By Ryan Briggs
Grove City SID
The sun shone across northeast Ohio Saturday afternoon. And so did a star.
Wooster tailback Tony Sutton gashed the Case Western Reserve defense for a school- and North Coast Athletic Conference-record 338 yards and six touchdowns as No. 19 Wooster knocked Case from the ranks of the unbeaten with a come-from-behind 62-33 win in Cleveland.
Case Western twice led by 13, including a 33-20 halftime edge on its home field. But Wooster (3-0) charged back with 42 unanswered points, 24 courtesy of Sutton.
The junior capped the first possession of the second half with a 4-yard touchdown run that slashed the lead to 33-27. Quarterback Justin Schafer then put Wooster on top with a 16-yard scoring run with 1:13 left in the third quarter.
Wooster free safety Brian Kight then pushed the lead to 41-33 with his second interception return for a touchdown in as many weeks. Kight's 85-yard return, Wooster's fourth for a touchdown in three games, thwarted Case Western's best scoring opportunity of the second half.
The Fighting Scots then turned to Sutton to put the game away. The 5-11, 190-pound Sutton single-handedly slammed the door on the Spartans with touchdown runs of 6, 29 and 65 yards in a four-minute span in the middle portion of the fourth quarter.
"I just hope I can continue to get better and stay healthy," Sutton, who missed much of the first quarter due to a disciplinary measure, told D3football.com. "It feels great to be able to come here and get a win, more importantly."
He averaged nearly 10 yards per carry on his 34 attempts and also eclipsed the 2,000-yard mark for his career. Sutton now has 2,079 yards in just 12 games at Wooster.
Sutton already has 661 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns this season and is averaging 8.4 yards per carry.
As a team Saturday, Wooster ran 424 yards. The Scots are now averaging 350 yards per game on the ground.
Case Western Reserve's Jason Cellura hauled in 15 receptions for 220 yards and a pair of touchdowns as quarterback Eli Grant went 26-for-50 for 324 yards and three touchdowns.
"O" is for Ohio, Offense
Wooster wasn't the only NCAC favorite to light up the scoreboard Saturday. Wittenberg, which nosed out Wooster for a playoff berth in 2002, piled up 56 points against visiting Thomas More in Springfield.
The Tigers (3-0) stormed out to a 35-7 lead by halftime as Raymar Hampshire scored on a pair of touchdown runs while Jered Glover returned a kickoff 96 yards for a score. Gary George added a 30-yard interception return in the second quarter as Wittenberg rattled off 35 consecutive points.
Hampshire, who rushed for 111 yards, also caught a 54-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ryan Holmes. Holmes finished the afternoon 7-for-11 for 166 yards and three touchdowns.
Defending national champion Mount Union had no difficulty in moving the ball against Muskingum in a 58-0 victory. The Purple Raiders amassed 678 yards of total offense. Quarterbacks Zac Bruney and Jesse Burghardt combined for 433 passing yards and five touchdowns as the Purple Raiders won their 78th straight OAC game.
No. 25 Capital crushed visiting Marietta 46-13 as the Crusaders tallied 636 yards. Capital stormed to a 37-0 halftime lead and never looked back.
Quarterback Rocky Pentello continued his stellar play, throwing for 387 yards and four touchdowns. Running back Greg Grant ran for 121 yards on 15 attempts while Jason Bainum ran for two touchdowns.
"O" is also for Olivet
Olivet continued its hot start to the 2003 season by bombing host Manchester 56-0. It is the largest margin of victory for the 3-0 Comets since a 65-0 win against Adrian in 1917. It's also the first time Olivet has posted back-to-back shutouts since 1966.
Olivet's defense is allowing just four points per game. But it is the Comets' punishing ground game that is leading the preseason MIAA favorite.
Olivet has thrown just 14 passes this year, completing nine. But there's no need to throw the ball when you average over six yards a carry and 420 yards on the ground per game. Against Manchester Saturday, 14 different Olivet players gained positive yardage on the ground. Olivet ran for "only" 369 yards but three Olivet quarterbacks threw for 145 yards on 4-for-4 accuracy.
Streaking Blue Streams
John Carroll moved to 3-0 overall and 2-0 in the Ohio Athletic Conference by holding off visiting Ohio Northern, highlighting the grand opening of Don Shula Stadium.
Quarterback Tony Beiting fired three touchdown passes to Antoine Dunklin as the Blue Streaks maintained a share of the OAC lead. Beiting's 69-yard strike to Dunklin at the end of the third quarter put John Carroll up 28-17. Unfortunately, JCU lost starting senior running back Ryan DeGeorge for the season when he tore a knee ligament. And it wasn't the scariest injury of the afternoon, as Polar Bears running back Zach Weber was down for about 10 minutes after being hit in the back of the neck. He was carried off on a stretcher but ONU reported he had movement and feeling in all extremities.
Ohio Northern, rocked by the preseason suspension of head coach Tom Kaczkowski, fell to 0-3 overall under interim head coach Stacey Hairston.
My name is mud
Torrential rains that fell across Western Pennsylvania Friday night and all day Saturday made for some interesting field conditions in the area, especially at Allegheny's Robertson Field.
The Gators and visiting Westminster (Pa.) slogged and slopped their way through the mud for 60 scoreless minutes. Titan kicker Jason Montgomery put Westminster up 3-0 with a 31-yard field goal on the first possession of overtime.
Allegheny tried to force a second overtime but Tom Froelich blocked Aaron Polack's 25-yard field goal attempt, ending the game.
Froelich's older brother, Scott, found the mud to his liking as the Westminster tailback ran for 150 yards on 32 carries. The Titans (1-2) did fumble the ball six times, but only lost two of them.
So far this season, Mother Nature is the only thing that has slowed down the Waynesburg offense. Waynesburg entered its home opener averaging over 48 points per game but generated only 17 points against Alfred.
Yet, that turned out to be enough as the Yellow Jackets moved to 3-1 for the second consecutive year with a 17-7 win.
The weather did nothing to temper Bethany's generosity on offense at Grove City Saturday. Bethany turned the ball over five times in a 17-3 loss to the Wolverines in both teams' Presidents' Athletic Conference opener. Bethany (0-4) now has 22 turnovers in four games.
Let's be Frank about this
Washington and Jefferson safety Frank Pilato intercepted two passes, including a 100-yard return for a touchdown as the Presidents held off Thiel, 17-10, in the PAC opener Saturday at Cameron Stadium.
Two weeks ago, Pilato preserved the Prexies' 28-23 victory over Allegheny with an interception in the end zone on the final play of the game.
Gotta upgrade that bullpen
Alma and Defiance swapped safeties in the first half at Defiance last week and went to halftime tied 2-2. Alma pulled away to a 16-2 victory, however, in the Scots' final tune-up for MIAA play.
Game of the Week
No. 18 John Carroll at No. 11 Baldwin-Wallace: The Cuyahoga Gold Bowl trophy is at stake in Berea, Ohio Saturday. More importantly, playoff hopes are also on the line.
In order to grab a Division III playoff berth, Baldwin-Wallace (1-1 OAC) probably has to run the table. John Carroll (2-0 OAC) is trying to stay undefeated and maintain a share of the conference lead. John Carroll has won three in a row from B-W but the overall series is tied 19-19-4.
This is the 15th annual battle for the Gold Bowl. Each team has won seven of the prior 14 meetings for the trophy, which is a painted, football-shaped rock that was found along the Cuyahoga River.
Other games to watch
Albion (1-2) at Olivet (3-0): It's Insurance Appreciation Day at Olivet Saturday as both Albion and Olivet open Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association action. Olivet is the preseason MIAA favorite and can take the first step to ensuring an MIAA crown at home. Albion is coming off a 10-3 win over Ohio Wesleyan, which lost to Olivet, 21-0. For Olivet, the best insurance is getting an early lead and letting its Division III-leading rushing offense (420 yards per game) run the clock.
Alma (2-1) at Hope (1-2): Defending MIAA champ Alma visits 2002 league runner-up Hope. Hope's two losses came on the road at Wooster and Wheaton while Alma also lost to Wheaton.
Grove City (2-2, 1-0 PAC) at Thiel (1-2, 0-1): The Cuyahoga Gold Bowl isn't the only trophy game being played Saturday. Presidents' Athletic Conference archrivals Grove City and Thiel meet for the Mercer County Cup in Greenville. Thiel has won the Cup each of the last two seasons but Grove City owns a 13-6 edge in the 19 prior clashes for the Cup.
No. 20 Washington and Jefferson (3-0, 1-0 PAC) at Westminster (1-2, 0-0): Westminster will try to knock off the defending PAC champions in New Wilmington. The Presidents pulled out a 29-21 win at home last year en route to the league title. Westminster is on its third quarterback of the season already, senior Joe Getsy.
Oberlin (0-3) at Hiram (0-3): One of these teams will be tied for first place in the NCAC after Saturday. Hiram is trying to snap a 17-game losing streak. Oberlin, of course, dropped 44 in a row from 1997-2001.
