Football

Falcons Travel To No. 5 Notre Dame on Saturday

The Matchup
  • Fairmont State returns to action Saturday, Sept. 21 when it visits South Euclid, Ohio for a huge Mountain East Conference showdown with defending league champion and national semifinalist Notre Dame College at noon at Mueller Field.
  • Unbeaten NDC (2-0) is ranked fifth in the country in NCAA Division II Coaches' Poll and made it to the semifinals of the D-II playoffs last season where it fell to eventual national champion Valdosta State.
  • Notre Dame has won 15 of its last 16 games, including a thrilling 24-21 victory over the Falcons last year in Fairmont. NDC used a fourth down pass interference call in the end zone against the Falcons to get a first down at the Fairmont State two yard line and then scored the winning touchdown with just 1:33 remaining on a two-yard run by Jaleel McLaughlin.
  • McLaughlin led the nation last year in rushing as a true freshman with 2,421 yards and 18 touchdowns on 378 carries. He leads the country this season in rushing as well. After two games the talented sophomore has 424 yards and four touchdowns on 51 carries. He's averaging 212 yards per game on the ground.
  • The last three meetings between Fairmont State and Notre Dame have all been decided by five points or less. NDC has won two of those three games.
  • Notre Dame's last loss to an MEC opponent came way back on Oct. 21, 2017 when West Virginia Wesleyan recorded a 20-13 victory over NDC at Mueller Field.
  • Fairmont State's last win in the series came back in 2016, a 23-19 victory in Fairmont.
  • Fairmont State's last and only win at Mueller Field came back in 2015 – a 33-24 road victory.
  • Through the first two weeks of the 2019 season, Fairmont State (7th) and Notre Dame College (12th) both rank in the top 15 in the country in rushing offense. Fairmont State is averaging 294.0 yards per game on the ground, while Notre Dame is racking up 270.5 rushing yards per game.
  • Three different running backs have rushing for over 100 yards in a game this season for the Falcons. Khalik Hamlin rushing for 132 yards on 20 carries in week one against UC, and followed up that performance with 74 yards on 11 carries in week two versus Wheeling. Tyree Randolph (166) and Timothy Smith (101) each rushed for 100-yards in last week's win over Wheeling. Randolph and Smith both rushing for career highs during last Thursday's win.
  • Colin Harvath's performance on PATs Thursday allowed him to set a new Mountain East Conference record for consecutive made extra points with 66 dating back to last season. It broke the old mark of 62 consecutive makes set by Shepherd University's Zach Wise in 2017.
 
Offensive Outlook
  • Fairmont State sophomore running backs Tyree Randolph and Tim Smith made a little history of their own Thursday night in the Falcons' 43-point victory over Wheeling. Randolph ran for a game and career-high 166 yards and two touchdown on just 10 carries, while Smith added a career-high 101 yards rushing and one TD on just four attempts. Smith rushed for a 90-yard TD run.
  • With those performances Randolph and Smith became the first two Fairmont State running backs to rush for 100 yards in the same game since Omoniyi Bakare (145) and Doug Brazill (112) did it against Lake Erie College way back on Sept. 4, 2009.
  • Hamlin (103.0, 24th) and Randolph (99.0, 28th) both rank in the top 30 in the country in rushing yards per game this season. Randolph's three rushing touchdowns this season rank 11th in NCAA Division II.
  • In two games this season Fairmont State has run for a total of 588 yards and eight touchdowns. The Falcons are averaging 294.0 yards per game on the ground which ranks Fairmont State seventh in the nation as a team in rushing yards per game.
  • During the season opener, the Falcons had just three points and 229 total yards in the opening half against UC. Since then Fairmont State's offense has rolled up 941 yards and 89 points the last six quarters.
  • Fairmont is averaging 585 yards of total offense and 46.0 points per game. The 585 yards is second in the nation in NCAA Division II. Only Tarleton State (641.0) is averaging more yards per game than the Falcons.
  • Fairmont State averages 294.0 yards per game on the ground and 291.0 yards per game through the air. The Falcons are seventh in the nation in rushing yards per game and 23rd in passing yards per game.
  • Fairmont State is currently tied for 10th in the country in points per game with Chowan.
  • Fairmont State quarterback Takwan Crews-Naylor currently ranks in the top 20 in the country in passing efficiency (176.4), passing yards (554), and yards per completion (16.29).
  • The senior quarterback currently ranks fifth in school history in passing yards (3,764), seventh in completions (256), and ranks fourth in school history in passing TDs (32).
  • Junior wide receiver Andre Hall currently ranks 20th in the country in receiving yards per game (108.0) and 26th in receiving TDs.
  • Hall, who missed all of last season with a severe knee injury he suffered against Shepherd in 2017, has eight receptions for a team-leading 216 yards and two touchdowns after two games. Hall has gone over 100 yards in receiving in each of Fairmont's first two games. Against Wheeling he had two catches for 105 yards and one score – including a 58-yard TD reception.
  • In fact, Hall has had two receptions of at least 50 yards this season.
 
Defensive Outlook
  • Fairmont State's defense made huge strides in its week two win over Wheeling University. The Falcons allowed 542 total yards and 42 points in its season-opening, 42-39, loss to Charleston. Fairmont State also did not come up with a turnover in the loss to the Golden Eagles. Last Thursday, Fairmont held Wheeling to just 239 total yards and 10 points and forced five turnovers.
  • Cardinal quarterback Tucker Strachan threw for 401 yards and one TD in Wheeling's season-opening, 33-30, loss to West Liberty. The 401 passing yards were the second-most by a quarterback in week one of D-II football. Fairmont held Strachan to just 118 yards passing and one TD Thursday night. He completed just 14-of-31 passes and was intercepted three times.
  • Ronnell Dennis, Chris White and Brandon Ruffin all had interceptions in the win for Fairmont State.
  • Dennis recorded his first career interception on Thursday against Wheeling, while White recorded his second career interception in a Fairmont State uniform. Ruffin now has three career interceptions.
  • White has had an interesting journey which brought him back to Fairmont State. The Tampa, Fla. native began his career with the Falcons back in 2014. He played in five games and recorded 32 tackles, including three for losses and had one interception. Following the 2014 season White wanted to try his hand at the Division I level and transferred to Florida International University. He was redshirted during the 2015 season and then saw limited action in 2016. He left FIU after the 2016 season, took a year off and transferred to Division II Valdosta State University in 2018. He played one game with the Blazers who won the 2018 National Championship and then opted to return to Fairmont.
  • The Falcons also got fumble recoveries from defensive end D.J. Adediwura and defensive tackle Randy Robinson during the win over WU.
  • The Fairmont State defense has gotten to the quarterback just twice through the first two weeks of the season. Obadiah Asare and Robinson each have sacks for the Falcon defense.
  • Linebacker Trevon Shorts is leading the Falcons with 20 total tackles through the first two weeks of the 2019 season. Siddiq Kanneh is second on the team in tackles with eight.
  • Shorts currently ranks third in the MEC and 42nd in the country in tackles per game (10.0). Shorts also ranks 25th in the country in solo tackles per game (6.5).
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Players Mentioned

Takwan Crews-Naylor

#3 Takwan Crews-Naylor

QB
6' 1"
Redshirt Freshman
Siddiq Kanneh

#6 Siddiq Kanneh

DB
5' 10"
Sophomore
Khalik Hamlin

#13 Khalik Hamlin

RB
5' 9"
Freshman
Brandon Ruffin

#30 Brandon Ruffin

DB
6' 0"
Freshman
Trevon Shorts

#35 Trevon Shorts

LB
6' 1"
Freshman
Andre Hall

#82 Andre Hall

WR
5' 9"
Freshman
D.J. Adediwura

#98 D.J. Adediwura

DL
6' 2"
Freshman
Colin Harvath

#29 Colin Harvath

K
5' 9"
Sophomore
Tyree Randolph

#25 Tyree Randolph

RB
5' 7"
Sophomore
Randy Robinson

#90 Randy Robinson

DL
6' 3"
Redshirt Freshman

Players Mentioned

Takwan Crews-Naylor

#3 Takwan Crews-Naylor

6' 1"
Redshirt Freshman
QB
Siddiq Kanneh

#6 Siddiq Kanneh

5' 10"
Sophomore
DB
Khalik Hamlin

#13 Khalik Hamlin

5' 9"
Freshman
RB
Brandon Ruffin

#30 Brandon Ruffin

6' 0"
Freshman
DB
Trevon Shorts

#35 Trevon Shorts

6' 1"
Freshman
LB
Andre Hall

#82 Andre Hall

5' 9"
Freshman
WR
D.J. Adediwura

#98 D.J. Adediwura

6' 2"
Freshman
DL
Colin Harvath

#29 Colin Harvath

5' 9"
Sophomore
K
Tyree Randolph

#25 Tyree Randolph

5' 7"
Sophomore
RB
Randy Robinson

#90 Randy Robinson

6' 3"
Redshirt Freshman
DL