By Ryan Briggs
Grove City SID
39-44-46-48-56-69. Those aren't the numbers I picked for Wednesday night's Powerball drawing. Instead, those are the point totals of winning Great Lakes Region teams last Saturday.
It is safe to say that the offenses are ahead of the defenses right now throughout the region. Numerous records fell Saturday as scoreboard operators were kept extremely busy by offenses.
Coincidentally, the biggest offensive hotspots were both located along I-70 -- Richmond, Ind. and Washington, Pa.
To wit: In Richmond, host Earlham pulled out a 69-62 victory over Hoosier State rival Manchester at M.O. Ross Field. The two teams set a Division III record for combined points (131). The teams also combined to generate 1,215 yards of offense, nearly seven-tenths of a mile. And Earlham scored its 69 points on just 46 plays, holding the ball for 18 minutes, 15 seconds.
Earlham quarterback Justin Rummell completed 22 of 28 pass attempts for 478 yards and seven touchdowns. He became the Quakers' all-time touchdown leader with 50 scoring tosses.
Rummell's 67-yard bomb to Joe White tied the game at 62-62 with 2:48 left. One minute later, Rummell fired a 44-yard touchdown strike to freshman Chris Owens that gave the Quakers the lead and eventual victory.
The Quakers also received 166 yards rushing from Manny Myers, who needed just nine carries to reach that lofty sum. He has 292 yards on 25 carries this season, an average of over 11 yards per carry.
Surprisingly, the 1,215 combined yards does not represent the highest yardage total of the weekend!
Eastbound and Down
Moving roughly 300 miles east on I-70 to historic Cameron Stadium, the Washington and Jefferson Presidents rolled up 778 yards of offense in a 56-20 thumping of Hanover.
The Presidents set a new school record for total offense. Washington and Jefferson also set a new school record with 431 yards rushing as Ryan Mendel ran for a career-high 168 yards on just 15 carries.
Quarterback Chris Edwards completed 20 of 29 attempts for 336 yards and three touchdowns. Not to be outdone, Hanover quarterback Rick Webster threw for 440 yards on 42 of 66 accuracy, helping the teams combine for 1,245 total yards.
Onward and Upward
The fireworks extended northward into Michigan, where host Alma prepped for MIAA play by piling up 508 yards in a 48-12 win over Aurora.
Surprisingly, the Scot-gun offense stayed grounded as Alma ran for 339 yards. Matt Lambourn led the way with 175 yards on 15 carries. Lambourn and quarterback Josh Brehm both ran for two touchdowns while Brehm also threw a pair of touchdown passes.
Another MIAA school was involved in an offensive explosion Saturday. Unfortunately for Kalamazoo fans, the Jackets were on the wrong end of that explosion as Wabash scored 46 unanswered points en route to a 46-6 win in Crawfordsville, Ind.
The Little Giants rode Don Juan Brown's 133 yards rushing and a 23-of-31, 329-yard passing effort from Russ Harbaugh as part of a 582-yard eruption.
Other notable scoring outputs included Oberlin's 44-14 triumph at Macalester and Thiel's wild 39-36 home victory over Ohio Wesleyan.
Pick Six
John Carroll intercepted six Hope passes, including five in the first half as the Blue Streaks opened 2005 with a convincing 38-13 win over Hope at Don Shula Stadium Saturday in what had been pegged as the Game of the Week in last week's column.
Four straight Hope possessions ended in interceptions, including three consecutive picks by Anthony Fanelli. Surprisingly, only one of the interceptions resulted in points as Carlo Melaragno returned an interception 48 yards for a touchdown in the final minute of the first half.
Fanelli helped seal the win though by returning a punt 83 yards for a touchdown late in the third quarter, giving John Carroll a 38-6 lead.
Cool Mint(on) Flavor
Thiel running back Steve Minton ran for 144 yards and four touchdowns Saturday to help the Tomcats earn a 39-36 win over Ohio Wesleyan. It is Thiel's first win in a home opener since 1999.
The game featured six lead changes and a five-touchdown outing from Ohio Wesleyan quarterback Ryan Sir Louis. Zach Dennis and Terrance Raeford each caught two touchdown passes from Sir Louis. Meanwhile, Thiel quarterback Darrell Satterfield threw for 208 yards and a pair of scores.
What would You expect?
For the third straight year, Westminster and Allegheny needed overtime to decide a winner. And for the third straight season, the road team prevailed.
Saturday afternoon, in a true Western Pennsylvania classic, Westminster squeezed out a 12-9 overtime win over the Gators at Robertson Field.
Two years ago in Meadville, Westminster won in double overtime, 3-0, while Allegheny earned a 21-14 win in New Wilmington in 2004.
This year, the Titans rallied from a 9-3 halftime deficit as fifth-year senior Chris Castillo tied the game with two third-quarter field goals. Castillo's 43-yard field goal in overtime gave Westminster the victory.
Prior to Castillo's game-winner, Allegheny kicker Josh Whiteside missed a 20-yard field goal. This is Castillo's first year of playing football at Westminster. Castillo had spent the previous four seasons as a member of Westminster's men's soccer team, which qualified for the NCAA Tournament each of the past two seasons.
Neither team reached triple-digits in passing as Allegheny's Jimmy Savage threw for 86 yards on 11 of 19 passing. Westminster quarterback J.R. Barley completed 10 of 15 attempts but for only 63 yards.
Gator halfback Patsy Malie rumbled for 101 yards on 18 carries. Still, it was not enough to offset the Gators' second straight overtime loss to begin the season.
Westminster is 1-1 without having scored a touchdown this year.
Jars of Clay
Adrian running back Chris Clay ran for 86 yards and four touchdowns as the Bulldogs breezed to a 37-0 victory over host Defiance Saturday.
D.J. Howard caught nine passes for 119 yards and also returned a first-quarter punt 65 yards for a touchdown as Adrian raced to a 34-0 halftime lead.
Not to be outdone, the Adrian defense posted one of the season's best efforts so far, holding Defiance to just five first downs and minus-3 passing yards. Defiance threw only five passes and ran the ball 48 times. Yet, the Yellow Jackets fared no better on the ground, gaining just 90 rushing yards.
Around the MIAA
Olivet featured perfect balance offensively with 259 rushing yards and 259 passing yards. Yet the Comets committed seven turnovers and fell at home to Franklin, 41-23, in Olivet's opener ... Wisconsin Lutheran fell at home to Rockford, 21-14. Matt Kehl ran for 171 yards and two touchdowns.
Around the NCAC
For the first time since Ike lived at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (1954), Wittenberg is 0-2. The Tigers lost to I-AA non-scholarship Dayton, 41-23, Saturday. Tristan Murray ran for 181 yards in the first quarter, including a 96-yard touchdown run, and finished with 239 rushing yards ... Wooster routed MacMurray, 37-0, behind Amil Tinsley's 154 rushing yards ... Oberlin junior kicker Mike Tomlinson broke the NCAC record with a 55-yard field goal in the Yeomen's 44-14 win over Macalester. Defensive end Chris Pisani had 3.5 sacks and a forced fumble for Oberlin ... Case Western Reserve handed Denison a 20-6 defeat ... Joey Thees accounted for the Big Red's lone touchdown, a 43-yard sprint to the end zone ... Kenyon fell at home to Centre, 35-26. Quarterback Rafael Sanchez threw for 280 yards and four touchdowns while also running for 75 yards ... Mervyn Jones scored Hiram's first touchdown of the season in the Terriers' 31-6 loss to Bluffton.
Around the OAC
John Carroll was the only OAC team in action Saturday ... OAC play begins this Saturday with five league games.
Around the PAC
Thomas More earned its first-ever Presidents' Athletic Conference victory by topping Bethany Saturday, 33-15. The Saints fell behind 9-0 in the first half before charging back with 26 second-half points. Quarterback Nate Berkley threw three touchdown passes for the Saints ... For the second straight week, Grove City saw a fourth-quarter lead evaporate as Carnegie Mellon pulled out a 20-16 win at Robert E. Thorn Field in the Wolverines' home opener. Travis Sivek led CMU with 125 yards rushing. Grove City led 13-0 in the first half and carried a 16-10 lead into the final period.
Games of the Week
Mount Union at John Carroll, 7 p.m.: The OAC opener for both teams at Don Shula Stadium. Mount Union's pursuit of another conference title begins on the road against an opportunistic John Carroll squad. The Blue Streaks have proven to be quite stout on their home field -- it probably won't be easy for the Purple Raiders Saturday night.
Baldwin-Wallace at Ohio Northern, 1:30 p.m.: Another OAC tilt between two perennial heavyweights. B-W belted the Polar Bears in Berea last year, 31-3, which indirectly crippled ONU's Pool C hopes. Ohio Northern crushed Westminster, 48-3, in its opener. Baldwin-Wallace needed overtime to beat Allegheny. Westminster beat Allegheny in overtime last week. Based on that comparison, it looks like a mismatch. We'll find out how effective comparing scores actually is Saturday afternoon.
Other Games of Note
Allegheny at Washington and Jefferson, 6:30 p.m.: Congratulations Allegheny! You lose two heartbreakers in overtime and as a reward, you get to play red-hot Washington and Jefferson on its home field. A few years ago, some mental giant dubbed this the "Battle of Western Pennsylvania."
Many people probably don't realize that this used to be a conference game a generation ago. Allegheny belonged to the PAC until 1983 when the Gators bolted for the newly formed NCAC.
Wittenberg at Alma, 1:00 p.m.: Wittenberg looks to avoid an 0-3 start in a final tune-up for conference play. The Scots, meanwhile, would really give the MIAA a shot in the arm, reputationwise, by downing the perennial NCAC power.
