PARKERSBURG - It's all about pride and a winning season for the Glenville State College football team.
The Pioneers of second-year head man David Hutchison will try and cap off a 6-5 season when Seton Hill visits for a 1 p.m. Saturday kickoff inside Morris Stadium.
This marks the last chance for the Griffins to attain a win after faltering in all 10 chances to date. One truth about Seton Hill is it has a defense that's allowing 3.6 yards per carry, but an offense that's averaging less than 36 ground yards a contest.
The Pioneers fell out of the West Virginia Conference title hunt following last week's final road game - a 34-23 gut-wrenching defeat where Shepherd scored the final two touchdowns in the last 1:38 to emerge victorious.
Although the records will show Glenville State has had a far superior campaign, the G-men rank just 110th in scoring offense (23.1 ppg) out of 158 Division II teams. Its average of nearly 332 yards per game in total offense ranks just 123rd nationally.
Seton Hill, which has lost seven of its games by an average of only 8.1 points, is ranked three spots ahead of GSC in scoring offense (23.3) and 100th in the country in total offense (358.3). On top of that, SHU will bring to town a defense that makes plays in the trenches as evidenced by its season ranks in sacks (22nd) and tackles for loss (19th).
Glenville State tailback Rahmann Lee, who was held to less than 80 yards for just the second time this season last Saturday, needs 144 stripes to reach 1,200.
SHU signal-caller Andrew Jackson fired up 63 passes during last week's 52-45 loss to St. Anselm, hitting 38 for 543 yards to go with four touchdowns and no picks. DJ Carter (12-171), Mike Allen (6-85) and Lance Williams (3-136) each hit paydirt. Sean Kelley grabbed the other scoring pass, a 2-yarder, and Niko Hall-Brown snagged nine balls for 111 yards.
Miami (Ohio) transfer Demetrius Quarles gave GSC a quick 7-0 lead against Shepherd just 1:58 into the game when he grabbed his fourth pick and raced 59 yards for a touchdown.
The Pioneers will look for strong games again on defense from the likes of James Washington, Nate Ingersoll and Devin Cain. Cain and Ingersoll collected 10 tackles apiece against Shepherd. Washington, who would need a three sack day to reach double figures on the year, had nine stops versus the Rams and a pair of tackles for loss.
