Bulldogs Host Albion In Football Season-Opener
SEASON KICKOFF: Butler will begin the
2009 football season on the home turf when it hosts Albion on
Saturday, Sept. 5. The non-league opener is slated for 1 p.m.
(ET) at the Butler Bowl. The Bulldogs will be facing Albion
in a season-opener for the sixth consecutive year. Albion
captured the first three games of that stretch, dating back to
2004, but the Bulldogs have won the last two, including a 20-6
decision last season in Michigan. That victory helped propel
the Bulldogs to six wins in the first seven games of 2008 and their
first winning season in more than a decade. Butler finished
the 2008 campaign with a 6-5 record and a tie for fourth place in
the Pioneer Football League. The six wins matched the
Bulldogs’ second-highest victory total since 1993, when
Butler moved its football program from the NCAA Division II to the
NCAA Division I. The Bulldogs have won two of three
season-openers since Jeff Voris took over as head coach in
2006.
Butler is 8-5 in September under head coach Jeff
Voris.
ON THE AIR: For the fifth straight year,
Butler football games will be broadcast on XL 950 (AM) in
Indianapolis and streamed on the internet at
BigPlayProductions.com. Play-by-play duties for the Bulldogs
again will be handled by Brian Giffin, and he’ll be joined in
the booth by former Butler football coach Ken LaRose. This
weekend’s game against Albion will be carried live, starting
with a pre-game show at 12:40 p.m. (ET).
VETERAN CAST: Head coach Jeff
Voris can call on 36 letterwinners, including 14 starters,
from last year’s breakthrough squad. The Bulldogs have
seven starters back on offense and seven back on defense.
“We’re really experienced on both sides of the
ball,” said Voris of his current squad.
“We’ve had so many guys play and see action in key
situations that we really can put experienced players at almost
every position.” Fifteen of Butler’s returnees
were in the starting lineup against Albion last year, and nine of
those players are slated to start in this season’s
meeting.
The Bulldogs return 21 players who started at least one
game last season.
LEADING MEN: Seniors Dan
Bohrer and Spencer Summerville have been
selected as captains for the 2009 Butler squad by a vote of their
teammates. Bohrer has been a starter in 22 consecutive games,
heading into this season, and he has played in 32 games during his
Butler career. He finished second in the Pioneer Football
League in both receptions (71) and receiving yards (971) in
2008. Summerville was a starting safety in all 11 Butler
games last year, and he’s played in 30 games during his first
three seasons with the Bulldogs. He finished second on the
team and 15th in the PFL in tackles last season. He also
finished second on the team in kickoff returns. Butler head
coach Jeff Voris will appoint additional captains
on a game-by-game basis. Seniors Brian
Crable and Derek Guggenberger have been
tabbled as captains for the season-opener against Albion.
RUSH DELIVERY: Butler’s leading rusher
from a year ago, Dionte Wiggins, is gone, but head coach Jeff Voris
can call on three other tailbacks who have been in Butler’s
starting lineup in the past. Leading that group is junior
Scott Gray, who missed most of last season with
injuries. Gray was Butler’s leading rusher and scorer
in his first season with the Bulldogs two years ago. He made
his collegiate debut against Albion, and wound up scoring four
touchdowns on his first seven carries! He finished that first
game with five touchdowns, one shy of Butler’s single game
record. Also back this season are redshirt sophomore
Ryan Hitchcock and senior Ricky
Trujillo. Hitchcock was Butler’s third-leading
rusher last season with 352 yards. Trujillo, who missed seven
games with injury last season, was Butler’s third-leading
rusher two years ago. He was in Butler’s starting
lineup against Albion last year, and he finished as the Bulldogs
leading rusher in the game with 45 yards.
Scott Gray has scored 17 touchdowns in 12 career games
at Butler.
SACK TIME: Sophomore Grant
Hunter made his Butler debut against Albion last year, and
he recorded his first career quarterback sack in the game.
That started him on a season-long run that ended with a
league-leading 14 sacks, matching the second-highest total in
Butler football history! Hunter finished second in the
Pioneer Football League in tackles for loss with 18, and he tied
for second on the team in total tackles with 42.
Grant Hunter was Butler’s lone first team All-PFL
player last year.
FAMILIAR FRONT: Four of the five offensive
linemen who finished in Butler’s starting lineup a year ago
are back this season. Leading that group is All-PFL guard
Donny GIlmore, who has started 22 consecutive
games for the Bulldogs. Also returning are senior tackle
Brian Crable, junior tackle Mike
Staniewicz and sophomore guard Pete
Mattingly. Crable has started 21 straight games,
while Staniewicz has started 21 of the last 22 Butler
contests.
BULLDOG BITS:
•Butler junior quarterback Matt Kobli will
not play against Albion. He is sitting out an indefinite
suspension for violation of team policies. Kobli set a school
record with 23 touchdown passes a year ago. Sophomore
Andrew Huck will get the starting nod for the
Bulldogs against Albion.
•The Bulldogs will have a couple of new faces handling kicking
chores this fall. Placekicker Jordan Quiroz, who finished as
Butler’s second-leading scorer in 2008, and punter Rob
Blevins are gone. Taking over at placekicker will be
sophomore David Lang, who handled Butler’s
kickoff duties last season. Stepping in at punter will be
redshirt freshman Michael Wilson, who transferred
to Butler from the U. S. Naval Academy.
•Linebacker Derek Guggenberger has led the
Bulldogs in tackles for two consecutive seasons. Guggenberger
tied for sixth in the PFL in total tackles last season with
85. He and safety Spencer Summerville led the Bulldogs in
tackles against Albion last year with nine apiece.
•Senior wide receiver Dan Bohrer needs three
receptions to break Butler’s all-time record of 142 catches,
set by Eric Voss, 1990-93. Bohrer enters this weekend’s
season-opener with 140 career receptions.
•Dan Bohrer needs three touchdown catches to
tie the Butler career record of 18, set by Mike Chrobot,
1975-78. Bohrer holds the school single season record for
touchdown receptions (11), and he shares the Butler single game
record (4).
•Wide receiver Eddie McHale had a career-high
seven catches for 63 yards and one touchdown in last year’s
game at Albion.
•Tailback Ryan Hitchcock saw his first
collegiate action in last year’s game against Albion, and he
finished with 37 rushing yards on seven carries.
•Junior cornerback Tadd Dombart, who led the
PFL in punt returns last year, returned three punts for 77 yards
against Albion in last year’s win. He had a 49-yard
return against the Britons that set up Butler’s final
touchdown in the fourth quarter. Two years ago, Dombart had a
54-yard punt return against Albion and that wound up being the
Bulldogs’ longest punt return of 2007.
ON THIS DATE: On Sept. 5, 1992, the Bulldogs
defeated Northern Michigan, 14-0, in Marquette, Mich. Butler
went on to post an 8-2 record for the 1992 season.
