By Matt Florjancic
D3sports.com
OBERLIN, Ohio -- A blocked punt turns the momentum of a football game in mere seconds. Usually, it is the team blocking the punt that makes a strong run to finish a quarter, half or game. However, the exact opposite happened when the Oberlin Yeomen played the Washington and Jefferson Presidents on Saturday afternoon.
With the score tied at 21 and the Presidents facing a fourth-and-14 from their 49-yard line, Oberlin's Mike Loll shot through the punt protection and blocked the kick. Peter Morris recovered the ball and rushed 32 yards for the go-ahead score.
Following that, however, Oberlin found the end zone just one more time, falling 49-35 to Washington and Jefferson.
Bobby Swallow, left, passed for 351 yards and Curt Jones ran for 126 in W&J's win. Photo by Matt Florjancic, D3sports.com |
"Our kids got a sense of urgency and I don't think we played with that from the beginning," said Presidents coach Mike Sirianni. "All of a sudden, they block a punt and are up 28-21 with 18 minutes left in the game. There better be a sense of urgency. I think our coaches panicked, including myself, but that's something we can learn from and will.
"All I want is our kids to play to their potential and that falls on me as a head coach and our assistants," Sirianni added. "In no way and no how did we play like we are capable of playing and that's something that we have to switch. We had to be wide open for us to hit and that has not happened to us. (Bobby Swallow's) been able to hit people that we're in step and we missed a lot of people today."
"They're disappointed and you can see it," said Jeff Ramsey, Oberlin's head coach. "Anytime you lose, it's disappointing. Some of our guys didn't know how good we could be. This taught them something. I think they know now we're not a team to mess with. We can play with anybody. Now, we've got to find a way to win games like this."
Oberlin also blocked an extra point during the loss.
"We work a lot on special teams and all that work pays off," said Ramsey. "Mike Loll wanted that punt block. Our return teams did a real nice job. Every punt in the first half, (the Presidents) were trying to block. They didn't get close, so we really did a good job there. It shows the persistence and perseverance of our new guys who have to take on that roll."
The Presidents scored four touchdowns in the final 18 minutes. Curt Jones had touchdown runs of three and two yards and caught a 43-yard scoring pass with 6:11 remaining in the fourth quarter. Swallow scored on a 1-yard run and finished the afternoon 22-of-40 for 352 yards and two touchdowns. Jones had 24 carries for 126 yards.
Oberlin running back R.V. Carroll carried the ball 23 times for 91 yards. He scored a touchdown on a pass from quarterback Greg Mangan. As a team, the Yeomen gained 64 yards rushing in the game.
"It woke up their offensive line," Ramsey said of the blocked punt. "Their offensive line came out with a little bit more fire and we didn't in the second half. That's where the game was won or lost in the second half.
"That's the difference between the two offensive lines," added Ramsey. "R.V. is R.V. He's going to run the ball the way he always does. He's good at everything. He catches the ball, he runs with it. He'll take on any role that needs to be taken on to win a ballgame. Our inability to run the ball in the second half was disappointing. That's something that comes down to attitude."
The Yeomen tied the game at 14 when Mangan dropped back and found Loll in the end zone. The touchdown pass gave Mangan the school record for career touchdown passes. Mangan, a San Francisco, California, native now has 38 career touchdown passes. He was 19-of-30 with 248 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions against the Presidents.
When Oberlin traveled to Washington and Jefferson last season, the Presidents won the game easily, 56-26.
"The new defense played terrible in the first half," Sirianni said. "On defense, we played great in the second half. We gave up one play. Then, the offense in the third quarter panicked a little bit.
"I'm just proud of our kids for holding on," added Sirianni. "Nothing against Oberlin because they're getting better, they have great skill. They're well coached."
Oberlin has a young secondary this season. With the graduation of two starting cornerbacks and a free safety means freshmen are getting tested early in their college careers. The Yeomen get the week off before they host another strong passing attack. On Sept. 20, Oberlin hosts Case Western Reserve. Washington and Jefferson hosts Frostburg State on Saturday evening.
Hiram gets overtime victory
It was not easy, but the Terriers will take it. They made the long trip to Washington, D.C., for a game with Gallaudet and came back to Ohio with an overtime victory, the school's first since Oct. 1, 2005. The Terriers held on to a tie at the end of the fourth quarter and won 20-14 in the extra session.
Trevor Henderson started his fourth year at Hiram going 30-of-42 for 267 yards and one touchdown. While Henderson was controlling the offense, the Terriers also found an anchor in their corps of linebackers.
Freshman Jon Hull had seven solo tackles, including one for lost yardage, in his collegiate debut. Hull also forced a fumble, recovered another and broke up two passes in the victory. For his efforts, Hull earned the North Coast Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week.
The Bison received a good effort on the defensive side of the ball from Calvin Doudt. A senior linebacker originally from northeast Ohio, Doudt had 15 tackles and an interception. Junior defensive lineman Michel Daze had 11 stops, including six solo tackles and a fumble recovery.
News and Notes
Hope nearly captured its first non-conference victory in four years last Saturday. Since beating the John Carroll Blue Streaks 21-20 in September 2004, Hope has gone 0-12 against non-Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association teams.
Hope lost 28-25 at home against Illinois Wesleyan. In the loss, junior linebacker Chris Batterbee had ten tackles, including eight solo stops. Batterbee intercepted a pass that kept the Flying Dutch within a score of Illinois Wesleyan. For his efforts, Batterbee was selected as the MIAA Defensive Player of the Week.
The agreement between the University Athletic Association and North Coast Athletic Conference has led to two victories on opening weekend for the UAA. Carnegie Mellon University and Case Western Reserve University are both 1-0 after road victories on opening weekend.
Case Western Reserve defeated Kenyon 62-27. As a team, the Spartans rushed 163 yards and three touchdowns, while All-UAA quarterback Dan Whalen completed 11-of-14 passes for 199 yards and two touchdowns.
Not many leagues had as difficult a weekend as the Presidents' Athletic Conference. The Washington and Jefferson Presidents were the only team out of the nine in the PAC to garner a victory Saturday. The biggest surprise of the day was Wooster's defense against the Waynesburg Yellow Jackets. Waynesburg All-American running back Robert Heller rushed for a career-low 99 yards in the 27-6 setback against the Fighting Scots. Heller carried the ball 21 times and averaged 4.7 yards per carry. He was also held out of the end zone against Wooster.
Muskingum did what every team who had gone 0-10 last season wanted to do, come out in Week 1 and put an end to the losing streak. The Muskies did just that with a 35-10 win over Defiance at home. As a team, Muskingum outgained Defiance 358-158 in total yards.
Running back Caleb Fuller rushed 16 times for 100 yards and scored three touchdowns for Muskingum. The Muskies are off this week and will open Ohio Athletic Conference play on Sept. 20 at Otterbein.
Games of the Week
Rochester at Case Western Reserve, Sept. 13, 1:05 p.m.: Playing tough teams to prepare themselves for the University Athletic Association schedule is something the Spartans have done under coach Greg Debeljak. They will host the Rochester and have the advantage of having a regular season game under their belts, while Rochester will be opening its season schedule. Last year, Case Western Reserve went 7-0 in non-conference action during the regular season, while Rochester was 0-2, losing to Carnegie Mellon and St. John Fisher.
Ohio Northern at North Central (Ill.), Sept. 13, 1:00 p.m.: Any time two nationally ranked teams face off, it is always an intriguing matchup. Sixteenth-ranked Ohio Northern makes the nearly five-hour trip to play 15th rated North Central (Ill.) in a battle of strengths. The Polar Bears have a former Kansas State University recruit in the mix at wide receiver and have experienced running back R.J. Meadows back in the fold. North Central's defense is anchored by a physical linebacking corps.
