*Overall record reflective of NCAA non-countable contests
INDIANAPOLIS – The Great Midwest Athletic Conference football schedule culminates with intriguing storylines as Kentucky Wesleyan pays a visit to Alderson Broaddus on Saturday for the regular-season finale.
The Panthers (3-7, 1-0 G-MAC) and Battlers (6-2, 1-0 G-MAC) will lay it all on the line for two prized pieces of hardware up for grabs – the second annual G-MAC Founders Cup Trophy and the inaugural league championship trophy.
Kentucky Wesleyan put itself in position to contend following a win in Week 10 to celebrate Senior Day against Malone. By beating the Pioneers with a 40-30 decision in Owensboro, KWC pulled into a first-place tie with AB in the three-team race.
Malone (2-7. 0-2 G-MAC) will take a trip south to face West Alabama in Livingston for their final regular-season contest after having already played both Alderson Broaddus and Kentucky Wesleyan.
AB triumphed in the first G-MAC Founders Cup game, designed to sustain a rivalry between the two respective institutions as football prepares to add five more member institutions in 2017 (Findlay, Hillsdale, Lake Erie, Ohio Dominican, Walsh).
The 60-lb. bronze mining cart on a set of rails was secured in Philippi last year as the Battlers won 48-29 to conclude the 2015 campaign.
The winner will take it all and each program understands the bragging rights at stake.
Coinciding with the conclusion of the regular season is the announcement of the G-MAC’s first all-conference football team that will be announced on Monday, Nov. 21.
The 2016 all-conference team will include an offensive, defensive, special teams and freshman of the year, as voted upon by the league’s head coaches.
The offensive heavyweights will slug it out between AB and KWC as senior running back Brandon Jones and senior wide receiver Keelan Cole have cleaned up their share of weekly awards this season.
Jones has rushed over 1,000 yards to lead the G-MAC and has scored 10 touchdowns to go with almost 134 yards on the ground per game.
Cole has burned opposing secondaries with almost 1,300 yards receiving and 14 touchdowns; he also has a pair of kickoff returns for scores and leads all G-MAC players in athlete of the week honors with five.
The defenses will need to answer the call and both have proven they are up to the task. After a long reign by AB with various defensive standouts taking home weekly league honors, KWC has earned the last two awards with defensive back Travell Brown in Week 9 and most recently, linebacker Michael Malone.
Saturday also marks the final contest for AB head coach Dennis Creehan, who announced earlier this week he would be stepping down after his fourth complete season to remain the athletic director at the institution.
The Battlers and Panthers will kick off at noon EST with live stats and video being provided. G-MAC Commissioner Tom Daeger will be attending the contest to present both trophies in a postgame ceremony.