over Yale (17-14) is also a USD & PFL first for defeating an Ivy League opponent... sophomore QB Josh Johnson passed his way into the record books - he now owns marks for completions in a season (236) and total offensive yards (3,226)... senior WR Nick Garton is also moving up the Torero record charts - with his 2 receptions for 38 yards vs. Marist, he is 3rd overall for career receptions (147), receiving yards (2,141), and TDs (25)... currently riding a 12-game win streak at Torero Stadium, a win Saturday would match USD's current record of 13 straight home wins (1980-82).
SCOUTING MOREHEAD STATE: Morehead State, the No. 4 ranked I-AA mid-major, comes to town with an overall record of 8-3... they are under the direction of 12th year coach Matt Ballard, the PFL South Coach of the Year the past three seaosns... MSU is coming off a tough 63-17 loss to I-AA scholarship program Georgia Southern, ranked No. 10 in the I-AA Top 25 polls heading into this past weekend's games... MSU got off to a 7-1 start including wins over PFL North Division teams Valparaiso (48-7) and Butler (58-10)... on Sept. 24th they dropped a 42-7 decision to the Dayton Flyers... they dropped a close 17-14 decision on Oct. 29th to Tiffin before rebounding with a thrilling 56-55 road win at Missour-Rolla on Nov. 5th... the Eagles come to town averaging 33.4 points per game with the defense surrendering 26.3 ppg... MSU is averaging 417.0 yards of offense per game (248.6 rush; 168.4 pass) while giving up 348.1 yard per game (149.1 rush; 199.0 pass)... the Eagles have six players that have each combined for 224 or more rushing yards this season... they lead all PFL team in rushing per game at 261.5 yards per contest... MSU's statistical leaders include 6-1 sophomore QB Brian Yost (129-231 for 1,788 yards and 16 TDs; 458 yards rushing & 5 TDs), 5-10 junior running back Jabari McGee (540 yards rushing and 7 TDs; 23 receptions for 320 yards and 1 TD), 5-11 senior halfback Eli Parkes (417 yards rushing and 9 TDs; 24 receptions for 254 yards and 4 TDs), 6-4 freshman WR Brandon McRae (24 catches for 336 yards and 1 TD), 5-10 sophomore LB Brett Mazzaro (84 tackles; 11 tackles for loss), 6-1 junior DB Jordan Shafer (72 tackles), 6-3 sophomore LB Andrew Sturzenbecker (69 tackles; 10 tackles for loss), 5-10 senior DB Kwesi Williams (54 tackles, 4 interceptions, 8 pass breakups), and 6-1 freshman DB David Hyland (46 tackles, 5 interceptions)... kicker Adam Jones has converted 8-of-13 field goal attempts to go with 45-of-46 PAT kicks for 69 points... senior halfback Eli Parkes leads the squad with 13 touchdowns and 80 points.
WIN OVER YALE A FIRST FOR USD & PFL: USD's 17-14 come-from-behind win over the Yale Bulldogs on Sept. 17th was the Toreros' first win over an Ivy League opponent in six tries... it also marked the first time a PFL team has beaten an Ivy opponent... in the win USD overcame a 14-0 deficit to record the historic victory... redshirt freshman back JT Rogan hauled in a 2-yard TD pass from QB Josh Johnson with 6:37 to go for the game-winner.
2005 PRESEASON PFL COACHES POLL: The Toreros are picked 3rd in the PFL Preseason Coaches Poll - 2004 champion Drake is the top pick for the North Division as they received 5 first place votes - the Bulldogs are followed by Dayton, San Diego, Butler & Valparaiso.
PFL TO RETURN TO SINGLE-DIVISION FORMAT IN 2006: The Pioneer Football League will return to a single-division, round-robin format in 2006, the conference announced on Sept. 7th. The league voted this summer on the move back to a single-division format, which the league used in its first eight seasons. The change resulted from the league's reduction to eight members for the 2006 campaign - Austin Peay leaves the conference at the conclusion of the 2005 season. The final round-robin schedule will provide seven league games annually for all teams with alternating seasons of four home/three road games and three home/four road.
