Pioneers all business in 2006
2006 Marietta football preview

Wiese expects to return 34 players who earned a varsity letter from last year’s team that went 5-5 and finished sixth in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Of those returnees, nine started on defense, seven started on offense and five played skill positions on special teams.

Senior quarterback Jason Vrable will lead the offense for his third and final year. Vrable rewrote the Pioneers’ passing records in 2005, completing a school-best 164 passes and throwing for a record 1,883 yards.

All-OAC performers returning include senior Jason Curry (wide receiver, return specialist, punter), junior Lance Parrish (offensive lineman), junior Brian Hahn (linebacker) and junior Clay Ream (nose tackle).

In addition, junior Joe Webb gets a chance to lead the running attack, while senior Nic North and junior Chad McDaniel will join Curry at receiver. Defensively, look for seniors Jeff Mast and Bryan Adams to anchor the line, while seniors Anthony Banks, Lonnie Meyers and J.J. Wheeler provide experience in the secondary.

Here is a look at the Pioneers by position:

Quarterback: Vrable is back after a standout junior season, while junior varsity veteran Aaron Spahlinger will be pushing him for playing time. Vrable, a versatile lefty, completed 164-of-298 passes for 1,883 yards with 12 touchdowns, but he was also picked 12 times. Spahlinger has seen limited varsity action during his first two seasons, but has the tools to step in and be successful at that level.

Running back: Webb, as well as senior Arden Renze and sophomore Garrett Banks will battle for carries in the Pioneers’ backfield following the graduation of All-OAC rusher Steven Wagner. Webb was the second option at running back in 2005, rushing for 315 yards and three scores over the final nine games of the season. Both Renze and Banks will look to carry over their experience at the junior-varsity level to the backfield. Senior Corey Jacobs returns for his third year at fullback and will be pushed for playing time by junior Adam Smith.

Tight end: Senior John Bokat returns after pulling in five grabs for 48 yards and one touchdown, which was the game-winner against archrival Muskingum. Sophomores Maurice Page and Jordan Abrams are competing with Bokat for reps this season.

Wide receiver: The top three pass catchers, North, Curry and McDaniel, return from 2005. North, who set the MC single-game reception mark with 14 grabs against Muskingum last year, led the squad in catches with 50 for 505 yards and two touchdowns. Curry added 37 catches for a team-high 507 yards and six scores, while McDaniel pulled in 31 passes for 378 yards and one touchdown. In addition, looking to crack into the rotation will be sophomores Andrew Good, Ian Vanness, Mike Sowko, Jeff Kimble and David Allen. 

Offensive line: Two starters — Parrish and sophomore center Kyle Musselman — return from last year. Juniors Jason MacKay and Brad Roberts, who split time starting at tackle last season, are also back. Competing against Musselman for time at center will be juniors Tom Daniel and Joel McKinney. The battle for the second guard position will be between juniors Steven Kwolek, D.J. Martin and Greg Rose. Sophomores Will Ritter and Jesse Daubert are also fighting for time at tackle.

Defensive line: Five players — Ream, Mast, Adams and juniors Dan DeZordo and Pete Hashman — have all started on the defensive line during their careers and return this fall. Ream, a second team All-OAC nose tackle, had 66 stops, including 11 for a loss and 3 1/2 sacks in 2005. Mast and DeZordo added 49 and 28 tackles, respectively, while Hashman returns after missing 2005 due to an injury. Junior Derek Thomas, along with sophomores Dave Loyer and Rob McCullum should also see action on the line this year.

Linebackers: Hahn, an honorable mention All-OAC selection in 2005, and senior Sean Callahan will be the leaders. Hahn paced the defense with 98 tackles last year. He also added 10 tackles for a loss and four sacks. Juniors competing for time on the field include Carter Shaver, Brian Myers, Rob Phillips and Jon Sidle, while sophomores looking to make and impact are Grant Cowell, Joe Deppen, Dana Blair, Jamie Schumacher, Pat Logan and Will Wilson.

Defensive backfield: Three seniors return to the secondary this season — Banks and Meyers at safety and Wheeler at corner. All three are battle tested in the tough OAC. Banks had 62 tackles and led the team with four interceptions in 2005. He is now 26 yards shy of tying Marietta’s career record for interception return yards. Meyers added 24 stops and two picks, while Wheeler made 49 tackles and had one interception. Junior corner Cody Venderlic is the fourth starter back from last year’s team. Junior Dave Oriani and sophomores Adam Sigman and Lee Knepp are also competing for time in 2006.

Special teams: The place kicking duties will be up for grabs between junior Nick Manson and sophomore Pat Lane — they split the job last year. Curry returns to handle punting duties after tying the MC single-season record for punts (66) and breaking the mark for season punting yards (2,505). However, junior Jon Bensie should push him at the position. Curry, who was also a second team All-OAC return specialist last year, will team up with Banks to return punts and kicks in 2006.

Schedule: For the fourth time in the last six years, the Ohio Athletic Conference, one of the top leagues in the nation, features the reigning National Champion in Mount Union, and competition will be as stiff as ever. The Pioneers will complete the home and away series at non-conference foe Emory & Henry (Va.) to open the season on Sept. 2. The second annual River City Bowl is set for Don Drumm Stadium and OAC opener against Baldwin-Wallace on Sept. 16. A full evening of fun is being planned for an Alumni Day crowd. Away contests with Otterbein (Sept. 23) and Capital (Sept. 30) are followed by back-to-back home games against Muskingum (Oct. 7) and John Carroll (Oct. 14). The game with the Blue Streaks is Homecoming. The Pioneers then travel to Ada to face Ohio Northern (Oct. 21) before returning home to take on Heidelberg (Oct. 28). The final road trip of the year is at Wilmington (Nov. 4), before MC hosts Mount Union (Nov. 11) for its regular season finale and Senior Day at Don Drumm.