COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio Dominican football team will look to build off its season-opening win with its second road trip in as many weeks.

THE BASICS

• Ohio Dominican is coming off a 28-3 win at Lake Erie back on Thursday, March 11.
• The Panthers will close out a two-game road stretch to start the spring with a trek north to Walsh this Saturday, March 20.
• ODU and Walsh are slated for a 1 p.m. kickoff at Bob Comings Field at Canton GlenOak High School.

LAST TIME OUT

• Ohio Dominican conceded three points and only 212 yards in its season-opening win at Lake Erie.
• The Storm scored the opening three points in the second quarter, but ODU held LEC to 56 offensive yards in the second half.
• Time of possession became a factor in ODU's success, as the Black & Gold controlled possession for most of the final three quarters. The Panthers had offensive possession for 37:49 of play.
• Senior Dauson Dales (Defiance, Ohio) led the defense with 13 tackles and three tackles for loss.
• Redshirt junior quarterback Evan Ernst (Mason, Ohio) completed 26-of-34 passes for 170 yards and one score.
• Hauling in eight or more catches were senior David Turner (Fort Wayne, Ind.) (10-61-0) and redshirt junior James Morgan (Columbus, Ohio) (8-50-1).
• Headlining a rushing attack that grew stronger throughout the game was freshman Travis Whittaker (Gahanna, Ohio). In his collegiate debut, Whittaker rushed 15 times for 75 yards and two scores.

DALES NAMED G-MAC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

• After leading ODU's defense, Dales was selected as the conference's first defensive player of the week this spring.
• The award is the first of Dales career.
• The linebacker was a first team all-GMAC selection in 2019 and opened the spring slate with 13 stops and 3.0 tackles for loss, ranking second and first in the conference, respectively.
• Since joining the conference in 2017, ODU has now won 23 G-MAC weekly awards, including 11 on defense.
• Dales has double-digit stops in three of the past four outings.

ERNST & COMPANY

• Ernst, the most efficient passer in school history, got off to a strong and accurate start in 2021.
• The gunslinger completed 76.4 percent of his passes (26-34) for 170 yards and one score.
• Now in 21 career appearances, Ernst has completed over 60 percent of his passes 17 times.
• He finished 2019 ranked eighth in Division II and atop the G-MAC in completion percentage, and was a top 30 quarterback nationally with a 145.8 passer efficiency rating.
• Ernst's success can be attributed to the amount of weapons at his disposal, including Turner, Morgan and redshirt junior DeAndre Clark (Dover, Ohio).
• Turner, who missed most of the 2019 season due to injury, returned to action in the 2021 opener, hauling in 10 passes for 61 yards. The senior now has 203 career catches, jumping from fourth to second all-time in the program's record book, passing Dez Stewart (2012-15) and Cory Contini (2015-18). Turner has also raised his school record receptions-per-game average to 5.8.
• Morgan saw the most targets of his collegiate career against Lake Erie, making eight catches for 50 yards. Morgan caught the lone touchdown pass from Ernst as well, pulling away a toss to the back of the endzone near the conclusion of the first half.
• Clark entered the spring as ODU's leading receptions returner from 2019 (37) and has recorded three or more catches in seven of the past nine outings.

GILKEY'S PICKS

• Junior Ashton Gilkey (Westerville, Ohio) picked off two LEC passes in the opener, giving him seven career interceptions.
• Gilkey now ranks tied for seventh in school history with his career pick total.
• The cornerback is also one of just three players in school history to record two or more interceptions in multiple games (Alessio Amato, Billy Eakins).
• One year after ranking second nationally in turnover margin per game, 1.70, Gilkey's two picks gave the Panthers a 2-1 edge in giveaways against Lake Erie.
• Since the start of the 2019 season, ODU's defense has 26 takeaways to only eight turnovers by the offense.

D-LINE GARNERING ATTENTION

• Ohio Dominican's starting four up front caused havoc throughout the 2021 opener, led by veterans Jaylin Garner (Shaker Heights, Ohio) and Aarin Smoot-Baker (Columbus, Ohio).
• Garner is coming off a 2019 season that saw him set a new program record with 9.0 sacks.
• Smoot-Baker registered a sack against Lake Erie, giving him 10.5 in his career, moving him and Garner (11.0) into sixth and fifth, respectively, on the program's all-time list.
• Senior Chance Canady (Columbus, Ohio) and sophomore Blaine Swartzmiller (Attica, Ohio) applied pressure in the LEC backfield as well and combined for four stops.

WHITTAKER WOWS IN DEBUT

• Freshman Travis Whittaker (Gahanna, Ohio) impressed in his collegiate debut, rushing 15 times for 75 yards and a pair of second half touchdowns.
• Whittaker played for forby Gahanna Lincoln High School, where as a senior, he rushed for 1,200 yards en route to an all-state selection. He added 239 receiving yards and 11 total touchdowns in his final season as a Lion.

WALSH SERIES HISTORY

• SERIES SUPERLATIVES
• Ohio Dominican leads the all-time series history against Walsh, 8-2, and is an unbeaten, 8-0 against the Cavaliers in its Division II era.
• Despite the lopsided series win total, Walsh has threatened the Panthers several times, including the past two seasons, with ODU winning by 10 points or less.
• Ohio Dominican won last season's meeting in Columbus, 7-0, surviving a game that saw pouring rain throughout the contest. The two sides combined for 466 yards of offense, with Walsh holding a 251-215 edge.
• ODU scored on its first offensive possession of the game in 2019, and a stop on fourth and goal with less than 30 seconds remaining sealed the victory. The two teams combined to go 1-for-7 on fourth down.

UP NEXT

• Ohio Dominican is scheduled to play its home opener against Kentucky Wesleyan at noon, Saturday, March 27.
• More information regarding tickets and spectator policies, at the latest, will be made available early next week.

Contact: Tyler Jester

jestert@ohiodominican.edu