By Ryan Briggs
Grove City SID
No playoff berths have been secured in the Great Lakes Region. But a handful of teams moved closer to earning their place in the 28-team 2003 Division III tournament.
Ohio Athletic Conference-leading Mount Union moved closer to another OAC crown with a 55-0 win at Marietta while North Coast Athletic Conference pace-setter Allegheny knocked off Wittenberg 27-21 in Meadville, Pa., ending the Tigers' title hopes.
In the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association, Hope tallied 541 yards of offense in dispatching Wisconsin Lutheran, 28-17. The Dutchmen are now 4-0 in the MIAA and own the tiebreaker over second-place Adrian (3-1) with two games left.
Baldwin-Wallace may have solidified a Pool C spot with a 40-22 victory at Capital in a match up of two one-loss teams in the OAC.
In Pool B, both Westminster (Pa.) and Washington and Jefferson stayed alive. Westminster downed fellow Pool B entry Frostburg State 35-33 to improve to 5-1 in the region while the Presidents held off Hanover, 42-28.
Of course, there's no way of saying a team has "clinched" a Pool B or C bid. But we can tell who needs to do what in order to nail down an automatic berth by winning a conference title.
Ohio Athletic Conference
Mount Union needs one win or a Baldwin-Wallace loss in order to wrap up the title and the automatic berth. Mathematically, Baldwin-Wallace can still win the OAC. But that is quite unlikely as the Purple Raiders would have to lose to both Ohio Northern (3-5) at home and at Wilmington (1-7). Mount Union also has the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Yellow Jackets.
It's probably safe for the Mount Union ticket office to ask the local print shop to start producing playoff tickets.
North Coast Athletic Conference
Allegheny is in great shape at 5-0. They can actually drop one of their last two (at Earlham, home to Ohio Wesleyan) and win the league. Wabash, Wittenberg and Wooster are all 3-2 and are mathematically eliminated as Allegheny beat all three. Oberlin is the only team with a mathematical shot. The Yeomen are 3-1 with eminently winnable games at Ohio Wesleyan and Denison.
What hurts the Yeomen is that their win over Kenyon does not count in the NCAC standings. Otherwise, they would be 4-1 in the NCAC, just one game back. In that case, Oberlin and Allegheny could have potentially both finished 6-1 in the NCAC without meeting in the regular season. Fortunately for the conference, they won't have to make that tiebreaker decision.
Instead, Allegheny playing a seven-game NCAC schedule is to its benefit this year.
What won't benefit Allegheny is its 0-3 non-conference record. In addition to a 45-26 loss to likely playoff participant Baldwin-Wallace in the opener, the Gators also lost to Presidents' Athletic Conference squads Washington and Jefferson (28-23) and Westminster (3-0 in overtime).
It would be a real surprise to see the Gators at home on Nov. 22, should they qualify for the playoffs.
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Hope controls its own destiny but must go on the road for its final two games. The Dutchmen visit MIAA pre-season favorite Olivet (4-4, 0-4) this weekend, and then visit Albion (4-4, 3-2) in the finale. Should Hope stumble, Adrian (7-1, 3-1) could be the big benefactor. However, Adrian is at Alma (5-3, 3-2) before hosting Kalamazoo (5-3, 1-3) in Week 11. Hope needs one win to wrap up a playoff berth and has two chances at it.
Pool C
Baldwin-Wallace has an excellent shot at an at-large bid to the playoffs. It has an impressive win against NCAC leader Allegheny and its lone loss came at the hands of Mount Union.
Adrian's narrow 14-10 home win against Heidelberg (1-7) and 24-21 win at Defiance (3-6) don't help the Bulldogs' strength of schedule. Wooster (6-2) has the slimmest chance of getting in if the Fighting Scots win out and Oberlin loses one of its last two. That combination would put Wooster in second place in the NCAC. The Scots do own a win against MIAA leader Hope as well as a 62-33 in-region win over Case Western Reserve. That 14-7 loss at Oberlin on Oct. 11 may be what keeps the Scots out of the playoffs.
Pool B
Three teams in the Presidents' Athletic Conference are making a strong push for a Pool B bid. Washington and Jefferson (7-1, 4-1), Waynesburg (7-1, 4-0) and Westminster (5-3, 3-1) are in the mix with the Presidents having defeated Westminster but losing to Waynesburg. Waynesburg hosts Westminster on Nov. 15 at John Wiley Stadium. Should Waynesburg win out, the Yellow Jackets become a favorite to earn a Pool B selection. But if Waynesburg wins at Frostburg State this weekend (not an easy task) and then fall to Westminster, all three teams could be in a quandary.
Washington and Jefferson's strength of schedule will take a big hit over the next two weeks as they play Newport News (1-7) and Buffalo State (1-7). Westminster has three losses already; however, they are 5-1 in the region and against Division III schools. Westminster lost to ranked NAIA Walsh in the opener and also lost to a solid Division II team in Mansfield. Waynesburg is a missed extra point at Gettysburg from possibly being 8-0. Still, the Yellow Jackets are in the best position by far.
Carnegie Mellon (6-2) is probably a longshot at earning a Pool B bid.
First, what might happen ... and now what actually did happen last week
Visiting Baldwin-Wallace showed Capital that the Yellow Jackets are still the team to beat in the non-Mount Union portion of the Ohio Athletic Conference Saturday as B-W bounced Capital 40-22 in Bexley, Ohio.
Ryan Lewis had two of Baldwin-Wallace's six sacks while offensively, tailback Mark Anders ran for 136 yards and added four receptions for 36 yards. Baldwin-Wallace (7-1, 6-1) slammed the door on Capital late in the third quarter as defensive back Tom DeLuca returned an interception 91 yards for a touchdown, putting B-W up 34-3.
Capital quarterback Rocky Pentello did fire three fourth-quarter touchdown passes as part of his 37-for-59, 395-yard outing. However, the Crusaders (6-2, 5-2) could not overcome five total turnovers and a safety on a bad punt snap.
Capital end Matt Friesner set a new school record with 13 touchdown catches this season. In all, the Crusaders finished with 29 first downs and 456 total yards.
But here's how Capital's first 11 possessions ended: Punt, Punt, Fumble, Safety, Fumble, Fumble, Punt, Punt, Field Goal, Interception, Interception. It's hard to win with a line like that.
Conroy's conquest
Otterbein junior punt returner John Conroy returned three punts for touchdowns Saturday in the Cardinals' 51-2 drilling of Heidelberg, setting a new single-game Division III record.
Conroy returned seven punts for 227 yards, which is also a new Division III record. He scored on returns of 65, 74 and 66 yards and also caught a 31-yard touchdown pass in the win.
The victory also gave Otterbein (3-5, 3-4) possession of the Rhine River Cup. In 1992, Otterbein and Heidelberg played the first-ever college football game on German soil. Since then, the teams have played for the Rhine River Cup. That game ended in a 7-7 deadlock, unlike Saturday's one-sided affair.
Big-play Bubba
Allegheny came to within a whisker of the NCAC title by downing Wittenberg, 27-21 as quarterback Bubba Smith threw three touchdown passes and also caught a touchdown aerial Saturday.
Smith became Allegheny's all-time leader in touchdown passes with 49 while split end Jon Turner set a new school record with 19 scoring catches.
Smith threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first half to give Allegheny a 14-7 lead. After the Tigers tied the game at 14-all midway through the second quarter, Smith handed the ball to tailback Kyle Geisler. Geisler then lofted a 12-yard touchdown pass back across the field to Smith in the left flat for a 20-14 halftime lead.
A 25-yard Smith-to-Turner touchdown connection with 10 minutes left in the third put Allegheny ahead to stay.
Cardiac Carnegie Mellon
Carnegie Mellon (6-2, 2-0) kept its flagging postseason hopes alive with a 29-27 win at Chicago in University Athletic Association play Saturday. Quarterback Jarrod Highberger fired a 5-yard touchdown pass to halfback Ricardo Clarke with two seconds left. The Tartans close the season against Washington U. and Rochester. If they do not earn an NCAA berth, Carnegie Mellon is a strong candidate for an ECAC Southwest Bowl berth.
Don't take it for granted
Extra points are never automatic, not even at the professional level. That is especially true in Division III, although kickers do make conversions at a fairly high rate.
Saturday, Kalamazoo fell out of the MIAA race for good as a botched extra point in overtime helped lead to a 24-23 loss to Alma.
After scoring on the first possession of overtime to take a 23-17 lead, Kalamazoo (5-3, 1-3) could not execute the kick and Alma kept holder Stan Peplinski out of the end zone.
James Edington's fourth-down touchdown run from the 1 tied the game at 23 and kicker Jeff LaPorte gave Alma (5-3, 3-2) the victory. Coming into the game, Kalamazoo had scored either one or two extra points on 20 of 25 touchdowns.
Yeomen effort
Oberlin posted a four-win season for the first time since 1989 as the Yeomen thumped Earlham 37-14 at Dill Field Saturday. Defensive back Quammie Semper intercepted two more passes, giving him 10 for the season. That sets a new NCAC single-season record.
The Yeomen (4-4, 3-1) moved into second place in the NCAC and are the only team that can pass Allegheny in the conference race. Oberlin has had just one winning season since 1963 but with games at Ohio Wesleyan and Denison, finishing above .500 is quite possible.
Triple threat
Westminster tailback Scott Froelich ran for a touchdown, caught a touchdown pass and then threw a scoring pass to wide receiver Steve Scott as the Titans pulled out a 35-33 win over Frostburg State in New Wilmington, Pa. Saturday.
Froelich's pass to Scott put Westminster up 35-26 with 8:30 left. It was his first collegiate pass attempt. Froelich went over the 1,000-yard mark for the second straight year and now has 1,138 yards. The junior now has 17 100-yard games in his career after rushing for 174 yards on 37 attempts.
Sutton else
Another junior tailback in the Great Lakes Region is having an outstanding season. Wooster's Tony Sutton charged through the Wabash defense Saturday for 188 yards in the Scots' 23-7 win. That total gives him 1,506 yards on the season, breaking the Wooster single-season record he broke last year (1,418). Sutton also now has 20 touchdowns on the season.
But the Wooster defense played an even bigger role in the victory. Wooster (6-2, 3-2) sacked Wabash quarterbacks nine times, including seven in the second half. Nick Hajjar broke the game open with a 68-yard interception return for touchdown in the third quarter, pushing Wooster's lead to 17-0.
Freshman Andy Mizak had three and a half sacks for the Fighting Scots while Bobby Vega had a career-high 16 tackles.
Bethany Bison bounce Builders
Bethany earned its first win of the season Saturday with a 30-6 home win against Newport News. The Bison received 107 yards rushing from Mike Yandrick while linebacker Steve Ochap had 11 tackles and a sack. Bethany outgained Newport News 347-131.
Diamond Dave
Grove City junior split end Dave DiDonato set a new single-season school record by catching his eight touchdown pass this season in the Wolverines' 28-21 win at Alfred Saturday.
DiDonato leads both the team and the Presidents' Athletic Conference with 49 catches. Last year, Grove City's top four receivers combined for 49 total receptions! From 1998-2000, Grove City completed no more than 40 passes for the entire season. Not bad for a guy who was a backup quarterback as a freshman and missed most of 2002 due to injury.
Meanwhile, Grove City quarterback Sam Mowrey has 14 touchdown passes this year, one shy of the school record set by Mike Zeigler in 1966 and tied by Tom Miles in 1992. The Wolverines (4-5) close 2003 Saturday against Kings Point.
Going the other way
Whereas DiDonato went from quarterback to split end, Case Western's Jason Cellura moved from split end to quarterback Saturday as the Spartans downed Buffalo State, 23-21. Cellura completed 16 of 24 attempts for 192 yards while rushing for an additional 64 yards.
Cellura filled in for injured senior Eli Grant.
Game of the week
Hope at Olivet, 1 p.m.: Hope can wrap up the MIAA title and a berth in the playoffs. Olivet had high hopes entering the season as the MIAA preseason favorite. The Comets started off 3-0 but have gone 0-4 in MIAA play. Every program on the rise needs a signature win; an Olivet upset could be that victory.
Other games of note
Ohio Northern at Mount Union, 1:30 p.m.: In the late 1990s, this was THE game in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Mount Union is barreling towards another league title while Ohio Northern has seemingly regained its legs after some early-season problems. ONU interim head coach Stacey Hairston deserves credit for getting the ship righted in a very difficult time.
Allegheny at Earlham, 1 p.m.: Allegheny can sew up the NCAC with a win in Richmond, Ind., on Saturday. The Gators have not won the NCAC since 1996 and have not participated in the national playoffs since 1997. The Quakers (1-7) are looking for their first conference win of the season under first-year head coach Lawrence Livingston.
