By Ryan Briggs
Grove City SID
While some teams in the Great Lakes Region wrapped up the 2006 season, two others clinch at least an 11th game by earning their respective conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Division III playoffs.
Hope doubled up host Olivet 16-8 to wrap up the MIAA title. Meanwhile, Mount Union secured the OAC title with a 31-14 home victory over John Carroll. In the NCAC, Wittenberg moved closer to a playoff berth with a 39-21 victory over Allegheny.
Wabash kept the heat on Wittenberg, though, as the Little Giants commemorated their 1,000th all-time game with a 41-14 win at Denison. Wabash clinched at least a share of the NCAC title with the win and also kept its Pool C hopes alive.
Carnegie Mellon and Washington & Jefferson both chalked up home victories in their pursuit of Pool B berths. CMU rolled past Bethany, 44-6, while W&J earned a 21-12 win over Thomas More.
Plenty more will be determined this weekend. But before we move ahead, let's take a final look at the first Saturday in November.
No passing fancy
Hope completed just two of 21 attempts Saturday and also managed just five first downs. Yet, the Dutchmen clinched the MIAA with a 16-8 win at Olivet. With Hope leading 10-0 in the fourth quarter, Troy Blasius returned an interception 86 yards for a touchdown, sealing the victory.
Blasius also recovered a fumble for Hope, which has now won six in a row. Colin Balas had 2.5 sacks while Matt Rugenstein added two sacks for Hope. Hope held Olivet to minus-24 yards rushing on 41 attempts.
Not a surprise
Mount Union wrapped up a berth in the NCAA Division III playoffs Saturday, outlasting a game John Carroll squad, 31-14, in Alliance.
John Carroll trailed just 24-14 in the fourth quarter but Nate Kmic's 27-yard touchdown run with 1:40 left sealed the Purple Raiders' win. Defensively, the Purple Raiders recorded six sacks. Safety Matt Kostelnik returned an interception 29 yards for a touchdown 1:09 into the game, giving Mount Union a quick 7-0 lead.
However, the Raiders led just 14-7 at the half as JCU's Tim Cohn caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Mark Petruziello with 10 minutes left in the second quarter.
"We talked during the week about keeping our composure and being mentally tough," John Carroll head coach Regis Scafe said following the game. "When we got down 14-0, our kids did a good job of staying with it and responding. I thought our players fought hard all game long. I'm proud of their effort."
Petruziello threw a pair of touchdown passes for the Blue Streaks. For Mount Union, quarterback Greg Micheli came out of the bullpen to complete eight of 11 passes for 78 yards. He also ran for a game-high 77 yards in relief of a banged-up Mike Jorris.
"(Micheli) has played occasionally this season, but (Saturday), the game dictated that he play more and he responded with a very good effort," Mount Union coach Larry Kehres said.
Avoiding air travel
Carnegie Mellon ran for 370 yards Saturday afternoon in the Tartans' 44-6 home win over Bethany at Gesling Stadium. Junior fullback Travis Sivek ran for 139 yards and four touchdowns on 23 attempts while Colby Whitman added two touchdown runs.
Sivek became just the second back in CMU history to reach the 1,000-yard mark in a season. He currently has exactly 1,000 yards this year.
"It's such a great honor," the hard-charging Sivek said. "But the individual stuff is on the back burner. Because we're having such a great season, that means so much more to me than any individual honor could."
Potential All-America defensive back Aaron Lewis intercepted a pair of passes for Carnegie Mellon, which completed a 5-0 season at Gesling Stadium.
At 9-0, one would have to think that the Tartans have sewn up one of the four Pool B bids. A win at Thiel Saturday should clinch a home game for CMU, champions of the UAA.
Eight isn't enough, yet
Washington & Jefferson wrapped up at least a share of the PAC title with a 21-12 home win over Thomas More at historic Cameron Stadium. It is the Presidents' eighth straight win and puts W&J (8-1) on the cusp of a Pool B berth.
Quarterback Bobby Swallow completed 15 of 22 passes for 195 yards and three touchdowns. Halfback Ryan Mendel picked up his sixth consecutive 100-yard game on the ground, charging through the TMC defense for 104 yards on 27 attempts.
Eye of the Tiger
Wittenberg's ground attack kicked into overdrive Saturday as the Tigers rolled past visiting Allegheny, 39-21, in Springfield, Ohio. Wittenberg accumulated 314 rushing yards, including 199 from Tristan Murray. Murray also ran for three touchdowns and caught a touchdown pass.
In addition to clearing the way for Tiger backs on the ground, the Wittenberg offensive line did not yield a sack.
Allegheny quarterback Jimmy Savage did become the school's single-season leading passer with his 247-yard effort. He now has 2,223 yards on a school-record 187 completions.
Heavy metal Thunder
Tri-State scored 28 fourth-quarter points and then held on for a 38-37 win at Wisconsin Lutheran Saturday afternoon. Tri-State trailed 31-10 entering the fourth quarter but charged back behind freshman running back Courtney Sanders. Sanders scored on touchdown runs of 13, 5 and 10 yards in the fourth quarter. His 10-yard touchdown run gave Tri-State a 38-31 lead with 46 seconds left.
Wisconsin Lutheran answered quickly, moving 80 yards in 40 seconds. T.J. Bodnar fired a 7-yard touchdown pass to Eric Treske with one second left, closing the deficit to one. WLC went for the tie but the extra point failed.
Bodnar fired five touchdown passes for Wisconsin Lutheran. Treske caught three touchdowns as part of his seven-catch, 114-yard effort.
Wisconsin Lutheran running back Matt Kehl became the MIAA's all-time leading rusher with his 130-yard effort Saturday. He now has 2,624 rushing yards. Former Hope ace Brandon Graham held the previous record of 2,586 yards.
Sanders ran for four touchdowns for Tri-State.
Call 5-1-1
Wabash piled up 511 yards of offense in a 41-14 win at Denison Saturday. Wabash is now 7-2 overall and finishes NCAC play with a 6-1 mark.
Dustin Huff completed all but five of his 30 pass attempts. His 25 completions garnered 386 passing yards. Mike Russell continued his solid season with nine catches for 138 yards.
Wabash will probably need some help to get into the playoffs. A non-conference loss to Franklin earlier this year could prove to be fatal to the Giants' playoff hopes. Of course, Wabash has to beat archrival DePauw in the Monon Bell this weekend before any of the other stuff comes into play.
Fred Lee paced Denison (2-7, 2-4) with 121 rushing yards and a touchdown.
R.V. means running victoriously
Kenyon ran for 235 yards against visiting Oberlin Saturday. Yet, the Lords were outrushed by 101 yards -- by one player! Oberlin standout running back R.V. Carroll stormed through the Kenyon defense for 336 yards and five touchdowns as Oberlin improved to 5-4 with a 56-42 win at McBride Field.
Carroll had touchdown runs of 40, 53, 30, 13 and 40 yards. As a team, the Yeomen had 405 rushing yards and 590 total yards of offense. Oberlin also converted 10 of 12 third-down opportunities. Each team punted just once.
For Kenyon, Alby Coombs ran for 121 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He went over the 1,000-yard mark for the season. Kenyon's Harry von Kann caught three touchdown passes from Rafael Sanchez.
Those who like smashmouth football would enjoy watching Kenyon. The Lords are averaging 6.1 yards per carry and 282 yards per game. Opponents, however, are averaging 6.0 yards per attempt and 285 yards per game on the ground.
100% mental
Baldwin-Wallace' Mickey Mental completed 18 of 27 passes for 306 yards and five touchdowns in B-W's wild 42-31 win at Otterbein. The Yellow Jackets improved to 7-2 overall and 6-2 in the OAC, keeping their somewhat slim playoff hopes alive.
Baldwin-Wallace trailed 31-21 with 13 minutes left. That's when Mental fired a 58-yard touchdown pass to Drew Beichler and a four-yard scoring strike to Rob Lewis.
Otterbien signal-caller Robbie Rosner threw for 312 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Otterbein trailed 21-7 after the first quarter before rattling off 24 straight points.
Ten for two
Both quarterbacks for the colleges located in Mercer County, Pa. individually accounted for five touchdowns in home victories Saturday.
Thiel quarterback Billy Blankenship threw three touchdown passes and ran for two more scores as the Tomcats moved to 5-4 with a 45-27 win over Westminster in Greenville.
Twenty-five miles southeast in Grove City, freshman phenom Andrew DiDonato threw three touchdown passes, ran for a score and also caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from split end Scott Fichter in Grove City's wild 40-33 win over Case Western Reserve.
Blankenship's 1-yard touchdown run with 5:22 left sealed the victory for Thiel. He fired two touchdown passes to Mark LaScola in the third quarter, helping cap a 21-point outburst. Westminster led 21-17 at the half but the Thiel took a 38-21 lead into the final period.
Brett Ziegler pulled in 14 passes for 160 yards for Westminster.
For Grove City, Fichter hauled in a career-high 10 passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns. Matt Weil's 22-yard touchdown run with less than three minutes left gave Grove City a 40-26 lead. It is the Wolverines' seventh win in eight tries on Senior Day.
Case Western quarterback Dan Whalen, another standout freshman, threw for 339 yards and three touchdowns. He ran for a fourth score, also.
Around the MIAA
Adrian bolted to a 28-12 halftime lead and held on for a 31-26 home win over Albion Saturday at Performance Stadium. T.J. Williams ran for 78 yards and two touchdowns for the homestanding Bulldogs. ... Dan Seals' 21-yard field goal with 65 seconds left gave Alma a 37-35 win at Kalamazoo. Scots quarterback Josh Brehm threw for 319 yards and ran for 144 more yards. For Kalamazoo, Steve Charon intercepted a pass and also recovered a fumble.
Around the NCAC
Tom Thome's two interceptions helped give Ohio Wesleyan its first shutout in five years, a 58-0 win over Hiram. Thome returned a pick 75 yards for a touchdown while offensively, Nick Rice scored twice. ... Wooster rallied from a 14-point deficit for a 38-31 win over Earlham. Dustin Sheppard ran for three touchdowns in the fourth quarter for the victorious Scots. Earlham quarterback Justin Rummell continued his fine senior season by throwing for 375 yards and four touchdowns.
Around the OAC
Ohio Northern quarterbacks Adam Quirk and Jeff Pankratz combined to complete 18 of 19 attempts Saturday as the Polar Bears downed Heidelberg, 47-3. Junior running back Trevis Stephens added three touchdowns on the ground. ... Rich Castagna's 86-yard kickoff return at the start of the second half helped spark Marietta' 27-14 win over Wilmington. Pioneer quarterback Jason Vrable threw for 297 yards and two scores while receivers Jason Curry and Chad McDaniel both broke the previous single-season receiving yardage record of 720. McDaniel has 741 yards while Curry has 729. ... Capital drifted closer to a Pool C bid with a 52-14 win over visiting Muskingum. Rocky Pentello moved into fifth all-time in Division III passing yardage with 11,287 total yards. He threw for 240 yards in one half of action.
Around the PAC
Waynesburg managed just 68 yards rushing but the Yellow Jackets still improved to 5-4 with a 21-7 home win over Frostburg State on Saturday. Tres Cobb threw touchdown passes to Chuck Wright and Josh Fisher.
Games of the Week
DePauw at Wabash, 1:05 p.m.: The 113th Monon Bell Classic. Wabash still has a slim shot at a Pool C berth. DePauw is 6-3. Of course, records are meaningless in a heated rivalry like this. Still, there is plenty on the line for these two Hoosier State combatants.
Carnegie Mellon at Thiel, 1:00 p.m.: Last year, Thiel entered the final week of the season at 9-0 and closed the regular season at CMU. This year represents a complete reversal of fortune. Now, it's CMU who must go to Thiel in pursuit of a perfect regular season. This is Thiel's playoff game and it would love nothing more than to wreck CMU's bid for an undefeated season.
Capital at Baldwin-Wallace, 1:30 p.m.: Baldwin-Wallace needs a win to vault head-first into the playoff battle in Pool C. The win would essentially put B-W into second place and presumably, ahead of Capital.
Mount Union at Marietta, 1:30 p.m.: Mount Union is looking to cement another undefeated regular season. This may not be the lay-up that some folks might think, however. Marietta has already beaten Ohio Northern and Baldwin-Wallace this season. Plus, the Pioneers are at home. A win over the nation's top-ranked team just might be enough to thrust Marietta into the Pool C picture, also. No doubt, Marietta would pick up a huge strength of schedule boost with an upset. It would take a near-perfect game by Marietta to earn the win. Mount Union will be re-focused after a mistake-filled effort (by MUC's standards) against John Carroll.
