Saturday's season-opening game between the Stetson Hatters and visiting Sacred Heart at Spec Martin Memorial Stadium in DeLand will feature some significant differences.
The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start and will be broadcast on ESPN3 and the Watch ESPN ap with Evan Weston and Cris Belvin on the call of the game. Fans in attendance at the stadium, or unable to watch online, can tune in to the Hatters Radio Network on WSBB AM 1230 in New Smyrna Beach, AM 1490 in DeLand and AM 1400 in Samford. Pete Blais, Luke Mauro and Brandon Kravitz will have the call of the game with long-time central Florida radio veteran Tracy Dent on the sidelines.
The game is a "Black Out" game for the Hatters, with the first 300 fans who enter the south gate receiving a free t-shirt. During pregame tailgating in Hatter Village there will be inflatables, face painters, caricaturists, corn hole, an ice cream truck and various giveaways. During the game there will be a variety of activities for fans to get involved with, including a Seminole Powersports promotion, the Little Caesar's Hot-N-Ready Kick, the CountrySide Animal Clinic Dog of the Game and a promotion from Sporty's Car Wash. There will also be post-game fireworks.
Stetson will also present framed jerseys at halftime to 16 former team members who graduated after the 2015 season.
The Hatters hope fireworks produced during play come primarily from the home team, but visiting Sacred Heart will have something to say about that. The Pioneers are a scholarship team from the Northeast Conference and are led by senior quarterback R.J. Noel, who is on various pre-season Offensive Player of the Year watch lists. The Lowell, Mass., native is within striking distance of all of the Sacred Heart career passing records.
"Offensively, they are similar to us in that the run some option, the spread things out with an athletic quarterback and two running backs who are fast," Hatters coach Roger Hughes said. "They lost a couple of good receivers from last year, so we don't know as much about their receivers."
In addition to having thrown for 7,111 yards and 65 touchdowns over the last three seasons, Noel also protects the ball well in guiding the Pioneers' offensive attack. He threw just nine interceptions last year
"They are well coached, they don't make mistakes and they don't beat themselves," Hughes said. "I know they are plus 31 on turnovers over the last three years, which is the stat that stands out the most."
On the defensive side of the ball, the Sacred Heart defense will be without the services of All-American linebacker James Rentz, who is suspended for the opening game. That does not, however, mean the cupboard is bare. Senior defensive tackle Ryan Cottrell had nine sacks last year and anchors a formidable front line.
"They have a nose guard who is one of the top defensive players in FCS," Hughes said. "Their defense is similar to ours in that they blitz a lot, especially with their inside backers. I am going off last year, but I assume they will be similar.
"We look at Sacred Heart as they would be a premier team in our league. We hope we are able to play at that level, and we are going to find out. Like you do for any first game. You are worried about the unknowns. You never know exactly what you are going to get and you never know about the matchups."
While the Pioneers have a very experienced quarterback leading the offense and a proven standout tackle to headline the defense, the Hatters enter the 2016 season with untested players at both crucial positions.
Redshirt sophomore Gaven DeFilippo takes over as the starting quarterback for the Hatters following the graduation of three-year starter Ryan Tentler and the loss of junior captain Colin McGovern to a season-ending preseason injury. DeFilippo saw action in some junior varsity games in 2014, but sat out last year as a redshirt. The time off from playing did not mean he took time away from football.
"He has a great knowledge of the offense and a great understanding of why we do the things that we do on the field," Hughes said. "He is like a coach on the field. He worked hard to study the offense (while he was redshirting). He is fundamentally very sound, and he has worked hard on his footwork and to understand the timing of things. He has a great sense, based on what he sees, on knowing when and where the ball should come out."
On the other side of the ball, the Hatters have true freshman Shane Parton slated to be the starter at nose tackle, but he will have plenty of help.
"We have never been deeper with quality at nose guard than we are this year," Hughes said. "We have also never been deeper in the defensive line."
The defensive line will be led once again by Davion Belk, but that unit is loaded with talent and experience. Of the 13 fifth-year seniors on the Stetson roster, six are starters on the defensive side of the ball. In addition to Belk the Hatters will lean on linebackers Dylan Whydronkowski and David Lazear along with defensive backs Chris Atkins, Glenn Adesoji and All-American Donald Payne.
"When you go against our defense, Donald lines up on the defensive right side and Davion lines up and the defensive left side," Hughes said. "You have to decide who you are going to run at. If Davion continues to play at his level, and we can get some pressure at nose, then I don't know who you run to."
Hughes said one of the keys for Stetson on Saturday is weathering the early storm.
"Getting used to the speed of the game and weathering the storm until we can figure out what they are doing and where out matchups are the best will be important," Hughes said.
His key for the game is a simple on.
"Turnovers," Hughes said. "That and we have to have a great kicking game. Our kicking game has to be phenomenal. Turnovers have been our glaring issue. If we don't beat ourselves, who knows where this can go. One of the best things from our scrimmage was that we had no turnovers. While we didn't execute the way we needed to, but we didn't put ourselves in bad position with turnovers.
"Offensively, we have to think in terms of four yards. We have to get four yards, stay on schedule, not give up big sacks and take care of the football. First downs are good and, sometimes, punts are good. Any time our possession ends in a kick is OK."
It is obvious that the Hatters' head coach likes his team, and he is anxious to see what it can do.
"I'll know more once we face some adversity," Hughes said. "I like this team a lot. They have been fun to coach. They have really taken ownership of the team and ownership of how their teammates are responding. That part has been really fun."
Tickets for both the opening game of the 2016 season, as well as full and partial season ticket packages, are available through the Stetson Athletics Ticket Office. Season tickets are available for as little as $99 each while single-game tickets start at $20 each. Contact the ticket office by calling 386-738 HATS (4287), via e-mail at HatterTickets@stetson.edu, online at GoHatters.com/tix or on Twitter at @HatterTickets to get more information.
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.
