By Ryan Briggs
Grove City SID
Across the nation, Week 1 often provides a good barometer for overall conference strengths as well as some insight as far as what to look for in the upcoming season.
As usual, the first weekend of play in the Great Lakes region featured several inter-conference bouts between regional programs. The Ohio Athletic Conference went 6-3 in out-of-conference play while the Presidents' Athletic Conference's six schools went 3-3 Saturday.
Up north, only four Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association teams were in action, going 2-2. Both University Athletic Association teams in the region, Case Western Reserve and Carnegie Mellon, also earned wins.
Saturday was not a good day for fans of the North Coast Athletic Conference, however. Conference teams went 1-7, with three of the losses coming by a combined 141 points.
Game of the Week
No. 12 Capital made a big splash for both the OAC as well as its program's progression Saturday with a 49-16 home win over No. 24 Wittenberg in Bexley, Ohio.
It was one of those days for the Tigers, who were victimized by turnovers and several big plays by Capital in all three facets of the game. Wittenberg coach Joe Fincham may have said it best: "In my heart of hearts I know we were a better team than we showed (Saturday)," he told D3football.com. "Today's not the end of our season by a long shot."
Still, it is a tough way for the Tigers to open the season. The game could also have direct and indirect Pool C implications in terms of strength of schedule as well as overall conference strength.
Between the Hedges
Baldwin-Wallace sophomore running back Brandon Hedges ran for 156 yards and three touchdowns Saturday as the Yellow Jackets knocked off defending NCAC champion Allegheny 27-14 in Meadville, Pa.
Hedges scored on runs of 38, 16, and 28 yards. The final touchdown came with 1:31 left, sealing the victory after Allegheny had pulled to within 21-14 on a 3-yard run by Jimmy Savage.
Savage made his first collegiate start for Allegheny on Saturday, turning in a 17-for-31, 195-yard performance. His 35-yard touchdown pass to Dallas Robinson on the final play of the first half cut B-W's lead to 14-7.
Stepping up
Wooster's Tony Sutton recorded his 10th consecutive 100-yard game, gaining 106 yards against Muskingum on Saturday in Wooster's 27-6 win. The Muskingum defense held Sutton in check as the consensus All-American back had no run longer than 16 yards.
However, the Muskies could not stop dual threat Richie McNally. The senior wide receiver/kicker accounted for 15 points, hauled in a career-high 104 receiving yards and became Wooster's all-time field goal leader with 19.
McNally kicked pair of field goals (one in each half) to give the Scots a 6-0 lead in the third quarter. The second three-pointer pushed McNally past Ben Arnold (1996-1999) and Bob Macoritti (1969-1972) for sole possession of the record.
No Sir
Ohio Wesleyan quarterback Ryan Sir Louis ran for 123 yards and threw for an additional 103 yards Saturday but the Battling Bishops dropped a 34-33 decision to homestanding Franklin. Ohio Wesleyan took an early 14-0 lead but fell behind 34-27 midway through the fourth quarter.
That's when Sir Louis raced 85 yards for a touchdown, closing the gap to 34-33. However, Sir Louis dove into the end zone, incurring a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Thus, Jason Whitcomb's extra point turned into the equivalent of a 35-yard field goal and the kick missed narrowly.
Great escape
Albion took advantage of a pair of missed extra points, including one in the final minute, to pull out a 13-12 home victory over Division I-AA non-scholarship Butler on Saturday.
The Britons led 10-0 at halftime and nursed a 13-6 lead into the final minute when Butler's Phil Cristner hauled in an 18-yard touchdown pass from Ian Nelson, trimming the lead to one. But kicker Eric Neumeier hooked the conversion kick wide left, giving Albion the eventual win.
Earlier in the game, Neumeier missed a PAT that would have cut Albion's lead to 10-7 in the third quarter. Andy Jados intercepted a pair of passes for Albion.
Purple Reign
Mount Union showed no after-effects from last year's title game loss in a 38-0 win at Washington U. on Saturday in St. Louis. The Purple Raiders chewed up 639 yards of offense, including 294 passing yards from quarterback Zac Bruney (18-of-27, three TDs). Mount Union led 24-0 at halftime.
"Getting off to a fast start gave us the momentum we needed," Bruney said in the school's press release. "The offensive line played well and our young wide receivers, who have been waiting their turn, made some nice plays out there."
The win is Mount Union's 95th straight regular-season victory. The last time Mount Union lost a regular-season game, this year's current freshmen were in third grade, 10 years ago!
Straight Jackets
Defending PAC champion Waynesburg picked up where it left off in 2003, pounding visiting Denison 64-0 at Jack Wiley Stadium on Saturday.
The Yellow Jacket defense limited Denison to three first downs and 97 total yards. The Big Red had more passing attempts (21) than pass yards (20). Denison running back Phil Bowhuis did run for 82 yards on 13 carries.
Dominick Hunter returned a blocked punt 6 yards for a touchdown less than a minute into the third quarter, and then closed the period with an 83-yard punt return for touchdown.
Brenner's banner day
Case Western Reserve kicker Joseph Brenner drilled four field goals in helping the Spartans rally past Oberlin 18-15 at Brush High School, near Cleveland. Brenner kicked three field goals in the second half, including two in the last eight minutes. His 21-yarder with 34 seconds left gave CWRU head coach Greg Debeljak his first collegiate win.
Northern Lights
Ohio Northern opened Dial-Roberson Stadium on Saturday with a 31-0 pasting of Westminster, giving Dean Paul his first win as ONU head coach. Senior quarterback Corey Minnfield came off the bench to throw three touchdown passes for the Polar Bears. Minnfield started at Defiance each of the last two years before ending up in Ada this year.
The Polar Bears' defense limited the Titans to just three of 15 third-down conversions and forced 10 Westminster punts.
Around the MIAA
Tri-State began its first year as a provisional Division III member with a 31-0 loss at Washington and Jefferson on Saturday night. ... Mike Lewis had three sacks, blocked a field goal and recovered a fumble for Adrian in the Bulldogs' 24-14 victory against Heidelberg in Tiffin, Ohio, on Saturday. ... Quarterback Matt Patterson added 286 yards passing and three touchdowns. ... Division I-AA non-scholarship Valparaiso thumped Wisconsin Lutheran, 41-0. ... Alma visits Bethany next week while Olivet opens 2004 against homestanding Franklin.
Around the NCAC
Unlike CWRU's Debeljak, Mike Lazusky's debut as Hiram head coach did not result in a victory as Hiram fell at home to Carnegie Mellon, 44-0. ... Earlham fell to Rose-Hulman, 16-12, in Gerry Keesling's debut as full-time head coach. ... Keesling coached the team on an interim basis in 2002. ... Kenyon and Wabash both open the season this weekend. ... The Lords are at Centre while Wabash visits Kalamazoo.
Around the OAC
Marietta and Otterbein both opened 2004 with victories Saturday. ... The Pioneers downed visiting Dubuque, 13-8, at newly renovated Don Drumm Stadium while Otterbein smacked host Defiance 41-6. ... The Cardinals amassed 353 yards in the victory. ... Wilmington fell at Mount St. Joseph, 21-10, in Phil Dorn's debut as the Quakers' head coach. ... John Carroll visits Hope next week in both teams' opener. ... The other nine OAC teams are idle in preparation for the start of league play Sept. 18.
Around the PAC
Grove City won its third consecutive season opener, rolling visiting Manchester, 54-14, at Robert E. Thorn Field Saturday. ... Junior safety Aaron Margo returned an interception 94 yards for a touchdown, the longest interception return in school history. ... Washington and Jefferson piled up 441 yards of offense in downing Tri-State, 31-0, Saturday night. It is the Presidents' first home shutout since 1997, when legendary John Luckhardt was the Presidents' head coach. ... Thiel dropped a 40-14 decision to UW-Platteville on Saturday in Greenville, Pa., despite 105 yards from tailback John Dziurzynski ... Steven Lee made his debut as Bethany head coach in the Bison's 35-7 loss at Franklin and Marshall.
E-Briggs
Last time, I mentioned that Wittenberg did not win the NCAC last year, noting that their run of dominance ended. As Wabash fans will remind you, Wittenberg didn't win the conference in 2002, either. That year, Wabash earned two wins over the Tigers, one in the regular season and then a second win in the playoffs. So, an apology to the Wabash folks for that oversight.
Game of the Week
John Carroll at Hope 1:30 p.m. EDT
One of the OAC's premier programs visits the MIAA's preseason favorite in Holland, Mich. this Saturday in both teams' 2004 opener. Like last week's Capital-Wittenberg clash, there could be Pool C implications in this early-season game.
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Others to watch: Westminster at Allegheny; Grove City at Carnegie Mellon, both 1:00 p.m. EDT
Two western Pennsylvania rivalries are renewed this week. Westminster downed Allegheny in muddy Meadville last year, 3-0, in overtime. Meanwhile, Grove City aims for its first-ever win at Gesling Stadium in Pittsburgh.
