WACO, Texas – Following respective Week 1 victories, Ohio Dominican and Findlay were both on the rise in the first American Football Coaches Association DII Coaches’ Top 25 Poll that was released on Monday afternoon.
 
Ohio Dominican (1-0, 0-0 Great Midwest) moved up six spots from 23rd to 17th while Findlay (1-0, 1-0 Great Midwest) made the climb from 25th into a tie for 19th with Ouachita Baptist. Hillsdale (1-0, 0-0 Great Midwest), which toppled Mercyhurst on Saturday, received three votes in the balloting as well.
 
The top five of the poll consist of No. 1 Texas A&M Commerce, No. 2 West Florida, No. 3 Minnesota State-Mankato, No. 4 Indiana (PA) and No. 5 Fort Hays State.
 
Ohio Dominican took care of business on Thursday against California (PA) as the Panthers toppled the Vulcans, 28-23.
 
ODU adjusted to life without All-American quarterback Grant Russell with an impressive transition by turning the keys over to Charleston Southern transfer Shane Bucenell.
 
Bucenell looked like he had a rapport built up with the arsenal of Panthers playmakers, connecting with Great Midwest Offensive Back of the Year Cory Contini for a TD and airing two more scoring passes to 2017 conference freshman of the year Devanaire Conliffe.
 
ODU earned defensive and special teams player of the week honors by the league with Ross Thompson (15 tackles, 1 INT, 1.5 TFL, 2 PBU) and Logen Neidhardt (6 punts, over 47 yards per kick, 3 inside 20, 2 TB) securing awards.
 
Four different players around the league recorded a pair of interceptions in Week 1 alone, including ODU’s junior linebacker Alessio Amato.
 
Findlay routed Kentucky Wesleyan in the conference opener for both programs on the road in Owensboro by a final of 69-19. The point total was just one shy of the single-game conference team scoring record when the Oilers put up 70 against Alderson Broaddus last season.
 
The Oilers also held the Panthers to just a total of 91 yards for the game, including -9 in the ground game. Michael Campbell gained over 100 yards rushing and punched it in for two TD’s to led the UF offense.
 
Ohio Dominican and Findlay are on a collision course for Week 4 in the conference schedule at Donnell Stadium. The Panthers and Oilers will be highlighted as part of the DII Showcase package with the game being streamed on the NCAA DII Twitter account, Facebook page and the Great Midwest Midwest Digital Network.
 
Ohio Dominican and Findlay were picked No. 1 and No. 2 in the preseason coaches poll, respectively.