By Ryan Briggs
Grove City SID
Q: Will Capital prove to be a major obstacle or just another OAC speed bump? -- R.B., Grove City, Pa.
A: B) Another OAC speed bump.
That was the big question leading up to last weekend's Mount Union-Capital clash. Mount Union answered that question emphatically with a 49-7 win in Bexley Saturday afternoon, jumping out to a 21-0 lead in the first half.
The Purple Raiders' 98th consecutive regular-season victory featured many of the same traits as the other 97: high-octane offense, stifling defense and excellent special teams play.
Mount Union chewed up 529 yards of offense, including 368 on the ground. Aaron Robinson ran for a career-high 137 yards while Rick Ciccone added 87 rushing yards and four receptions. The Purple Raider defense held Capital to just two rushing yards on 31 attempts and picked up a school-record 10 sacks.
"Offensive players tend to get more notoriety, but we know how important it is to have an outstanding defensive team," Mount Union head coach Larry Kehres said. "This group has a goal to be one of the best defensive units we've had. They've certainly gotten off to a terrific start."
In the kicking game, Mount Union special-teamer Jesse Clum recovered a fumbled kickoff that set up the Raiders' third score of the first half. Mount Union kickers went 7-for-7 on extra points, which is a feat in some places.
Setting the Tony
Wooster senior running back Tony Sutton came up big for the Fighting Scots precisely when his squad needed a shot in the arm Saturday against defending NCAC champion Allegheny. Wooster held a 7-0 lead at halftime after a mistake-filled 30 minutes, but the Scots' lead quickly doubled as the consensus All-American returned the second half kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown that vaulted the Scots (4-0) to a 35-13 win in their North Coast Athletic Conference opener.
Sutton finished with 165 yards rushing and three total touchdowns. Defensively, Wooster held Allegheny to 22 total yards and one first down in the first half. That first down came on the final play of the half. For the game, Wooster owned a 337-199 edge in total offense.
Another fast start
In Week Four, Washington and Jefferson scored 49 first-quarter points against Emory and Henry. The Presidents did not match that ridiculous sum Saturday at Thiel, but the Red and Black gave it the old college try. The Presidents posted four first-half touchdowns on their way to a 34-10 win over Thiel, spoiling the Tomcats' Homecoming.
Chris Edwards threw touchdown passes to Jacob Shields and Jon Miller while halfback R.J. Zitzelsberger (great name) ran for a 1-yard touchdown in the first half. Linebacker Andy Shook opened the game's scoring by returning a Thiel fumble eight yards for a touchdown. Edwards finished the day 10-of-15 for 72 yards. Ryan Mendel led the Presidents on the ground with 106 yards while Zitzelsberger added 76.
Thiel's Dane Haskins caught a career-high 10 passes for 81 yards and a touchdown while quarterback Darrell Satterfield finished the day 28-of-52 for 272 yards.
Last season, the President ground game was mediocre at best, brutal at its worst. This year, Washington and Jefferson is averaging nearly 200 yards per game rushing, along with a prolific passing game. Head coach Mike Sirianni is a Mount Union grad -- this team is starting to resemble a classic Mount Union team.
The only 5-0 team in the Great Lakes Region, Washington and Jefferson hosts Westminster this Saturday at Cameron Stadium.
Eight is enough
Eight Grove City players scored a touchdown Saturday as the Wolverines tarnished Bethany's Homecoming by earning a 63-6 win at Bethany Field. The performance kept the Grove City SID rather busy afterwards, updating the record book.
It is Grove City's biggest win ever in Presidents' Athletic Conference play since joining the league in 1984 and is the Wolverines' largest margin of victory since a 62-0 win over Carnegie Tech in 1962.
Free safety Ross Trimmer intercepted two passes and returned the second pick 100 yards for a touchdown. It is the longest interception return in school history and the longest play in Grove City history, also. Ironically, Trimmer's roommate, junior strong safety Aaron Margo, set the previous interception return record in the season opener by returning a pick 94 yards for a touchdown against Manchester.
Trimmer returned his first interception 33 yards and set a new school single-game record with 133 interception return yards. He has 137 return yards this year, tying the school's single-season record. For his efforts, he earned a spot on the D3football.com Team of the Week.
Senior cornerback Gene Iannuzzi also returned an interception 42 yards for a score in the third quarter, just two scrimmage plays after Trimmer's runback. Iannuzzi's touchdown capped Grove City's 28-point outburst during a five-minute span in the third quarter.
Quarterback Bradford Clark threw two touchdown passes, ran for two scores and accumulated a career-high 118 rushing yards. As a team, Grove City ran for 416 yards and averaged over seven yards per carry.
38 special
Alma kicker Jeff LaPorte booted a 38-yard field goal with just three second left Saturday to lift the Scots to a 21-18 victory at Olivet in both teams' MIAA opener. To say that this was a strange game is an accurate statement. To wit:
Olivet's quarter-by-quarter scoring looks more like a phone extension than a football box score: 3-5-3-7. The Comets had a 24½-minute edge in time of possession and were plus-2 in turnovers. Olivet also went 5-for-6 on fourth-down attempts, had six more first downs and ran 30 more plays than their guests. Alma committed 10 penalties for 84 yards.
But Olivet's inability to put the ball in the end zone came back to bite them. A 14-play, 33-yard drive (that is not a misprint) in the first quarter ended in a Justin Hunwick 34-yard field goal. An eight-play, 75-yard drive in the second quarter resulted in a 23-yarder from Hunwick. A 16-play, 53-yard, 8-minute drive in the third quarter resulted in -- you guessed it! -- a 35-yard Hunwick field goal.
Throw in Chris Quackenbush's defensive two-point conversion early in the second quarter and you can see how the game was able to feature such non-traditional football scores as 6-5, 12-8 and 18-11. Olivet tied the game at 18-18 with 73 seconds left as Jared Dell scored on a 3-yard touchdown run and Hunwick kicked the extra point.
But Alma moved 52 yards in slightly over a minute, setting up LaPorte's heroics.
Amid this statistical mess, Alma's James Edington ran for 89 yards and a score and also caught a touchdown pass from Josh Brehm. Defensively, Scott Barriger led the Scots with 22 tackles, including 18 solo hits.
Capture the flag(s)
Alma wasn't the only MIAA team to overcome numerous penalties in victory Saturday. Adrian committed 10 infractions for 115 yards against Albion but improved to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the league with a 27-20 home win. The Bulldogs led 17-0 early in the second quarter but had to hold off a late Albion rally. Adrian's D.J. Howard caught five passes for a game-high 107 yards.
Thunderstruck
Congratulations to Tri-State for winning its first game as a member of NCAA Division III. The Thunder pulled out a 17-14 home win over Wisconsin Lutheran on Saturday in Angola, Ind., forcing six WLC turnovers. Zac Culbert intercepted two passes for the Thunder while Jarrod Phillips had 16 total tackles, three quarterback sacks and two forced fumbles.
Roc till you drop
Heidelberg wide receiver Roc Patterson hauled in a school-record 16 passes for 205 yards against Wilmington on Saturday. Despite his record-breaking effort, Wilmington crowned the Student Princes, 26-14.
Wilmington scored twice in the final minute to improve to 2-1 in the OAC. Jermaine Issac broke a 14-14 tie with a 10-yard touchdown run. On the final play of the game, Wilmington's Chad Otte intercepted a Heidelberg pass at the Quaker 11 and returned it 89 yards for a score with no time left. That wasn't the biggest 89-yard play of the game for Wilmington, however.
Deon Short returned a kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown with 1:51 left in the third quarter, tying the game at 14-14. That came just seconds after Heidelberg's Dustan Dolata caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from Steve West.
Switching sides
Marietta middle linebacker Chris Sidick switched to offense prior to the Pioneers' home game with Otterbein. The result: Nine catches for 119 yards, an 88-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and a 24-23 Marietta win.
Running back Steven Wagner, one of the offensive holdovers, ran for 177 yards on 30 attempts for the Pioneers. Marietta is 3-1 for the first time since 1996.
Otterbein's Kyle Wolfe caught eight passes for 114 yards while Ricardo Lenhart had five catches for 115 yards.
Welcome home
Kenyon returned to its own home field, McBride Field, for the first time in two seasons and celebrated with a 39-30 victory over Oberlin on Saturday. It is the first NCAC victory for head coach Ted Stanley. Freshman Rafael Sanchez accumulated 323 all-purpose yards for the Lords, who had played home games at Mount Vernon (Ohio) High School each of the last two years. Alby Coombs ran for 129 yards and three touchdowns on the Lords' new OmniGrass surface. Oberlin found the new surface to its liking, gaining 443 yards of offense.
Around the MIAA
Hope forced six Kalamazoo turnovers Saturday as the Dutchmen dealt Kalamazoo a 29-16 loss at home. ... Hope led 20-0 early in the third quarter. ... Kalamazoo's Nick Toboy returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown and also returned a butchered extra point the other way for two points. Two defensive extra points in one league on the same day! I have watched a lot of games in person and have only seen one. It is definitely one of the most exciting plays in football. Other levels should adopt it.
Around the NCAC
Wittenberg opened conference play with a 47-21 victory over Denison. Tristan Murphy scored four first-half touchdowns in the win and finished the game with 171 yards on 26 carries. ... Earlham junior Justin Rummell threw for 305 yards in the Quakers' 40-0 win over Hiram on Saturday. ... Wabash avoided a major upset at home Saturday, but rallied past Ohio Wesleyan, 17-14 ... It is the Little Giants' 17th straight home win. ... Quarterback Russ Harbaugh came out of the bullpen to lead Wabash's game-winning drive.
Around the OAC
Baldwin-Wallace sophomore Brandon Hedges ran for 166 yards in B-W's 14-7 win over Muskingum Saturday. ... B-W linebacker Justin Princehorn led the defensive effort with 16 total tackles ... Ohio Northern improved to 3-0 at Dial-Roberson Stadium with a 38-14 thumping of John Carroll. ... The Polar Bears had seven sacks. Quarterbacks Corey Minnfield and Adam Quirk both threw touchdown passes. John Carroll leading rusher Brandon Oing left the game after two quarters and did not return.
Around the PAC
Waynesburg and Westminster were idle last week. They both open conference play this week. Westminster plays at Washington and Jefferson while the Yellow Jackets (colors: orange and black) host Bethany in what could be a cover-your-eyes game. The Jackets are averaging 50 points per game; Bethany allows 44 points per game.
UAA Update
Case Western Reserve improved to 3-2 Saturday with a 12-10 win at Defiance. David Kallevig caught seven passes for 160 yards to lead the Spartan offense. CWRU had been 0-2 on the road until Saturday's win. Case hosts Maryville, Tenn. this weekend at Brush High School in Lyndhurst, Ohio. ... Carnegie Mellon also improved to 3-2 with a 24-10 over previously-unbeaten Wesley in Pittsburgh. Adam Lovrovich intercepted two passes for CMU, which is idle this week. Aaron Lewis, last year's UAA Rookie of the Year, had a game-high 18 tackles.
Games to Watch
Adrian (4-0, 1-0) at Alma (3-1, 1-0), 1:30 p.m.: First place in the MIAA is at stake as the Bulldogs look to improve to 5-0 on the season. Alma is the second-highest scoring team in the league whereas Adrian boasts the conference's top scoring defense.
Capital (3-1, 2-1) at Marietta (3-1, 2-1), 1:30 p.m.: How will Capital respond to last week's loss to Mount Union? Marietta is on a high after winning at Otterbein last week. A loss would cripple Capital's postseason hopes and Don Drumm Stadium is not an easy place to play.
Thiel (3-2, 1-1) at Grove City (3-2, 1-0), 2:00 p.m.: Homecoming at my alma mater. But that isn't why I listed it here. It's the 21st annual battle for the Mercer County Cup. The Wolverines won it back last year with a 16-15 win at Thiel. The Tomcats won the coveted trophy in both 2001 and 2002. A 4-2 start would be Grove City's best since 1998.
Westminster (2-2, 0-0) at Washington and Jefferson (5-0, 1-0), 1:30 p.m.: The Presidents are gunning to become the first region team to six wins. Westminster has won two straight and has had an off week to prepare for the Red and Black. The Titans feature tailback Scott Froelich, last year's PAC Offensive Player of the Year. Look for the Titans to give Froelich plenty of carries in order to try and keep Washington and Jefferson's high-powered offense on the sideline.
