By Ryan Briggs
Grove City SID
The second week of the Division III football season is much like the first, especially in the Great Lakes Region. A number of teams are idle during the second week in preparation for conference play while other squads are beginning the season after byes in Week 1. Inter-conference play is the name of the game for now, and a number of wild and closely contested games highlighted Sept. 11's action.
In last week's column, I proclaimed the John Carroll-Hope game as the "Game of the Week" with Westminster-Allegheny and Grove City-Carnegie Mellon earning "Others to Watch" notation. For once, I was right on all three counts as each game lived up to its billing.
Hope won on Opening Day for the first time since 1993, edging the Blue Streaks, 21-20, in Holland, Michigan. Allegheny turned the tables on Westminster with a 21-14 double-overtime win, one year after the Titans won 3-0 in overtime at Allegheny.
In Pittsburgh, Grove City held on for a 16-14 win at Carnegie Mellon, giving the Wolverines their first-ever win at Gesling Stadium.
Under coach Dean Kreps, Hope was 0-9 in season openers until Saturday's narrow win. Hope wide receiver Jake Schrock caught two touchdown passes and also returned a blocked punt for a touchdown.
John Carroll had not lost a non-conference regular-season game since losing to former Division III power Dayton in 1991. John Carroll held the Flying Dutchmen to just 44 rushing yards and 183 yards of total offense. Quarterback Matt Martin threw for 249 yards in his first collegiate start.
Not only is the victory big for Hope, but it is also big for the MIAA as its preseason favorite defeated one of the OAC's premier teams. As a consolation prize, John Carroll gets a date at Mount Union on Saturday night.
Moving south to New Wilmington, Pa., and Westminster's Harold Burry Stadium, Allegheny bounced back from a tough loss to Baldwin-Wallace by scratching out a double-overtime win on the road.
The Gator defense forced Westminster (0-2) into seven turnovers and sacked Westminster quarterback J.R. Barley eight times. But the Titans still managed to force overtime with three minutes left in the fourth quarter as Barley fired a 16-yard touchdown pass to senior Brian Ekis, cutting Allegheny's lead to 14-12.
Standout tailback Scott Froelich then raced in for the two-point conversion, tying the game. Neither team scored in the first overtime as Froelich fumbled and Allegheny kicker Jason Black missed a 39-yard field goal.
But in the second extra session, Allegheny (1-1) quarterback Jimmy Savage scored on a 22-yard touchdown run on third-and-7, putting Allegheny on top. Gator Vincent Werner ended Westminster's hopes by intercepting a Barley pass in the end zone, sealing Allegheny's win.
Westminster's defense also shined, forcing nine punts and limiting Allegheny to just 202 total yards. The Titans will look for win No. 1 against struggling Hiram this Saturday.
Finally, Grove City improved to 2-0 for the first time in 10 years by holding off host Carnegie Mellon 16-14. The Wolverine defense forced six CMU turnovers, had three sacks and also recorded up a safety. Strong safety Aaron Margo led the Wolverine defense with a career-high 15 total tackles, including four for loss.
Not to be outdone, the Carnegie Mellon defense held Grove City to two second-half first downs and just 145 total yards (2.1 yards per play). However, CMU kicker Neil Stegall missed a 38-yard field goal with 4:23 left. Stegall also came up short on a 49-yard attempt with 18 seconds left, giving Grove City its first-ever win at Gesling Stadium.
These are just three of a number of great games that took place in the Great Lakes region last Saturday.
Is this the right Division III Web site?
After returning to my stuffy third-floor office at Grove City Saturday afternoon, I checked the D3football.com scoreboard page. Upon seeing the final score in the Olivet-Franklin game, I thought I was on D3hoops.com instead! Olivet went on the road and pulled out a 63-62 victory in non-conference action.
The Comets ran for 591 yards as a team (earning my love and admiration!) and out-gained Franklin 671-439. Fullback Mick Faasen ran for 194 yards and four touchdowns while Kemp Luchie had 187 yards and a pair of scores. Dwight Houston added 110 yards and a score. All three backs averaged at least 9.2 yards per carry and none had run for loss in the game.
Faasen's 33-yard touchdown run with 5:04 left broke a 56-56 tie. Still, the Comets (1-0) had to hold off a last-second two-point conversion attempt to pick up the win. Olivet led 37-35 at the half and 50-41 entering the fourth quarter.
Alley cats
Thiel bounced back from a tough season-opening loss against UW-Platteville by coming from behind for a 22-19 win at Ohio Wesleyan Saturday. Wide receiver Brandon Chambers hauled in three second-half touchdown passes from Darrell Satterfield as threw for a career-high 304 yards.
Ohio Wesleyan featured near-perfect offensive balance, running for 201 yards and throwing for 203. Quarterback Ryan Sir Louis accounted for 273 yards of total offense as ran for 70 yards on 18 attempts. The Battling Bishops (0-2) moved the ball to the Thiel 10 on their final possession but Jason Whitcomb's 30-yard field goal veered wide left, preserving the three-point win. Earlier in the game, Whitcomb made field goals of 34 and 22 yards, respectively.
Grade A
Adrian and Alma both picked up lopsided road victories Saturday. Adrian (2-0) routed Defiance 34-0, while Alma spanked host Bethany 52-14 in West Virginia. Adrian amassed 450 yards of offense and jumped out to a 14-0 lead after just 15 minutes of action.
"We were able to run the ball and get 14 points quickly," Bulldog coach Jim Lyall said. "That gave the kids confidence." Jon Servoss and Chris Wilson each scored twice for Adrian while Mike Lewis anchored the strong defensive effort with three quarterback sacks.
Alma fell behind 7-0 in the first quarter as Bethany capped the game's opening possession with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Nazih Bannah to Mike Cowan. However, the Scots rebounded with 45 unanswered points during the second and third quarters.
Alma quarterback Josh Brehm completed 21 of 35 passes for 322 yards. Clayton Sims caught six passes for 78 yards and two touchdowns. Alma went 7-for-7 in the red zone, also.
Defensively, Alma intercepted four passes, including Chad Abbey's 49-yard interception return for touchdown in the third quarter.
Big Red's big day
Seven days after sustaining a 64-0 pasting at Waynesburg, Denison rebounded nicely, earning a 36-21 victory over visiting Case Western Reserve. The Big Red raced to a 29-0 halftime lead as Phil Bouwhuis ran for a pair of touchdowns. He finished with 69 yards rushing on 22 attempts while scoring three times. Sophomore Fred Lee added 67 yards on the ground.
It is Denison's first victory over Case since 1999.
Paint it (red and) black
Washington and Jefferson improved to 2-0 Saturday with a 27-15 victory at perennial power Hanover. The Presidents amassed 496 total yards and held an 11-and-a-half-minute edge in time of possession.
Versatile Aaron Krepps caught two touchdown passes and also ran 43 yards for a touchdown early in the third quarter that extended the Presidents' lead to 20-9. Jacob Shields had eight receptions for 156 yards, helping the Red and Black own a 25-12 edge in first downs. On the other side of the ball, Nick Cherish intercepted two Hanover passes.
Around the MIAA
Wisconsin Lutheran continues its quest to dent the scoreboard after being shutout for the second straight week in a 17-0 loss to Rockford. ... Tri-State scored its first points as a member of NCAA Division III but Tri-State lost to UW-Stevens Point, 57-3.
Around the NCAC
Gerry Keesling earned his first win as full-time head coach at Earlham as his Quakers quieted Manchester, 35-21, Saturday night in intra-state action. Justin Rummell threw for a school-record 425 yards in the win while Kevin Carr caught an Earlham-record four touchdown passes. ... Wabash opened 2004 in fine fashion, blanking Kalamazoo 35-0. The Little Giants broke the game open with 20 fourth-quarter points. ... Quarterback Russ Harbaugh threw for 260 yards in the win while Peter Kempf had two and a half sacks. ... Oberlin fell to 0-2 with a 41-21 home loss to Franklin and Marshall. ... Ryan Squatrito threw for 260 yards in the loss ... Kenyon fell in its season opener against Centre 54-27 despite a three-touchdown effort from quarterback Nick Stalick ... Hiram fell to Bluffton 24-7 although linebacker Stephen Boxler had a hand in 19 tackles.
Around the OAC
Conference play begins this weekend with five league matchups. Only John Carroll played last week; the other nine squads were idle.
Around the PAC
Waynesburg continues to run roughshod, picking up a 31-7 victory over visiting Randolph-Macon on Saturday. ... Sophomore Ryan Abels ran 42 times for 246 yards while the Yellow Jacket defense limited Randolph-Macon to just 30 rushing yards on 23 attempts and six total first downs.
Game of the Week
Ohio Northern at Baldwin-Wallace, 6:30 p.m.: Is Ohio Northern for real once again? First-year head coach Dean Paul earned a victory in his debut two weeks ago as Ohio Northern smoked Westminster (Pa.) 31-0. I know it's only Week 3, but it's a must-win for both teams in terms of OAC title hopes and playoff considerations.
Others to watch
Washington and Jefferson at Allegheny, 1:00 p.m.: It's always a tight battle when these two longtime heated rivals meet. The bad blood runs way back to Allegheny's PAC days of yesteryear. The Presidents needed Frank Pilato's game-saving interception to hold on last year. Two years ago, Allegheny forced eight turnovers in pulling the upset for then-rookie head coach Mark Matlak.
No. 22 Wooster at Grove City, 1:30 p.m.: Wooster All-American tailback Tony Sutton continues his quest to rewrite the rushing record book Saturday against an opportunistic Grove City defense that has forced 13 turnovers in two games. These teams met every year from 1996-2001 with the Fighting Scots pulling out a thrilling 6-0 win in the 2001 finale. Grove City hasn't beaten Wooster since 1988.
Defiance at Bethany, 1:30 p.m.: A pair of 0-2 teams meet at Rine Field on Saturday. Defiance has been outscored 75-6 this year while Bethany has been outscored 87-21 ... something has to give.
