MEADVILLE, Pa. - Allegheny football opens up the 121st season in program history this Saturday, hosting local non-conference rival Thiel at 7 p.m. at Frank B. Fuhrer Field. On Community Night at Frank B. Fuhrer Field, all fans will be admitted free of charge, as they watch Gator head coach
B.J. Hammer make his Allegheny debut.
THIS WEEK: Allegheny opens the 121st sesaon of Gator football against local non-conference rival Thiel College under the lights at Frank B. Fuhrer Field. This week's game marks the Allegheny debut of head coach B.J. Hammer, who was hired in January following the retirement of Mark Matlak after 13 seasons at the helm of the Gators. While he is new to Meadville, Hammer is quite familiar with Allegheny football, as he starred for four seasons on the defensive line at North Coast Athletic Conference foe Wabash (1997-2000), before spending the past five seasons on the Wabash staff as defensive coordinator, helping the Little Giants amass a 51-7 record over the span. This marks the third consecutive season in which the Tomcats and Gators meet in week one night games, with Thiel winning the previous two, including a 28-14 decision in Meadville in 2014, and a 37-21 home victory on Sept. 5 of last season. Like Allegheny, Thiel is also sporting a new head coach, as Dan Blume makes his debut on the Tomcat sidelines after spending the past four seasons on the staff at Mercyhurst University.
GAME ONE - THIEL AT ALLEGHENY
Saturday, September 3 - 7:00 p.m.
Frank B. Fuhrer Field - Meadville, Pennsylvania
Radio: COOL 101.7 WMVL - with Chuck Stopp (play-by-play) and Steven G. Folmar (color)
Streaming Audio: http://www.mainstreamnetwork.com/listen/player.asp?station=wmvl-fm
Streaming Video: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/allegheny/ - with Mike Fiorillo (play-by-play) and Vic Kress '60 (color)
Live stats: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/allegheny/
GAME NOTES (click for complete PDF version)
OPEN IT UP Allegheny will be looking for its first opening day victory since 2012, when the Gators posted a come-from-behind 17-14 victory at conference foe Wooster. This marks the third straight season in which Allegheny faces Thiel in the season opener, with the Tomcats winning each time. Dating back to the 1990 campaign, Allegheny is 10-15-1 in week one, with a pair of those victories coming against Thiel, including a 61-13 decision in 1996, and a 45-19 win a year later. In all, the Gators and Tomcats have faced off in the season-opener 13 times, with Thiel holding an 8-4-1 edge in those meetings.
IT'S HAMMER TIME This week marks the first game in the Allegheny career of head coach B.J. Hammer. Named the 34th head coach in program history in January following the retirement of Mark Matlak, Hammer spent the past five seasons as the defensive coordinator at North Coast Athletic Conference rival Wabash, and helped his alma mater to a 51-7 record over the span. Prior to his stint at Wabash, Hammer spent five seasons as head coach at Whittier College in Los Angeles, California, amassing a 12-33 record. Hammer is seeking to become the first Gator coach to win in his Allegheny debut since 1970, when Sam Timer led Allegheny to a 20-3 victory in the season-opener against Case Western Reserve.
RECORD RETURNS In 2015, Allegheny established a new program record for kick returns, totaling 1,284 yards on 65 returns, good for an average of 19.1 yards per try. Current sophomore Tyler Balla earned All-North Coast Athletic Conference honors after setting a school record with 685 kick return yards (20.1 yds/ret), while classmate Jonah Tanner returned 18 kicks and averaged 22.1 yards, good for fifth in the NCAC.
CLIMBING THE RANKS Allegheny senior quarterback Jon Nigro enters the 2016 season ranked among program career leaders in a pair of passing categories. Through his first three seasons, Nigro has completed 334 passes, good for sixth all-time in program history, and just eight completions away from the fifth-place spot held by Allegheny Hall of Famer Mike Ganey '70. In addition, Nigro's 3,267 career passing yards rank eigth all-time in the Gator record books.
SWITCHING SIDES A number of Gator returnees have switched from offense to defense - and vice versa - for the 2016 season, including Travis Newton (quarterback to safety), Juwan Campbell (running back to linebacker), Jon Scroxton (fullback to defensive line), Tyler Noebe (wide receiver to linebacker), Joe DeSanti (defensive line to offensive line), and Chase Lintner (tight end to defensive line).
WELCOME BACK A total of 41 letterwinners from the 2015 season return for the Gators, including 19 players who made at least one start. In all, Allegheny's 121-man roster is comprised of 61 freshmen, 29 sophomores, 18 juniors, and 13 seniors.
FAMILIAR FACES Allegheny enters the 2016 campaign particularly seasoned on the defensive side of the football, as seven men return who started at least eight games in 2015. The Gator defense returns players who accounted for 67 percent of the team's tackles in 2015, 58 percent of its tackles for loss, and 59 percent of its sacks. Additionally, current sophomores Tristan Rhoades (2) and Craye Nehler (1) accounted for each of the Gators' three interceptions in 2015.
GLOBAL GATORS Sixteen different states are represented on the Gators' 2016 roster, which is comprised of players from Pennsylvania (43), New York (21), Florida (13), Ohio (10), Maryland (8), New Jersey (8), California (5), Arizona (4), West Vrginia (3), Maine (2), Georgia (2), Tennesse (1), Connecticut (1), Idaho (1), Massachusetts (1), and Michigan (1).
NEW FACES In addition to new head coach B.J. Hammer, the Gators also have a number of members of the coaching staff in their first seasons at Allegheny. Defensive coordinator Randy Moore was hired in March after working the past six seasons as head coach at NCAC member Hiram College. Linebackers coach A.J. Akinribade wrapped up a star-studded four-year playing career at fellow NCAC power Wabash College, while offensive tackles coach Justin Smith is coming off of a two-year stint on the coaching staff at Limestone College, where he held a variety of roles.
UP NEXT Allegheny will open up North Coast Athletic Conference play next Saturday (Sept. 10), traveling to the College of Wooster to take on the Fighting Scots under the lights at 7 p.m. It marks the first of three straight road games for Allegheny, which will not return home until an Oct. 1 Homecoming bout with Oberlin College.
