By Matt Florjancic
D3sports.com
The pitching mound is a long way from the football field.
It is not uncommon to see a baseball player line up at quarterback or near the sideline as a wide receiver. Even the secondary is a possible destination for a pitcher wanting to play football. However, Wooster junior Matt DeGrand decided he wanted to play defense, as a linebacker.
When he is not preparing to strike out a hitter, DeGrand is breaking up passes and sacking the quarterback.
DeGrand leads the Fighting Scots (4-0, 3-0 North Coast Athletic Conference) with 49 total tackles in four games. Of DeGrand's 49 tackles, 19 have been solo. He has made seven tackles for a loss of 30 yards, including three quarterback sacks. DeGrand is also a threat in pass coverage having intercepted one pass and recovered a fumble.
"Matt's been crucial to the success that we've experienced," said Wooster coach Mike Schmitz. "We're very pleased with the way the [defense has] been playing. Matt is certainly one of the leaders of that unit. He's performed consistently from the very start of the season.
"He's a very intelligent football player," Schmitz added. "Secondly, he plays extremely hard every single down, regardless of his situation. He really epitomizes what we strive for at every position. This is not a 110-percent program. We're a 100-percent program because we feel ten out of ten is about as good as you can do."
Wooster has a tradition-rich athletic program. From the men's basketball and baseball teams to the football program, the Fighting Scots have at least one team in the hunt for an NCAC championship every year. Over the past few seasons, the baseball and men's basketball teams have had a chance at winning a national title.
The Wooster football and baseball teams have successful coaches in Schmitz and Tim Pettorini, respectively. The similarities in coaching give their athletes a mental edge over many other two-sport standouts.
"They're very demanding, straight-forward guys," DeGrand said. "I enjoy that the most. They'll let you know when they don't feel that you're giving your maximum effort on the field. It makes it an easy transition, so I'm having the same mindset throughout my seasons of football and baseball. They're reasonable men and not asking for more than what your body can take and your mind can take."
As DeGrand continues to wreck havoc in opposing backfields, his mind is never far from the baseball field. During his sophomore year, DeGrand started seven games and appeared in eight others for the Fighting Scots. He went 3-0 with a 3.37 earned run average in 34-2/3 innings pitched.
"I have to maintain arm strength the whole year," DeGrand said. "I rehab the whole year on my elbow and my shoulder to make sure that it's strong coming out of the season. I do take a couple weeks off just to rest the body, but I get right back in it. The baseball staff has me on a very solid routine for pitching to maintain my arm strength. Ten weeks from not throwing is a little different. [Coach Pettorini] did talk to me about throwing the football around. That makes the difference in keeping my arm strong.
"My shoulder does get a lot of pressure on it and strain throughout the season," added DeGrand. "I do wear a Spider Pad that also helps with keeping the shock down. In the end, I just play through it and hope my shoulder will be fine. If it feels fine, then it feels fine. If it doesn't, then I know that I have to work even harder to build it back up."
This Saturday, the Fighting Scots travel to Cleveland for a game against the Case Western Reserve University Spartans. When these teams met a year ago, the Spartans defeated Wooster 30-17. In that game, DeGrand had nine tackles, but Case's Dan Whalen threw for 286 yards and rushed for another 83 to give Case its first win over Wooster since 1994.
Even with the loss, DeGrand is hoping the football team can have a repeat of the last time the Spartans and Fighting Scots faced each other in Cleveland.
Wooster faced Case Western Reserve in baseball last spring at Progressive Field, home of the Cleveland Indians. DeGrand pitched two-thirds of an inning in the 6-1 victory against the Spartans.
"We have to have extreme focus and our best practice all week," DeGrand said. "Guys are starting to go in and see film today. We push for that to make sure that we do know the opponent well and that we're not going in with any uncertainty. I wish we could go start practice right now and get things rolling for the week.
"I just can't wait for this game to kick off at one o'clock on Saturday," concluded DeGrand. "The scout team's given us great looks. They've given us as close to game-speed performance as we will see on game day. If we continue to have them push to get us better, we're going to keep getting better and hopefully come out with that victory."
News and notes
Mount Union senior running back Nate Kmic has been turning heads since he burst onto the scene with over 1,000 yards in the postseason four years ago. Ever since he first took a handoff behind the Purple Raiders' massive offensive line, Kmic has been breaking records.
That trend continued in a 48-3 road win over Baldwin-Wallace. Not only did Kmic spoil Homecoming for the Yellow Jackets, he had four touchdowns and 218 yards on 27 carries. In the game, Kmic became Division III's career leader in points and total touchdowns.
To date, he has scored 570 points on 95 total touchdowns. He also tied R.J. Bowers with 91 rushing touchdowns. Though he should break the rushing touchdowns record in the next game, Kmic has 1,350 yards to go before passing Bowers' all-time rush yardage mark.
Thomas More has been strong on the kick return game all season, which is a large reason why the Saints find themselves at 3-1 overall and 3-0 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference. As a team, they have returned 19 kicks for 530 yards, an average of 27.9 yards per return.
Freshman wide receiver Deuce Doucette has eight returns for 246 yards. When averaging Doucette's production, if he caught every kick at the goal line, the average starting field position for the offense would be just outside the 31-yard line. Doucette returned one kick 83 yards for a touchdown in a 42-12 win over Bethany last Saturday.
The Adrian Bulldogs (4-1, 1-0 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association) are in a three-way tie with Albion and Trine for the conference lead after a 42-17 victory over Kalamazoo. The Bulldogs and Hornets combined for 42 points in the second quarter, with Adrian winning the frame 28-14.
Big plays were crucial in the victory. Adrian running back Troy Niblock ran for 205 yards on 16 carries, including a 64-yard touchdown run. Niblock was not the only Bulldog to score from beyond 50 yards. Joseph Beehler caught just two passes in the Adrian win, but one went for an 85-yard touchdown.
The Wabash Little Giants begin a difficult three-game stretch this week before opening University Athletic Association play on November 1st. This week, the Little Giants put their undefeated season on the line against the Washington University in St. Louis Bears.
Wabash is coming off a 48-7 victory over Allegheny. In the win against the Gators, Wabash rushed for 239 yards as a team. The Bears suffered their first loss of the season last weekend to Rhodes. The Bears gave up touchdown passes of 66 and 68 yards. They also threw an interception that was returned from 52 yards away for a score.
Games of the Week
No. 4 Capital (4-0, 3-0) at No. 1 Mount Union (4-0, 3-0), Saturday, Oct. 11, 1:30 p.m.: When Mount Union and Capital meet Saturday, it will be a battle of top five teams and for first place in the Ohio Athletic Conference. With a three-way tie atop the OAC, the victor will be in good shape for a championship.
Mount Union's offense comes into the meeting averaging 44 points per game, while the defense has held its four opponents to less than a touchdown each. Capital is averaging nearly 500 yards of offense in four games this season. However, the Crusaders have turned the ball over eight times, including seven fumbles.
Westminster, Pa. (3-2, 1-1) at Waynesburg (2-2, 0-1), Saturday, Oct. 11, 1:30 p.m.: The Westminster Titans defeated Thiel 16-10 last weekend on the strength Kevin Franz's record-breaking performance. Franz was 22-of-29 for 270 yards and two touchdowns and set the school's career mark for completions.
Waynesburg is also coming off a victory, having defeated St. Vincent 21-12 two weeks ago. Despite giving up a 93-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, the Yellow Jackets found a way to weather the storm. Waynesburg sophomore Ray Hightower II had six catches for 101 yards and a touchdown.
