INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana - The Marian College football team opened the 2008 campaign at George C. Grosskopf Stadium on Saturday at Pike High School.

The only thing that hampered the beginning of the Knights' second season was that No. 5-ranked Ohio Dominican University was their opponent. The Knights fell behind quickly and could not recover as ODU earned a 70-7 victory.

Early jitters rocked the Knights as an interception on the first play from scrimmage and and a fumble on the first running play by the Knights resulted in a pair of Panther touchdowns to stake their high-powered offense a 14-0 lead. The Knights struggled to make things happen offensively in the first quarter as they totaled just 14 yards in their first 14 plays.

However, with the Panthers leading 42-0, the Knights scored their first touchdown of the season with 4:13 remaining in the first half. The Knights started the five-play, 75-yard drive with junior quarterback Matt Rogers (Trafalgar, Indiana/Indian Creek) hitting freshman Julian Williams (Richton Park, Illinois/Marian Catholic) with a 34-yard strike. Another solid pass from Rogers to redshirt sophomore JaQuan Patilla (Fairfield, Ohio/Fairfield) gained 16 yards and placed the Knights at the ODU 25-yard line.

Rogers threw another strike to redshirt sophomore Justin Hall (Terre Haute, Indiana/South) who fought his way through a pair of tacklers for the 25-yard touchdown catch to make the score 42-7. However, ODU scored one more to take a 49-7 lead into halftime.

The Panthers scored three more touchdowns to put the game away and earn the victory.

Rogers finished the day 15-for-31 for 195 yards passing, one touchdown, and three interceptions.

Sophomore running back Joey Neberieza (Indianapolis/North Central) rushed the ball 11 times for 52 yards while freshman Brandon Sherman (Richton Park, Illinois/Marian Catholic) had five rushes for 41 yards. Patilla made six catches for 89 yards while Williams added a pair of receptions for 45 yards.

Freshman Adam Vondersaar (Bainbridge, Indiana/North Putnam) and redshirt sophomore Dustin Craig (Indianapolis/Ben Davis) finished the day defensively with 11 tackles each to lead the Knights. Junior Richard El (Indianapolis/Ben Davis) and sophomore Brock Caraboa (Plainfield, Indiana/Plainfield) each had 9.5 tackles for the Knights.

Marian College gets back on the gridiron on Saturday when the William Penn University Statesmen come to George C. Grosskopf Stadium at Pike High School. Kickoff is slated for 2 p.m., with the game being broadcast LIVE on Freedom 95.9 FM (WFDM) and at www.marian.edu/athletics via Stretch Internet. David Pierce (p-b-p) and former Indianapolis Colt Jeff Burris (color) call all the action beginning at 1:45 p.m.