Football team travels to play John Carroll in NCAA DIII Playoffs

OLIVET, Mich. – The Olivet College football team travels to play John Carroll (Ohio) University in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Division III National Championships Saturday, Nov. 19. Kickoff at Wasmer Field and inside the Don Shula Stadium in University Heights, Ohio, is noon.

TICKETS: Ticket prices are: Reserved Seating (Home side only): $15; General Admission: $10; General Admission - Senior citizen and youth: $; No passes of any kind will be accepted. Ticket booths will open at 10 a.m., with gates to open 30 minutes later at 10:30 a.m.

OLIVET HEAD COACH DAN PIFER: Dan Pifer is in his fifth season as the Comets' head coach. He currently has 21-19 career record. After the team went winless in his first season, Olivet posted back-to-back 6-4 seasons in 2013 and 2014, and then had a 9-1 record in 2015.

BLUE STREAK PREVIEW: John Carroll enters the game with a 9-1 overall record. The Blue Streaks won the Ohio Athletic Conference championship with a 9-0 record. John Carroll snapped a 112-game regular season winning streak for the Purple Raiders. Anthony Moeglin has thrown for 1,967 yards and 21 touchdowns to lead the Blue Streaks. Marshall Howell has caught a team-best 43 passes for 379 yards and seven touchdowns. Three other receivers each have more than 200 receiving yards. Ro Golphin tops the ground game with 117 carries for 919 yards. Sam Kukura has rushed for 674 yards and 11 touchdowns. Mason McKenrick leads the defense with 67 total tackles, while Ray Brown has 41 tackles, including a team-leading 16.5 for minus 85 yards. Michael Collins has picked off five passes. 

ALL-TIME SERIES: Today's game marks only the second meeting between John Carroll and Olivet on the football field. The first-ever game was on Nov. 6, 1937, and the Blue Streaks won on their home field, 47‑6.

OUTRIGHT MIAA TITLE: With a 6-0 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) record, the Comets claimed the outright conference title for the first time in school history since 1974. In addition, Olivet has won back-to-back MIAA championships for the first time since 1913 and 1914. Overall, the Comets have 10 MIAA championships. 

NINE WINS: With their nine wins, the Comets have equaled the 2015 team for the most wins in school history for a single season.

ONLY LOSS: Olivet's only loss this season was a 52-10 setback in the season-opener at St. John Fisher (N.Y.) College. The Cardinals are ranked No. 22 in the most recent D3football.com Top 25 poll.

SPEAKING OF POLLS: For the third straight week, the Comets have received votes in the D3football.com and American Football Coaches Association Top 25 polls.

PLAYOFF HISTORY: The Comets are participating in the NCAA Division III Playoffs for only the second time in school history. The other time was in 2007 when Olivet traveled to play Central (Iowa) College and fell to the Dutch, 55-17.

MIAA MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS AND ALL-MIAA TEAMS: Senior quarterback Braden Black was named the MIAA's Offensive Most Valuable Player, and senior defensive end Justin Madar was selected the MIAA's Defensive Most Valuable Player. Thirteen teammates joined them in earning All-MIAA honors.

Joining them on the first-team were senior punter Ryan Anderson, senior wideout Mitchell Bailey, senior defensive lineman Robert Cuba, senior linebacker Thomas Gary-Homes, junior defensive back Walter Love III and junior running back Jerome Washington.

All-MIAA second-team picks were sophomore linebacker Chase Cavric, junior defensive lineman Tyler Douglas, senior running back Damorria Lilly, junior wideout Kornelius Saxton, sophomore defensive back Jaquan Short, sophomore offensive lineman Jakeup Stuller and junior defensive back Javon Walker. Bailey was also added to the list as a second-team return specialist.

STOPPING THE RUN: The Comets lead the MIAA and are fifth among all NCAA Division III schools in rushing defense at 65.6 yards per game. In the six MIAA games, Olivet has allowed only 305 total rushing yards. Two of the league opponents finished with negative rushing yards and a third had a single digit rushing total.

PUNTING THE BALL: Ryan Anderson leads all NCAA Division III punters with a 47.4 average on 42 punts. His average also ranks fourth among all NCAA punters, with only three FBS punters posting a higher average. Anderson has had 18 punts travel more than 50 yards. If his average stays above 47.0, he will set an NCAA Division III single-season record for punting average.

TURNOVERS: Olivet has done an excellent job at not turning over the ball compared to its opponents. In 10 games, the Comets have 12 turnovers (eight interceptions and four fumbles) compared to 21 turnovers (14 interceptions and seven fumbles) for their opponents

POSSESSION TIME: The Comets are ranked fifth among all NCAA schools in average possession time. On average, Olivet has held the ball for 35 minutes and 44 seconds compared to 24:16 for its opponents. In 10 games, the Comets have held the ball for 114 minutes and 38 seconds more than the other team.

BLOCKING KICKS: Olivet leads all NCAA Division III schools with nine blocked kicks. The Comets have blocked three punts, two field goals and six point-after-touchdown kicks.

SINGLE-SEASON RECORDS: Mitchell Bailey has broken the single-season school record with 59 pass receptions and 849 receiving yards. Justin Madar holds the single-season record for quarterback sacks with 10.5.

CAREER RECORDS: Braden Black owns every school single-game, single-season and career passing record. In 43 career games, he has 756 completions; 1,200 attempts; 9,474 yards and 83 touchdowns. Black also holds the all-time record for total offensive yards (10,767) and touchdowns responsible for (110). He is second among active NCAA DIII players in total offense and touchdowns.

Justin Madar needs one and one-half quarterback sack to become the all-time leader. Ryan Armstrong currently holds the record with 24.5 from 2011-14.

ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT: Ryan Anderson and senior tight end Travis Lankerd earned College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District VI honors. Both have strong chances to be named to the CoSIDA Division III Academic All-America® teams.