By Pat Cummings
D3sports.com
Between the Centennial, MAC, ODAC, and USAC, there are four undefeated football teams (brace yourself): Albright, Averett, Delaware Valley and Moravian. To show you how much the coaches know, Albright was picked sixth in the MAC preseason poll with Del Val third and Moravian seventh. The three are a combined 10-0 in conference play. Averett managed fifth out of seven in the USAC preseason coaches poll and while they have only played one conference opponent, 4-0 is 4-0.
Four Virginia football teams squared off on the gridiron this weekend in the hopes of controlling their own playoff destiny. Based on their earlier season performances, I was flummoxed by the two teams on the heavier side of the scoreboard.
After witnessing Bridgewater's lackluster win versus Shenandoah on the same day as all cylinders fired for Hampden-Sydney at Gettysburg, a nine-point Eagles win over the Tigers was surprising.
BC scored the final 10 points of the game, keeping H-SC off the scoreboard in the fourth quarter, en route to a 37-28 victory, and once again, splashing down in the driver's seat of the ODAC. While BC opened a 20-6 second quarter lead, the Tigers marched right back with two touchdowns over a span of five minutes, cutting the BC lead, 20-19.
H-SC coach Marty Favret, searching for a momentum-shifting opportunity, kept J.D. Ricca and the Tigers offense on the field to attempt a two point conversion for the lead. A C.W. Clemmons rush failed. Later in the quarter, Favret elected to go for it on fourth down rather than kick a 31-yard field goal.
"That's the only thing I'm kicking myself about," Favret told the Harrisonburg Daily News Record.
Getting a one-point lead with two minutes to play in the half of a high-scoring game was useless and doesn't exactly carry a huge momentum shift. Overall the calls took guts, even if they failed, and would eventually cost the Tigers a chance to tie the game later.
Favret was faced with another tough decision in the third quarter as H-SC held a fourth-and-1 from the Eagles' 4-yard line. The same rivalry-invoking decision that led Favret to go for two was nowhere to be found when he sent Alex Bland on for a 21-yard field goal attempt which gave the Tigers a 28-27 lead.
Using the same logic, with 6:26 to play in the third quarter, how does Favret decide to kick the field goal and take a one-point lead as opposed to going for a yard and getting four more downs to pop it in from 3 yards out?
This was a major coaching gaffe that Tigers fans should loathe and Eagles fans praise, it just did not make sense. Consistency rules the kingdom and Favret showed weakness in the biggest game for his squad.
David Blackwell would put the Eagles on top for good with a 32-yard field goal just three minutes after H-SC's three-pointer. Brian Awkard scampered 18 yards for a touchdown with 11 minutes remaining for some BC insurance.
Trailing by nine, the Tigers moved down the field on their last drive of the game and still weren't able to push it in the end zone from the 1-yard line. Had the Tigers decided against the two-point conversion in the second quarter, they would have trailed by eight and actually had a chance to tie the game late.
As it was, the Eagles defense stood on its head holding the Tigers scoreless in the fourth quarter, the first time the Tigers have not seen the scoreboard change in the last stanza.
"Hampden-Sydney is a great football team," BC coach Mike Clark told the Daily News Record. "To shut their offense out in any quarter, let alone the fourth, I'm really proud of them."
Bridgewater's entire squad deserves props for a big win. When the chips seemed down at different points throughout the first five weeks of the season, the Eagles got it together and stopped H-SC when they needed too -- frequently. Ricca was sacked on four occasions and intercepted twice, the only game this season where Ricca threw to the opponents. Mike Clark's offense managed a perfect gameplan, clearly dividing the offense with 197 yards on the ground and 198 yards in the air. Despite converting only two of 11 third-down opportunities, the Eagles did their job and settle into the ODAC's top spot.
Four hours later and one hour north on Interstate 81, No. 19 Christopher Newport suffered nine penalties for 69 yards in a 14-10 loss at Shenandoah. The Hornets hung around all night under the lights at Shentel Stadium, scoring the go-ahead touchdown when quarterback Jon Hoffman found Mike McVearry streaking beyond the coverage with just more than six minutes remaining.
"We didn't play very well today. That's probably the worst we've played since two years ago here," Captains coach Matt Kelchner told the Hampton Roads Daily Press. "In three years of CNU football, the two worst games were unquestionably our two here."
With the Captains leading 10-7 at the intermission, Kelchner called an onside kick to begin the third quarter, which the Captains recovered. CNU moved down the field and gained a first down at the Hornets 5-yard line. A George Jones carry to the one set up second-and-goal, basically from the goal line. The Hornets defense stepped up, keeping the Captains from the easy score, stopping CNU on three straight attempts on the ground.
The teams went back and forth through the half with the McVearry touchdown accounting for the only second half points. It's not as if the Captains did not have a chance to win in the fourth quarter.
CNU took over with 2:45 remaining and marched down to the Hornets 47-yard line where Hudson Bryant completed a 22-yard pass to Nate Davis on fourth-and-11. A devastating holding penalty against the Captains brought back the first down and Bryant failed to convert on fourth-and-21.
What is most shocking now is that Shenandoah is already 3-0 in the USAC with wins over CNU, Ferrum, and North Carolina Wesleyan. The Hornets have two non-conference tests remaining at Chowan and home versus Salisbury and need to win out in the USAC with games at Greensboro (1-3), home versus Averett (4-0), and rounding out the regular season in Winchester with Methodist (3-1).
Their lone loss of the season came at home versus Bridgewater in a game where the Hornets dominated every statistical category with the exception of kick return yards, which setup or accounted for several easy BC scores.
A loss at SU in 2002 did not hamper the Captains' chances for the postseason as Shenandoah lost at Greensboro, ironically enough, a week after a four-point win over the Captains.
Centennial juxtaposition
Dickinson benefited from forcing six turnovers and held Johns Hopkins to just seven points, stunning the 20th ranked Blue Jays under the lights in Baltimore. The loss snapped a six-game winning streak for JHU and was also their first loss at home since October 2002.
The Red Devils managed to intercept three Zach DiIonno passes on three consecutive drives, instilling a level of fear that the Blue Jays could not overcome. Dickinson is now 3-1 overall and 1-0 to start conference play. Picked to finish last in the Centennial preseason poll, Dickinson upended Hopkins, the unanimous top choice in the same poll.
A similar scene took place one day later on the northern end of the Centennial as Franklin and Marshall upset Muhlenberg, 15-10, spoiling the Mules' homecoming afternoon in Allentown. Despite a 7-for-24 performance from quarterback Jeff Harner, the Dips held a 15-3 lead entering the fourth quarter and would barely hold on as Muhlenberg was stopped short of the end zone on the game's final play.
Chalk one up for defense here as the Dips won a football game in which they tallied only 129 yards of total offense, outgained by 246 yards. When a team is outgained by nearly double their own offensive output, and still wins ... well, I am borderline speechless.
Obviously, Mike Donnelly was upset afterwards. "I mean our defense was really good and we made some huge plays in the kicking game," the Mules coach told the Allentown Morning Call. "But offensively I said it would have been really nice to see what would have happened if we didn't make so many mistakes."
Muhlenberg fumbled four times on the afternoon, losing two to the Dips eventually leading to F&M punts. The Mules luck would run out as quarterback Nick Rosetti's lone interception was returned 82 yards for a touchdown by George Farrell.
Mules starting running back Mike Mrkobrad was out this week with an ankle sprain, leaving Jason Spencer to fill the role. Spencer broke his leg and was carted off of the Scotty Wood Stadium turf with four minutes remaining in the third quarter. Mules tight end Derek DiMattina, who was stopped short of the goal line on the last play of the game, took a helmet to the knee and was also removed from the field by stretcher.
With an injury bug spreading over the Mules and a trip to Dickinson this weekend where the Red Devils expect over 4,000 in attendance, they will fight for their season along with the Blue Jays who, interestingly enough, will face the Diplomats at Franklin & Marshall. Based on this week's performances, the Centennial remains wide open and two of their best could be packing it in with two early losses.
On another note, McDaniel found its offense flowing once again as they crushed Ursinus, 50-10.
Slipping away
Lycoming's embarrassing 49-7 loss at Ithaca marks the first time the Warriors have started 1-3 since 1981. The Warriors managed just 158 yards of total offense, turning the ball over on four occasions, all of which led to Ithaca touchdowns.
The last time the Warriors lost two games in a row was 1994 when Lyco opened the season with losses to Susquehanna and FDU-Madison. The 42-point margin of defeat was the biggest regular season loss in Frank Girardi's 33-year Lyco coaching career and the worst regular season loss in school history since 1950 when Thiel shut out the Warriors 61-0.
All is not well in Williamsport and I am uncertain as to why. The Warriors have a chance to get back on track against FDU-Florham this week.
Jumping into the pool
Hampden-Sydney and Christopher Newport now find themselves researching their chances of a Pool C playoff bid if necessary.
The Tigers' lone 2003 loss was at home against Bridgewater. Same result, different location. Despite a weak early non-ODAC schedule, the second half non-conference calendar gets considerably tougher foe H-SC with back-to-back games against upstart Dickinson (3-1) in Week 9 and at Johns Hopkins (3-1) in Week 10. H-SC barely survived against the Red Devils in 2003, leaving Carlisle with a 21-20 win.
Should the Tigers and Eagles win out, H-SC's lone loss would be a regional one against a playoff opponent. Given that the non-conference teams left on the H-SC schedule are also in competition for a postseason berth, I'd be worried if I were a Farmville fanatic.
CNU has five of their six remaining games in conference competition with their lone foray from the USAC against a former conference foe at Chowan. CNU's season opening 33-32 loss at Rowan isn't all that bad. Rowan is now ranked in the latest D3football.com Top 25 and most importantly, the game was non-regional. Should CNU and Shenandoah win out, the Hornets get the automatic bid and CNU would be 8-1 in region, with their lone regional loss against a playoff team in SU. Furthermore, should Bridgewater win out the rest of their ODAC schedule, CNU's record is bolstered by a win over another playoff squad.
But no team with two losses, even when one is out of region, has ever gotten a Pool C berth.
Mid-Atlantic Region Top 5
1. Delaware Valley
2. Albright
3. McDaniel
4. Shenandoah
5. Bridgewater
I don't know. Do you? If you follow this informal poll on a weekly basis, you know it doesn't always make sense. But how could anything make much sense after this week. So, deal with it and debate.
Overall, this is how I feel about the regional teams. When CNU choked in Winchester, H-SC limped away like they normally do, and Bridgewater's season has been football's version of Jekyll and Hyde, anything is possible. If you really want to know, I even considered putting Averett in this subjective analysis. Well, not really. But 4-0 is 4-0. Good for them.
Delaware Valley and Albright have shown great poise in dominating their competition this season. The Aggies scored the final 21 points against Susquehanna to storm back in an emotional win on the road, then immediately coming back to wallop Lebanon Valley. Albright went toe to toe with Lyco and Wilkes and seems no worse for the wear, handily defeating FDU-Florham.
McDaniel's offense struggled against Bridgewater and CNU but the Green Terror emerged with a 1-1 record and found the touch against much weaker Catholic and Ursinus squads. Their first real test in conference will come, if you can believe it, against Dickinson on Oct. 16.
Shenandoah dominated Bridgewater in their game earlier in the season. If the Hornets make a few special teams tackles, they win. Props to the Hornets for breaking the Top 5 for the first time. Shentel Stadium is a rowdy place and a cozy one to watch some football. Winchester should be excited if the Hornets can seal the deal on the 2004 regular season, as they have failed in past attempts.
Bridgewater still scares me with a two-faced offense that has simply failed to show up at times this season. The defense is still solid, but can't carry the weight alone if the Eagles don't move the ball. They moved it against Hanover and H-SC, but struggled against McDaniel, Shenandoah, and CNU.
Hampden-Sydney seriously disappointed me. Win one game. One. All the hype, all the talk, all the chants of "ODAC" after your prior three wins this season. The grudge. The revenge. One game. Once again, you base your season on the hopes that Bridgewater loses. You lost.
Games of the week
Muhlenberg at Dickinson, Biddle Field, Carlisle, Pa., 1 p.m.
The Red Devils stunned Johns Hopkins and could have two wins over conference foes with their homecoming game versus the Mules. As mentioned above, the Mules were stung by injuries in their 15-10 loss to F&M. Dickinson has abandoned the run run run offense of so many years and seem to be accepting the pass as a viable option. Shockingly, it has worked this season.
Johns Hopkins at Franklin & Marshall, Sponaugle-Williamson Field, Lancaster, Pa., 1:00 p.m.
F&M, like Dickinson, is 3-1 on the year and could add to the Blue Jays misery should they win on Saturday. Anything is possible this season and we have already seen.
