By Keith McMillan
D3sports.com
WESTMINSTER, Md. – News Flash: Western Maryland football is alive and well.
A season-opening loss to Bridgewater that halted a 30-game regular-season winning streak did more than stun the Green Terror. It whipped them into shape.
"That first game," said quarterback Boo Harris, "a lot of people weren’t ready to play, a lot were nervous. A lot of people didn’t know what playing on Saturdays was all about."
This past Saturday, it was clear Harris and his teammates had figured it out.
Led by a stifling defense, the Green Terror polished off Muhlenberg 15-3, their second straight win over a team expected to challenge for the Centennial title. A week earlier, Western Maryland needed a late field goal to edge Ursinus 35-32. Now, at 3-0 in the conference and 4-1 overall, the Green Terror is primed to win another conference title and playoff berth.
But don’t tell that to the players.
"There’s no cruising here," said senior cornerback Rob McCracken, whose third-quarter interception was one of four thrown by Mules’ QB Michael McCabe. "Our goal is to continue to win and move on into the playoffs as always."
"We’ve got to get up for each game," added safety Jason Wingeart, who picked off two passes. "We can’t take anybody lightly. We’ve got a couple of big games left and we know the teams we still have to play, especially the ones in our conference, are all gunning for us."
Though the faces in Westminster have changed – gone is last year’s star-dominated squad, in is this year’s team-oriented bunch – things stay the same. The conference win was the 24th in a row for a Western Maryland squad that hasn’t lost a Centennial game since 1996.
After outscoring their last two opponents by averaging 40 points per game and giving up 30, the Green Terror won Saturday the way they’d done several times over the past few years – with defense and the legs of a mobile quarterback.
The Mules entered unbeaten and averaging 40 points per contest. McCabe was rising on multiple all-time Centennial passing charts, while receiver Josh Carter was already nearing the 500-yard and 10-touchdown plateaus.
The Mules moved the ball early, but mistakes and missed opportunities doomed them.
After converting a third-and-3 and fourth-and-6 on a mid-first-quarter drive, McCabe lofted a third-and-goal fade pass to the 5-foot-7 Carter for an apparent touchdown. Carter caught the pass over his shoulder on the end zone’s left sideline. Two officials in place to make a call failed to signal, then met with each other before ruling the pass incomplete. On fourth down, McCracken blocked a field goal attempt, giving the Green Terror possession at the 15-yard line and keeping the game scoreless.
Harris then did his best Michael Vick impression.
Facing third-and-5 on the following drive, Harris dropped back to find no open receivers. He stepped up in the pocket, cut back against the rush and used a block from receiver Teron Powell to spring him on a 54-yard gallop to the Muhlenberg 26-yard line. On the next play, Harris kept the ball on an option, scoring on a run around the left end. The point after hit the left upright, but the Green Terror led 6-0.
"We thought all week that they wouldn’t account for the quarterback as a running back," Harris said. "[Tailback Joe] Kendorski burned them last year and Teron burned them in the final minute. We thought those would be the things they’d be taking away."
Indeed, the Mule defense, led by middle linebacker Doug Folger and safety Mwaura Muroki, stuffed Western Maryland’s running backs (19 carries, 46 yards) and held Powell to just one catch for 5 yards. But it was Harris, running on designed plays and scrambling on pass plays, that they couldn’t stop.
"Each week I get hit harder and harder," laughed Harris, his uniform brown from socks to shirt after a day of taking on tacklers rather than sliding or dipping out of bounds. The quarterback finished with 24 carries for 175 yards, including a 30-yard scoring run in fourth quarter that put his team ahead 12-3.
Muhlenberg missed several opportunities to score. In the first half, the Mules had a field goal blocked, turned the ball over on an incomplete lateral behind the line of scrimmage and came up a yard short at the 9-yard line after opting not to try a field goal late in the half.
Carter, possibly the conference’s most explosive receiver, was rarely open, and when he was, he either dropped the pass or was overthrown. He finished with four catches for 39 yards.
Muhlenberg coach Mike Donnelly later said he felt like Carter was trying to do too much in order to make a big play.
"He’s a big-time receiver," said McCracken, who has also faced Bridgewater’s Marcus Richardson, Randolph-Macon’s Michael Becker and Ursinus’ talented receiving corps this season. "He’s a guy we had to watch."
The Green Terror did tailor some of its coverages to stop Carter, but Wingeart said the interceptions, which all came in the second half, including three in the fourth quarter, came from being up for a challenge.
"When you are facing an all-American like Josh and a quarterback like that," Wingeart said, "if you play any football, you’ve got to get up for it."
But possibly the most satisfying thing about the past two games for the Green Terror is how they won them.
"I can’t say enough about the defense today," Harris said after the game. "Last week we bailed them out, this week they bailed us out. We’re the true meaning of team. We need all 100 guys to win."
Yet Harris still feels like the young squad has a way to go.
"We really haven’t hit our capabilities," he said. "Once we cut out our mental mistakes, we’ll be a really good football team."
In slowing down the high-powered Mule offense and wearing down the defense in the fourth quarter, Western Maryland feels like it has made strides since the loss.
"That opened a lot of people’s eyes," said Harris, "that we just can’t walk out there after a bad week of practice and beat a team."
How do they feel now?
"We’re having a good time," said Wingeart, smiling. "That’s what it’s all about."
Surprises and Disappointments
Although we’ll take an extended look at playoff contenders and mid-season candidates for individual awards in next week’s column, it is never too early to start thinking some upstarts have a chance while counting early disappointments out.
The region’s biggest disappointment so far is probably the Juniata Eagles, edged 7-6 by Albright on Saturday. Paced by receiver Matt Eisenberg, some thought the Eagles would make a run at the MAC Commonwealth title. At 0-4 and 0-2 in the conference, that’s highly unlikely.
Catholic was picked to repeat as ODAC champions, but has faltered early on, with their only win in four games a 39-0 blowout against winless Franklin & Marshall. FDU-Madison must also be disappointed at its 0-5 start, but it hasn’t been from lack of effort. The Devils have lost by a point twice and by a field goal in another game.
Early surprises and possible contenders include Washington & Lee, atop the ODAC at 4-0, 2-0. The Generals’ win against Randolph-Macon this week was their first since 1989. The Generals hadn’t even won an opener since 1984, but are off to their best start since going 9-0 in 1961.
Lebanon Valley’s 49-16 rout of King’s proved the Flying Dutchmen formidable. But at 2-2 midway through one of the region’s toughest schedules, with Lycoming, Wilkes, Susquehanna and Widener still on the slate, 5-5 would be an accomplishment.
Johns Hopkins is off to a 3-1 start and joins Western Maryland as the only teams unbeaten in Centennial play. Big games with the Green Terror, Ursinus, Muhlenberg and Bridgewater still loom, however.
Salisbury State has slapped 52 points on the board in each of its past two wins, and looks good at 3-2, 2-1 ACFC. Their two losses are by a combined five points. Swarthmore, at 2-2, is headed for its best season since it finished 5-5 in 1995, even if they don’t win again. Their two victories in the first three games was more than they had from 1996 through 1999 combined.
Other surprises failed their big tests: Methodist (4-1, 3-1 ACFC) lost 26-7 to Frostburg State, Moravian (3-1, 2-1 MAC Commonwealth) was shelled by Widener 46-20 and Hampden-Sydney lost at Bridgewater 30-12.
Record Watch
Randolph-Macon’s Michael Becker caught 11 passes for 101 yards Saturday, placing him 26 short of Junior Lord’s ODAC all-time receiving yardage mark of 3,089. … Muhlenberg’s Michael McCabe passed for 198 yards Saturday, moving him from fifth to third on the Centennial’s all-time passing yardage list. His 5,699 yards is third all-time behind Western Maryland’s Brian Van Deusen and Ron Sermarini. … McCabe’s teammate Josh Carter remained fifth on the Centennial’s career touchdown reception chart with 20. Carter, who has eight TDs this season, needs just five to move into second place.
Around the Region
Greensboro, 1-3 both in the ACFC and overall, may have found the cure for its ills: back-to-back games against Shenandoah and Averett, first-year programs with just two wins between them, both against Gallaudet. ... Delaware Valley quarterback Duke Greco completed 29 of 45 passes for 307 yards, passing for two TDs and running for two more. Greco earned MAC player-of-the-week honors for his efforts in leading the Aggies to their first win under new head coach Matt DiBernardo. Greco played safety last year, but switched to offense in the off-season and won the starting nod. His leading receiver, 6-foot-6 Dan Osada, is also a former safety. Osada played from 1996-98 and sat out last season before moving to wideout. His 19 catches and 220 yards are team bests. … The Aggies preserved their win when Pat Hardy blocked an extra-point attempt with 2:58 remaining. The play avenged a 27-26 loss to FDU-Madison in 1998, where a blocked PAT with :30 remaining cost them the game.
Games to watch
Wesley (2-1, 1-0 ACFC) at Frostburg State (2-2, 2-0 ACFC): This matchup of Atlantic Central undefeateds could have major title implications. Each team prepped for the conference slate with national powers. Both are also riding two-game winning streaks.
Lycoming (2-1, 1-0 MAC Freedom) at Lebanon Valley (2-2, 1-1 MAC Commonwealth): The upstart Flying Dutchmen have a chance to prove they belong in the same sentence as the Warriors, and can do it in front of a home crowd. With next week’s Lycoming-Wilkes matchup ahead, the Warriors need to stay focused on the game at hand.
Washington & Lee (4-0, 2-0 ODAC) at Catholic (1-3, 0-1 ODAC): Who would have expected the Generals to come in as the favorite against the defending champion Cardinals? This is certainly a must for CUA, considering it can’t afford a second conference loss heading into three straight road games.
Emory & Henry (3-1, 0-1 ODAC) at Hampden-Sydney (2-2, 1-1 ODAC): The Wasps’ domination of the ODAC has come at the expense of teams like Hampden-Sydney and Bridgewater. The Wasps have won 12 straight and 14 of 15 from the Tigers, but new coach Marty Favret and the Mac Russell-to-Jeff Woody quarterback/receiver duo will ignore the history and go for an upset. In this season’s ODAC, anything is possible.
