By Ryan Briggs
Grove City SID
Allow me to offer apologies to the loyal readers for the tardiness of this week's column. Mid-October is an extremely busy time of year for those in the sports information field.
Of course, it is a very busy and important time of year on the gridiron, also.
The sixth week of action saw a handful of close calls, a few token blowouts and a surprise or two. In other words, it was a typical week in the region.
Otterbein's surprising start continued as the Cardinals improved to 4-1 with a 10-7 win over Baldwin-Wallace. Allegheny's surprising start (in the other direction) continued also as the Gators fell to 0-5 with a 13-8 loss at Ohio Wesleyan.
Allegheny is 0-5 for the first time since Dwight Eisenhower lived in the White House (1953).
Meanwhile, Mount Union, Thiel and Wabash all improved to 5-0 with solid victories last week. And in the always wild and wacky MIAA, Alma is 2-0 with six teams tied for second at 1-1.
Here's a look back at the sixth week of the season throughout the Great Lakes Region.
Triple Threat
Remember the old Triple Threat kicker in electric football -- that plastic guy with the movable leg who could allegedly throw or kick that little mutant foam rubber football?
Well, Saturday, the real life Triple Threat emerged in Adrian, Mich.
Behind the passing, running and kicking of quarterback Josh Brehm, Alma pulled out a come-from-behind 13-10 win over host Adrian Saturday to take sole possession of first in the MIAA.
Brehm threw for 318 yards on 30 of 55 passing, ran for 41 yards and a touchdown and also punted the ball three times for an average of 40.7 yards per punt. Two of his three punts landed inside the 20, helping him earn MIAA Special Teams Player of the Week.
Alma (3-1, 2-0 MIAA) trailed 10-0 at halftime but rallied with 13 third-quarter points. Brehm tossed a 14-yard touchdown pass to Cole Thelen with 7:40 left in the third, cutting the lead to 10-7. Four minutes later, Brehm scored on a two-yard run, putting Alma up 13-10.
Alma forced Adrian into six three-and-outs in the second half, helping the Scots own a 2-to-1 edge in time of possession in the second half. Alma ran 98 plays in the game; it is probably safe to assume that fatigue played a role in the second half for the Adrian defense.
A.J. Marry led the Bulldogs with 19 tackles while highly decorated linebacker Taz Wallace posted 18 stops and forced a fumble.
Chad Abbey picked off a pair of passes for Alma. Alma now has a one-game lead on the rest of the MIAA. Of course, that can disappear in the blink of eye when one considers the unpredictability of the league.
Still, Alma has quietly put together a 4-1 mark this season, including a 4-0 record against NCAA Division III teams.
Lording Over the Scots
While Alma and Adrian duked it out for early supremacy in the MIAA, Kenyon turned the North Coast Athletic Conference race into disarray with a 24-21 come-from-behind win at Wooster Saturday.
The Lords snapped Wooster's 14-game regular-season win streak by scoring a pair of touchdowns in the final 14 minutes. With Kenyon trailing 21-10 at the start of the final period, Lords' quarterback Rafael Sanchez tossed a three-yard touchdown pass to Phelipe Johnson cut the lead to 21-16.
Kenyon (2-0, 2-3) took the lead with 6:29 remaining as Alby Coombs ran in from the 3. Teddy Bowman caught Sanchez's two-point pass.
Wooster had a chance to tie the game at the end of regulation but Andy Milligan's 46-yard field goal attempt was off the mark.
Coombs scored Kenyon's first touchdown of the day with a 70-yard sprint in the second quarter. He finished with 167 yards on 30 carries.
Wooster played without quarterback Justin Schafer, who missed the game due to an ankle injury. Bobby Reiff started in his place and threw for 176 yards on 18 of 33 passing.
NCAC fans will remember that Wooster suffered a similar loss to Oberlin two years ago when standout tailback Tony Sutton missed the game due to injury.
That loss crippled the Scots' playoff hopes in 2003. This loss may have the same effect. However, Wooster did issue this news release previewing this week's game with Wabash:
"While many were shocked by last Saturday's 24-21 upset to Kenyon College, it didn't (affect) The College of Wooster's goals for the 2005 season: another North Coast Athletic Conference title and trip to the NCAA Div. III Playoffs. If the Fighting Scots can win out, starting with Saturday's key match-up against first-place Wabash College, then they'll find themselves ordering NCAC championship rings and heading to the postseason again."
Uh, not so fast guys. If Kenyon wins out, there is no mathematical way for Wooster to pass the Lords, even if Wooster finishes 6-1 in the NCAC. Stop laughing. Kenyon has a realistic shot at running the table. Up next are home dates with 0-5 Allegheny and Ohio Wesleyan, followed by games at Earlham and Hiram. Kenyon closes the season at home against Denison.
Should Kenyon even make a decent run at the conference title, head coach Ted Stanley deserves legitimate national coach of the year consideration for how the Kenyon program has bounced back from near-extinction.
Another possibility is that Kenyon and either Wittenberg or Wabash would finish the NCAC schedule tied at 7-0 each. The Lords do not play either team this year.
Hot-terbein
Otterbein improved to 4-1 for the first time since 1999 with a 10-7 home win over Baldwin-Wallace. The Cardinals forced four turnovers in earning their seventh win in eight games, dating back to last season.
Kyle Whaley sealed the victory with an interception at the Otterbein 10 with two minutes left. He also recovered a fumble. Senior John Sims drilled a 31-yard field goal with six minutes left to put Otterbein ahead to stay.
It is Otterbein's first win over B-W since that 1999 season.
Hardware stays home
For the first time since 2001, the home team won the Mercer County Cup as host Thiel earned a 30-0 win over cross-county rival Grove City Saturday at Alumni Stadium.
Thiel running back Steve Minton ran for 152 yards and three touchdowns to help the Tomcats retain possession of the trophy in the 22nd annual Cup game. Brandon Chambers, a Mercer County native, caught eight passes for 146 yards.
For Grove City, D3football.com preseason All-American Ross Trimmer intercepted two Thiel passes.
In a bit of irony, Grove City freshman halfback Brian Mercer made his first career start in the Mercer County Cup game while backup quarterback Stephen Mercer completed his first collegiate pass in the Cup game. Neither Mercer is from Pennsylvania, though. Brian Mercer is from Ridgewood, N.J., while Stephen Mercer is from East Liverpool, Ohio.
Long-range Lonnie
Olivet running back Lonnie Jones had touchdown runs of 53, 27 and 55 yards Saturday in the Comets' come-from-behind 31-24 win over visiting Hope on Saturday in Olivet. Jones finished with 171 yards rushing -- and wasn't his team's leading rusher!
Travis Sleight carried the mail 30 times for 198 yards in helping Olivet pile up 452 rushing yards. Sleight also caught four passes for 67 yards.
Defensively, Cliff Sims intercepted three Hope passes and added five solo tackles for the Comets (2-3, 1-1). Troy Blasius picked off two passes for Hope (1-4, 1-1).
Eight is enough
Denison set an NCAC record with eight interceptions Saturday in a 53-6 win over Hiram. Seven different Denison defenders had interceptions; Eric Meibers intercepted two Hiram passes. Four of the interceptions led to Denison touchdowns. Big Red quarterback Larry Cappetto went 17 of 24 for 258 yards and four touchdowns. Frank Roe caught two touchdown passes for Denison (2-2, 1-1 NCAC).
Once bitten, twice shy
For the second straight week, Washington and Jefferson allowed a touchdown on a halfback option play. Two weeks ago, Thiel's Brett Helman threw a pass to Tom McEntire that helped swing the momentum in Thiel's 38-35 win.
Last Saturday, Westminster's Sean Buggey threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Brett Ziegler late in the third quarter. Still, Washington and Jefferson prevailed, 45-20.
All three Titan touchdowns came via fairly non-traditional means. Buggey returned a kickoff 100 yards in the first quarter while defensive lineman Adam Hadbavny recovered a poor shotgun snap in the end zone in the fourth quarter.
One week after throwing five picks against Thiel, President quarterback Chris Edwards threw for 278 yards and four touchdowns. All four touchdown passes went to Aaron Krepps, who caught six passes for 86 yards.
Northern lights
Ohio Northern rebounded from its 50-25 loss to John Carroll by blitzing visiting Heidelberg, 68-6, at Dial-Roberson Stadium. The Polar Bears set new facility records for points and total offense (617 yards).
Jake Bennett returned an interception 95 yards for a touchdown, another Dial-Roberson record. Quarterback Adam Quirk completed nine of 13 passes. Four of the completions went for touchdowns, though, as Quirk finished the day with 257 passing yards.
The loss is the 21st in a row for the Student Princes.
Around the MIAA
Do you think Albion was in a bit of a foul mood after suffering back-to-back last-second losses? The Britons took their frustrations out on winless Tri-State Saturday as Albion rolled to a 73-0 win over the Thunder in Angola, Ind. Steve Wasil threw for 362 yards and five touchdowns while also rushing for a sixth score for Albion. Five different Briton receivers caught touchdowns ... Kalamazoo erased a 13-0 deficit to top visiting Wisconsin Lutheran, 21-13 ... Mike Leifeld and Jeff Green both went over the 100-yard mark receiving for the victorious Hornets (2-3, 1-1).
Around the NCAC
Ohio Wesleyan (3-2, 1-1) pulled out a 13-8 win over host Allegheny as the Bishops held Allegheny's offense scoreless. It is Ohio Wesleyan's first-ever win in Meadville. The Gators scored on Keith Keenan's 75-yard fumble return for a touchdown and Dan Monarko's sack in the end zone. Quarterback Steve Hymes' 89-yard touchdown run put OWU ahead to stay with 9:00 left. The Bishops then stopped Allegheny on fourth-and-goal from the 4 on the final play of the game ... Jered Glover became Wittenberg's all-time leading receiver with 151 catches in the Tigers' 48-0 win over Earlham ... Wabash remained unbeaten with a 42-7 victory over Oberlin. Junior Geoff Walker set a new NCAC record with a 93-yard punt return for touchdown for the Little Giants. He also caught five passes for 75 yards.
Around the OAC
Mount Union rolled to a 41-6 win at Wilmington last Saturday as Aaron Robinson ran for 137 yards and scored twice. Scott Casto had a career-high 10 catches for 141 yards. Joe Johnson led the Quakers with 116 yards rushing ... Rocky Pentello threw for 338 yards and four touchdowns in Capital's surprisingly lopsided 41-10 win over visiting Marietta. Kive Kraft caught three of Pentello's touchdown tosses ... John Carroll gave head coach Regis Scafe his 50th win at JCU as the Blue Streaks blanked Muskingum, 34-0. Quarterback Doug Phillips threw four touchdown passes for John Carroll, his second straight 4 TD game.
Around the PAC
Waynesburg threw a damper on Bethany's Homecoming as the Yellow Jackets earned a 38-21 win over the Bison Saturday. Ryan Abels ran for 162 yards and three touchdowns for Waynesburg while Eric Daniels added 101 yards rushing and a score ... PAC leader Thomas More (4-1, 4-0) had its bye week.
Games of the Week
Mount Union at Marietta, 6 p.m.: The Purple Raiders' juggernaut heads down to the river for a Saturday night special at Don Drumm Stadium.
Thiel at Waynesburg, 1:30 p.m.: This is the Tomcats' first real test as a road favorite. How will Thiel react against a Waynesburg squad that will definitely be geeked on its home field. If you like extremely physical football, this is your game.
Olivet at Adrian, 1 p.m.: With each squad sporting 1-1 MIAA records, this could turn out to be an elimination game in the league race. Each team has already lost to current MIAA leader Alma and cannot afford to lose any more ground.
