By Ryan Briggs
Grove City SID
With the exception of one game here in the Great Lakes Region, the 2004 regular season is over in NCAA Division III. The 11th week of action featured some outstanding individual performances, numerous big plays and some last-second victories. In a nutshell, a continuation of what we've seen for much of the season.
I had the good fortune to be able to attend the Wooster-Ohio Wesleyan clash in Delaware, Ohio last Saturday. Wooster earned its first-ever outright North Coast Athletic Conference title with a 24-6 win over the Battling Bishops. The win gave the Scots their first 10-0 regular season along with the program's first playoff berth.
"I'm just thrilled for this team," fifth-year Wooster head coach Mike Schmitz said. "It's an extraordinary group of guys. The relationships we have are just fantastic. Our coaching staff is outstanding.
"It just feels terrific. It's hard for me to describe at this point."
His players echoed Schmitz's thoughts on finishing a season 10-0 and winning the NCAC title. "Whew! I don't know really what to say," senior outside linebacker Bobby Vega said. "We worked so hard, especially us seniors, who have been here four years. When you see everything you have put into it and get what you want out of it -- there are no words for it. It's a special thing."
"I think I'm still in shock right now," senior All-American tailback Tony Sutton said.
"It's a big boost for our program," senior wide receiver/kicker McNally said. "It's good for the seniors."
Often, an 18-point victory would appear to be a rather dominating victory. That was not the case in Delaware on Saturday, however.
Twice, Ohio Wesleyan did not score after having goal-to-go situations inside the five. In the first quarter, a 19-yard field goal missed. Midway through the fourth period, Ohio Wesleyan had first-and-goal at the 1 and seemed primed to dent Wooster's 17-6 lead. However, the shotgun snap went over the head of quarterback Ryan Sir Louis and Vega fell on the ball at the 7.
It was the third high snap over Sir Louis' head in the game. The first bad snap came during the first goal-to-go situation while the second bad snap came on the second play of the second half. Ohio Wesleyan's Tom Thome returned the second half kickoff to the Wooster 45 but a snap over Sir Louis' head resulted in a big loss and forced an eventual punt.
Still, give a lot of credit to the Wooster defense for being able to contain the constant misdirection of Ohio Wesleyan's spread/Wing-T offense. The Bishops did outgain Wooster, 339-323, but Wooster came up with stops when necessary.
According to Vega, the Scots were able to turn past negative experiences into a positive one Saturday.
"One primary example is (from) last year," he said. "We went in and overlooked Oberlin and it was a big upset. All of that is part of the experience we've had and the lessons we learned. You don't forget things like that.
"So when it comes down to crunch time, the guys have been able to get it done."
Offensively, Sutton "got it done" with 208 yards on 37 carries. He became the NCAC's all-time leading rusher with 5,248 career yards. His 24-yard touchdown run with 3:51 sealed the Fighting Scots' victory.
But he was quick to deflect credit to the offensive linemen in front of him: center Steve Alpeter, guards Jim Wallace and Justin Sloan and tackles Kevin Spragg and Rick Drushal.
"Without them, I don't have anything," Sutton said. "It's always the more 'flashy' positions who get the credit but those guys up front work very hard. I always try to give them as much credit as possible.
"I don't know how most running backs feel but with me, they're the first and foremost thing."
Sutton also set the conference' single-season record for all-purpose yards with 2,211. Yet, the humble Sutton is far more concerned with the team's fortunes than any record he would achieve.
"I don't really pay attention to (records) because it's a team effort," Sutton said. "It's a team game. It's not like track where you go out and you run and it's on you. Here, you have to count on everybody. Even the guys who don't play as much, they're just as much a part of this team as anyone else."
Schmitz knows how important it is to have someone like Sutton on a team, both as a player and as a person.
"You run out of superlatives when you talk about Tony Sutton," Schmitz said. "We feel very strongly -- and I make no bones about it -- we think he's the best player in the country. He's a very versatile guy. He'll hammer it up in there 5, 6, 7 yards at a time, and then he'll take one to the house on you.
"We think he is a great, great football player," Schmitz continued. "And he's a great young man."
As a team, Wooster is 10-for-10 this year. With that last statement, Schmitz is definitely 2-for-2.
But there is far more to this Wooster squad than just Sutton and the offensive line. Vega, Andre Smith and Tim Cline form one of the nation's top linebacking trios while defensive linemen Joe Kearney and Andy Mizak have both earned acclaim.
But one of the unsung heroes has been McNally. McNally has caught 50 passes for 992 yards and 11 touchdowns. In the kicking game, he is 60 of 61 on extra points and has made eight of 12 field goal attempts. Ten of his kickoffs have been touchbacks.
For the season, McNally has accumulated 150 points, which is more than seven teams in the Great Lakes Region.
"It's awesome. I love it!" McNally said of his double duty. "I've always kicked since I was little. That just comes natural. I don't even think about that during the games.
"Receiving has just been a plus lately," McNally said. "I love being the guy to go to when it's on the line. I love going down deep."
"He's another phenomenal football player," Schmitz said. "His freshman and sophomore year, he kept tugging on my arm about playing wide receiver. But I always hid behind the excuse that if we needed a field goal and he had a sprained ankle, I wouldn't be able to live with myself.
"The last two years, especially this year, his ability in the passing game and as a kicker has made him a tremendous weapon."
Prior to the season, Schmitz told McNally that he would be a featured weapon in Wooster's passing attack. "I said 'It's about time,'" McNally recalled with a laugh. "It got me going this year."
Wooster is one of four Great Lakes Region teams to earn playoff berths. Mount Union is the top seed in the North after winning the OAC while Washington and Jefferson is seeded second in the south with a 10-0 record, like Wooster and Mount Union.
The fourth team in this group? Alma (8-2), which defeated Hope, 47-24, Saturday. That victory, coupled with Olivet's 58-35 win at Albion, gave Alma the MIAA crown.
Chad Abbey returned two interceptions for touchdowns in the win for Alma. His 54-yard touchdown return with 4:54 left in the first half gave Alma a 33-24 lead, which the Scots took into the locker room.
After James Edington's 5-yard touchdown with 7:00 left in the third quarter pushed the lead to 40-24, Abbey slammed the door on Hope with 2:02 left as he returned a pick 22 yards to the end zone.
Still, Alma needed Albion to lose at home to Olivet. And Olivet hadn't beaten the Britons since 1975. Fortunately for Alma, Olivet's Travis Sleight single-handedly set Alma into the playoffs and erased 29 years' worth of Comet frustration.
Sleight scored an MIAA-record seven touchdowns in the 58-35 victory. Four of those seven scores came in the fourth quarter as Olivet broke a close game wide-open.
With the game tied 28-28 in the third quarter, Olivet's Ken Lackscheide booted a 62-yard punt. An Albion player batted the ball into the end zone and it crossed the end line for a safety with 4:08 left in the period.
Sleight scored his fourth touchdown of the game on the second play of the fourth quarter, a one-yard run on fourth and goal that gave Olivet a 37-28 lead. A Steve Wasil touchdown pass cut the lead back to 37-35 with 11:11 remaining but following a 57-yard run from Mick Fassen, Sleight scored on an 11-yard touchdown run 30 seconds later.
After an Albion fumble, Sleight capped a four-play, 65-yard drive with a 42-yard touchdown run, his sixth of the day. Olivet then capped its eighth win of the season with 2:16 left as Sleight caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from Rick Mason.
The Comets piled up 587 total yards, including 477 on the ground. Despite his seven touchdowns, Sleight did not lead Olivet in rushing. Faasen earned that honor with 164 yards on 19 carries while Sleight added 161 on 27 attempts. Sleight also caught four passes from Mason, who went 6-for-6.
Wild In Wauwatosa
Homestanding Wisconsin Lutheran (2-8, 2-5 MIAA) scored 17 points in the final 11 minutes to shock Adrian, 20-17, in both teams' season finale. Ryan Elbrecht's 44-yard field goal with eight seconds left gave WLC the lead and the eventual win.
Elbrecht gave Wisconsin Lutheran a little bit of a spark at the end of the first half with a 39-yard field goal as time expired, cutting Adrian's lead to 17-3. Matt Kehl's 1-yard touchdown run with 11:10 left in the game slashed the lead to 17-10. Moments later, Mike Schwartz scooped up a Chris Clay fumble and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown. Elbrecht's extra point tied the game at 17-17 with 10:06 left.
Kehl ran for 215 yards on 30 carries for Wisconsin Lutheran, which outgained the Bulldogs 407-244. Wisconsin Lutheran also held Adrian (6-4, 3-4) to just nine first downs.
Yeomen effort
Oberlin avoided a winless season Saturday with a 48-7 victory at winless Hiram in both teams' season finale Saturday. Travis Oman ran for 186 yards while Christopher Jordan added 90 yards. Jordan ran for two touchdowns and scored a third when he recovered a bad Hiram punt snap in the end zone.
"We capitalized on their mistakes," Oberlin head coach Jeff Ramsey said. "We did what we needed to do offensively and this will give us momentum heading into the offseason."
Fab Five
There are four Great Lakes Region teams who have qualified for the NCAA Tournament. But there's a fifth team that is in the postseason this weekend, also. That would be 7-3 Waynesburg, which earned a berth in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Southwest Bowl by downing Westminster, 18-13, in the regular season finale last Saturday.
Eric Daniels ran for a pair of touchdowns for Waynesburg, including a one-yard touchdown run with 6:54 left that put the Jackets up for good.
The Yellow Jackets will visit Johns Hopkins this Saturday afternoon in the ECAC Southwest Bowl. I am sure that a lot of the readers are wondering "What is this ECAC thing?"
The ECAC is a collegiate sports organization that includes institutions from New England, down through the Mid-Atlantic. It covers an area from Maine down to North Carolina and westward to Pennsylvania's western boundary. The ECAC sponsors regional tournaments and bowls in numerous sports for teams that have had excellent regular seasons but did not qualify for the NCAA Tournament in that sport. The ECAC also awards Player of the Week honors as well as all-region teams.
I am grateful to work at a college that belongs to the ECAC as it provides a sort of "second chance" to teams. I remember back in 1997, under the old 16-team playoff format, that Grove City went 9-1, losing only to Wooster. Wooster also went 9-1 and was NCAC tri-champ.
Yet, Wooster did not get an NCAA bid and was done. Grove City was fifth in the South Region that year and also did not get an NCAA berth but did get to host the ECAC Southwest Bowl against Kings Point. Sure, it was just a one-game deal but it was a lot better than what Wooster got, which was an "attaboy."
Waynesburg received the invitation as the Presidents' Athletic Conference third-place team because runner-up Thiel (7-3) is no longer a member of the ECAC and thus, was ineligible for the bowl game.
Down the Strauch
Mount Union's Jeff Strauch ran for a career-best 221 yards and scored six touchdowns in the Purple Raiders' 59-10 home win over Heidelberg Saturday.
Strauch ran for four touchdowns and also caught two touchdown passes from Zac Bruney, tying Leo Grimes' school record, set in 1931 against Detroit Tech. Mount Union outscored The Berg, 31-0, in the second half.
"We wanted to come out strong and be more consistent," Mount Union head coach Larry Kehres said. "I think we achieved that goal."
Blank Check
Baldwin-Wallace suffered back-to-back shutout losses for the first time since 1958 as the Yellow Jackets lost at crosstown rival John Carroll, 10-0 ... Joe Motley led the Blue Streaks' defensive effort with two interceptions, 17 total tackles and a blocked field goal ... John Carroll finished the season 5-0 at Don Shula Stadium.
Around the MIAA
Tri-State rallied past visiting Kalamazoo Saturday, 21-14, as Jim Oliver, Jr. threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Cliff Sandee with 10:37 left ... Kalamazoo head coach Van Nickert stepped down earlier this week after handling head-coaching duties this season ... He plans to stay on as an assistant.
Around the NCAC
Wittenberg snapped its first two-game losing streak in 12 years with a 42-21 home win over Allegheny ... Wittenberg posted 35 first-half points ... Tristan Murray ran for 249 yards for the Tigers ... DePauw reclaimed the Monon Bell with a 14-7 win over Wabash in Greencastle, Ind. ... The all-time series is tied again, now sitting at 51-51-9 ... Denison wrapped up its first winning season since 1990 with a 56-22 win over Kenyon ... Larry Cappetto threw for 275 yards and five touchdowns for the 6-4 Big Red ... Denison gained a school-record 653 yards of offense.
Around the OAC
Ohio Northern's Jeff Evilsizor became the program's all-time leader with 146 career receptions in the Polar Bears' 28-21 win over visiting Marietta at Dial-Roberson Stadium ... Capital posted a 7-win season by downing Wilmington, 49-30 ... Rocky Pentello threw for 298 yards and three touchdowns for the Crusaders ... Otterbein closed the season with its third straight win, a 31-7 triumph over Muskingum ... It is Otterbein's first three-game win streak since 1981 ... Justin Ross intercepted two passes for Otterbein.
Games To Watch
Defiance (1-8) at Bethany (0-9), 1 p.m. -- Back on Labor Day, how many of you thought these two would be playing on the third Saturday of November? Flooding in West Virginia earlier in the season forced the game to be rescheduled for Saturday. Bethany is trying to give head coach Steven Lee his first win at Bethany.
Aurora (6-4) at Wooster (10-0), 12 p.m. -- Wooster begins its first trek through the playoffs against a team that might very well the 28th seed overall in the tournament. The Fighting Scots are playing pretty well and are extremely tough in their all-black jerseys at John Papp Stadium.
Bridgewater (8-2) at Washington and Jefferson (10-0), 12 p.m. -- I'm pretty sure that some of my D3football.com brethren think that Bridgewater is a threat to win the South Region. Maybe they are. Maybe the Eagles' speed is too much for the Presidents. And Bridgewater did win at Washington and Jefferson in the playoffs back in 2000. But that was then. This is now.
Washington and Jefferson has a lot of speed, too. I wouldn't mind having PAC Player of the Year Aaron Krepps anchoring a relay quartet. This is a different Washington and Jefferson team; it's a different program than that of 2004. Gone is the marauding, menacing (and for that matter, plodding) Washington and Jefferson.
This version is quite reminiscent of some school over in Alliance, Ohio, in terms of what they do. Plus, folks in this neck of the woods, Ohio and Pennsylvania, have an innate toughness that is hard to offset.
Predictions
I entered the Pick Em contest under my real name, and here's who I'm going with this weekend:
North: Wooster over Aurora; Alma over Carthage; Wheaton over Mount St. Joseph.
South: Washington and Jefferson over Bridgewater; Salisbury over Christopher Newport; Trinity over Mary Hardin-Baylor.
East: Hobart over Curry; Muhlenberg over St. John Fisher; Delaware Valley over Shenandoah
West: UW-La Crosse over St. Norbert; Willamette over Occidental; Concordia-Moorhead over Wartburg.
