It's time to put the ball in the air for the highly-anticipated start of the 2022 football season. Davenport will have the same season-opening opponent in Truman State, but this version will be taking place on the road in Kirksville, Mo. The Panthers embark on year 6 under head coach
Sparky McEwen and will look to prove some doubters wrong and improve on their 3-8 record from 2021. The defense looks like a strength heading into the opener. The Panthers have a lot of experience on all three levels of the defense including the defensive line, linebackers, and the secondary. The top three tacklers from last season return in
Jalen Robinson (101),
Shaq Floyd (54), and
Elysee Mbem-Bosse (53). The defense will need to make a few more impactful plays as they forced just 13 turnovers a year ago with eight fumble recoveries and five interceptions. The offense will be revamped with the exception of the running backs with
Jaier Harden and
Kyshawn Richards back after combining for 579 rushing yards last season. The offensive line will see new bodies with up to four new starters projected. They will need to open holes and protect a new signal-caller. Transfers
Jason Whittaker (Northwestern) and
Johnny Saavedra (Concordia St. Paul) have battled during fall camp and both expect to see snaps on Saturday.
OPENING DRIVE
● Davenport and Truman State will be kicking off their 2022 seasons in a non-conference, in-region matchup for the second straight year.
● The Panthers are looking to earn this first win over Truman State after last year's meeting which was a 31-14 win for the Bulldogs in Caledonia.
● Davenport is 2-3 in season openers (excluding two games played in 2020) having won their two against Lake Erie (13-9, 2019) and Robert Morris, Ill. (44-7, 2018).
● Today's game is the first of four non-conference games for Davenport and the sixth time they have played a current member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC). DU is 4-1 all-time against GLVC teams with two wins over Quincy (2016, 2018) and one each over Lindenwood (2019) and McKendree (2017).
● Davenport was picked to finish seventh in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Preseason Coaches' Poll with eight points. Truman State was picked to finish second in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Preseason Coaches' Poll with 31 points.
● The Panthers will be looking to snap a three-game skid to end the 2021 season. The last two games came against No. 1 Ferris State and No. 5 Grand Valley State. Truman State concluded a 9-3 season in 2021 and ended with a 34-17 win over Hillsdale on Dec. 4.
● The Bulldogs are receiving votes in the NCAA Division II National Preseason Poll (AFCA) with 13 points. They will need to build a new focal point in their offense with the departure of Cody Schrader. He was one of the best players in NCAA Division II a year ago with 300 carries for 2,074 yards and 25 touchdowns. He was second nationally in rushing touchdowns behind Jared Bernhardt of Ferris State (26) and led Division II in total rushing yards.
DAVENPORT NOTEBOOK
● The Davenport football team is proud to announce their entire 10-game season will be carried live on local radio station WNWZ-FM Magic 104.9 in Grand Rapids for the second year.
Rick Berkey (play-by-play) and Bill Rohn (color) will be back in the broadcast booth calling all the action.
● The GLIAC and Davenport have partnered with FloSports on a four-year contract to live stream all home games. This week's contest will be free of charge compliments of the GLVC Network.
● This is the second meeting between the teams after last year's season opener which was won 31-14 by Truman State. The Bulldogs scored in each of the four quarters including 10 points in the fourth quarter to pull away. Cody Schrader began his historic season with four rushing touchdowns and 217 rushing yards on 35 carries. He became just the second opposing player to rush for over 200 yards in a game against Davenport. Nolan Hair completed 11-of-20 passes for 78 yards and one interception. Deondre Ford completed 18-of-36 passes for 176 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Roy Livingstone caught both touchdown passes and finished with four catches for 75 yards.
Jalen Robinson led the defense with 13 tackles for Davenport. Taylor Cornish had a strong game on special teams as the punter for Truman State. He pinned five of his six punts inside the 20-yard line and averaged 40.5 yards per boot. The Bulldogs finished with 298 total yards of offense compared to 200 for the Panthers.
● There were a few notable performances during the 2021 season for the Panthers after finishing 3-8 overall.
Bryan Plegue connected on 12-of-12 extra points becoming the first Panther to go perfect in a season.
Kyle Wojahn was named Second Team All-GLIAC after 3,240 punt yards for an average of 38.6.
Jalen Robinson was named Second Team All-GLIAC after setting the single-season school record with 101 tackles.
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