#1 GLIAC SOUTH
OHIO DOMINICAN (10-1 OVERALL, 9-0 GLIAC)

2014 Ohio Dominican Preview (by Tony Nicolette, GLIAC contributor)

It only took four seasons for Ohio Dominican to move from Division II newbie to outright GLIAC Champ.  After an unbeaten regular season and a playoff appearance in 2013, coach Bill Conley and his staff will continue progressing in their GLIAC existence this season…and that will likely include presuming the role of “the hunted”.

If that is the case the Panthers certainly won’t be shy about the role, nor will they be unprepared.  Any seasoned football fan knows that having an experienced signal-caller running the offense is perhaps the most-coveted of luxuries, and ODU will have that in spades with the return of senior QB Mark Miller.  This will be Miller’s third year at the helm of the offense and he proved to be a picture of efficiency a year ago connecting on 67.5% of passes, along with notching 24 TD passes to only seven INT’s.  Joining Miller in the backfield will be junior RB Brandon Schoen, who is coming off his second consecutive 1,000-yard campaign.  Also at Miller’s disposal will be his two, top pass catchers from last year, Abe Johnson and Dez Stewart.  The duo combined for 110 receptions and nearly 1,500 yards, as well as hauling in half of Miller’s scoring aerials.  As if all that weren’t enough, should drives bog down there is still scoring punch with the GLIAC’s top field-goal kicker (21 made) from a year ago, Brent Wahle.

As one might expect of a championship-caliber team, both the offense and the defense are high-performing.  ODU is certainly not an exception, as last year’s defense allowed the fewest points per game in the GLIAC.  While leading tackler Justin Bell has moved on, the next five names on the tackles list for ODU are all eligible to be back in 2014.  LB’s Warren Shields and Cody Culbertson were numbers two and three on that list, respectively, and headline the list of defensive returnees.  Also back is a pair of top-flight defensive linemen in Di’Andre Harrison and Sydney Omameh, who combined to notch 15 sacks a year ago.

Any reigning champ will tell you that their schedule is tough every week, if for no other reason than you’re likely to get your opponent’s “best shot” each time out.  So, it goes without saying that Ohio Dominican’s slate will be difficult for that reason alone.  Of course, upon reviewing the list of opponents itself we note that weeks two and three (at Grand Valley, home for Ashland) should present challenges.  Week five at Lake Erie and their offensive capabilities might prove interesting, and home dates against Hillsdale, Ferris and Saginaw Valley during a four-week stretch will keep the Panthers on their toes.