COLUMBUS, Ohio - After two non-conference games, the Ohio Dominican Panthers football team opens the schedule for the Great Midwest Athletic Conference this week. Ohio Dominican travels to Kentucky to face the newest member of the G-MAC, Thomas More University on Saturday (Sept. 16) at 7:00 PM.
GAME DAY INFORMATION
OPENING KICKOFF
- ODU bounced back with a 26-14 win over Winston-Salem State in their home opener last week.
- Drew Gallehue (Edon, Ohio) made his first career start as he completed 18 of his 27 attempts for 168 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
- Jonzell Norrils (Toledo, Ohio) led with 79 yards on the ground on 16 carries.
- Jordan Pantaleo (Dresden, Ohio) tallied two rushing touchdowns, scoring on half of his carries - totaling 23 yards.
- Ty Wiley (Pickerington, Ohio) ended the game as the leading target with a team-high six catches for 65 yards (out of ten targets).
- Wiley had 91 yards on three kick returns, totaling 156 all-purpose yards.
- Jayden Cornell (Kenton, Ohio) caught both of Gallehue's touchdown passes as he totaled 39 yards receiving with three catches.
- Dimitri Mitsopoulos (Toledo, Ohio) made a career-high eight stops with six solo tackles.
- The Panthers defense held the Rams to 25 yards rushing on 26 attempts, the 7th lowest rushing output by an opposing offense in program history.
- The Panthers held the ball for 32:27 of the game, converting five-of-14 third down conversions and both fourth down tries.
- When the Panthers are 1-1 in program history, they have improved to 2-1 four out of the eight times.
- ODU is 15-2 following a loss under head coach Kelly Cummings after winning in Week 2.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
- 4 - Ohio Dominican is 4-of-4 in the red zone this season, leading the conference with a 100% success rate.
- 5 - ODU has won five of their six G-MAC openers since 2017. They have won five straight conference openers.
- 7 - The Panthers will begin their 7th season as a member of the G-MAC, Thomas More is in their 1st full season after transitioning from the NAIA.
- 28 - Ohio Dominican is 28-1 under Kelly Cummings while allowing under 14 points to their opponent.
THOMAS MORE AT A GLANCE
- Thomas More makes the jump from the NAIA to Division II and now a full-time member of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference and a provisional member of Division II.
- The Saints are 1-1 overall after winning their first game in the D2 era last week, a 37-0 shutout over Virginia-Wise. They fell 31-17 to Davenport in the season opener.
- Thomas More got their first shutout victory since a 44-0 win over Lake Erie College on November 3, 2018.
- Thomas More averages 27.0 points scored, 118.0 rushing yards, and 137.0 passing yards per game on offense. The Saints allowed 15.5 points, 46.5 rushing yards and 193.0 passing yards per contest. Overall on offense, the Saints sit 2nd in scoring offense, sixth in rushing, 9th in passing and 10th in total offense. For the defense, TMU is 1st in rushing defense, 2nd in total and passing defense while being 3rd in scoring.
- Chris Norwell is in his second year as head coach of the Saints. He is in his 15th year with the Saints. Before becoming head coach, Norwell was the defensive coordinator.
- In the 2023 G-MAC Preseason Poll, Thomas More was chosen tenth of the ten teams.
- Thomas More competed in the Mid-South Conference last season in the NAIA, going 5-6 overall and 4-4 in the MSC.
- Rae'Von Vaden paces the Saints in both passing and rushing as a redshirt junior. Vaden is 29-of-63 passing with 274 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. On the ground, he has a team-high 26 carries for 140 yards and two touchdowns. Vaden has been involved in five of the six offensive touchdowns for Thomas More.
- Jaden Hall is the starting tailback with 61 yards on 20 carries.
- Freddie Johnson has caught nine passes for 88 yards.
- Anthony Grossnickle, Jaden Hall and Mike Kirch all have been on the receiving end of Vaden's passing touchdowns.
- Luke Iden is the reigning G-MAC Special Teams Athlete of the Week after knocking down three field goals (25, 31, and 30 yards) along with going 4-4 on PAT's. He has scored 18 points with being a perfect 6-of-6 on PAT's and 4-of-4 on field goals.
- Del Thomas and Jackson Gear are the two leading tacklers for the Saints. Thomas leads the team with 18 tackles while Gear has 12 tackles, three TFL, two sacks and a forced fumble.
SERIES HISTORY
- The Panthers and the Saints are meeting for the first time in the 20th season of ODU football.
