COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio Dominican football team will resume competition for the first time in 460 days on Thursday night, March 11, when they kick off the 2021 spring season at Lake Erie.

The Panthers last outing was a history-setting one, as they competed in the inaugural America's Crossroads Bowl, which marked the program's first bowl appearance and first postseason game since 2014. Ohio Dominican and Lake Erie open the conference-only spring season at 7 p.m., Thursday, in Painesville, Ohio.

2019 RECAP

• ODU finished the 2019 season with a 7-3 overall record. The Panthers went 6-1 in Great Midwest play, finishing second in the standings, giving the program a top-two finish in its now three completed runs in the G-MAC.
• A challenging non-conference scheduled saw ODU win 24-21 in its season opener at Shepherd before falling at 2018 national champion, Valdosta State.
• The Valdosta State game was the first of two straight nationally televised games for the Panthers, as they won the next week at home against Findlay, 21-10.
• After suffering a 41-31 loss at eventual G-MAC champion Tiffin in the final weekend of September, the Black & Gold rattled off five straight wins to close the regular season with an average margin of victory of 28.4 points per game.
• Ohio Dominican closed out the fall with the bowl appearance, as a shorthanded Panther squad dropped a 21-7 decision to nationally ranked Truman State.

2021 G-MAC PRESEASON COACHES POLL

• The head coaches expect Ohio Dominican to once again be a contender this spring.
• The Panthers were picked third, accumulating 26 points and one first place vote in the seven-team pole.
• Tiffin and Findlay took the top two spots and remainder of the first place votes. Tiffin claimed four first-place votes and 34 points, while Findlay registered two first place tallies and 28 points.
• Following ODU's third-place positioning were Hillsdale (24), Walsh (15), Lake Erie (10) and Kentucky Wesleyan (9).

ERNST & COMPANY

• Redshirt junior Evan Ernst (Mason, Ohio) will be back under center again for the Black & Gold this spring. Ernst played in nine games last season, completing 65.4. percent of his passes for 1,911 yards and 17 touchdowns.
• Ernst finished the season leading the conference and ranked eighth in Division II in completion percentage and was among the top 30 quarterbacks in the country in passing efficiency rating, 145.8.
• In 16 of 20 appearances, Ernst has completed over 60 percent of his passes, including seven of nine games last season. He has also thrown a touchdown in 18 straight games.
• Two familiar weapons are back for Ernst at wide receiver in senior David Turner (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and redshirt junior DeAndre Clark (Dover, Ohio).
• Turner will use the spring as an opportunity to vault up the career record books at ODU. The senior, despite only playing in two games last season, enters this year ranked sixth all-time with 2,116 receiving yards and is just over 300 yards away from moving into the top five.
• Turner, who was named to the program's all-decade team in a fan vote this past fall, has been a go-to option for Ernst, as his 2018 (76) and 2017 (68) reception totals are both in the top seven for a single season at ODU. His 76 catches in 2018 is fourth all-time.
• Clark is ODU's leading receptions returner from 2019, where he hauled in 37 passes.
• In his first extended action, Clark totaled 407 yards and three touchdowns over eight appearances, averaging 4.6 receptions per game.
• Since entering the starting lineup in Week 3 of the 2019 season, Clark has caught three or more passes seven times, including a career-high eight catches at Tiffin.
• Both receivers have been threats in the return game as well.

DAUSON'S CREEK

• After ranking second in the conference in total tackles per game, 9.7, only behind teammate Camren Moore, now senior Dauson Dales (Defiance, Ohio) was named to the 2019 all-GMAC team.
• Dales set a new career high with 97 total stops last season and enters this spring with 175 in his career. The linebacker needs 43 tackles to crack the program's top 10 list.
• Dales tallied double digit tackles in five appearances last season, including a career-high 15 stops in the finale against Truman State.
• As a junior, Dales added 5.0 tackles for loss, two fumble recoveries and two pass break ups.

RUNNING WILD & FREE

• The Panthers will look to rely on senior Frederick Pitts V (Huber Heights, Ohio) and redshirt junior Malik Moore (Toledo, Ohio) to replace the program's second all-time leading rusher, EJ Colson, who finished his career in 2019 with 2,811 yards.
• Pitts and Moore, both stalwarts in the Panther program over the past several years, combined for 55 rushes last season for 244 yards (4.4 yards/carry).
• Moore joined Colson in the backfield in all 10 games last season, rushing 28 times for 152 yards, averaging over five yards per carry. The junior rushed seven times for 72 yards and a score last season against Lake Erie.
• Pitts battled through injuries last fall but has a career average of 4.8 yards per rush. In 24 career appearances, the senior has ran for 789 yards and nine touchdowns.

PLAYING ON ISLAND

• Juniors Ashton Gilkey (Westerville, Ohio) and Godwin Joe (Cleveland, Ohio) will be back as the starting cornerbacks this spring for ODU.
• Gilkey, a two-year starter, made 35 tackles with three interceptions and five breakups last season. The then sophomore had two picks and two break ups en route to being named G-MAC Defensive Player of the Week in a win against Findlay.
• For his career, Gilkey has five interceptions and eight breakups for 13 passes defended.
• Joe became a starter for the first time in 2019, and is ODU's third leading tackler that is returning this spring.
• Joe made 39 stops last season and had a team-best nine pass breakups, including two in two of the final three games.

DOMINATING DEFENSE

• The Black & Gold return three starts from a 2019 defensive line that helped ODU to the conference's best scoring defense. ODU allowed 17.5 points per game, which was also 17th best in Division II.
• The Panthers were also top two in the G-MAC in tackles for loss (6.6) and sacks (2.0) per game
• Junior Jaylin Garner (Shaker Heights, Ohio) set a single season program record with nine sacks last season, breaking a five-year old record (Sydney Omameh, 8.5, 2014).
• Garner was top 15 nationally in sacks per game, 0.90, which also led the G-MAC. The junior recorded 46 tackles in 2019, 14.5 for loss, and added one forced fumble.
• Senior Aarin Smoot-Baker (Columbus, Ohio) has recorded 30 or more tackles in all three of his previous seasons. Smoot-Baker has 24 career tackles for loss, including nine last season. The 2019 season saw the defensive lineman log two forced and recovered fumbles.
• Garner and Smoot-Baker were first team all-GMAC selections in 2019.
• Making 26 tackles and 5.5 for loss in his first year on campus in 2019 was Blaine Swartzmiller (Attica, Ohio). Swartzmiller, an honorable mention all-GMAC choice, had a career-high six tackles in a win over Findlay.

TRANSFERS LOOKING TO MAKE IMPACT

• Four transfers are listed as starters on the opening week's two-deep.
• Senior Desdamon Lake (Youngstown, Ohio) and sophomore Steven Shamhart (Marysville, Ohio) are projected to start at safety and on the offensive line, and both come to Columbus from Urbana University.
• Virginia Military Institute (VMI) transfer, senior Colby Rider (Barren Springs, Va.) is scheduled to start at tight end and West Virginia transfer, redshirt freshman Michael Powers (West Mansfield, Ohio), will be in the Panthers' linebacker rotation.

LAKE ERIE SERIES HISTORY

• Ohio Dominican is 10-1 all-time against Lake Erie.
• The Panthers have won nine straight meetings, including last season's contest in Columbus, 49-10.
• During the nine-game winning streak, ODU has scored 38 or more points every time and has won by an average margin of victory of 35.1 points per game.
• Head coach Kelly Cummings is 4-0 against the Storm, including 62-6 (2018) and 45-7 (2016) wins on the road.

UP NEXT

• The Panthers will head to northern Ohio for the second straight weekend with a trip to Walsh.
• Kickoff is set for 1 p.m., Saturday, March 20.

Contact: Tyler Jester

jestert@ohiodominican.edu