INDIANAPOLIS – Four more Great Midwest Athletic Conference contests between all eight teams are lined up on Saturday with Week 7 kicking off around the league starting at noon ET.
Three teams are comfortably at 2-0 in the current standings with contenders lurking in the middle and several programs are looking to reverse their fortunes at 0-2.
Ohio Dominican’s five-game win streak is on the line at home against Findlay. The Panthers are in the receiving votes category of the AFCA Top 25 and came away with a big win in the scheme of things in Week 6 at Ashland.
LB Dauson Dales had a monster performance with 19 tackles, one shy of tying the conference single-game record. The Panthers (5-1, 2-0) have just found ways to win and are going for their sixth straight victory against the Oilers (4-2, 2-0).
One of those teams will be handed their first conference loss. Findlay relies on a balanced ground attack while boasting a stable of tailbacks in Derek Lynch, Garret Clark and Josh Booker. Booker found the end zone three times last week vs. Kentucky Wesleyan. UF and ODU tussled to a 14-10 final in favor of the Panthers during the spring.
Tiffin (4-2 overall) and Ashland (2-3 overall) feature two of the most explosive offenses and will try to gain some separation in the standings tied at 1-1.
WR’s Garrett Turnbaugh and Anthony Lowe have emerged as two of the top threats in the conference. Turnbaugh flashes big-play ability by averaging almost 16 yards per catch and Lowe is second in receiving yards with 463 to go with four TD’s.
Ashland still remains the league’s highest scoring offense and Tiffin is the league’s best scoring defense. Keep an eye on Tiffin’s Landon Hall, who continues to rack up tackles in bunches to go with his 2.5 sacks, and AU’s Jeffrey Barnett, who posted monster numbers in last week’s effort against Ohio Dominican.
Hillsdale’s confidence remains sky high going into a home matchup vs. Lake Erie at Frank Muddy Waters Stadium. The Chargers (3-3, 2-0) grounded Walsh in Week 6 by holding the Cavaliers to just three points as DB Jackson Gillock finished with three interceptions. Gillock has five picks in five games, putting up numbers similar to what former Findlay DB Christopher Jefferson did (now at Purdue) when he set the single-season INT record.
Lake Erie makes the trip to Michigan and the Storm (3-3, 0-2) are trying to crack their way into the conference win column. LEC’s schedule is frontloaded after facing Findlay and Tiffin in its first two conference affairs. QB Gerald Gardner will presumably top the 1,000 yard passing mark in tomorrow’s game while Cameren Grodhaus has averaged nine tackles per game.
The late game is Kentucky Wesleyan (2-4, 0-2) and Walsh (1-5, 0-2) with both programs seeking to break into the conference win column. KWC’s offense has shown the ability to put points on the board and Walsh has the defensive personnel to keep it low scoring as the second-best defense in the league.
The Cavaliers are looking to get their offense in gear to match the defensive prowess. On the same spectrum, KWC’s scoring defense is tied for eighth but Jalen Humphrey is a true playmaker ranking top five in tackles while recording a pair of sacks.