Robert Morris (0-2) @ Morgan State (0-2)
Saturday, Sept. 17, 2011, at 1:00 p.m.
Hughes Stadium (10,000) - Baltimore, Md.
Radio: WEAA Radio (88.9 FM) in Baltimore, Md. Lamont Germany (Play-by-Play) and Kelvin Bridgers (Analyst)
Clive for Live Stats
Head Coach Joe Walton (18th Season; Pittsburgh '57) - At the forefront of the football renaissance at Robert Morris University throughout its 17-year history is Joe Walton, who has built the Colonials from a fledgling program into one of the top Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) teams in the region.
The one constant associated with the program, Walton was named the first head coach July 27, 1993. He started the program from scratch, completing everything from hiring assistant coaches to purchasing equipment to recruiting student-athletes for the team’s inaugural season in 1994. He owns an overall record of 103-72-1 (.588).
Walton’s fingerprints are all over the football program, and to prove that, RMU has played its home games since 2005 in a stadium that bears his name. During his tenure, Walton has led Robert Morris to the first Northeast Conference championship in 1996, guided RMU to a perfect 10-0 season in 2000 and in 2010 helped lead the Colonials to the NEC’s inaugural bid to the NCAA FCS Playoffs with their league-high sixth regular-season championship.
“It’s hard to believe,” Walton speaks on how fast time has elapsed. “I’ve said this many times before, and I mean it when I say that this situation is one of the best things that has ever happened to me in my life. It happened at the right time. Before this position became available, I felt I was too young to quit coaching, but I wasn’t anxious to get back into pro football. When this came along, it was the perfect fit. This situation was the perfect opportunity for me to continue to do what I like to do, and I’ve loved every minute of it.”
Under Walton’s tutelage, the Colonials have claimed outright NEC regular-season titles three times (1997, 1999, 2000) while sharing three others (1996, 1998, 2010). Walton led Robert Morris to back-to-back ECAC Bowl victories in 1996 and 1997, and in 1999 and 2000 he guided RMU to a pair of NCAA I-AA mid-major national crowns according to Don Hansen’s National Weekly Football Gazette.
In 2010, Walton added to his legacy by engineering the Colonials on an eight-game winning streak for a share of the NEC regular-season title and the NEC’s first bid in the NCAA FCS Playoffs. In the process he picked up his 100th career victory in the collegiate ranks.
Those Issues Are Secondary - Through the first two games of the 2011 season, a total of five Colonials have earned a start in the secondary, a group that includes a senior (Alex Tarr), a junior (Ben Ridgeley), a pair of junior college transfers (Antwan Smith and Cameron Chadwick) and a sophomore (D.J. Myers). Myers led the Colonials in tackles against Dayton (9/3) in the 2011 season opener with a career-high nine takedowns, while Tarr paced RMU in stops with a career-high eight tackles @ Liberty (9/10). Robert Morris enters Saturday’s non-conference finale @ Morgan State with 44 of its 112 tackles (39.3 percent) so far this season having come from its secondary.
Snapping a Streak - Junior quarterback Jeff Sinclair, who tied an RMU single-season school record with 22 touchdown passes last season, completed his first touchdown pass of the 2011 campaign with a nine-yard strike to sophomore tight end Vince Mongelluzzo in the fourth quarter @ Liberty (9/10). For Sinclair, it snapped a streak of 80 passing attempts without a touchdown dating back to the 2010 campaign, the longest drought of his career.
All-Time Series vs. Morgan State
Inaugural Meeting
2011, Away
2013, Home
@ Moon Township, Pa. - 0-0
@ Baltimore, Md. - 0-0
| Courtesy: Robert Morris Athletics |
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