By Matt Florjancic
D3sports.com
The early-season struggles for Washington and Jefferson and Waynesburg's disappointing play have given Thomas More the opportunity at a Presidents' Athletic Conference championship. With the Nov. 1 meeting against Washington and Jefferson on the horizon, the Saints are playing well.
A season ago, Thomas More was 4-6, including a 2-4 mark in the PAC. Quarterbacks Joey Zerhusen and Josh Gauger took the majority of the snaps for the Saints. They each completed 67 passes and were separated by only 54 yards. Gauger attempted few passes, but threw seven interceptions against Zerhusen's five.
One reason for the turnaround at Thomas More has been the return of quarterback Trevor Stellman. In last year's intra-squad scrimmage, Stellman was lost for the year with a torn anterior cruciate ligament and torn knee cartilage.
"Any time you work hard all summer and then to come in to your second year starting and have a team you think you can do a lot with, getting hurt like that kills your mindset," Stellman said. "A lot of things change your outlook on the season. It ended up helping me in the long run.
"I was the only returning quarterback, so I was the only one with any experience," added Stellman. "[We had] two freshmen coming in behind me. It was painful at first to watch, especially the way we played sometimes. In the long run, the more I watched the more I learned and the more able I was to help those young guys get better at the position that they were playing."
The rehabilitation process for a tore ligament is long and difficult. For those athletes wanting to make a comeback after surgery, their best friends are the trainers and second homes are the training rooms.
"I knew how important it was to rehab, especially with [this] injury," Stellman said. "Playing quarterback, you need your legs a lot more than you do at some positions. As soon as I got out of surgery, I had to be put on a machine to start getting motion back in my knee.
"That was kind of tough to go right into that," he added. "You don't get any breaks. They're not going to be easy on you with an ACL reconstruction. It was six months of constant work, every day being in the athletic training room and getting at it. I owe much to the trainers and rehab guys."
Since his return to the starting lineup, Stellman has accounted for nearly 1,000 yards of total offense. Heading into this weekend's game at Grove City, Stellman is 62-of-103 for 751 yards. He has thrown five touchdowns and no interceptions. A dual threat when he is healthy, Stellman has rushed the ball 39 times for 233 yards and five touchdowns.
"I haven't had any feeling of pain or anything like that in it," Stellman said of his knee. "It almost feels at times better than my other knee, which is different and weird. As long as you're not thinking about it, it's not going to bother you. The more times I keep getting out there playing and realize that nothing is wrong with it, I just keep playing how I have been my whole career.
"It's just [about] me getting comfortable with everybody that's around me now," he added. "Our whole backfield is basically freshmen. We have one receiver that's back that I've played with before. It's me getting used to everybody and our offensive line. I've only played with one of the offensive linemen before this year."
Every quarterback is targeted by the defense. However, the 11 guys charged with preventing offenses from scoring need to get past the five offensive linemen before thinking about the quarterback. The Thomas More offensive line has given up just six sacks in five games.
The line has also allowed the running backs to gain 1,158 yards on 194 carries for an average of six yards per rush and 231.6 yards per game.
"They are playing out of their minds so far this year after five games," Stellman said of the offensive line. "The last four games we've had at least over 200 yards rushing. That's unheard of for a lot of teams.
"For us, it's good because that's what Thomas More has been known for," he added. "The last couple years, we've wavered. They're always working and they're always working a lot harder than everybody else."
Now that he has achieved the goals of recovering from surgery and rehabilitating the ligaments, Stellman is looking forward to the Washington and Jefferson game.
"It feels great just to be out there with the guys that I've been here with for four years," he said. "It feels good just to be playing again and not having to be sitting around watching.
"That's our goal and we'd all be lying to say that we haven't thought about playing them," Stellman added about the W&J game. "[Them] being the top dogs the last three years in the conference, that's always in the back of our minds, especially the way we've played against them the last couple years. We're trying to win the small battles to win the war."
News and notes
Wabash quarterback Matt Hudson dissected Washington University's defense last Saturday. Hudson was 20 of 30 for 277 yards, and while he threw one interception, he tossed four touchdown passes. He connected with Kody LeMond for three long scores of 30, 47 and 52 yards. Wabash has an outside chance at finishing the season with a 3,000-yard passer, 1,000-yard receiver and 1,000-yard rusher. Hudson has 97 completions for 1,483 yards and 20 touchdowns. He is averaging nearly 300 yards per game. LeMond has been dominant on the edge with 39 receptions for 764 yards and 12 touchdowns. Running back Bobby Kimp has gained 437 yards on the ground.
Albion junior defensive back Jacob Lee was a special teams and defensive standout in the Britons' 28-21 victory against Hope. Lee untied the game in the final five minutes with an 80-yard punt return for a touchdown. Defensively, Lee added four tackles, including three assists against Hope. On Hope's second drive, quarterback Jake Manning moved the ball down the field, but Lee intercepted a third down pass at the one-yard line to stop the scoring threat.
Carnegie Mellon had two running backs go over 100 yards in its 41-14 victory against Allegheny. Neither Christopher Garcia (13 carries 135 yards, one touchdown) nor Anthony Ruzga (22 carries, 125 yards, two touchdowns) were stopped for a loss. Garcia averaged 10.4 yards per carry, while Ruzga went for 5.7 yards per attempt.
Sophomore wide receiver Shaun Nicely came to Case Western Reserve two years ago hoping to reunite with his high school quarterback Dan Whalen. That connection came in handy against Wooster last Saturday. Nicely, who is used to Whalen's ability to turn broken plays into big gains, caught eight passes for 86 yards and two touchdowns in the 28-7 win in the Baird Brothers Trophy game. Nicely and Whalen have connected for 15 touchdowns in less than two seasons.
It has been a difficult year for Ohio Northern. With an 0-4 record heading into last Saturday's matchup with Heidelberg, the Polar Bears needed to find a spark on offense. Sophomore running back Brent Donley rushed for 102 yards on 19 carries with a career-high three touchdowns in a 41-0 victory over Heidelberg.
Games of the Week
Wabash (5-0, 3-0 NCAC) at Wittenberg (4-1, 3-0), Saturday, Oct. 18, 1 p.m.: In the preseason polls, the Wabash Little Giants and Wittenberg Tigers were tabbed as the teams to beat in the NCAC this fall. Now, the two teams will get a chance to prove who the dominant team really is.
Despite having a new coaching staff with different schemes, the Little Giants have averaged 46.0 points per game on offense. Defensively, they have allowed 13.2 points per game.
Wittenberg has nearly doubled the total yardage of its opponents, but is having trouble keeping the ball on offense. Two different quarterbacks have combined for eight interceptions, while the team has lost three fumbles.
Washington U. (3-2) at Wooster (4-1, 3-0 NCAC), Saturday, Oct. 18, 1 p.m.: Both teams come into this game after losses to ranked teams over the weekend. The Washington University in St. Louis Bears fell at home to No. 6 Wabash 37-12, while Wooster lost at No. 15 Case Western Reserve.
Wooster's defense generates a lot of turnovers, having forced 11 interceptions and four fumble recoveries. Usually reliable Washington University quarterback Buck Smith has thrown seven interceptions and only six touchdowns this season. The key could be Wash U's defense. If they hold Wooster to its offensive average, the Bears have a good chance. Wooster averages 18.2 points per game while the Bears score more than 23.
