GLVC Football Weekly Release - Sept. 10, 2013
GLVC Hits the Road to Ranked Competition in Week Two
The second week of GLVC football features eight games, including four with ranked competition. No. 14 Indianapolis stays home this week to host Saint Xavier, while Missouri S&T hits the road to No. 6 Missouri Western, McKendree heads to No. 9 Henderson State, and Truman State travels to No. 10 Grand Valley State. Elsewhere, Saint Joseph’s stays put with hopes of going 2-0 on the year with a matchup against Siena Heights. Valparaiso, which fell to Saint Joseph’s last week, will now welcome William Jewell, while Quincy heads to Indiana State and Kentucky Wesleyan hosts Lindsey Wilson.
GLVC Splits Opening Weekend
After dropping its first three contests of the year on Thursday, GLVC football made a statement Saturday as the conference captured wins in all four Division II contests. No. 19 Indianapolis upset No. 9 Ashland 10-9 in Indianapolis, Saint Joseph’s once again gave the GLVC its first “W” of the year with a 34-31 victory over Valparaiso, McKendree dropped Tiffin 32-28, and Truman State topped former MIAA foe Southwest Baptist, 40-37. In last year’s inaugural season opener, the league recorded three wins in nine non-conference contests.
GLVC Earns Second Top-10 Upset; UIndy Rewarded in Poll
Competing in its third-consecutive top-20 matchup dating back to last season’s NCAA Division II Playoffs, the University of Indianapolis secured its second-ever upset of a top-10 team while competing under the GLVC umbrella. Ranked as the 19th-best team in the country, the Greyhounds defeated No. 9 Ashland last week 10-9, which vaulted UIndy to 14th in the latest American Football Coaches Association Division II Top 25 Poll, good for its highest-ever ranking in the weekly poll. The Hounds finished last season knocking off No. 8 Midwestern State 31-14 in the opening round of the NCAA Division II Playoffs before falling to top-ranked Colorado State-Pueblo, 28-7. In addition, Missouri S&T continues to receive votes in this week’s Top 25 poll.
Mr. 400
GLVC Offensive Player of the Week Billy VandeMerkt continued to post impressive numbers last week as the Saint Joseph’s senior quarterback threw for 404 yards in the win against Valparaiso. VandeMerkt is the lone quarterback in GLVC history to throw for 400 yards in a game, and he has now done it twice. The Pumas slinger recorded a GLVC-record 449 passing yards against William Jewell on Oct. 20, 2012. His total last week was the eighth-most in NCAA Division II, while his 439 yards of total offense ranked seventh in the nation.
GLVC Kickoff Return Record Established, Tied in Quick Fashion
Last Saturday afternoon, McKendree’s Ryan Keen scampered 100 yards for a touchdown on a kickoff return and established a new GLVC record, which was previously a 94-yarder set by Kentucky Wesleyan’s Jeff Ward last season. For a span of a few hours, Keen was the lone record holder, until Truman State’s Tremaine Millender accomplished the feat in the Bulldogs’ opener against Southwest Baptist. Millender not just tied the league mark for a kickoff return, but also set new conference standards for kickoff return yards (163 yds) and kickoff-return average (54.3 ypr). As a team, Truman shattered the old GLVC record for kickoff return yards by 33 yards as the Dogs’ 254 markers bested Kentucky Wesleyan’s effort of 221 yards on Oct. 6, 2012.
GLVC Pair Scores on Punt Returns
For the second time in as many years, a pair of GLVC punt returners scored touchdowns on the same day. This past Saturday, McKendree’s Branden Walker and William Jewell’s Thomas Cook, Jr., each returned a punt for a score as Cook’s went for 70 yards, while Walker scored from 68 yards out. Last year on Sept. 22, three GLVC speedsters found the end zone on the same day as Kentucky Wesleyan’s Kendall Tinsley and Missouri S&T’s Carlton Westbrook scored on punt returns in the same game, while Central State’s Joseph Blount netted a score at Saint Joseph’s. Last week’s return by Cook now gives the reigning GLVC Freshman of the Year two in his brief career, which ties him with Westbrook for the GLVC record for career punt return touchdowns.
Two for 200
Three GLVC receivers managed to eclipse the 200-yard receiving plateau during a game in the 2012 season. This past week, two conference wideouts already met that mark. McKendree’s Dewayne Gatti hauled in 10 balls for 201 yards in a 32-28 win over Tiffin, while Indianapolis receiver Reece Horn grabbed 13 passes for 200 yards in the Greyhounds’ 10-9 win against No. 9 Ashland. The two totals were the fourth- and fifth-best receiving marks in the country last week. UIndy’s Mar’Quone Edmonds set the league record last year with 212 yards against Central State, while Saint Joseph’s wideout Julian Walker twice surpassed 200 yards in 2012, with totals of 205 at Valparaiso and 206 at William Jewell.
Hounds Hold Ashland to 63 Passing Yards
The Indianapolis defense held No. 9 Ashland to just 63 yards passing in the Greyhounds’ 10-9 win this past Saturday, marking the fourth-fewest yards allowed by a conference team in GLVC history. It’s the best defensive stand against the pass in UIndy’s brief GLVC football history, but nothing new for the Hounds as they held three opponents to under 100 yards passing last season: 74, vs. Midwestern State, 11/17/12; 83, vs. Saint Joseph’s, 10/6/12; 92 at Kentucky Weslyan, 10/20/12.
GLVC Well-Represented Among NCAA Stat Leaders
The GLVC is well-represented among the nation’s top 25 in select statistical categories in a report released by the NCAA on Monday. After one week of play, McKendree leads the nation in kickoff-return average (100.00) and is second in punt-return average (46.0), Indianapolis is eighth in pass defense (63.0), and Saint Joseph’s is ninth in pass efficiency (197.7) and passing offense (404.0). Individually, the Pumas’ Julian Walker is third in scoring (18.0), Truman State’s Tremaine Millender is third in kickoff returns (54.3), McKendree’s Dewayne Gatti (201.0) and UIndy’s Reece Horn (200.0) are fourth and fifth, respectively, in receiving yards, while William Jewell’s Thomas Cook is fourth in punt-return average (23.0).
GLVC to Celebrate 35th Anniversary in 2013-14
While GLVC football is competing in just its second year of conference sponsorship, the GLVC will be celebrating its 35th Anniversary as a league over the course of the 2013-14 academic year. The GLVC was founded on July 7, 1978 by six charter members, which include three football-playing members Indianapolis, Kentucky Wesleyan and Saint Joseph’s.