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| Mark Myers surpassed Tom
Arth's touchdown pass record and has at least one game to go for
JCU. Photo by Dan Poel, d3photography.com |
By Brian Lester
D3sports.com
Senior quarterback Mark Myers and his John Carroll teammates weren’t going to allow history repeat itself this year.
They remember what it was like to come up short last season against Mount Union in a battle for the Ohio Athletic Conference championship, falling 42-34 in the regular season finale, only to turn around stumble in the opening round of the NCAA playoffs in a 25-16 loss to St. John Fisher.
Yes, JCU fell short of its bid to win the OAC title this year as well, losing another hard-fought game to the Purple Raiders by a 31-24 count, but the similarity in the storylines ends there.
This time, the Blue Streaks made their presence felt in the postseason and waxed Centre 63-28 in the opening round last weekend.
“Last year, we had a great team, and most of the guys from that team were back this year,” Myers said. “We worked hard to be ready for this year and we went into it with a chip on our shoulder. We wanted to make a statement. It was a huge win for our team.”
The win did indeed make a statement, and while JCU didn’t go into the playoffs as OAC champs, Myers believes the game against Mount was beneficial for his team.
“Mount Union is a great team, but we feel like we are a great team, too, and we showed we can compete with them,” Myers said. “We wanted to win it, but we didn’t let it bother us going into the playoffs. We came out prepared and ready to play.”
JCU coach Tom Arth, whose Blue Streaks (10-1) have 10 wins for only the third time in program history --- the last was Arth’s senior year in 2002 --- said the disappointing ending to last season proved beneficial.
“The big difference for us this year is that the guys learned a lot from the experience of last season,” Arth said. “Last year, to a certain extent, we were just excited to be in the playoffs. But this group wanted to do more. We knew we had the potential to be a great team, and we responded to the challenge last week.”
Myers has been instrumental in helping the Blue Streaks nail down a playoff win and advance past the first round for only the third time in program history, including the first since 2002 when Arth led the Blue Streaks all the way to the national semifinals.
A former standout at Cleveland St. Ignatius, Myers spent his first season at Pittsburgh, seeing action in four games.
When he was deciding where to transfer, JCU turned out to be the best option. Myers had been familiar with the Blue Streaks since his childhood.
“I remember going to games when I was a kid and watching coach play,” Myers said. “He made it to the NFL and I wanted to be part of a program I knew could be successful. It was a great opportunity for me to come here. I’m close to family and I’ve been able to thrive in the offense we run. I have no regrets.”
Myers has thrown for 2,837 yards this season, connecting on 37 touchdown passes and throwing only three interceptions. He has completed 205 of his 295 attempts, including a scoring strike to Brendan Carozzini in the playoff win last week that broke Arth’s career TD pass record of 89.
A year ago, he threw for a single-season best 3,228 yards. In his first season in 2012, Myers threw for 200 or more yards in all nine of his starts.
“He’s having a great year,” Arth said. “He has an understanding of what we want to do in our offense and has a mastery of it. He knows how to execute and take advantage of the opportunities he has to make plays.”
Myers also has plenty of talent around him to make plays.
Tommy Michals has rushed for 1,332 yards and 18 touchdowns while Marshall Howell has made 57 catches for 922 yards and 13 scores. Aramis Greenwood has come through with 45 catches for 812 yards and nine touchdowns.
JCU is cranking out 504 yards per game and has scored 40 or more nine times. Last week, it set a school record for most points in a playoff game, crushing the old record of 30 in a win over Hanover in 1997.
“Our offense is tough to play against, and the experience of having been in the system has made a big difference,” Myers said. “We are very balanced and we have so many guys capable of stepping up.”
And that goes for the defense as well. The Blue Streaks allow only 228.7 yards per game and have given up 20 points twice. The defense has been remarkably opportunistic, picking off 16 passes and forcing a total of 26 turnovers.
Linebacker Jimmy King leads the way with 72 tackles. Fellow linebacker Kevin Cope has racked up 64. Defensive lineman David Porter (57 tackles) and defensive back Brody Zangaro (44 tackles) have been key contributors as well. Zangarao has picked off three passes.
“Our turnover margin is very good, and when you take care of the ball and get turnovers, you put yourself in a position to win every game,” Arth said. “If you look at our defense, we don’t have one guy that really stands out. We just go out and play hard and play great team defense.”
The Blue Streaks will need a great effort on both sides of the ball to survive a test against Wheaton this Saturday in Illinois.
The Thunder crushed Benedictine 43-14 and is in the second round for the eighth time in eight trips in program history.
“When you watch them on film, you don’t see any real weaknesses,” Arth said. “They are a great football team, but we have to focus on us and what we have done all year to be successful. We’re excited about the opportunity to play and have a lot of confidence after getting that first playoff win. We’re ready for the next challenge.”