By Ryan Briggs
Grove City SID
Probably no stat is more indicative of a team's success than turnover margin. Teams that hang onto the ball usually win; teams that give it away often lose.
Saturday, previously undefeated Capital and Washington and Jefferson both went to hostile environs in conference play and committed early turnovers in defeat.
Capital (6-1, 5-1 OAC) had an interception returned for a touchdown in the first quarter and also fumbled the ball away at the Mount Union 1 as the host Purple Raiders (7-0, 6-0) rolled to a 35-7 victory in an Ohio Athletic Conference clash.
Waynesburg's John F. Wiley Stadium turned into a snake pit for No. 13 Washington and Jefferson as the Yellow Jackets (7-1, 4-0 PAC) downed W&J for the first time in 14 meetings 27-17.
Waynesburg linebacker Dan Coghlan picked up a President lateral at the W&J 3 just 50 seconds into the game and carried it into the end zone for a quick 7-0 lead. In the fourth quarter, two President drives ended in with interceptions in Waynesburg territory.
Mount Union, which won its 49th consecutive game, didn't need any additional help in moving the ball up and down the field. The Purple Raiders gained 408 yards of offense, including a career-high 112 rushing yards from halfback Rick Ciccone. Ciccone is Mount Union's first 100-yard rusher this season.
"The offensive line did a terrific job opening up the holes (Saturday)," Ciccone said. "I just tried to run to daylight and keep my legs moving. It was a good feeling to contribute like I did."
The victory clears the final obstacle to Mount Union in its quest for another OAC title. The Purple Raiders finish out the season with games against second-division teams Marietta (1-6), Ohio Northern (2-5) and Wilmington (1-6).
Waynesburg has one more obstacle to clinch its first-ever outright Presidents' Athletic Conference crown. Waynesburg hosts Westminster Nov. 15. A Yellow Jacket win gives Waynesburg the outright title while a Westminster win creates a three-way tie between Waynesburg, Westminster and Washington and Jefferson. The league has only six teams, however, so the winner does not receive an automatic bid to the playoffs.
Hot Scott
Westminster tailback Scott Froelich tied a school record with four touchdown runs as the Titans rolled past backyard rival Grove City 49-20 in PAC play Saturday at Harold Burry Stadium.
Photo by Ryan Briggs Scott Froelich's 204 yards against Grove City were just four short of his performance against Washington & Jefferson. |
Froelich ran for an 80-yard touchdown on Westminster's first play from scrimmage en route to a 204-yard outing. As a team, Westminster gained 496 yards of offense in winning its third in a row.
Westminster's 4-3 record might seem a bit unimpressive at first glance. But the Titans opened the season with losses against ranked NAIA foe Walsh and Division II Mansfield, Pa. (7-1). They are 4-1 in the region, including a 3-0 victory at NCAC-leading Allegheny on Sept. 27.
If the Titans win out, they would be 7-1 against Division III teams. That means their Pool B hopes may be a lot better than one might think.
Miracle at Maple Stadium ... almost
Things looked pretty rosy for Olivet at the start of the 2003 season. The Comets were the preseason favorite in the MIAA and did nothing to disprove that early on by jumping out to a 3-0 start.
Alas, Olivet's momentum quickly dissipated once conference play started as the Comets opened league play 0-3. Saturday at Adrian, Olivet may have bottomed out in the early moments of the third quarter as the Bulldogs secured a 42-7 lead.
Instead of packing it in, Olivet charged back. This wasn't simply a case of making the score respectable with a couple of late touchdowns. Try five consecutive touchdowns! The Comets roared back to forge a 42-all tie with 1:30 left in the game.
But Adrian's Chris Wilson saved the Bulldogs with a one-yard touchdown run in the final seconds to hand Adrian (6-1, 2-1) a 49-42 win.
"Our kids played their hearts out, but give Olivet credit -- they didn't quit. We're certainly happy with the way things came out and you're always fortunate when things turn out," Adrian head coach Jim Lyall told the Adrian Daily Telegram. "I'd hate to be on the Olivet side the way this game went."
Olivet (3-4, 0-4) gained a season-high 207 passing yards on just seven completions. Travis Sleight caught three passes for 122 yards, including touchdown catches of 54 and 38 yards from Rick Mason. The latter tied the game at 42. Sleight also rushed for 84 yards and two touchdowns.
But like the aforementioned Capital and Washington and Jefferson, an early fumble cost Olivet. Adrian's Mike Lewis recovered a fumble in the end zone late in the first quarter. Bulldog Joel Musielewic also returned a punt 52 yards for a touchdown in the first half, helping Adrian remain alive in the MIAA race.
(Twenty-)one is the loneliest number
Hiram snapped its 21-game losing streak Saturday with a 34-7 home win over Kenyon on "Cleveland Browns Legends Day."
The Browns held training camp at Hiram from 1952-1974, so a number of dignitaries were on hand to see the Terriers snap their skid. Among the group of former 20 Browns players and coaches were Hall of Fame end Dante Lavelli, Al "Bubba" Baker and former Browns head coach Sam Rutigliano, who addressed the team before the game.
Sophomore tailback Tim Anderson ran for a school-record 224 yards while quarterback Max Kravitz threw for an additional 225 yards along with three touchdowns.
"I'm so proud of our kids, they played a heck of a ball game today," Hiram head coach Mike Meyer said. "They played hard for all four quarters. I kept telling them, if we play hard all game, good things will happen, and today, good things happened."
It is Hiram's first victory since a 24-17 win over Oberlin on Oct. 13, 2001. In all, Hiram gained 513 yards of offense, the most in the Meyer era.
With Hiram picking up its first victory of the season, that leaves only one team without a win in the Great Lakes Region: Bethany.
Poor Bethany. It has been a rough year for the Bison and second-year head coach Chris Snyder. The most telling statistic: Bethany has scored eight touchdowns in eight games this year. Their opponents have returned six interceptions and two punts for touchdowns this year, a total of eight scoring returns.
Thiel All-American defensive back Kennard Davis took advantage of Bethany's generosity Saturday in the Tomcats' 42-14 win. Davis returned two interceptions for touchdowns and also returned a kickoff 89 yards to the end zone. His interception returns went for 99 and 24 yards, respectively.
Bison quarterbacks have thrown 23 interceptions this year helping contribute to Bethany's minus-19 turnover margin.
Bethany looks to snap its nine-game losing streak against visiting Newport News (1-6) Saturday at Rine Field.
On the rebound
Apparently, Wittenberg still had some leftover anger from losing at Wabash three weeks ago. One week after pummeling Hiram 66-0 in Springfield, Ohio, the Tigers routed Ohio Wesleyan 63-0 to improve to 3-1 in the North Coast Athletic Conference.
Skip Ivery caught two touchdown passes from Ryan Holmes while Raymar Hampshire scored twice on the ground. Hampshire is averaging 6.7 yards per carry this season and has 14 total touchdowns.
Now, the Tigers (6-1) have to go back on the road for just the third time in eight games as they visit Allegheny. The Gators stayed undefeated in the North Coast Athletic Conference with a 37-0 home win over Denison. Senior quarterback Bubba Smith became Allegheny's all-time leader in completions (410) and tied the career mark for passing touchdowns (48). He single-handedly accounted for 417 of the Gators' 580 yards of offense against the Big Red.
Wittenberg could defeat Allegheny and win out, yet still not win the NCAC. How is that possible? Allegheny has three conference games left whereas the Tigers only have two due to Kenyon's temporary-independent status. Instead of playing Kenyon, Wittenberg is traveling to Alabama to play Huntingdon on Nov. 8.
So Wittenberg can finish 5-1, but Allegheny would be 6-1. No matter how you slice it, Allegheny would win the NCAC in this scenario. Wabash and Oberlin also have a good chance at finishing 5-1 in the league. Got that?
Baldwin-Wallace keeps rolling
Baldwin-Wallace (6-1, 5-1 OAC) took another step towards securing a Pool C bid with a 35-17 win at Muskingum on Saturday. Quarterback Dan Larlham continued his outstanding play, accounting for four touchdowns and 357 yards of total offense. Larlham ran for 108 yards and a pair of scores while throwing for 259 yards and two more touchdowns.
This weekend, Baldwin-Wallace visits Capital in a matchup of the OAC's two second-place teams. Unlike the NCAC, the OAC race is pretty clear-cut. Mount Union is in the driver's seat and the second-place team will probably also advance to the playoffs. More on this later.
'Scotgun' out-gunned
Alma's hopes of winning the MIAA took a severe blow Saturday as Wisconsin Lutheran belted the Scots 49-28 in Milwaukee.
Alma's high-powered spread "Scotgun" offense picked up 452 total yards, including 359 through the air. But Wisconsin Lutheran (3-4, 1-2 MIAA) showed it could throw the ball around a little, also. Wisconsin Lutheran quarterback Seth Fitzsimmons completed 34 of 47 passes for 443 yards and five touchdowns. Three of the touchdown passes went to Paul Nelson, who hauled in 11 passes for 143 yards.
Alma fell to 2-2 in the MIAA, one and a half games behind Hope.
Defense, please?
Did anybody in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association actually play defense Saturday? While not a full MIAA member yet, Tri-State did nothing to buck the no-defense trend. Tri-State allowed Hope 44 points and 522 yards of offense in the Dutchmen's 44-21 win. Hope's defense yielded 447 yards to 0-7 Tri-State.
Actually, Albion (4-3, 3-1) and Kalamazoo (5-2, 1-2) did play some defense as just one offensive touchdown was scored in Albion's 23-9 home win.
Game of the Week
Wittenberg (6-1, 3-1) at Allegheny (4-3, 4-0): This edges Capital-Baldwin Wallace only because this is for first place in the wacky NCAC. As stated earlier, Wittenberg can win out but not win at least a share of the league title. Wittenberg has outscored its opponents 129-0 over the last two weeks. But Allegheny has been playing well and did defeat Wabash, 7-6. The same Wabash team whipped Wittenberg 41-14 the following weekend. The Gators will need a big game from senior quarterback Bubba Smith in order to stay undefeated in the conference.
A loss would eliminate Wittenberg from NCAC title contention.
Other games of note
Baldwin-Wallace (6-1, 5-1) at Capital (6-1, 5-1): How will Capital react to its first loss of the season? It is the first time that freshman quarterback Rocky Pentello has lost in his brief collegiate career. How will he play in the biggest game of his career -- a game in which both participants have no margin for error? Baldwin-Wallace went to New Concord, Ohio, and downed Muskingum last weekend and now must make another significant journey across the Buckeye State. With one loss, the OAC runner-up should receive a Pool C bid, which makes this an elimination game.
Albion (4-3, 3-1) at Adrian (6-1, 2-1): Another elimination game, this time in the MIAA. Unlike the OAC, this league will only send one team to the NCAA playoffs. With 3-0 Hope hosting sixth-place Wisconsin Lutheran on Saturday, neither team can afford to lose any more ground. Hope already holds the tiebreaker over Adrian, so the Bulldogs are especially in a must-win on their home field. Last week's near-total collapse in the second half almost ended any conference title hopes. But, the Bulldogs survived and can send the Britons back to .500.
Wabash (5-2, 3-1) at Wooster (5-2, 2-2): Wooster can climb back into the NCAC race with a victory and a Wittenberg win at Allegheny. The Scots will visit Wittenberg Nov. 15 but that game could be rendered meaningless after this weekend. Wabash has responded well to its early loss at Allegheny by downing Wittenberg, Ohio Wesleyan and Oberlin. Wabash still has title hopes but like Wooster, needs help.
