By Ryan Briggs
Grove City SID
The postseason is upon us throughout the Great Lakes Region. Six Great Lakes teams have qualified for the 32-team battle royal known as the NCAA Division III playoffs.
Four teams are in the "North" region. (I know that the NCAA doesn't use those terms, but you all know what I mean.) Two are guaranteed to advance to the semifinals as OAC kingpin Mount Union hosts MIAA champ Hope and OAC red ribbon Capital hosts NCAC co-champ Wittenberg in the quarterfinals.
In the "South," the highly anticipated Washington & Jefferson-Carnegie Mellon matchup never materialized as those two schools were dispatched to opposite sides of the bracket. CMU will host Millsaps while 9-1 W&J gets shipped to 8-2 Christopher Newport.
Mount Union and Hope had already clinched berths prior to last Saturday's action. Still, both tuned up for the playoffs with wins. Mount Union pulled away from host Marietta for a 45-17 win while Hope picked up a 26-7 victory over visiting Wisconsin Lutheran.
Capital sewed up a Pool C berth with a 19-7 win at playoff hopeful Baldwin-Wallace. Wittenberg earned the NCAC's automatic berth with a 35-0 victory at Hiram, setting up a Week One rematch with Capital.
Carnegie Mellon earned a hard-fought 14-7 win over 2005 playoff participant Thiel in Greenville, Pa. Saturday, securing a 10-0 season for Rich Lackner's Tartans. W&J had much less difficulty in a 54-0 win at Bethany.
For the rest of the region, Veterans Day represented the end of the season. Despite not earning playoff berths, several teams closed outstanding seasons. Some teams concluded up-and-down seasons on high notes while others finished on downers.
Here's a final look back at the final week of the 2006 regular season.
Ring my bell
Wabash retained possession of the Monon Bell with a 23-20 home victory over DePauw on Saturday afternoon in the 113th all-time meeting between the two western Indiana archrivals.
Wabash (8-2) allowed a 14-0 halftime lead to evaporate as DePauw forged a 14-all tie late in the third quarter. But Mike Russell hauled in a 10-yard touchdown pass from Dustin Huff to give Wabash a 21-14 lead. Russell finished with nine catches for 90 yards while Huff completed 30 of 49 attempts for 304 yards.
Defensively, Andy Deig and Adrian Pynenberg each had a sack and an interception for Wabash.
"It never gets old. Winning never gets old, especially winning the Bell," Wabash running back Billy King said.
Wabash now owns a 53-51-9 edge in the all-time series. Since the teams began playing for the 300-pound Monon Bell, DePauw has a 35-34-6 advantage.
Nine is fine
Capital recorded the first nine-win regular season in school history by earning a 19-7 win over Baldwin-Wallace. Capital limited the Yellow Jackets to an 0-for-13 effort on third down.
All 19 Capital points came in the first half as quarterback Rocky Pentello fired three touchdown passes. Mike Niedzwiecki caught a pair of touchdowns while running back Charlie Smith ran for a career-high 112 yards. He also caught five passes.
For B-W, punter Kevin Soflkianics has averaged 42.6 yards per kick, which leads Division III through the end of the regular season. He is 0.7 yards ahead of Coast Guard's Jesse Harms, who has one game left, an ECAC bowl game, and punters from Central and Hobart are within a yard and a half.
The beat goes on
Washington and Jefferson won its ninth in a row, rolling past host Bethany 54-0. W&J led 40-0 at the half and cruised to the victory.
Ryan Mendel paced the Presidents with 158 yards and four touchdowns while understudy Kevin Mathews added 91 yards and a score. Free safety Nick Cherish had two of W&J's four interceptions. Linebackers Aaron Bane and Dave Gitlitz (eight stops each) led a defensive effort that limited Bethany to just seven first downs.
Despite having nine straight wins and a 9-1 record, W&J did not get a home game in the first round of the playoffs at historic Cameron Stadium. Instead, W&J must travel to the Tidewater to face Christopher Newport.
Bethany finished this season 4-6 after three straight 1-9 seasons. First-year head coach Tim Weaver deserves a lot of credit for getting the Bison program not only pointed in the right direction, but moving up the PAC ladder.
Perfect 10
Carnegie Mellon wrapped up a 10-0 regular season with a 14-7 win at Thiel Saturday. The CMU defense held Thiel to 140 total yards and 1-for-11 success on third down.
CMU workhorse fullback Travis Sivek carried the ball a career-high 40 times for 172 yards. His 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter gave CMU a 7-0 lead. The lead grew to 14-0 late in the third quarter on a 9-yard run by Robert Gimson.
Bridge over troubled water
Thomas More kept cross-river rival Mount St. Joseph from a 10-0 season Saturday as the Saints earned a 21-17 win over MSJ in Bridge Bowl XII. Inside linebacker Mark Carlisle was credited with 20 tackles. The Saints held MSJ to just six passing yards and eight first downs.
Monty Collier's 3-yard touchdown run with 6:28 left capped an 11-play, 80-yard drive and gave TMC a 21-17 lead. The Saints took a 7-0 lead midway through the first period on Kyle James' 79-yard bomb to Chase Weber.
500 club
Mount Union amassed a school-record 503 rushing yards Saturday in earning a 45-17 victory at Marietta's Don Drumm Stadium. Justin Wray rambled for a career-high 189 yards while Nate Kmic added 175 rushing yards.
The victory wrapped up Mount Union's 16th undefeated regular season in the last 22 seasons. The Purple Raiders now have 78 straight regular season wins on the road.
Out on top
Muskingum gave outgoing head coach Jeff Heacock a victory in his final game as coach as the Muskies downed Heidelberg, 28-12. Heacock has been promoted to Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs for External Relations at Muskingum. He concluded his coaching career with 109 total victories in 26 years.
Caleb Fuller helped buoy the Muskies with a career-high 237 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
The game was also the last as coach for Heidelberg's Brian Cochran, who is not being retained. The Berg's official search for a new head coach began Wednesday.
Strong finish
Waynesburg closed the season with six wins over the final seven games, including a 21-9 victory at Westminster (Pa.) Saturday. Waynesburg finishes second in the Presidents' Athletic Conference with a 5-1 record.
It's certainly an old clich� but it is still relevant despite the propagation of spread offenses: Run the ball and stop the run. Waynesburg (6-4) did exactly that Saturday, rushing for 258 yards while holding Westminster to minus-9 yards.
Waynesburg halfback Ryan Abels capped his prolific career with 222 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Defensively, Mike Czerwein had two sacks while Jacques Newberry intercepted a pair of passes for head coach Rick Shepas' charges. In all, the Yellow Jackets had four interceptions and five sacks.
Westminster finishes 2-8, the Titans' worst record since going 1-7 in 1947.
Making a Case
Case Western Reserve received 15 total points from sophomore defensive end/kicker Brian Calderone Saturday as the Spartans toppled ODAC champion Washington & Lee, 27-9, in Cleveland.
Calderone returned a second quarter fumble 32 yards for a touchdown. He also booted a field goal in each half and went 3-for-3 on extra points. Calderone also recorded 14 tackles, including four sacks and six tackles for loss.
Bobby Bott also returned an interception 36 yards for a touchdown as Case (5-5) forced five turnovers. W&L (7-3) also managed just nine first downs and 46 rushing yards on 34 attempts.
Savage attack
Allegheny quarterback Jimmy Savage wrapped up his outstanding career in Meadville by throwing for 249 yards and three scores in the Gators' 35-14 win over Oberlin. Savage finished as Allegheny's single-season leader for touchdowns (24), completions (202) and yardage (2,472).
Dallas Robinson hauled in seven catches for 120 yards and three touchdowns while halfback Mario Tarquinio ran for 141 yards and a score. Tarquinio also threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Robinson in the first quarter, giving the Gators a 7-0 lead.
Yet, Allegheny's most impressive performance of the afternoon came on defense. Under the guidance of first-year defensive coordinator Mike Kashurba, the Gators held Oberlin ace R.V. Carroll to a season-low 18 yards on 13 carries.
Despite a non-existent running game, Oberlin quarterback Greg Mangan still managed to throw for 350 yards. He set a new school record for single-season passing yardage.
Sheppard's pie
Wooster tailback Dustin Sheppard ran for 278 yards and five touchdowns in the Scots' 41-13 season-ending win over Kenyon on Saturday. His effort allowed him to go over the 1,000-yard mark for the season. Wooster finishes the season 8-2 overall and 5-2 in the NCAC.
Adios, Amigo
Grove City stopped Merchant Marine tailback Cameron Amigo at the 1 on the final play of the game Saturday as the Wolverines pulled out a 14-6 win over USMMA on Long Island.
The Wolverines yielded just two field goals to USMMA, despite the fact that the Mariners advanced inside the Grove City 20 eight times. Clay Piper returned an interception 95 yards for a touchdown while Chris Schwamberger also intercepted a pass in the end zone for Grove City.
USMMA executed 96 plays for 485 yards, yet managed just six points. Grove City, which closed the season with two straight wins, took a 7-0 lead on its first drive of the game as Andrew DiDonato fired a 5-yard touchdown pass to Scott Fichter.
Around the MIAA
David Booko ran for 105 yards and two scores as Hope rallied from an early 7-0 deficit to top Wisconsin Lutheran, 26-7. It is Hope's seventh straight win ... Michael Terrano's 96-yard interception return for a touchdown helped seal Olivet's 43-24 win at Kalamazoo. The Comets finish 2006 with a 6-4 record ... Adrian, the preseason favorite in the MIAA, surrendered 524 yards of offense in a 45-28 setback at Alma Saturday. Alma broke a 28-28 halftime tie with 17 second-half points. Alma quarterback Josh Brehm threw for 312 yards and three touchdowns in his final game as the Scotgun triggerman. Jeremy Stephens grabbed 10 catches for 97 yards ... Albion evened its record at 5-5 with a 30-28 home victory over improving Tri-State Saturday afternoon. Briton quarterback Jake Wilson threw for 290 yards and three touchdowns.
Around the NCAC
Fred Lee's 196 rushing yards helped Denison slip past Earlham, 21-16. Earlham quarterback Justin Rummell finished his prolific career with 9,390 passing yards and 76 touchdowns. Against Denison, Rummell completed 35 of 59 passes for 366 yards ... Tristan Murray went over the 4,000-yard mark for his career in Wittenberg's 35-0 win over Hiram. Murray ran for 175 yards and four touchdowns. It's his ninth straight 100-yard game, which is a new Wittenberg record.
Around the OAC
Ohio Northern secured a 6-4 season with a 52-0 win over visiting Wilmington. Lenny Trusnik had a sack and also returned an interception 57 yards for a touchdown. The ONU defense held the Quakers to just 97 yards. Wilmington safety Chad Otte did intercept his OAC-leading ninth pass of the season ... John Carroll also earned a shutout win, blanking visiting Otterbein 14-0. It is the Blue Streaks' third shutout in four weeks. Joseph Konrad tied a JCU record with his 13th touchdown catch of the season.
Games of the Week: You already know who's playing.
This week: I will be making a trip to Pittsburgh Saturday for the Carnegie Mellon-Millsaps game. Keith McMillan will be joining me on our D3football.com broadcast. I am looking forward to what should be a great game as well as working with Keith.
Next week: A look back at Saturday's playoff games as well as a look ahead to the regional quarterfinals. Plus a rundown of the regional honor roll. And maybe a few other odds and ends, too.
