By Ryan Briggs
Grove City SID
It is safe to say that Week 4 was indeed, the calm before the storm. While the fourth week of the 2005 season produced very little in terms of compelling matchups or surprises, Week 5 turned out to be full of upsets, wild finishes and milestones.
Impeachment
There are probably some people who think that the Presidents' Athletic Conference earned its name because of Washington and Jefferson's football dominance over the past 20-plus years. After all, the Presidents have been the pre-eminent team in the PAC during that span.
But Washington and Jefferson's reign as champion took a severe hit Saturday as surprising Thiel pulled out a 38-35 overtime victory over the Presidents at historic Cameron Stadium.
Sammy Koyl booted a 22-yard field goal in overtime to give Thiel its first win over the Presidents in 24 tries. "This is the biggest win in our school's history," Thiel head coach Jack Leipheimer told the Washington Observer-Reporter's Joe Tuscano. "Now, we control our own destiny."
Although the Tomcats put 38 points on the scoreboard, it was the Thiel defense that ultimately carried them to victory. Thiel intercepted Washington and Jefferson quarterback Chris Edwards five times, including once in overtime. Thiel also held the Presidents to just 67 yards rushing.
The Presidents did jump out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter as Edwards fired touchdown passes to Garrett Brain and Aaron Krepps.
But Thiel pulled to within 14-6 on the first of two Steve Minton touchdown runs with 9:16 left in the first half. On the Tomcats' next possession, the Tomcats went to the back of the playbook as halfback Brett Helman tossed a 57-yard option pass to Tom McEntire (himself a dandy high school quarterback) that cut the lead to 14-12. McEntire then caught Darrell Satterfield's two-point pass.
The Presidents eventually took a 27-21 lead on two Kyle Sidebotham field goals but Minton's second touchdown run put Thiel up 28-27 early in the fourth period. Zjaque Douglas extended the lead to 35-27 with a 41-yard interception return.
However, the Presidents were not done. Edwards pitched his fourth touchdown of the game, a 19-yarder to Tom McCafferty, with 4:12 left. Krepps then threw a two-point pass to R.J. Soeder, forging the 35-35 deadlock and setting up overtime.
"They're the best team we've played in the regular season since 2000," Presidents head coach Mike Sirianni told the O-R. "I keep telling people that but no one believed me."
Lost in all of the excitement were numerous outstanding individual performances. Edwards did throw for 328 yards and four touchdowns. Krepps caught 10 passes for 149 yards while McEntire caught eight balls for 106 yards. Minton ran for 138 yards on 30 attempts while Steve Boyle intercepted two passes for Thiel.
The win moves Thiel to 2-0 in the PAC, one full-game behind 4-0 Thomas More. Those teams, of course, will meet later in the season in Greenville. Washington and Jefferson is now 4-1 and will need a little help in order to repeat as PAC champions.
Survival
While one defending conference champion was being temporarily unseated in Washington, Pa., Mount Union thwarted Capital's upset bid by securing a 42-24 win over the Crusaders Saturday in Alliance, Ohio.
Mount Union scored 28 fourth-quarter points to erase the Crusaders' 17-14 lead. Pierre Garcon hauled in an 83-yard touchdown pass from Mike Jorris just 14 seconds into the fourth quarter to give the Purple Raiders the lead for good.
On Mount Union's next play from scrimmage, Kelechi Ibeh rambled 49 yards to the end zone one minute later. Following a Capital turnover, Aaron Robinson scored on the first play from scrimmage, a 25-yard touchdown run that put the Raiders up 35-17.
Robinson closed out the Raiders' scoring with 3:39 left, scoring on a two-yard touchdown run. He finished with 109 yards on 22 attempts, including three touchdowns. Jorris finished with 301 yards on just 16 completions.
Garcon had nine catches for 214 yards, including a 77-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter. Defensively, Ross Watson recorded three interceptions for Mount Union. The Raiders intercepted Rocky Pentello four times and sacked him three times for minus-35 yards. Buddy Wolf had two of the sacks for Mount Union.
It is the Purple Raiders' 108th straight regular-season victory. For Capital, the Crusaders face an uphill battle to get into the playoffs. Currently 2-2, it seems logical that Capital would have to run the table to get a Pool C bid. Based on their performance at Mount Union Saturday, it is a pretty safe bet that the Crusaders are clearly one of the nation's 32 best teams. Of course, the best 32 don't get in.
Streaking in the second half
Host John Carroll scored the final 26 points of the game Saturday en route to a surprising 50-25 home win over previously unbeaten Ohio Northern at Don Shula Stadium.
Brandon Oing ran for a pair of touchdowns in the second half to help the host Blue Streaks erase ONU's 25-24 lead. Oing ran for 137 yards and also caught three passes out of the backfield.
John Carroll quarterback Doug Phillips threw for 306 yards and three touchdowns on 24-of-33 accuracy. John Carroll piled up 510 yards of offense and owned a 16-minute edge in time of possession.
Wes Hostetler did return a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown for the Polar Bears. He also intercepted a pass and had 10 solo tackles. Ohio Northern played without standout defensive end Jason Trusnik due to injury.
The game featured four missed two-point conversions.
Bulldog mentality
Adrian rallied from a 17-0 deficit late in the first half for a 30-27 overtime win at Albion in both teams' MIAA opener Saturday at Sprankle-Sprandel Stadium. James Spencer's 38-yard field goal in overtime gave Adrian the victory. It was Spencer's third field goal of the afternoon.
Adrian appeared to have the game won in the final minute as Randy Hutchison threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Joel Musielewicz with 38 seconds left, giving the Bulldogs a 27-24 lead.
But the Britons rallied behind quarterback Steve Wasil, who went 4-for-4 on Albion's final drive of regulation. The Britons moved 63 yards in five plays. Brian Balzerini forced overtime by making a 30-yard field with just five seconds left.
However, Balzerini's 36-yard field goal attempt on the first possession of OT fell short and Adrian took advantage.
Break up the Terriers
Congratulations to Hiram for snapping its 16-game losing streak Saturday with a wild 7-2 win over Earlham. The Terriers kept Earlham out of the end zone on eight goal-to-go plays in the final three minutes of the game.
Trailing 7-0 late in the fourth quarter, Earlham drove to the Hiram 5. After back-to-back incompletions, third-string quarterback Randy Kerns ran for 3 yards. On fourth-and-goal at the 2, Hiram stopped Brandon Warner short of the goal line.
Hiram advanced the ball to the 6 but then took an intentional safety with 1:18 left. That nearly blew up in the Terriers' face, though as Kerns fired a 40-yard completion to Jeremy Hosier on the fourth play after the free kick. Geoff Kibler tackled Hosier at the 2, preserving the lead momentarily.
The Terrier defense then held, forcing four Kerns incompletions from the 2. The win is the first for Hiram head coach Mike Lazusky.
Hiram took a 7-0 lead with six seconds left in the first half as Jason Exline caught an 18-yard pass from Trevor Henderson.
Ten years after
Muskingum earned its first win over Baldwin-Wallace in 10 years with a 16-10 home victory over the Yellow Jackets in New Concord, Ohio, Saturday. The Muskies ran for 333 yards in earning the upset victory. Quarterback Kyan Johnson ran for 101 yards and a touchdown for Muskingum while halfback Caleb Fuller had 89 yards.
Defensively, Muskingum held B-W to just 159 yards and 10 first downs. Muskingum threw for exactly zero passing yards.
Early tricks and treats
Wabash used a pair of trick plays to take a 13-0 lead on its way to a 29-7 win at Ohio Wesleyan Saturday at Selby Field in Delaware, Ohio.
Brandon Roop tossed a 36-yard touchdown pass on a halfback option to Mike Harris to cap the Little Giants' opening drive.
Late in the first half, a fake field goal led to another Wabash touchdown. Holder Geoff Walker flipped a 14-yard shovel pass to Kyle Piazza, extending the lead to 13-0.
Wabash quarterback Russ Harbaugh completed 21 of 29 passes for 290 yards and a touchdown. Roop finished with 98 yards rushing.
"We have so much respect for Ohio Wesleyan," Wabash head coach Chris Creighton said. "... (OWU) is good enough to win the conference championship, we thought. We challenged our team to see who is better."
Scot free, barely
Wooster kicker Andrew Milligan booted a 32-yard field goal in the closing seconds Saturday to vault the Fighting Scots past rival Allegheny 37-34 in both teams' NCAC opener at Robertson Field in Meadville, Pa.
Wooster quarterback Justin Schafer threw for 314 yards and three touchdowns, helping the Scots piled up 526 yards of offense. Wooster also converted 10 of 14 third-down situations.
Mario Tarquinio ran for 123 yards for the Gators, who fell to 0-4. The Gators haven't been 0-5 since 1953.
Kehl yeah
Wisconsin Lutheran running back Matt Kehl accounted for 285 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns in the Warriors' 37-14 home win over Tri-State on Saturday in Milwaukee in both teams' MIAA opener.
Kehl ran for 217 yards on 25 carries and added four catches for 68 yards. His 19-yard touchdown catch from T.J. Bodnar tied the game at 7-7 midway through the second quarter. He closed the quarter with a 75-yard touchdown run, the first of his two touchdowns on the ground.
Bodnar went 18-of-34 for 211 yards despite throwing four interceptions. However, Wisconsin Lutheran forced five Thunder turnovers, including Mark Neuman's 55-yard interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Pick seven
Carnegie Mellon intercepted seven Colorado College passes Saturday as the Tartans rolled up a 63-28 win in Colorado Springs. Aaron Lewis and Jon Menhart each intercepted three passes while James Rodgers also had a pick.
Fullback Travis Sivek ran for 156 yards and four touchdowns. The Tartans' vaunted Wing-T attack amassed 494 rushing yards, 27 rushing first downs and nine rushing touchdowns.
The outburst comes after the Tartans had just six combined points in losses to Johns Hopkins and Franklin and Marshall.
More, more, more
Lost in all of the hoopla surrounding Thiel's win at Washington and Jefferson is that the Tomcats are not necessarily the cat's meow in the PAC. Thomas More is 4-0 in the PAC after its 13-7 home win over Waynesburg.
Penalties and turnovers crippled Waynesburg's victory hopes. The Yellow Jackets turned the ball over three times and were flagged for 15 penalties, costing them 134 yards. Ryan Abels did run for 156 yards on 15 carries for Waynesburg, which fell to 2-2 overall and 0-1 in the PAC.
This season, 10 Thomas More players have scored a touchdown but only Andy Heinl (two TDs) has more than one. TMC Stadium is not exactly fertile ground for points. Thomas More has outscored its three visitors 35-26 this season. But the Saints are the early pace-setter in the PAC.
Around the MIAA
Alma ran for 312 yards and threw for 311 in a 49-24 home win over Olivet Saturday. Josh Brehm threw touchdown passes to four different receivers while Matt Lambourn ran for 168 yards and two touchdowns ... Hope's David Booko ran for 220 yards and four touchdowns in the Dutchmen's 38-7 win over Kalamazoo in Holland, Mich. Hope held the Hornets to just five first downs and 4 rushing yards.
Around the NCAC
Wittenberg earned its first win of the season with a 31-6 home win over Denison. Tristan Murray ran for 120 yards while quarterback Geron Stokes threw for 135 in his first career start ... Kenyon rallied from a 20-7 hole to top Oberlin, 21-20. Alby Coombs became Kenyon's all-time rushing leader with his 165-yard outing. He now has 2,982 career yards. Linebacker Casey McConnell scored the eventual game-winning touchdown on a 1-yard touchdown run with 1:30 left.
Around the OAC
Shawn Martien threw for 295 yards and two touchdowns but Heidelberg fell at Wilmington 28-14. Chad Otte returned an interception 90 yards for a score for the Quakers. He also recovered a fumble ... Otterbein rolled past host Marietta 31-17 as the Cardinals amassed 542 yards of offense. Quarterback Paul Stelzer threw for 308 yards and three touchdowns for Otterbein. Kyle Wolfe had 11 catches for 161 yards, including a 59-yard touchdown catch. Kyle Whaley preserved the win with two fourth-quarter interceptions.
Around the PAC
Grove City celebrated Homecoming 2005 with a 21-12 victory over Bethany on Saturday at Robert E. Thorn Field. Sophomore fullback Matt Weil ran for 162 yards and a touchdown in the Wolverines' win. Steve Weary became Grove City's all-time leading kick-blocker with five as he swatted a Bethany extra point attempt. T.J. Parker caught two touchdown passes for the Bison.
Games of the Week
Alma at Adrian, 1:00: Alma (3-1) and Adrian (4-0) are the only MIAA teams above .500 currently. Considering the wackiness that pervades the MIAA football scene, a fast start in conference play is very important. The winner will be 2-0 and essentially have a two-game lead over Saturday's foe.
Grove City at Thiel, 1:30: The 22nd battle for the Mercer County Cup features a pair of teams on win streaks. How will Thiel react after its huge victory at Washington and Jefferson? The Wolverines would love to reclaim the Cup and even their record at 3-3. The visiting team has won the Cup game each of the last three seasons.
Baldwin-Wallace at Otterbein, 6:00: A meeting of two programs that right now, seem to be going in opposite directions. Otterbein is 3-1 overall and 2-1 in the OAC, including a win over Capital this season. Meanwhile, B-W must try to rebound from a surprising 16-10 loss at Muskingum. It is a definite must-win for the Yellow Jackets to keep any playoff hopes alive.
