COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio Dominican football will host a game at Panther Stadium for the first time in 504 days when the team welcomes Kentucky Wesleyan to Sunbury Road on Saturday, March 27.

THE BASICS

• The Panthers are off to a 2-0 start after defeating Lake Erie and Walsh on the road to begin the spring season.
• ODU is coming off a 17-0 win over Walsh last Saturday, giving the Black & Gold a combined scoring total of 45-3 through two weeks.
• Kick off between ODU and KWC is set for noon on Saturday.

NOTE: All spectators are required to show their ID and have a digital or printed ticket available to enter Panther Stadium. No tickets will be sold at the gate. View the entire spectator policy here.

LAST TIME OUT

• For the second straight season, ODU shutout Walsh, this time on the road, 17-0.
• The Panther defense did not allow a first down in the first half, conceding only 56 yards to the Cavaliers over the opening 30 minutes of play.
• Walsh was held to 151 total offensive yards in the game, and just 29 rushing yards.
• The Panthers registered 298 yards on offense, with 162 coming in the air and 136 on the ground.
• Seniors Frederick Pitts V (Huber Heights, Ohio) and David Turner (Fort Wayne, Ind.) headlined the offensive production. Pitts rushed for 81 yards and a touchdown, while Turner caught a team-high six passes for 54 yards and one score from redshirt junior Evan Ernst (Mason, Ohio).
• Defensively, four Panthers recorded six or more stops, led by senior Dauson Dales (Defiance, Ohio) with 10.
• Redshirt freshman Daishaun Hill (Rocky River, Ohio) added eight tackles, giving him 15 through two games this season.
• Junior Godwin Joe (Cleveland, Ohio) pitched in four stops, 0.5 tackle for loss and logged his first collegiate interception.

PANTHER DUO SELECTED FOR G-MAC WEEKLY AWARDS

• Pitts and senior Jed Quackenbush (Newark, Ohio) were named G-MAC Offensive and Special Teams Players of the Week for their performances against Walsh.
• Pitts rushed 17 times for 81 yards, averaging 4.6 yards per carry. The tailback added a late rushing touchdown to secure the three-score win for ODU.
• Pitts' 81-yard performance is a top five mark in the G-MAC this spring, while the 17 carries marked a new career high.
• Quackenbush was perfect in the kicking game, going 2-for-2 in point-after tries, and making his only field goal attempt from 21 yards out.
• The senior also punted six times, averaging 41.7 yards per attempt, and placed four tries inside the Walsh 20-yard line.
• ODU has won three of the six G-MAC weekly awards given out this spring, claiming the offensive, defensive, and special teams awards each once.
• Since joining the G-MAC in 2017, the Panthers have won 25 weekly awards.

DAUSON'S CREEK

• Dales has registered double-digit tackles in both games this season and is third in the G-MAC with 11.5 stops per game.
• Dales' 13- and 10-tackle performances rank third and fifth in the conference this spring.
• A 2019 first team all-GMAC selection, Dales has already won a defensive weekly conference award in 2021 and leads the conference with four total tackles for loss and 2.0 per game.
• The linebacker is coming off a 2019 campaign that saw him tally 97 tackles. The senior now has 198 career stops, leaving him just 20 tackles away from entering the program's top 10 list.

TURNER TOPPING THE CHARTS

• David Turner is continuing his climb to the top of ODU's career record book.
• The senior wideout has 209 career receptions, which is second all-time at ODU, and us just 14 shy of tying Jared Stace's record of 223.
• Turner has hauled in at least five passes in 13 of his last 15 outings, which has led to a school record 5.8 receptions per game in his career.
• The wide receiver leads the conference with 16 catches this spring, averaging 8.0 per game. His 115 receiving yards are also second-best in the G-MAC.

LIVING ON AN ISLAND

• Junior cornerbacks Ashton Gilkey (Westerville, Ohio) and Godwin Joe are both off to good starts in 2021, each recording at least one interception over the first two games. The duo has a combined three picks this season.
• Gilkey picked off two passes in the season opener at Lake Erie, giving him seven for his career, which is tied for seventh best all-time at ODU.
• Joe intercepted his first collegiate pass last time out and added four tackles as well.
• Joe is coming off a 2019 campaign that saw him lead the team with nine pass breakups.

ERNST & COMPANY

• Evan Ernst is off to another strong start in 2021, leading the conference in completion percentage, 69.1 (47-68).
• Ernst has thrown for 332 yards over the first two games and has two passing touchdowns.
• The redshirt junior has completed over 60 percent of his passes 18 times in 22 career appearances.
• Ernst finished 2019 ranked eighth in Division II in completion percentage, and was a top 30 quarterback nationally with a 145.8 passing efficiency rating.
• To go along with Turner, Ernst has two additional go-to weapons in redshirt juniors James Morgan (Columbus, Ohio) and DeAndre Clark (Dover, Ohio).
• Morgan is second on the team and only trails Turner in the conference with 13 receptions this spring. The junior, seeing the first extended run of his collegiate career, has caught eight and five passes through two games this year for a total of 83 yards and one touchdown.
• Clark filled in admirably for Turner in 2019, where he finished the season with a team-high 37 receptions. Clark has three-plus catches in seven of the last 10 games.

DYNAMIC DUO ON THE GROUND

• Frederick Pitts V and freshman Travis Whittaker (Gahanna, Ohio) have proven to be a nice 1-2 punch in the Panther backfield.
• Pitts is coming off an 81-yard performance against Walsh that earned him G-MAC Player of the Week honors.
• Whittaker led ODU in the opener, rushing for 75 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
• Through two weeks, the duo has combined for 253 rushing yards and four touchdowns, with both Pitts and Whittaker toting the rock 31 times each. Combine, the duo is averaging over four yards per carry.

SMOOT AND CREW

• Senior Aarin Smoot-Baker (Columbus, Ohio) has led a stifling defensive front for ODU this spring.
• Smoot-Baker has two of the team's three sacks this season and has moved ahead of current teammate Jaylin Garner (Shaker Heights, Ohio) for fifth on the program's all-time list (11.5).
• Garner set a single season sack record for the Panthers in 2019, 9.0, and has 11.0 in his career.
• Smoot-Baker and Garner, along with the rest of the front seven, have given up just 72 rushing yards in two games.
• The 36.0 rushing yards allowed per game is currently 70 yards better than the next best defense in the conference (Tiffin).

KENTUCKY WESLEYAN SERIES HISTORY

• SERIES SUPERLATIVES
• Ohio Dominican and KWC will meet for the fourth time on Saturday, with ODU holding a 3-0 series advantage.
• The Panthers have won the previous three meetings by final counts of 47-7 (2019), 65-7 (2018), and 47-7 (2019).
• ODU is averaging 503.7 offensive yards against KWC, while holding the Purple Panthers to 233.3 total offensive yards.
• Ohio Dominican scored the first 40 points in last season's meeting in Owensboro and were led by EJ Colson with 140 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

UP NEXT

• The Panthers will take their scheduled bye week next weekend before returning to competition on Saturday, April 10.
• The back-half of the schedule begins with a 6 p.m. road contest at Findlay.

Contact: Tyler Jester

jestert@ohiodominican.edu