Panthers, Huntingdon meet for SLIAC championship
Nov. 13, 2008

The Panthers host the Huntingdon Hawks for the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship on Saturday at Callaway Stadium. Kickoff is 1 p.m. EST. Both teams come into the game with identical 6-0 SLIAC records and 8-1 overall. The Panthers are coming off a bye week, while Huntingdon lost its first game of the season, 38-34 to Hampden-Sydney in Montgomery. The winner of this game will await a possible NCAA playoff berth. This is the first season for both teams in the SLIAC. Huntingdon was the pre-season favorite in the SLIAC. LaGrange was picked fourth.

Series Notes
Huntingdon has won both meetings. The Hawks won 35-0 in Montgomery in 2006 and 43-0 in LaGrange last season.

The Last Time
Huntingdon spoiled the Panthers' 2007 Homecoming with a 43-0 win. The Hawks rolled up 459 yards of total offense, while limiting the Panthers to 161 yards. The Panthers forced five fumbles but could not convert any into points. Huntingdon turned four Panther interceptions into touchdowns and recorded a safety.

The Coaches
Huntingdon's Mike Turk is in his fifth season as head coach. He is 30-17 overall. Turk was an assistant at Troy for 13 years before coming to Huntingdon.

LaGrange's Todd Mooney is 8-21 in his third season as a head coach. Mooney was an assistant at Rhodes College before coming to LaGrange.

Huntingdon on Offense
The Hawks lead the SLIAC in scoring, averaging 44.4 points per game. They also lead in total offense (460.8 yds. per game), rushing (262.0 yds. per game) and pass efficiency (147.3 rating). Senior Jamal Gardner is second in the SLIAC in rushing, averaging 84.8 yards per game and has 11 total touchdowns. Junior quarterback Justin Ridgeway has thrown for 1,550 yards and rushed for another 328 yards. He has accounted for 24 touchdowns. Ridgeway's 145.07 quarterback rating leads the SLIAC. Sophomore running back Miguel Gilmore has 397 yards rushing and six touchdowns. He leads the SLIAC and is fifth in NCAA Division III in kick returns, averaging 31.9 yards per return. Junior Steven Laye leads the Hawks in receiving with 24 receptions for 348 yards and four touchdowns.

Huntingdon on Defense
The Hawks lead the SLIAC in defense, allowing 14.56 points per game. They also lead the conference in five other defensive categories. Senior linebacker Granger Shook leads the team with 50 total tackles. He has 9.5 tackles for loss, including 2.5 quarterback sacks. The Hawks have three of the top five quarterback sacks leaders in the SLIAC. Junior Josh Robertson is second with six sacks, junior Mike Payson is third with five and junior Tal Lynn is fifth with 4.5 sacks. Lynn is also third in the SLIAC with 11.5 tackles for loss. Sophomore defensive back DeAngelo Hill leads the team with four interceptions and has nine pass breakups.

Super Mario
Junior running back Mario Wallace needs 110 yards to become the first Panther running back to reach 1,000 yards in a season. In the last three games, Wallace has rushed for 469 yards and seven touchdowns. In a 63-19 win over Eureka two weeks ago, he rushed for 154 yards on just four carries for three touchdowns. Wallace leads the SLIAC in rushing, averaging 98.9 yards per game. He also leads the conference in all-purpose yards (183.9 yds. per game), punt returns (21.9 yds. per game) and scoring (9.3 points per game). Wallace has already set 23 different team game and season records.

LaGrange in the SLIAC
As a team, the Panthers lead the SLIAC in total defense (262.44 yds. per game), pass defense (127.56 yds per game) and net punting (33.97 yds. per punt attempt).
  The Panthers are second in scoring (40.13 pts. per game), scoring defense (17.75 pts. per game), kickoff returns (20 yds. per return),  punt returns (15.63 yds. per return),sacks (3.44 per game) and tackles for loss (9.11 per game). The Panthers rank in the top half of  the SLIAC in all 17 team categories.

LaGrange in the NCAA
The Panthers are fourth in pass defense  in Division III (129.88), sixth in tackles for loss (9.11 per game), 10th in both sacks (3.44 per game) and punt returns (15.6 yds. per return). They also rank in the top 25 in Division III in scoring offense (11th, 42.7 pts. per game) and total defense (25th, 262.4 yds. per game). Kicker/punter Josh Stripling is 16th in field goals, averaging 1.0 per game.
 
Common Opponents
Outside of the SLIAC, the two teams have both played Maryville of the USA South Conference. The Hawks defeated the Fighting Scots 42-35 in the season opener in Montgomery. The Panthers downed Maryville 38-14 on the road in their third game of the season. The Hawks and the Panthers have each played an NAIA opponent. Huntingdon stopped cross-town rival Faulkner 20-7 in their second Capital City Showdown. The Panthers' only loss of the season was a 28-23 decision at home to Shorter (Ga.), currently ranked 19th in NAIA. The two teams have dominated their SLIAC foes. Huntingdon has won its six conference games by an average of 42.2 points per game; the Panthers by an average of 33.5 points per game. Both teams closest SLIAC wins were against Greenville. The Hawks won 28-12 on the road, while the Panthers won 20-6 at home.
 
Record Turnaround
The Panthers have unofficially set a new NCAA Division III record for most improved won-loss record. The Panthers have improved from 0-10 to their current 8-1 record an improvement of better than eight games. This eclipses the mark set by Wisconsin-Stout, who went from 2-8 in 1999 to 10-1 in 2000. If the Panthers defeat Huntingdon, they will have the second biggest overall NCAA turnaround.

Big First Halfs
The Panthers scored 49 first half points in the win over Eureka. It is the fourth time this season the Panthers have scored 30 or more points in the first half. For the season,  the Panthers have outscored opponents 245-58 in the first half. In the second quarter alone, the Panthers have a 146-24 advantage.

Scoring Picks Up
The Panthers have scored 384 points in nine games this season. In their previous 20 games, they scored 219. The Panthers have eclipsed their single game high four times this season.

Special Teams, Defensive Scoring
The Panthers have nine special team and defensive touchdowns this season.
   This season, the Panthers have scored on a punt return, a kickoff return, a blocked punt and three fumble returns and interception returns each. The Panthers have scored on a fumble return and an interception in three straight games. The Panthers returned an onside kick attempt by MacMurray for a touchdown.

Spreading the Scoring
The Panthers have had 17 different players scored a touchdown this season. Seven different players have two touchdowns or more. Wallace leads the team with 14 touchdowns (12 rushing, 1 receiving, 1 return). Nick Langley has six touchdown catches.

Program Firsts This Season
The Panthers have had a number of firsts during the 2008 season:
First win- 34-31 at Birmingham-Southern on Sept. 6.
First home win- 20-6 against Greenville on Oct. 11.
First road win- 34-31 at Birmingham-Southern on Sept. 6.
First come from behind win- 34-31 at Birmingham-Southern on Sept. 6. Trailed 31-19 in fourth quarter.
First SLIAC win- At Blackburn on Sept. 27 (LaGrange 61, Blackburn 0)
First shutout- at Blackburn on Sept. 27 (LaGrange 61, Blackburn 0)
First punt return for a touchdown- Mario Wallace, 63 yds. at Birmingham-Southern on Sept. 6.
First fumble return for a touchdown- Jeremy Pickens 25 yds. at Maryville on Sept. 20. (LaGrange 38, Maryville 14).
First blocked punt- Colt Shope at MacMurray on Oct, 4 (LaGrange 49, MacMurray 30)
First blocked punt resulting in a touchdown- Kyle Storey recovered blocked punt in end zone at MacMurray on Oct, 4 (LaGrange 49, MacMurray 30)
First 3-touchdown day- Mario Wallace (all rushing) at Blackburn on Sept. 27.