Football October 14, 2016 Ricky Hazel, Associate AD

Valpo Visits For Hatters Lone October Home Game

After two consecutive weeks away from home, and with two more road games looming at the end of the October, the Stetson football team will make its only appearance for the month at Spec Martin Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

Kickoff for the game between the Hatters (3-2, 1-1) and the visiting Crusaders of Valparaiso (2-4, 0-2) is set for 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 with Evan Weston and Cris Belvin on the call of the action. The contest will also be broadcast on the Hatters Radio Network with Pete Blais, Luke Mauro, Brandon Kravitz and Tracy Dent providing coverage.

The game is being sponsored by Florida Hospital DeLand and is the Hatters' annual "Pink Game" in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month. The first 1,000 fans at the game will receive a pink wristband to show support for the Breast Cancer Awareness movement.

In addition, Stetson will also be honoring municipal workers from DeLand, Deltona, Orange City, DeBary, Port Orange, Casselberry, Edgewater, Altamonte Springs, Lake Mary, Sanford, Oviedo and Apopka, as well as any power company or debris removal workers with discounted general admission tickets as a way of saying thank you for their efforts before, during and after the passing of Hurricane Matthew.

Stetson University facilities and grounds employees and their families will receive free admission to the game as a token of appreciation for all the hard work that has gone on the clean up the campus after the storm.

Fans are also encouraged to bring canned goods and other non-perishable food items to the game. All of the food collected at the gate will be provided to local food banks to help restore their supplies following the storm.

On the field, the Hatters will look to their defense to continue to lead the way against the Crusaders. It is that unit – which currently leads all of FCS football in red zone defense and tackles for loss while also ranking among the best in the country in passes intercepted (4^th), first downs allowed (11^th), passing yards allowed (11^th), first down defense (16^th), scoring defense (20^th), third down defense (23^rd) and total defense (23^rd) – that has keyed the Hatters on their two-game win streak.

"That speaks to how well our front is playing together," Hatters coach Roger Hughes said. "It speaks to the fact that the back end of our defense is really good when the front end is really good and the quarterback doesn't have much time, or has to move or has to change what he wants to do. We are playing probably the best team defense that we have played since starting the program back and that is really gratifying to see."

Last week, in the Hatters' 31-21 win over Brown, Stetson was stung by big plays early in the game, quickly falling behind 14-0. The rest of the day it was the Stetson defense that put the clamps on the Bears, forcing six turnovers and holding Brown scoreless over their final 11 possessions while allowing a total of just 151 yards of offense, including just 62 rushing yards, over the final three quarters.

"Coming from the Ivy League, I know how explosive Brown's offense usually is," Hughes said. "They score a lot of points and pile up a lot of yards very quickly. For us to do that was remarkable, but it is hard for teams to score when the defensive front is so dominant.

"I thought Davion Belk was extremely dominant last week. They were trying to double-team him, which just opened up other guys to make plays. The back end of our defense, once they settled down, played very well as well. It was really a team win. The defense set us up with some short fields and the offensive capitalized on the short fields, for the most part."

It was the Stetson defense that set the tone last year when the Hatters traveled to northern Indiana and defeated Valparaiso 37-14. With the exception of drives at the end of the first half and the end of the game, when Valpo was in its two-minute offense and Stetson was in a prevent type of defense, the Crusaders managed just 25 yards of total offense over the rest of the game.

Valparaiso turned the ball over three times in the contest and the Hatters rushed for 182 yards, the most in a Pioneer Football League game all season, to insure the win.

"We were able to get to the quarterback and make him change his reads or go through things too quickly," Hughes said of the game last year. "We did all that we could do to make him uncomfortable. We could do that because we were able to shut down their run game.

"This year, they are a much-improved team. Their line is better, their running backs are better and their quarterbacks are distributing the ball better. Defensively, they are a high-pressure defense. They run two or three very distinct fronts, and each front causes different problems."

Two players Hughes singled out from the Valparaiso defense were sophomore safety Joey Diaz-Martinez and junior nose tackle Tristan De La Rosa.

"Martinez has an uncanny knack of timing his blitzes," Hughes said. "We are going to be very concerned about where he is. They blitz a lot from the inside and they try to have those guys on the run (at the snap), which is very difficult to stop. He blitzes the edges of the linemen very well, not just right up the middle. He makes it difficult to control him, so we are going to have to do some things to try to control him.

"They also have a big nose guard who has been dominant at times. He is getting penetration and is not allowing movement. To create running lanes and distort the defense the way we need, we are going to have to find a way to move him around."

Offensively, Hughes is happy with the progress of his offensive line - especially sophomores Dom Coluccio, Andrew Rogalski, Garrett Mullin and Jim McCammon – and the amazing maturity displayed by his quarterback, sophomore Gaven DeFilippo.

"As the line continues to work together, and as they continue to get more comfortable with all the different things defenses can do, they will continue to get better," Hughes said. "There is no better teacher than experience. That is one of the things that, as we go through the season, we need to continue to improve.

"I think the word for Gaven is 'unflappable' because nothing ever seems to bother him. He'll get pancaked, jump right up, wipe his hands off on his towel and get right back in there. His toughness has really come through and, to this point, he hasn't waivered at all. He stays in the pocket and delivers the ball even though he knows he is going to get hit, and he has been doing it with pretty good accuracy."

While DeFilippo and other standouts like Cole Mazza and Kegan Moore get most of the notoriety, the Hatters have an 'under the radar' star on offense who has made big contributions in the running game as a runner and blocker, in the passing game in protection and as a receiver, and on special teams.

Senior Mike Yonker's stats won't jump off a page, but his contributions have been immeasurable.

"I think the fullback position is the most difficult position to play in our offense," Hughes said. "You have to understand pass protection schemes, you have to understand our passing concepts, you have to understand how to be a good run blocker and you have to run the ball as well. Everything from the fullback position happens faster.

"Mike has been playing extremely well and has been giving us a lot of energy catching the ball and blocking for us. He is a pivotal part of the offense and I am glad he is on our side."

Last week against Brown, Yonker had just three receptions, for a team-high 49 yards, and he did not have a rush attempt. He also had three big tackles on punt coverage, earning the Hatters' special teams player of the week honor.

For the season, he has only touched the ball 17 times, but has piled up 177 yards rushing and receiving and has scored three touchdowns. He also has five tackles.

"He is an all-purpose guy that is not flashy," Hughes said. "He is one of the toughest football players I have ever been around. Nothing is ever bothering him. He could have his arm in a sling and his ankle hanging off, but he would still tell you he is ready to go. He is remarkably tough, but very quiet. I asked him to speak to the team last week, but he didn't want to do it because it is not him. He would rather be the quiet guy. He brings his hard hat and lunch pail every day and just goes to work."

Facing a team this week with nothing to lose, and with 18 Florida natives on the roster, the Hatters will have to change their perspective from being the hunter to being the hunted. In order to improve on a 6-15 record at home over three and half seasons, the Hatters will need to approach the game with the same attitude that has been successful on the road.

"If you are a college football player and a competitor, you shouldn't have to generate emotion," Hughes said. "That has to come internally. We have talked to our kids very strongly this week about having the target on our backs. We are certainly not going to sneak up on anyone.

"We have to make sure it is all about fundamentals. When adversity hits, we have to go back to our fundamentals. We have been reinforcing that this week and making sure we are sound on both sides of the ball in that area."

Hughes said the key to finding success on Saturday is the same as it was last week against Brown, and last year against Valpo, making their offense one-dimensional.

"We've got to watch because they use a lot of shifts, a lot of motions and a lot of different formations," Hughes said. "We've got to communicate very effectively on defense. We've got to make sure everyone is playing the same defense and we don't get caught up in the rubs and things their offense naturally creates. We've got to make sure to create turnovers because the short fields are what really got our offense going last week.

"Offensively, we have to make sure we run the ball. They can't score without the ball and we have to make sure we control the ball with the short passing game and effective running game. We have to make sure that we stay ahead of the chains."

About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program has a vision of developing a culture of champions athletically, academically and within the community. This vision is accomplished through a mission of recruiting and developing student-athletes, coaches and staff, creating a culture of champions, within and outside of competition. The department operates with five core values: Championship Culture, Integrity, Excellence, Pride/Tradition and Leadership. To learn more about the Vision, Mission and Core Values for Stetson Athletics, visit GoHatters.com and click on Mission Statement under the Inside Athletics tab.

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