By Ryan Briggs
Grove City SID
"One day you're drinking the wine, next day you're picking the grapes." -- Lou Holtz
One week after upsetting Mount Union on the Purple Raiders' home field, Ohio Northern is left with just "purple fingers" this week, after a loss to Capital that was followed today by personal tragedy, the death of assistant coach Ron Bendekovic. Our condolences to the Ohio Northern football family, as well as to those who knew him at Baldwin-Wallace, Marietta and Allegheny, previous Division III stops in his career.
Elsewhere in the region, Thiel won the Presidents' Athletic Conference title for the first time since 1972 while Wabash clinched at least a share of the North Coast Athletic Conference title with a win at Allegheny.
Blowouts were the theme of the week in the MIAA while in the UAA, Carnegie Mellon won the Academic Bowl over Case Western Reserve, 23-20.
Kicked out (of first)
Capital kicker Matt Spitz booted a 40-yard field goal with 37 seconds left, giving the Crusaders a 16-14 win at Ohio Northern Saturday.
Spitz had connected on field goals of 27 and 28 yards earlier but missed a 42-yarder in the first quarter. However, the sophomore drilled the eventual game-winner in the fourth quarter, capping a 12-play drive that used five and a half minutes.
Kive Kraft caught a 28-yard touchdown pass from Rocky Pentello in the second quarter to give Capital a 10-7 lead. However, ONU assumed a 14-13 lead with 10 minutes left on Adam Quirk's 28-yard pass to Ben Wittwer. Quirk completed 12 of 26 passes for 213 yards and two touchdowns but was sacked four times.
Lewis Howes hauled in 12 Pentello passes for 111 yards while Kraft had eight catches for 107 yards.
The win moves Capital to 6-2 overall and 5-2 in the OAC. Ohio Northern fell to 6-2 overall and 5-2 in the OAC. More importantly, the loss significantly dims ONU's playoff hopes as the Polar Bears are now fourth in the league behind Mount Union, John Carroll and Capital.
Capital can grab the inside track toward a Pool C bid Saturday as the Crusaders host John Carroll.
Long time comin'
The last time Thiel won the PAC, people's ears were tuned to such hits as Gilbert O'Sullivan's "Alone Again (Naturally)" and Sammy Davis, Jr.'s "Candy Man." The year was 1972. And while music has mercifully gotten better since then, the Thiel football program fell to the bottom of the charts. Until now.
Saturday, Thiel capped a 6-0 season in the PAC with a 24-14 win over conference newcomer Thomas More in Greenville, Pa. in a matchup of the league's two undefeated teams, conferencewise.
Thiel held Thomas More's power running attack to three total yards on 24 carries. Meanwhile, Thiel tailback Steve Minton charged through the Saints defense for 217 yards and two touchdowns on 37 attempts.
At 8-0, the Tomcats have set a new school record for victories in one season. With wins over Buffalo State and Carnegie Mellon to close the season, Thiel would be a lock for its first-ever NCAA playoff berth.
One would think that a 10-0 mark would almost ensure a home game for Thiel at Alumni Stadium. If nothing else, clinching the PAC title has completed Thiel's transformation from a laughingstock into a quality Division III football program.
Contains offensive material
Alma accumulated 34 first downs, 639 total yards and converted 13 of 18 third-down situations Saturday as the Scots maintained a share of first in the MIAA at 4-1 with a 48-7 win over Wisconsin Lutheran in Alma.
Quarterback Josh Brehm completed 37 of 50 passes for 348 yards and added 90 yards rushing to help fuel the "Scotgun" offense. He became Alma's all-time leader in passing yardage.
Matt Lambourn caught a dozen passes for 95 yards while Joe Cline had six catches for 104 yards.
End of the world as we know it
Thiel winning a conference championship? Allegheny opening the season just 1-7? Baldwin-Wallace not having a winning season? Ten years ago, all would have seemed implausible. But in 2005, it is all a fact. B-W's string of 38 straight winning seasons came to an end officially Saturday as Mount Union pulled out a 17-3 win over B-W.
Ross Watson recorded his seventh interception of the year for Mount Union, who may have had a bit of a hangover effect from the previous week's loss to Ohio Northern. Let's be honest, it's been 11 years since the Purple Raiders have had to play the following week after a loss.
Mount Union once again has the inside track for the OAC's automatic bid into the playoffs as the Raiders and John Carroll each have one OAC loss. Mount has the head-to-head tiebreaker over John Carroll, based on a 70-0 win earlier this season.
They might be Giants
Wabash improved to 8-0 Saturday with a 27-21 win over Allegheny, clinching a share of the NCAC title with a 6-0 league record. Wabash quarterback Russ Harbaugh completed 30 of 39 passes for 309 yards and three touchdowns in the victory.
Don Juan Brown's 9-yard touchdown run with 7:17 left gave Wabash a 27-14 lead that the Giants did not relinquish. Wabash converted 11 of 14 third-down opportunities. Adrian Pynenberg led the Wabash defense with 15 total tackles.
A Wabash win over Denison or a Kenyon loss at Hiram will give the Little Giants the outright title and a berth in the NCAA playoffs. Should Wabash win out, the Little Giants would probably host at least a first-round game in Crawfordsville. Currently, Wabash is second in the North Region.
Slow start, fast finish
Hiram led Wooster 10-3 at the half Saturday.
Unfortunately, the roof caved in during the final 30 minutes for Mike Lazusky's Terriers as the host Fighting Scots scored 35 third-quarter points en route to a 59-17 win over Hiram at John P. Papp Stadium.
Wooster quarterback Bobby Reiff set a school record with 423 passing yards. He completed just 17 passes (17 of 33) but threw four touchdowns. David Miller caught five passes for 168 yards while Aaron Gertz had five receptions for 128 yards.
The Fighting Scots scored touchdowns on all eight of their second-half possessions. Meanwhile, Hiram posted three straight three-and-outs to open the second half which helped spark Wooster's comeback.
Dustin Sheppard led Wooster with 123 yards on 21 carries. His 50-yard touchdown run 28 seconds into the third quarter tied the game at 10-10 and began Wooster's 52-point second half.
Max Kravitz led Hiram with six catches for 158 yards, including an 83-yard touchdown pass.
Staying alive
Washington and Jefferson's PAC title hopes were dashed by Thiel on Saturday but the Presidents remained in contention for a playoff spot with a 35-24 win at Waynesburg.
Surprisingly, the Presidents ran the ball twice as often as they threw it (45 runs, 21 passes) Saturday. Fullback R.J. Zitzelsberger ran for 118 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries in the victory. Versatile receiver Aaron Krepps caught five passes for 132 yards and a score for the Presidents.
For Waynesburg, tailback Ryan Abels went over the 1,000-yard mark for the season. He now has 1,075 yards and is the fourth back in school history to achieve that milestone.
The Presidents visit Thomas More in their season finale Saturday. A win would move Washington and Jefferson to 9-1 overall, with the lone loss being to undefeated Thiel in overtime. The Presidents certainly have a strong résumé when it comes to playoff consideration. An opening-round home game at historic Cameron Stadium is not out of the question, either.
Two years ago, the Presidents were 8-1 entering the season finale and lost to a struggling Buffalo State team. That defeat kept the Presidents out of the NCAA playoffs.
Jars of Clay
Adrian running back Chris Clay became the school's all-time leading rusher Saturday as the senior ran for 156 yards and four touchdowns in Adrian's 45-13 win over Tri-State.
Clay now has 2,644 career yards while his 15 touchdowns this season are also a school record. Defensively, Brandon Mohney intercepted three passes for the Bulldogs while Mark Westenberg picked off two passes. Adrian improved to 6-2 overall and 3-2 in the MIAA with the win. The Bulldogs led 35-7 at the half.
Lordy, Lordy
Kenyon has been outscored 122-109 in NCAC play -- and is 4-1! Kenyon's solid season continued Saturday as the Lords pulled out a 16-13 overtime victory over Earlham in Richmond, Ind.
Quarterback Rafael Sanchez's 11-yard touchdown run in overtime gave Kenyon the victory. He threw for 169 yards and ran for an additional 118 yards. Sanchez also ran for a 41-yard touchdown in the second quarter.
Earlham's Manny Myers ran for 201 yards on 38 carries in the Quakers' first-ever overtime game.
Around the MIAA
Albion rolled to a surprisingly easy 34-0 home win over Hope Saturday, improving to 4-1 in the MIAA. Chase Chandler intercepted three passes for the Britons while quarterback Steve Wasil fired three touchdown passes ... Olivet stayed in the MIAA race with a 20-14 win over visiting Kalamazoo. The Comets accumulated 360 rushing yards on 60 attempts. Olivet led 17-0 late in the first half before holding off the Hornets' comeback effort.
Around the NCAC
Oberlin quarterback Andy Stein threw for a career-high 349 yards but the Yeomen fell to Denison, 32-26. Denison finished 5-0 at home. It's the first time the Big Red has been undefeated at home since 1985. Junior running back Fred Lee ran for 171 yards in the win for Denison ... Geron Stokes threw three touchdown passes in helping lead Wittenberg to a 31-9 win over Ohio Wesleyan ... OWU's Owen Case tied a school record with six tackles for loss as part of his 16-tackle, two-sack effort, but the Bishops fell to 5-3 overall and 3-2 in the NCAC.
Around the OAC
John Carroll rolled up a 32-6 win over Otterbein Saturday behind another 400-yard performance from quarterback Doug Phillips. Phillips completed 19 of 27 passes for 403 yards and three touchdowns. It is the sixth straight three-touchdown game for Phillips. Joseph Konrad had nine catches for 243 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown catch, for the Blue Streaks (7-1, 6-1) ... Heidelberg's losing streak reached two dozen Saturday as Muskingum earned a 49-9 win over the homestanding Student Princes. Quarterback Jordan Rhodes ran for 136 yards for the Muskies while halfback Steve Howard added 132 yards on the ground ... Steven Wagner ran for 196 yards on 22 carries to help Marietta win at Wilmington, 18-3. Wagner now has 2,978 rushing yards in his career and should surpass the 3,000-yard mark soon.
Around the PAC
Grove City senior defensive end Steve Weary blocked his sixth extra point of the season Saturday but the Wolverines dropped a 27-7 decision at Alfred, the East's fifth-ranked team. As a team, Grove City has seven blocked place-kicks and Weary has nine blocks for his career. If you know of anyone who has more, team or individually, drop me a note. The NCAA doesn't have this record tallied -- yet ... Westminster fell to 3-5 with a 16-13 home loss to Frostburg State in muddy New Wilmington. A blocked punt in the final minute set up Frostburg's game-winning 41-yard field goal with 10 seconds left. Ryan Chmura led the Titan defense with 14 total tackles, including 1.5 sacks ... Bethany managed just 111 yards and eight first downs in a 42-3 home loss to Chicago.
Games of the Week
John Carroll at Capital: In essence, the playoffs start a fortnight early for these two Ohio powers. The winner is in excellent shape to earn a Pool C bid while the loser is definitely behind the proverbial 8-ball. Capital is coming off a win over a team that was coming off a big win. How will the Crusaders handle this role reversal?
Alma at Albion: First place in the MIAA is at stake. Both teams are 4-1 in the league and are each coming off lopsided wins last week. The winner is in good shape in the race for the MIAA title but is not out of the woods. And the loser is not necessarily out of the race, either. That's because three other teams are 3-2 in the MIAA race, which should be very fun to watch over the final two weeks.
Wooster at Wittenberg: Two longtime rivals and perennial NCAC powers meet in Springfield, Ohio Saturday. Although only pride is at stake, this game is typically one of the most entertaining on a yearly basis.
Grove City at Westminster (Pa.): Yes, the teams are a combined 6-11 this year. But it's the final game of the season for my beloved Wolverines, who are looking to finish the PAC schedule 3-3. It's also the last time I (and other Grove City fans) get to watch our 14 seniors play. This is arguably the most evenly matched game of the weekend anywhere.
