Valparaiso (0-10, 0-7 PFL)
Game #11: Saturday, Nov. 13, 12 p.m. CDT
at Morehead State (3-6, 2-4 PFL)
Jayne Stadium (10,000 - Astroturf Gameday Grass) - Morehead, Ky.

This Week in Crusader Football: Valparaiso closes out the 2010 season on Saturday afternoon, taking to the road for the second straight week.  The Crusaders head to Morehead, Ky. this week to battle Morehead State in Pioneer Football League action.

On the Air: For the sixth straight season the Valpo Sports Radio Network will be home to all 11 Crusader football games in 2010.  The Valpo Sports Radio Network consists of WAKE (1500-AM, Valparaiso) and WE-FM (95.9-FM, Michigan City).  Todd Ickow will handle all the play-by-play with Ryan Wronkowicz adding the color commentary this week.  The game can also be heard live online at www.valpoathletics.com.  Live stats will also be available for the game through www.valpoathletics.com.

Head Coach Dale Carlson: Dale Carlson is 0-10 in his first season with the Crusaders and 110-113-3 overall entering his 22nd season as a collegiate head coach.  He arrived at Valpo from Ohio Dominican where he was 7-3 last season and 36-27 over six years.  Carlson began the Ohio Dominican program from scratch in 2004, just as he did at Tri-State University prior to his tenure with the Panthers.  He is now the 16th head coach in Valpo history, and just the seventh since 1946.

Series Notes: Valpo and Morehead State are meeting for the 16th time in a series that dates back to 1996.  The Eagles lead the all-time series 12-3 and have won each of the last three meetings between the two schools.  Last year, Morehead State posted a 29-6 victory over the Crusaders at Brown Field to close out the 2009 campaign.  Valpo’s last win in the series came in Morehead, Ky., a 42-35 victory on September 16, 2006.

Wrapping Up Campbell: The Camels scored 35 points in just over 10 minutes during the second quarter, breaking a scoreless tie on the way to a 56-14 win over the Crusaders last Saturday in Buies Creek, N.C.  Valpo scored twice in the second half on touchdown tosses by Eric Lemon.  He first connected with Kevin Becker from 16 yards out before closing the scoring with a three-yard touchdown pass to Sean McCarty.  Campbell finished the game with 484 yards of total offense, including 416 on the ground while Valpo tallied 305 yards, including 239 through the air.

Scouting Morehead State: The Eagles are looking to rebound from back-to-back losses, including a 34-0 setback at San Diego last Saturday afternoon.  The Eagles are just 1-2 at home this season, but close the year with two straight contests at Jayne Stadium beginning on Saturday.  Zach Lewis has thrown for 2,259 yards on the year, 528 of which have gone to Ronnie McDermott.  Defensively, Tony Bachman has 98 total tackles while Jerome Raymond has 15 tackles for loss, including eight sacks, and three fumble recoveries.

One More Time: Twelve Crusaders will be appearing in a Brown and Gold uniform for the final time during their collegiate careers on Saturday.  Travis Anderson, Eli Crawford, Tyler Evanko, Adrian Gober, Nate Goergen, Sean McCarty, Ryan Myers, John Moriarty, Corey Nash, Alex Petrik, Alex Soller, and Matt Upshaw make up the football Class of 2010.

Wood Eighth in the Nation: Greg Wood’s strong punting effort continues.  The sophomore ranks eighth in the nation in punting, and still leads the PFL, averaging 42.9 yards per kick.  He is on pace to set a school record for season punting average which is currently 42.1 set by Roy Carlson in 1953.  Wood has landed 15 of his 58 punts inside the opponents’ 20-yard line, and has had 11 boots of 50 yards or more, including a career-long 61-yard kick last week against Campbell.

Wood Nearing PFL Record as Well: Greg Wood’s 42.94 yard per punt average is just shy of the Pioneer Football League’s single season record.  The current mark is held by Shawn Wood of Butler, set in 1998 of 43.19 yards per kick.

Soller Earns Academic All-District Honors: Defensive back Alex Soller has been named to the ESPN Academic All-District V football team.  Soller is among the Crusader leaders defensively, ranking sixth on the team with 50 total tackles, including 31 solo stops.  The senior has six tackles for loss, second most on the team, including 2.5 quarterback sacks.  An exercise science major, Soller has a 3.39 cumulative grade point average.

Wood Honored Twice: Greg Wood was honored by the College Football Performance Awards as an Honorable Mention Punter of the Week in NCAA I-FCS following his games against both Dayton and Jacksonville.

Check Your Roster: Valparaiso has had 72 different Crusaders see action on the field this season, with only 25 players appearing in all nine contests thus far.  The starting lineup has been even more inconsistent, as 42 different players have drawn starting assignments, with just six Crusaders (Nate Blair, Grant Bushong, Adrian Gober, Sean McCarty, Alex Soller, and Ferdinand Velez) starting ever game.

Team Captains: Valpo has co-captains for the 2010 season.  Senior defensive back Eli Crawford represents the defense while redshirt-sophomore Eddie Morelli represents the offense.

Crusaders Picked 10th in Preseason Poll: The head coaches selected Valparaiso to finish 10th in the Pioneer Football League this season according to the preseason poll.  The prognosticators selected Dayton to take home the 2010 championship.

This and That: Nate Goergen leads the Crusaders with 780 yards passing ... Bobby Wysocki has a team-leading 242 yards rushing while Sean McCarty has 489 yards receiving ... Cody Gokan leads the defense with 66 total tackles.