The Game: The Ferris State University football team, which is presently in a two-way tie for first place in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) standings, is on the road this Saturday (Oct. 30) in conference action as the Bulldogs square off against the Hillsdale College Chargers at Hillsdale, Mich.

Kickoff/Stadium: 7 p.m. (EDT)/Frank D. “Muddy” Waters Stadium (8,500).

Radio Coverage: This Saturday evening’s contest at Hillsdale can be heard live on WBRN-AM (1460) – Big Rapids. John Smith will provide the play-by-play and Jason Edwards will assist with color commentary. The pregame show starts at 6:40 p.m. (EDT) with opening kickoff at 7 p.m.

The Records: Ferris State, which is listed 24th in this week’s Don Hansen’s National Weekly Football Gazette rankings, improved to 6-2 overall and 6-1 in the GLIAC with a 66-7 league triumph over Michigan Tech last Saturday (Oct. 23) in the Bulldogs’ regular-season home finale at FSU’s Top Taggart Field in Big Rapids, Mich. Last season, Ferris posted a 5-6 overall record and was 5-5 (sixth-place tie) in the GLIAC. The Bulldogs were 3-7 both overall and in the conference in 1997. Prior to two seasons ago, FSU had won an unprecedented five consecutive GLIAC titles (1992-96).

Hillsdale, which is ranked 17th nationally in this week’s NCAA Division II Football Poll and 23rd by Don Hansen’s National Weekly Football Gazette, is 7-1 overall and 6-1 in the GLIAC as a result of posting a 24-9 home victory over Wayne State last Saturday (Oct. 23) at HC’s Muddy Waters Stadium in Hillsdale, Mich. A season ago, the Chargers compiled a 3-8 overall record and were 3-7 in the GLIAC (11th place). HC is 4-1 at home this season after compiling a 2-4 home ledger last fall.

The Coaches: Ferris State – Jeff Pierce (Ferris State, 1979), 5th season, 36-18-0 (.667) — (4-0-0 vs. Hillsdale); Hillsdale – Dave Dye (Baldwin-Wallace, 1976), 3rd season, 14-16-0 (.467) — (0-2-0 vs. Ferris State).

Pierce, the 1995 GLIAC Coach-of-the-Year, had served 12 years as a Bulldog assistant coach prior to being named head coach in 1995. He spent seven years as Ferris’ defensive coordinator.

The Series: Ferris State trails Hillsdale 17-12-1 in the all-time series that commenced during the 1946 season (9/27) with a 44-0 loss to the Chargers. The Bulldogs have won the last five contests and eight of the last 10 outings between the two teams, which includes a 24-21 home victory last season (10/31). Ferris is 4-0-1 in its last five road appearances against Hillsdale with the most recent contest on the Chargers’ home field resulting in a 35-21 Bulldog victory (9/13/97). HC had won nine consecutive contests against FSU prior to 1989, which included five straight home victories. Ferris is 5-8-1 on the road and 7-9-0 at home versus the Chargers.

Last Meeting – 1998: Ferris State, which totaled 544 yards in offense, continued its winning ways as the Bulldogs bested conference foe Hillsdale, 24-21, (10/31) in Big Rapids, Mich. Tailback Mo Harris and quarterback Matt McCarthy led the FSU offensive attack as Harris ran for 254 yards and two TD’s while McCarthy completed 26-of-46 passes for 295 yards and a TD, which came on a 35-yard scoring pass to split end Brian Busen with 1:55 remaining in the third quarter. The Bulldogs led 3-0 after the opening quarter on kicker Doc Proctor’s 24-yard field goal at the 8:40 mark, but would trail (7-3) at the half as the Chargers reached the end zone on a three-yard TD pass play with 2:45 left before halftime. However, Ferris overcame the deficit in the second half with a 14-point third-quarter output as Harris scored from a yard out at 5:12 on the clock and then just over two minutes later, McCarthy hooked up with Busen to put the Bulldogs up 17-7 after 30 minutes of action. HC, which had 535 yards of offense (337 yards rushing), sliced the deficit to 17-14 on a one-yard TD run with under nine minutes left in the game. FSU increased its lead back to 24-14 on the ensuing possession as Harris’ one-yard TD jaunt at the 7:53 mark capped off a five-play, 82-yard Bulldog scoring drive. Flanker Neal Mozdzierz paced the FSU receiving corps with 10 catches for 131 yards while Busen had eight receptions for 96 yards. Middle linebacker Sean McLafferty’s 18 tackles lead the Bulldogs, which received 15 stops from outside linebacker Charles Anderson and 12 from outside linebacker Adam Riley. Defensive end Jeff Puffer had eight tackles, including two quarterback sacks for minus seven yards.

Hillsdale Football – 1999: The Chargers rank second among the GLIAC leaders in both total defense (294.6 ypg.) and turnover margin (1.50 tpg.) while being listed third in both scoring defense (18.1 ppg.) and rushing defense (105.3 ypg.). Offensively, HC is scoring at a 27.3 points per game clip which ranks sixth in the league. Senior quarterback Kyle Keefer (106-193, 1,488 yds., 17 TD’s) is third in the GLIAC in total offense (214.6 ypg.) and fourth in passing (186.0 ypg.). Sophomore split end Ed House (23-349 yds., 5 TD’s), junior split end Theron Toney (22-250, 1 TD), and senior flanker Adam Greenman (19-439, 4 TD’s) have combined for 58.7% of the team’s receptions this campaign. Junior middle linebacker Matt Baltzer’s 54 tackles leads the Chargers’ defense while junior cornerback Rich Kern has 52 stops. Sophomore cornerback Tim Mustapha has recorded a league-high tying four interceptions (109 yds.)

FSU’s Last Game: Ferris State senior tailback Mo Harris (Tampa, Fla./Hillsborough) ran for a season-high 263 yards and three TD’s while sophomore outside linebacker Charlie Pierson (St. Ignace/LaSalle) returned two interceptions for TD’s as the Bulldogs downed Michigan Tech 66-7 in FSU’s regular-season home finale at Top Taggart Field. Harris ran one yard for a score in the first quarter, 44 yards in the second, and 11 in the third for Ferris, which led 42-0 at halftime. Pierson’s interception returns covered 53 yards in the opening quarter and 51 yards in the third as the Bulldogs built their lead up to 66-0 following junior fullback J.L. Holdsworth’s (Big Rapids) seven-yard TD jaunt with 4:19 left in the contest. Freshman tailback Mike Collins’ (Rochester Hills/Rochester) one-yard TD run accounted for the game’s initial points as Ferris led 14-0 after the first quarter. Following a 44-yard TD run by Harris early in the second quarter, FSU tallied three more scores as senior quarterback Matt McCarthy (Alma) hooked up with senior flanker Neal Mozdzierz (Royal Oak/Kimball) on a 51-yard TD pass play and then minutes later, sophomore split end Clarence Coleman (Miami, Fla./Miramar) returned a MTU punt 47 yards to paydirt. Senior kicker Doc Proctor (Big Rapids) set a conference and school record with his 62-yard field goal early in the fourth. FSU capped off the afternoon with 485 yards in total offense, including 384 yards via the ground. Sophomore tailback John Zocco (Wallington, Ct./Lyman Hall) rushed for 51 yards and McCarthy passed for 79 yards. Junior defensive tackle Ryan Morris (South Lyon) paced the defense with 10 tackles, including three stops for minus12 yards.

1999 GLIAC Standings

 Ashland 	 6-1(6-1)
 Ferris State	 6-1(6-2)
 Hillsdale 	 5-1(7-1)
 Northwood     	 5-1(6-1)
 Northern Mich.  4-2(4-3)
 Michigan Tech 	 4-3(4-3)
 Indianapolis  	 3-3(5-3)
 Grand Valley 	 3-3(3-4)
 Mercyhurst 	 3-4(4-4)
 Findlay 	 2-5(2-5)
 Saginaw Valley  2-5(2-6)
 Westminster 	 1-7(1-7)
 Wayne State 	 0-8(0-8)
 

Last Week’s GLIAC Results
at Ferris State 66, Michigan Tech 7*
Northwood 28, at Saginaw Valley State 24*
at Westminster 22, Findlay 19*
at Northern Michigan 51, Grand Valley State 13*
at Ashland 32, Mercyhurst 7*
at Hillsdale 24, Wayne State 9*
at Indianapolis 30, New Haven (Conn.) 24

This Week’s GLIAC Games
Ferris State at Hillsdale*, 7 p.m.
Wayne State at Michigan Tech*, 12 p.m.
Indianapolis at Northern Michigan*, 1 p.m.
Westminster at Gannon (Pa.), 1 p.m.
Saginaw Valley State at Mercyhurst*, 1:30 p.m.
Grand Valley State at Ashland*, 1:30 p.m.
Northwood at Findlay*, 1:30 p.m.
All times are Eastern *GLIAC Game

FSU in This Week’s GLIAC Team Statistical Rankings
Scoring Offense: 1st 48.5 ppg.
Scoring Defense: 7th 24.9 ppg.
Pass Offense: 2nd 286.9 ypg.
Pass Defense: 3rd 183.6 ypg
Kickoff Returns: 5th 19.8 ypr.
Punting: 12th 29.6 ypp.
Turnover Margin: 8th -0.25 tpg.
Rushing Offense: 2nd 256.4 ypg.
Rushing Defense: 8thT 159.3 ypg.
Total Offense: 1st 543.3 ypg.
Total Defense: 7th 342.9 ypg.
Punt Returns: 1st 15.4 ypr.
Pass Efficiency: 1st 144.7 rating pts.
Pass Efficiency Defense: 6th 118.1 rating pts.
Field Goals: 2nd .625 (5-8)
Time of Possession: 9th 28:31 (228:12)

FSU in This Week’s GLIAC Individual Statistical Rankings
Rushing: 1st Mo Harris, 175.9 ypg.
Passing Yards: 2nd Matt McCarthy, 245.6 ypg.
Total Offense: 2nd Matt McCarthy, 242.4 ypg.
    6th Mo Harris, 175.9 ypg.
Receptions: 2nd Neal Mozdzierz, 6.75 rpg.
    3rd Clarence Coleman, 6.63 rpg.
Receiving Yards: 1st Clarence Coleman, 110.1 ypg.
    5th Neal Mozdzierz, 92.9 ypg.
All-Purpose Running: 1st Mo Harris, 198.9 ypg.
    2nd Clarence Coleman, 184.0 ypg.
    6th Neal Mozdzierz, 116.9 ypg.
Interceptions: 3rdT Charlie Pierson, 3 total (127 yds.)
Passing Efficiency: 2nd Matt McCarthy, 144.7 rating pts.
Punt Returns: 2nd Clarence Coleman, 15.3 ypr.
Kickoff Returns: 1st Clarence Coleman, 29.8 ypr.
Scoring: 3rd Clarence Coleman, 8.3 ppg.
    4th Neal Mozdzierz, 8.0 ppg.
    5th Mike Collins, 7.8 ppg.
    7th Doc Proctor, 7.6 ppg.
    8th Mo Harris, 7.5 ppg.
Field Goals: 5th Doc Proctor, 0.63 fgpg. (5-8)
Tackles: 11th Rob Ridling, 8.5 avg.
    12thT Charlie Pierson, 8.3 avg.
    17th Steve Dillon, 7.8 avg.
    20th Ryan Morris, 7.5 avg.
    26thT Devin Hutchings, 7.0 avg.
    31stT Alvin Grier, 6.8 avg.
    45th Dave Zuiderveen, 5.9 avg.
Quarterback Sacks: 2nd Dave Zuiderveen, 10 total (-64 yds.)
    6thT Jeff Puffer, eight total (-48 yds.)
Tackle For Loss: 4thT Dave Zuiderveen, 15 total (-74 yds.)
    7th Jeff Puffer, 13 total (-57 yds.)

Bulldog Bites: FSU had three players garner GLIAC Player-of-the-Week accolades – Mo Harris, Charlie Pierson, and Doc Proctor. Harris rushed for a season-high 263 yards and three TD’s while Pierson had two interception returns for TD’s and seven tackles. His 104 yards in interception returns is a school single-game record, eclipsing Bob Alger’s 100-yard total vs. Dayton (11/4/78). Pierson also has a team-high 74 tackles to date in eight games this season, 65 more than he compiled in seven outings last year . . . Proctor also etched his name in the FSU record books with a conference and school-record 62-yard field goal against Michigan Tech, bettering the mark of 60 yards set by Mike Panasuk vs. St. Joseph’s (Ind.) (11/10/90) . . . FSU’s 59-point victory margin over MTU is its largest since 1972 (10/21) when the Bulldogs notched a 63-0 homecoming triumph against Illinois-Chicago Circle . . . Ferris continues to lead the NCAA Division II national leaders this week in total offense (543.3 ypg.) and scoring offense (48.5 ppg.) while ranking eighth in passing offense (286.9 ypg.) and 14th in rushing offense (256.4 ypg.).

FSU On The Internet: Ferris State University Athletics’ web home page can be accessed through the university’s home page address at http://www.ferris.edu. The football section features a wide variety of Bulldog gridiron information, including video clips of selected FSU contests. The video highlights can be viewed at- http://www.ferris.edu/htmls/sports/football/videoclips/homepage.htm. The GLIAC has its own web site at http://www.gliac.org.

Up Next: Ferris State, which is idle next Saturday, Nov. 6, concludes the 1999 regular-season campaign on the road against the Grand Valley State University Lakers. Starting time for the conference finale is scheduled for 1 p.m. (EST) at GVSU’s Arend D. Lubbers Stadium in Allendale, Mich.

Bulldogs of the Week: Following each game, individual players will be recognized by the FSU coaching staff for their outstanding performance. Individual(s) will be selected on offense, defense, specialty teams, and for extraordinary effort (every player, every play).