By Pat Cummings
D3sports.com

Hurricane Isabel, which pounded the Mid-Atlantic region last week, causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage, took its toll on the gridiron as well. Four games were lost due to the inclement conditions. Chowan's home game against Ferrum was postponed. 

The Braves call Murfreesboro, N.C., home and their campus lies about 75 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. As of Monday, power had not been restored to the campus and classes were slated to begin on Wednesday. 

Because of the uncertainty of that actually happening, the Braves may be forced to negate a second home game as they were to host another affected squad, Newport News. Last week, the Builders cancelled their contest against Averett; Salisbury's home game against Methodist was also knocked out by the storm.

The Hampton Roads/Virginia Beach metropolitan area has started the rebuilding process after the eye of the storm passed just to the south of the area, wreaking havoc on playoff contender Christopher Newport. The Captains' home opener against key South region, non-conference opponent Muhlenberg was cancelled and their homecoming game against cross-commonwealth rival Bridgewater this weekend may fall victim to the post-Isabel wrath. CNU reported on Monday that the entire staff was to return to campus on Tuesday but power may not be active at that time. The start of classes was marked as 24 hours after the restoration of power. 

Isabel's impact to the playoff picture could prove tremendous when all is said and done. As mentioned in previous weeks, CNU charted a hazardous schedule with Rowan and McDaniel on the road, then Muhlenberg and Bridgewater at home. CNU suffered a 21-0 loss to No. 5 Rowan in Week 1 and came back to topple McDaniel in Week 2. A second win against a non-conference South Region team would have boosted the Captains' playoff seeding should they win the USAC automatic bid. 

Should CNU's second game against a top ten opponent go by the wayside, the eighth-ranked team in the country would stand with only nine games, a feat that can aid Bridgewater or act as a detriment.

Meanwhile, Muhlenberg began the season 0-1 after a loss to Kings Point and was to play at Christopher Newport in its second game of the season. The Captains knocking off the Mules' Centennial Conference rival McDaniel was to provide an interesting comparison between the CC's top two squads. McDaniel lost to the team Muhlenberg did not have the chance to play. Overall, I would give the advantage to Muhlenberg. Yet, the net result of Isabel on the Centennial may be nullified as CNU's margin of victory over the Green Terror was just one point. McDaniel has a chance to regain the edge when they travel to Allentown this weekend to open Centennial Conference play. 

Salisbury will only be judged on a nine-game schedule in their attempt at a second consecutive Pool B playoff berth. The Sea Gulls now hit the road for three consecutive weeks, traveling to Greensboro, Chowan, and Kean.

Strength of schedule
After three weeks of action, the Mid-Atlantic Region claims three spots in the latest D3football.com Top 25 poll, with several others knocking on the door. The Blue Jays of Johns Hopkins are tied for the 27th-most votes while the Sea Gulls of Salisbury check in with the 29th-most. These two squads are chasing No. 8 Bridgewater, No. 14 Hampden-Sydney, and No. 15 Lycoming for Mid-Atlantic region supremacy. We are left to ponder just how strong are these squads?

Strength of schedule is one of the main considerations for judging the overall performance of teams in relation to one another (this matter is also hotly contested on the various message boards in Post Patterns). Let's take a look at each of these five squads and compare their early season opponents and their respective 2003 and 2002 records in an effort to determine which teams are playing the tougher schedule.

 Bridgewater is 3-0 to start the season with wins over McDaniel (2003: 0-2, 2002: 9-2), Shenandoah (2003: 2-1, 2002: 5-5), and Maryville (2003: 1-2, 2002: 0-10). 

 The Tigers of Hampden-Sydney had a bye this week and advanced northward in the poll as a result of the Trinity (Texas) loss. H-SC has wins against Sewanee (2003: 1-2, 2002: 5-5) and Gettysburg (2003: 2-1, 2002: 4-6). 

 Lycoming has won twice against MAC opponents King's (2003: 2-1, 2002: 9-3) and Wilkes (2003: 1-1, 2002: 7-4). The Warriors' competition tallied the best 2002 record of the five teams at 16-7.

 Johns Hopkins has started 3-0 for the second consecutive year, defeating Rochester (2003: 0-2, 2002: 2-8), Washington & Lee (2003: 0-2, 2002: 5-5), and Randolph-Macon (2003: 0-3, 2002: 6-4). Their combined 2003 record is 0-7 and these opponents tallied a 13-17 record from 2002.

 The Sea Gulls from the Eastern Shore have wins against Catholic (2003: 0-3, 2002: 4-6) and William Paterson (2003: 1-2, 2002: 1-9). Salisbury's opponents this year recorded the worst slate from 2002 at 5-15 overall. If Salisbury had played and beaten Methodist this past week, Methodist would have been 1-2. The Monarchs were 3-7 last year.

It would appear as though Lycoming has played the best schedule so far (and they do so without scheduling a single non-conference matchup as the Warriors play only their nine-game MAC schedule). Their 10-point win over regional semifinalist King's and a 16-point victory at Wilkes would seem to toss the Warriors to the top of the region. Lycoming kept fiery Wilkes running back Brett Trichilo in check, allowing only 95 yards for the Colonels' leading rusher who tallied over 300 yards just one game ago. "In the second half, our defense was incredible," Lycoming coach Frank Girardi told the Williamsport Sun-Gazette. "We were able to control Trichilo and our defense just did a magnificent job of that." 

Del Val off to best start in 20 years
Delaware Valley, with wins against William Paterson and Juniata, has started 2-0 for the first time since 1983. These two wins for the Aggies match their win total from a year ago. Under head coach and former Florida Gator G.A. Mangus, Del Val has generated some excitement in Doylestown with these two victories and will host Susquehanna this week in an attempt to go 3-0 for the first time since 1963. 

The Aggies have not finished with a winning record since 1985 and Mangus is trying to change all that. Hired in the summer of 2002, this season exhibits the first recruiting class for Mangus, attracting 90 freshmen to the squad.

"This is the beginning of something and I'm looking forward to coaching these kids for the next four years," said Mangus. "We have 130 kids in the program and they are my kind of kids with my kind of personality. To do something that hasn't been done in 20 years, I'm all for it." An exceptional bright spot for the Aggies has been their kicker, Bill Miller. The freshman was perfect in four attempts against Paterson, tying a school record, adding another field goal against Juniata this week. Considering that the Aggies had only three successful kicking attempts in the last five years, Miller's numbers are of great significance for a program that appears to be on the rise.

Frostburg drowning in Pool B
The Bobcats of Frostburg State greatly impeded their chances of obtaining a Pool B bid. Suffering a 27-3 loss at the hands of fellow Pool B competitors Montclair State, Frostburg finds themselves behind the Pool B eight ball. With only seven games remaining (only two of which will be played at Bobcat Stadium), the Bobcats must win out, seriously drubbing their opponents, including their contest this week against Pool B hopeful No. 19 Brockport State and in Week 11 against Salisbury.

The Sea Gulls, as mentioned previously, have several votes in the latest D3football.com Top 25 poll and had last week's game cancelled. While their strength of schedule leaves much to be desired, should the Sea Gulls run the table, their chances at a Pool B bid will be strong.

Mid-Atlantic Region Top 5
Ok folks, go figure! Earlier in the column I more or less negated my beliefs from the previous weeks and concluded that Lycoming's wins have been the most impressive in the region this season. With wins against King's and Wilkes, their victories have surpassed those of Hampden-Sydney and Bridgewater in terms of early-season opponents' strength. So, I am going to make a fairly big change in my regional rankings. Talk amongst yourselves.

1. Lycoming
2. Hampden-Sydney
3. Bridgewater
4. Christopher Newport
5. Johns Hopkins

Games to Watch
No. 8 Bridgewater at Christopher Newport, Newport News, Va., 1 p.m.: Should these teams dress on Saturday, I would expect another tough defensive struggle similar to Bridgewater's game against McDaniel. 

McDaniel at Muhlenberg, Allentown, Pa., 1 p.m.: McDaniel will try to avoid its first 0-3 start in a long time. The winner of this game will have the jump on the rest of the Centennial.

Susquehanna at Delaware Valley, Doylestown, Pa., 1 p.m.: Both squads are undefeated in MAC play, one must fall.

Dickinson at Kings Point, Kings Point, N.Y., 1:30 p.m.: The Red Devils are 2-0 for the first time in five years and travel to Long Island for a matchup with 2-1 Kings Point. This non-conference matchup is of significance to the Centennial in that Muhlenberg has already lost to the Mariners. Should Dickinson continue their streak, a win over Kings Point can help down the road.