Marian Knights (1-0) at UIndy Greyhounds (0-1)
Saturday, Sept. 10, 6 p.m. ET, Key Stadium
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ON TAP
Crosstown rivals UIndy and Marian hook up for the "Monumental Matchup" Saturday, Sept 10 at 6 p.m. The date will mark the first-ever meeting between the two at Key Stadium.

MONUMENTAL MATCHUP
Separated by just 12 miles, Saturday's foes have faced off just once since Marian's inaugural football season in 2007. The first Monumental Matchup  came 12 months ago, with the Knights earning a 28-22 victory on their home field.

The Greyhounds faced a 15-point halftime deficit but clawed back to within two, 21-19, on an Andrew Walker touchdown with 4:34 remaining.  However, MU's Jakhari Gore sandwiched the ensuing Knight possession with a 34-yard kickoff return and a 33-yard rushing TD to make it a two-score game.

Brad Schickel's 31-yard field goal made it 28-22 with 57 seconds to go, but the Hounds failed to secure the onside kick, allowing the Knights to salt away the final seconds.

With this year's game on the south side, UIndy officials have lined up a number of special happenings Saturday evening. UIndy alum and former Miss Indiana and Indianapolis Colts cheerleader Megan (Meaders) Roberts will sing the national anthem, former Colts linebacker Gary Brackett will be on hand for the coin toss, while Indy-resident and The Voice winner Josh Kaufman will handle halftime entertainment.

CAN'T MAKE IT TO KEY?
Produced by MTC Sports, the Monumental Matchup will be televised locally on HTSN, with UIndy alums Greg Rakestraw and Dave Burton on the call. A free video stream will also be available at theIndyChannel.com as well as on the RTV6 app. Additionally, the Greyhounds can be heard on the radio at UIndy's own WICR 88.7 FM. You can also catch an audio stream on the Internet at WICRonline.com/listen-online.

ABOUT MARIAN
Ranked No. 1 in the NAIA preseason poll, Marian is coming off a stellar 12-2 season in 2015, one capped by its second national championship in four years. The Knights defeated Southern Oregon, 31-14, in the NAIA title game, avenging their loss to SOU in the 2014 final.

Though Marian's football program is entering just its 10th season of existence, the Knights have won three MSFA Mideast League titles while making the NAIA playoffs five times, including winning the 2012 and '15 national championships.

Marian opened its 2016 campaign with a 56-10 thrashing of 10th-ranked Saint Xavier Aug. 27. The Knights generated 517 yards of total offense and eight touchdowns in the victory, including three scores of 40 yards or more. Six-foot-four, 215-pound wideout Krishawn Hogan amassed 213 yards on just seven catches, boosted by a 78-yard TD reception on the Knights' opening drive. The Warren Central High School grad totaled four touchdowns on the night - two rushing and two receiving.

LAST TIME OUT
UIndy came up on the short end of its season opener, as the Greyhounds endured a 30-24 loss at in-region Hillsdale Saturday, Sept. 3. The Chargers dominated the time of possession, holding the ball for 42 minutes while racking up 80 total plays on the night, more than doubling the Hounds' respective totals of 18 minutes and 38 snaps.

Yards were especially hard to come by early, as UIndy compiled just two first downs and seven points in the first half but trailed by only six at the break, 13-7.

The offense rebounded with a 17-point third quarter to take the lead at 24-20. The stanza featured three straight scoring possessions for the Hounds, including a pair of two-play touchdown drives that each took less than a minute.

However, UIndy would not score in the fourth, as Hillsdale surged ahead to stay with the period's lone TD with 10:27 left and later added an insurance FG.

UNCHARACTERISTIC ENDING
The Hounds have led on 45 occasions through three quarters under Coach Bartolomeo, with last week marking just the second time in that span that they lost the game. After leading 24-20 at the final quarter break, UIndy went scoreless in the fourth while the host Chargers managed a 10-point quarter to go on to victory.

The only other such defeat came at Ashland in September of 2011. UIndy held a 13-10 advantage through three quarters that night but ultimately fell, 39-36, in a thrilling four-overtime affair.

SILVER LINING
The last time UIndy opened the season with a region loss was in 2012 when the Hounds dropped a 37-14 decision at Ashland. However, the Hounds would go on to finish the regular season with nine consecutive wins on the way to its first-ever NCAA DII playoff berth. They tacked on a 10th consecutive "W" in the first-round versus No. 8 Midwestern State.

THE PURICHIA ERA BEGINS
After spending two seasons as the UIndy back-up, redshirt-sophomore Jake Purichia showed promise is his first start as a college QB. The local product out of Cardinal Ritter High School finished 12-of-20 passing for 223 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. His scoring tosses came on a 40-yard pass to Garrett Willis in the second quarter and a 22 yarder to Malik Higgins in the third.

As a prep, Purichia led CRHS to the 2013 IHSAA 2A state championship on the way to a runner-up finish in the Indiana Mr. Football voting. He finished as the state's all-time leader in career TD passes (142) while ranking second in state history in career passing yards (11,146).

TACKLING TRIO
UIndy's linebacker corps of Rob Dury, Derrick Bryant and Aaron Bruning combined for 35 tackles at Hillsdale last week, with each reaching double figures in the category. Dury led all players with 15 stops, while Bryant and Bruning - who was making his first career start after switching from running back - each totaled 10.

RATE OF RETURN
Junior Tuwan Payton amassed a career high 187 kickoff return yards at Hillsdale, good for the third-highest single-game total in GLVC history. His biggest return of the evening came early in the second quarter when he broke off a 56-yard chunk, setting up the Greyhounds' first touchdown of the game when Purichia found a wide open Willis for a 40-yard touchdown strike on the very next play.

HOMELAND SECURITY
The Greyhounds have amassed an impressive 29-5 (.853) record at Key Stadium since Head Coach Bob Bartolomeo took over in 2010. That span includes a 5-0 mark at home last season, as well as 15-1 record overall versus GLVC competition.

POLL POSITION
After starting the year at No. 16 in the AFCA Division II Preseason Poll, the Greyhounds dropped out of the top 25 after the week-one loss. UIndy is still receiving significant votes from the nation's coaches, however, garnering 34 points to settle two spots behind No. 25 Colorado Mesa and its 45 votes.

#DriveFor5
The Greyhounds are gunning for a fifth consecutive GLVC title. Since the conference began sponsoring football in 2012, UIndy has compiled a gaudy 30-1 (.968) mark versus league opponents. The current streak of four straight conference crowns broke the program record for most consecutive league championships, surpassing the three-year run of Hoosier College Conference titles from 1953-55.

NATIONAL EXPOSURE
Later this season, UIndy will play in front of a national audience when the Hounds host William Jewell Saturday, Oct. 29. As part of the 22-game NCAA Division II Football Showcase, the contest will be shown live on ESPN3 and the Watch ESPN app.

The last time the Greyhound played on national TV came in 2014 in the CBS Sports Network NCAA Division II Football Game of the Week. In a meeting of in-state rivals, UIndy pulled out a thrilling four-overtime win versus Saint Joseph's when senior kicker Scott Miller delivered a game-winning 35-yard field goal in the 36-33 victory.