By Ryan Briggs
Grove City SID
It's not uncommon to see Wittenberg, Wooster or Wabash at the top of the North Coast Athletic Conference standings. For that matter, Allegheny and Ohio Wesleyan have also spent a fair amount of time on top, also. Denison and Kenyon also own NCAC titles.
But for now, eight other NCAC teams are looking up at conference co-leader Oberlin, which shocked Wooster on Saturday 14-7 at the Yeomen's Dill Field to improve to 2-0 in the conference.
Playing without All-America Tony Sutton at tailback, the Fighting Scot offense struggled, allowing six sacks and turning the ball over three times.
Meanwhile, Oberlin averaged nearly 5 yards per carry in amassing 232 yards rushing. Quarterback Ryan Squatrito led the Yeomen with 115 rushing yards but it was Travis Oman's 1-yard touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter that put Oberlin up for good.
Any time a program emerges from the second division of a conference to prominence can usually point to a specific victory as a turning point. Fifth-year head coach Jeff Ramsey certainly hopes Saturday's win will springboard the Yeomen to further success.
"I am thrilled with what this victory means for this team and the entire Oberlin community," Ramsey said. "We played with heart and we played to win. We practice those principles each day, and (Saturday) we executed them flawlessly. This is just the type of weekend we need to continue building momentum in this program."
Numerous players came up with crucial plays for the Yeomen all afternoon long. Punter Ryan Drews booted a conference-record 79-yard punt and placed three kicks inside the 20 while Quammie Semper and Mark Lengel each intercepted passes.
"This was the highlight of my sports career." said Semper, who leads the NCAC with six picks.
It is Oberlin's first win over Wooster since 1985, when both teams went 2-4 in the NCAC. The Yeomen will look to improve to the .500 mark overall against temporarily non-conference Kenyon.
Wooster will try to bounce back against the other NCAC co-leader, Allegheny. The Gators improved to 2-0 in the league with a 37-14 win over Hiram Saturday. The Gator defense picked up seven quarterback sacks while the Allegheny offense showcased a bit of balance.
Running back Jamie Sye ran for a career-high 190 yards while senior wide receiver Jon Turner tied the school's record for touchdown catches with 18.
No pound of flesh for Wittenberg
In two victories over Wittenberg last year, Wabash first ended Wittenberg's run as NCAC champion, then ended the Tigers' season in the NCAA playoffs.
But at 4-0, Wittenberg seemed more than ready to exact some revenge on Wabash, which limped into Hollett Little Giant Stadium after a 7-6 loss at Allegheny the week before.
Yet, it was Wabash (3-2, 1-1) that delivered the knockout blow early, rolling out to a 31-0 lead en route to a 41-14 victory. The Little Giants amassed 476 yards of offense, 27 first downs and only punted once in knocking Wittenberg out of first in the NCAC.
Aaron Lafitte ran for three touchdowns, including a pair of 22-yard scoring runs in the first quarter. Wabash scored on its first four possessions while Nick Fanelli capped the win with a 68-yard interception return for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
The victory puts Wabash right back in the hunt for a second straight NCAC title. Wittenberg's chances for the crown are hardly doomed. But they will need somebody to knock off Wabash down the stretch in order to vault past the Little Giants.
Yo
There are currently four undefeated teams in the Great Lakes Region. Two are in the Ohio Athletic Conference, Mount Union and Capital. Washington and Jefferson is also undefeated. The fourth team? Adrian.
The Bulldogs improved to 5-0 with a 49-14 pasting of provisional D-III Tri-State Saturday. Not bad for a program that is just two years removed from back-to-back-to-back two-win seasons.
It is rare for a team to give up 470 yards of offense but still win by 35. That's what happened to Adrian as the Bulldogs returned two interceptions for touchdowns in the game. Dan Regan's 75-yard return early in the game ignited Adrian's early 21-point onslaught while Steve Gauthier returned a pick 35 yards early in the fourth period to close the scoring.
Chris Clay added a 91-yard touchdown run in the second quarter while quarterback Adam Tubaro completed 11 of 14 passes.
Adrian will look to improve to 6-0 overall and 2-0 in the MIAA at Hope Saturday. Hope already took down one undefeated team in MIAA play as the Dutchmen dumped Kalamazoo, 21-18.
Hope scored all 21 points within a five-minute span in the second quarter. An Andy Snyder interception helped set up Hope's first score while a blocked punt put the Dutchmen in prime position again moments later.
Dan Bloemers' 3-yard run put Hope up for good, 14-10, while Phil Butler fired his second touchdown pass of the half with 37 seconds left, extending the lead to 21-10 at the break.
Host Kalamazoo's offense spun its wheels against Hope as the Jackets ran for just 48 yards on 38 attempts. Hope harassed quarterback Bryan Gnyp into a 13-for-30 performance, while sacking him four times, also.
Hope is currently 3-2, losing only a pair of track meets to Wooster (45-36) and Wheaton (43-26).
'Scotgun' triggerman double-threat
Alma quarterback Ryan Palmer threw for 194 yards and four touchdowns Saturday as the Scots drubbed visiting Olivet, 35-14. But Palmer also showed his legs were just as effective, rushing for 108 yards on 15 attempts.
Olivet is among the nation's elite rushing teams and the Comets proved that by rushing for 332 yards. But Alma (3-2, 1-1 MIAA) proved that it could run the ball, too, averaging more than 8 yards per carry as part of a 263-yard day. Jeremy Droptiny ran for a game-high 133 yards on only 11 carries to pace Alma.
Presidents stay undefeated
A second-half scare nearly toppled Washington and Jefferson from the ranks of the undefeated but the Presidents held off Grove City 36-28 in a matchup of Presidents' Athletic Conference co-leaders Saturday at Grove City's Robert E. Thorn Field.
The Wolverines (3-3, 2-1) outgained Washington and Jefferson 450-295 as quarterback Sam Mowrey set school records for touchdown passes (four) and total offense (334 yards).
The Presidents (5-0, 3-0) had just 18 net yards rushing but took advantage of a blocked punt, a fumbled punt snap and a fumbled punt return to pick up their fifth consecutive win over Grove City.
"Grove City played hard, but we're a top 15 team and to play a team like that and win a game like that," first-year head coach Mike Sirianni told the (Washington) Observer-Reporter.
The No. 18 Presidents led 29-7 early in the third quarter but were unable to put the win away until Andy Shook intercepted a Mowrey pass with a minute left. Mike Virgin tied a W&J record with 12 receptions in what was the Presidents' 1,000th all-time game.
Anders thwarts ONU's hopes
Baldwin-Wallace halfback Mark Anders earned OAC Offensive Player of the Week laurels after rushing for 194 yards and scoring four touchdowns in the Yellow Jackets' 50-32 win at Ohio Northern.
Baldwin-Wallace trailed 32-22 late in the third quarter before Anders went to work. His 11-yard touchdown run brought B-W to within three, 32-29, entering the fourth quarter. Following a missed ONU field goal, Anders scored from the 2, putting the Yellow Jackets up for good.
B-W's Justin Andes intercepted a pass on Ohio Northern's second subsequent play, allowing the offense to go back to work. Aided by a 48-yard Dan Larlham-to-Randale Richmond pass, Baldwin-Wallace then polished off the drive as Larlham pitched a 4-yard touchdown pass to Anders.
After a blocked punt, Anders scored from 6 yards out to close the scoring at the 6:28 mark. For the season, Anders is averaging more than 7.0 yards per carry and has rushed for 10 touchdowns.
The victory keeps Baldwin-Wallace's playoff hopes alive. The Yellow Jackets host Wilmington this week but then must go on the road to upstart Muskingum (4-1, 3-1 OAC) and then to undefeated Capital in consecutive weeks.
Mount Union's streak ends
Had THAT streak ended, there's no doubt it would have been on this site long before the end of a regional notebook. Mount Union's win streak continued with relative ease as the Purple Raiders routed Heidelberg on Saturday 68-13 to earn their 47th consecutive game.
Mount Union had not allowed a point in three previous games, but the Student Princes jumped out to a 10-7 lead 10 minutes into the game. Heidelberg did total 303 yards of offense against Mount Union (5-0, 4-0) but was simply out-gunned by the three-time defending national champions.
Game of the Week
No. 1 Mount Union (5-0, 4-0) at John Carroll (4-1, 3-1): After its blowout loss to Baldwin-Wallace two weeks ago, John Carroll has seemingly fallen off the Division III radar. But the Blue Streaks are a very good football team. For John Carroll to make the playoffs, it is likely they will have to win out, which means beating Mount Union. The last time John Carroll beat Mount Union, the Soviet Union still existed, as did East and West Germany. Since that game in 1989, Mount Union is 14-0-1 against John Carroll. Mount clobbered John Carroll 57-19 in last year's national semifinals on its way to the national title.
Other games of note
Adrian (5-0, 1-0) at Hope (3-2, 2-0): These two teams tied for second at 4-2 in the MIAA last year. The winner will gain a leg up on the other in the conference race. With MIAA co-leader Albion playing at defending champion Alma (1-1 MIAA), the winner of this game may very well be all alone in first Saturday night.
Case Western Reserve (4-1) at Carnegie Mellon (3-2): University Athletic Association play begins Saturday as the conference's closest geographic football rivals meet in the Academic Bowl at Gesling Stadium in Pittsburgh. The Tartans have dropped two in a row while CWRU is coming off a 27-17 win at Maryville. Prior to last year's 42-35 for CWRU, the Spartans had lost six in a row to the Tartans.
