By Keith McMillan
D3sports.com
ASHLAND, Va. – Following Saturday’s 31-28 comeback win against Catholic, I halfway expected to walk by the Randolph-Macon locker room and see players dressed in butterfly-collared shirts, tight vests and bell bottoms, impersonating the Bee Gees. After all, the Yellow Jackets had just done a mean rendition of "Staying Alive."
The win not only turned the tables on the Cardinals after last season’s Jacket collapse at DuFour Field, but it pumped life into a season pronounced dead by armchair morticians after a 53-12 loss to Washington & Jefferson and subsequent embarrassment on ESPN’s Hidden Video segment.
R-MC’s victory also jumbled an Old Dominion Athletic Conference race that boasts six title contenders five weeks into the season.
"I think there’s no question that there’s a lot of parity in the conference," said Yellow Jacket head coach Scott Boone.
Two preseason favorites, Catholic and Bridgewater, stand at 0-1 in the conference, suffering close road losses to the ODAC’s traditional powers, Randolph-Macon and Emory & Henry, respectively.
Those two powers are joined atop the conference (at 1-0) by two surprises, Washington & Lee and Hampden-Sydney. Those teams, picked fifth and seventh in the conference, lead all major offensive and defensive statistical categories except punting and first downs.
The Yellow Jackets face the Generals on Saturday.
"We’re talking about Washington & Lee as being very much improved, off to a great start and playing with a lot of confidence," said Boone, making evident few doubts about the Generals’ legitimacy.
"I told our kids we can’t afford to look too much at last week," Boone said. "We need to build on what we did, which was beat a very good football team, but we can’t get caught up in that."
Of course, the Jackets spent most of Saturday playing catch-up.
Catholic and Randolph-Macon developed a serious rivalry in the 1990s, producing some classic finishes. Last season, the Yellow Jackets led 26-7 in the third quarter before the Cardinals scored the game’s final 28 points en route to a 35-26 win. The CUA defense held R-MC to just one yard of total offense over the last 22 minutes.
The teams traded touchdowns in the first nine minutes Saturday, but Catholic held a 7-6 advantage after blocking the Yellow Jacket point after. Quarterback Derek McGee connected with Dan Evans on scoring strikes of 38 and 79 yards to put Catholic ahead 21-6 with 11:23 to play in the second quarter.
Two minutes later, Drew Interdonato delivered what seemed like the back-breaker.
The senior safety stepped in front of a Hunter Price pass and returned it 59 yards to put the Cardinals ahead 28-6.
The Yellow Jackets’ high hopes for the 2000 season seemed dashed. After coming back to beat Gettysburg 24-21 in the opener, the Jackets had been outscored 102-18 in a little under ten quarters.
Worse, Jackets fans were in the stands laughing at the once-proud perennial conference title contenders. The mood on the sidelines didn’t look much better.
But Price engineered a nine-play, 52-yard drive in less than three minutes, closing the gap to 28-13 with 23 seconds remaining in the half.
The score gave the Yellow Jackets life, and R-MC responded in the second half, holding the Cardinals scoreless while rallying to win. Boone, who told anyone who would listen afterwards "We ain’t dead yet," called the victory more important for the team’s mindset than record.
"To say it was critical would be overstating it, but it was very important for the mentality of our team," Boone said. "We needed to prove to ourselves that we could play with a good football team."
The win may have been the most gratifying in Boone’s 34-game tenure as head coach, and not just because it was his first win over the Cardinals and Catholic’s first loss since rejoining the ODAC in 1999.
"I think that’s important, that we stuck with our game plan," said Boone. "Even with a lead, we didn’t get ultra-conservative."
The Yellow Jackets controlled the ball for nearly 41 minutes and beat the Cardinals with short passes, screens and draws.
"Last year, we were more of a ‘pump it down the field and try to make a big play every time’ team," Boone said. "This year, we understand we can’t do that. Against Catholic, I think we nickel-and-dimed them to death."
The win also reinforced a philosophy that the Randolph-Macon coaches have employed since the NCAA introduced the automatic qualifier for winning the ODAC title last season. R-MC scheduled nationally-ranked Western Maryland and Washington & Jefferson both last and this season to prepare the Yellow Jackets for the ODAC schedule.
"Not everybody understands how we think as a coaching staff, in terms of what is success and what is not," said Boone. "But I think the kids now understand what we’ve been saying since the first day of practice, that our opening schedule is challenging. If it makes us better for the rest of the season, than it worked. If doesn’t, then we have to go back and look at that [philosophy]."
Boone said the losses to Western Maryland (21-0) and Washington & Jefferson (53-12) helped Randolph-Macon.
"What they did to us, offensively and defensively, is expose our weaknesses," he said. "Those are the things we’ve gone back to practice to work on, and we’ll continue to work on."
"It’s important to challenge yourself," said Boone. "We wanted to find out what kind of football team we are. Sometimes, if you play easy opponents, you get a false sense of how good you are."
The Yellow Jackets, now 2-2, aren’t quite sure how good they are yet, but Boone says the players feel like they have "a new lease on life."
But the parity in the ODAC will keep the coaching staff urging the players to focus on the game ahead, not the one behind.
"[The parity] keeps your edge," Boone says. "You know if you don’t prepare as hard for Washington & Lee as you did for Catholic, that they’re going to beat you."
Around the Region
In the first big weekend of conference action, Western Maryland put forth its argument for why its days atop the Centennial may not yet be over in a 35-32 win over Ursinus. The Bears, who won a first-round NCAA playoff game last season and lost only to the Green Terror and Rowan, missed a big chance to end Western Maryland’s 23-game conference winning streak. Ursinus blew 17-0 and 24-20 leads, but had its heart broken when Green Terror kicker Brent Sandrock booted a 28-yard, game-winning field goal with eight seconds left… Swarthmore’s 15-10 shocker over Gettysburg highlighted other Centennial action. The Garnet, which hadn’t won a Centennial game since October 1995, stands at 2-1. But their party should end with back-to-back games against Ursinus and Muhlenberg coming up. Meanwhile, Gettysburg’s 0-4 season only looks to get worse after top running back Zach Smith was lost for the season in the second quarter… MAC fans may be stunned to see Juniata at 0-3 at Moravian at 3-0. The Greyhounds sit atop the Commonwealth while the Eagles reside in the basement, the opposite of what was expected in the preseason. Juniata’s losses have come against opponents like Lycoming and Wilkes, but the Eagles were still expected to challenge Widener and Susquehanna for the Commonwealth title.
Games to watch
Muhlenberg (3-0, 2-0 Centennial) at No. 20 Western Maryland (3-1, 2-0)
After edging Ursinus to extend its Centennial win streak to 23, the Green Terror can stake its claim for the 2000 title with a win over the Mules. Worse, Muhlenberg hasn’t won in Westminster since Michael Jackson’s "Bad" album was on the pop charts. But Michael McCabe and Joshua Carter have connected for eight touchdowns so far this season, fueling the Mules 3-0 start and 40-point-per-game average. The Green Terror has a formidable quarterback-receiver duo of its own in Jamie "Boo" Harris and Teron Powell. Western Maryland has an edge with its defense, but the Green Terror may need another late rally to remain the favorite to repeat as CC champs.
No. 21 Widener (3-0, 0-0 MAC Commonwealth) at Moravian (3-0, 2-0)
The MAC’s top scoring offense (Widener’s 41 points per game) meets the conference’s top scoring defense (Moravian’s 11 points per game). Greyhound opponents are just 1-8 overall, while Widener has scored 50 on two consecutive weekends. Moravian would like to prove its 3-0 start is no fluke, but Pioneers quarterback Mike Granato and receivers Michael Coleman and Jim Jones will likely prove that it is.
Washington & Lee (3-0, 1-0 ODAC) at Randolph-Macon (2-2, 1-0)
Generals are also off to a surprising 3-0 start, and lead the ODAC in scoring offense and defense. But they haven’t beaten the Yellow Jackets since 1989, though they came close in last year’s 30-23 game. R-MC is riding high after its win over conference favorite Catholic. Winner goes to 2-0 in tight ODAC race.
Wilkes (3-0, 1-0 MAC Freedom) at Susquehanna (3-0, 0-0 MAC Commonwealth)
This battle of undefeateds matches two squads buoyed by defense. Antonio Nash leads one of the MAC’s best secondaries against the conference’s second-best passing attack. Wilkes sports the top defense, but Crusader quarterback Mike Bowman has connected on several deep passes with wideout Mark Bartosic. The game is the second in a three-game home stretch for Susquehanna.
Wesley (1-1, 0-0 ACFC) at Greensboro (1-2, 1-2)
At the beginning of the year, some thought this might be a big early-season game. With Greensboro struggling and Wesley yet to really get rolling due to an unexpected cancellation, it’s turned into more of a dud. But it is still a chance for the Wolverines to show they can challenge for the ACFC title. It is also one of the conference’s longer road trips for Wesley, who travels to Frostburg State next week.
Hampden-Sydney (2-1, 1-0 ODAC) at Bridgewater (2-1, 0-1)
The Tigers lead the all-time series 50-6, but have dropped three of four to the Eagles. Hampden-Sydney has scored 89 points in its last two outings, but Bridgewater has had two weeks to stew over the 37-35 heartbreaker at Emory & Henry. ODAC Player of the week Mac Russell will be at quarterback for the Tigers while the Eagles open a stretch of five very winnable games.
