By Pat Cummings
D3sports.com
So much for some of those predictions I spent all my summer compiling.
The Bethany Bison (1-0), West Virginia's finest (and only) Division III football team, shocked the Diplomats of Franklin & Marshall (0-1) with a 34-21 win at home. A combined 2-18 over the last two seasons, Bethany simply crushed the Diplomats.
Peruse the box score and you will notice that 2004 first-team Centennial Conference quarterback Jeff Harner tossed four picks on the day.
The major factor in the loss?
Hardly.
The Bison did not score once off of those miscues, but opted for some creative play-calling to spring the upset. Just two minutes into the game, wide receiver Milton Joyner tossed a 72-yard touchdown pass to fellow ball-catcher T.J. Parker to trick the Bison to a 7-0 early lead. Parker would be on the receiving end of another touchdown just three minutes into the second half, putting the Bison out in front by 13.
Game, set, and match.
As mentioned above, Harner's four picks did not propel the Bethany offense, but it certainly kept the Diplomat offense from getting into a rhythm. All of Harner's picks (and one thrown by backup Kyle Turner) came in Bethany territory.
Now the season changes dramatically as the Dips travel to Hobart, a 2004 playoff representative from the Liberty League. After a demoralizing early loss, with combined travel of 540 miles, Shawn Halloran's team now prepares for Hobart's season opener and another 500 mile weekend. The Statesmen have revenge on their minds from their 2004 meeting with F&M; Hobart's lone regular-season loss from last year. An 0-2 start is a suddenly shocking, but realistic possibility.
F&M's lone consolation comes from the fact this was not a conference matchup. Should the Dips not win the Centennial Conference, such a loss bruises one's Pool C hopes. Don't you just love talking about playoffs after Week 1?
Captains stifled and still competitive
The box score from Saturday's matchup between No. 7-ranked Rowan and 16th-ranked Christopher Newport tells a much different story than the 21-14 Profs win would indicate. Rowan's offense completely dominated CNU's defense. Mike Orhiel completed 35 of 51 passes for 414 yards, in addition to 195 yards on the ground, combining for over 600 yards of total offense. The Profs managed 103 offensive plays, 30 first downs and converted 11 of 21 third downs.
Yet, somehow, some way, the Captains had a chance to win the football game with 45 fewer plays, 370 fewer yards of total offense, 16 fewer first downs, and a measly 17 yards rushing.
To put that in some context for you, the D3 record for most plays by one team in a regular season game was 112. Gustavus Adolphus managed 47 rushing attempts and 65 passing chances on Nov. 2, 1985 against Bethel. On the drive following Rowan's first touchdown, Hudson Bryant, filing in for starter Phillip Jones who had sprained an ankle earlier in the game, tossed a 45-yard touchdown pass to Mike O'Brien with 3:48 remaining in the first half.
Despite all the yardage and ball movement, Rowan wouldn't score again until four minutes into the fourth stanza followed by another seven points, five minutes later. Rolland Hilliard returned a Rowan kickoff 90 yards to the house to keep the Captains close. No timeouts remained for CNU and the Profs offense that rolled simply didn't stop as Mike Orhiel and friends ran out the clock.
CNU played the game without four starters. Senior linebacker Gary Freeman, an army reservist, was called to active duty to support those devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Three others were suspended indefinitely according to the Hampton Roads Daily Press: offensive tackle Brian Arroyo, tight end Justin Greenleaf, and defensive back Justin Long.
CNU hung in there despite being dramatically outpaced. That should get them far in the regular season but might not give them enough come the postseason. Rowan is, once again, a beast. Given what they did against a quality opponent, you have to think they punch it in more once they get things going.
McDaniel slays Eagles in comeback win
The 14th ranked Eagles of Bridgewater (0-1) lost at the friendly confines of Jopson Field for the first time in the regular season since Nov. 13, 1999. That day, BC ended the season with a 35-14 loss at the hands of Catholic to conclude the year 5-5.
Oh the changes to the program since then.
While the streak had to come to an end at some point, the way in which it ended was most surprising. McDaniel (1-0) outscored the Eagles 22-2 in the second half en route to the 36-35 win. Senior Jacob Lewis, in his first start for the Eagles since having transferred from William and Mary, felt the heat of the spotlight completing 26 of 40 passes for 343 yards but not before throwing four interceptions, including one with 1:34 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Combine the interceptions with 11 BC penalties for over 100 yards and the Eagles didn't exactly help their second-half woes. Senior kicker David Blackwell missed an extra point and three field goal attempts while two other two-point conversions failed as well.
Coach Mike Clark spoke with the Harrisonburg Daily News-Record after the loss. "If you turn the ball over, if you get penalized, if your kicking game isn't sound, you're not going to beat good football teams."
It's tough to sum it up any better than that.
Props to Tim Keating for going for two when McDaniel scored with 13:41 remaining, giving the Green Terror a 34-33 lead. The extra two points made up for the safety midway through the final period and turned out to be the difference between a potential overtime period and 1-0 start to the 2005 season.
Aggies finally get at Moravian
Despite being the two top teams in the MAC in 2004, Delaware Valley and Moravian failed to meet given the funky scheduling that abounds in the 11-team league. The Aggies (1-0) opened 2005 with another MAC victory, their 11th in a row, topping Moravian (0-1) with a 31-22 win at newly renovated Rocco Calvo Field (nee Steel Field).
Most of the focus going into Saturday's tilt was how well Del Val would handle MAC rushing sensation Chris Jacoubs. On 23 carries, Jacoubs managed only 85 yards. Adam Knoblauch sprung back into form going 22-for-38 with 223 yards and a touchdown pass to Don Marshall. On the whole, it was a balanced effort from Del Val, which led from start to finish. MAC action continues for both as Del Val travels to FDU-Florham (0-0) and Moravian hosts Susquehanna (1-0)
Ricca back to his old ways
That didn't take long.
Returning from a broken wrist that forced him to miss the final four games of the 2004 campaign, Hampden-Sydney (1-0) quarterback J.D. Ricca threw for an ODAC-record 494 yards and six touchdowns in a 52-7 blowout of Sewanee.
Interestingly enough, Ricca also completed three passes to Tigers not wearing Hampden-Sydney across their chests, accounting for the most interceptions in one game for his career.
H-SC will host Gettysburg (1-0) this week, who surprised Lebanon Valley (0-1) with a 34-27 win.
Hopkins scare avoided by golden foot
Ben Scott's third field goal of the afternoon, coming with one second remaining in regulation, propelled Johns Hopkins to an unusually close 9-7 win over Rochester.
JHU quarterback Zach DiIonno seemed to have his game in stride, completing 20 of 33 passes for 235 yards while tossing only one interception. But it was the ground game that lacked spark, totaling just 22 yards for the afternoon. Adam Cook, JHU's all time leading rusher, graduated in 2004 and the lack of movement on the field nearly sent JHU to an unlikely 0-1. Jim Margraff's troops will have to respond going forward to diversify the offense.
Sophomore slump?
North Carolina Wesleyan (0-1) stumbled out of the block in their sophomore season with a 37-21 loss at Newport News Apprentice (1-0). The Builders jumped out to an early 23-0 mark and would never look back. As mentioned last week, the Battling Bishops have an extremely young squad that played as such to kickoff the school's second football-playing year.
Mules kick off D-III with more offense, same defense
After a 2004 season when Muhlenberg struggled to put points on the board, averaging only 16 per game, the Mules (1-0) managed 30 points in a 17-point victory at New Jersey (0-1) under the lights on Friday. That output marks the most points scored by the Mules since their 50-6 shellacking of Dickinson on Oct. 11, 2003.
Meanwhile, Mike Donnelly's defense was spectacular as usual, "holding" TCNJ's rushing game to minus-24 yards. In case you hide under a rock, the Mules had the best defense, statistically, in D-III from 2004.
Donnelly operated with two quarterbacks, as senior Tom Kelleher and sophomore Matt Johnson took turns as signal-caller. Overall, the results were splendid. Combined, the two completed 22 of 38 attempts for 232 yards and two passing touchdowns.
"We think they're quite different (from each other)," Donnelly told D3football.com after the game. "Tommy is a dropback passer, while Johnson is more option-oriented."
We'll be keeping an eye on this situation as the season moves forward.
Random stat pack fact of the week
Ben Scott, whose kicking prowess accounted for all of Johns Hopkins' points in week one, boomed a 75-yard punt in the fourth quarter of the Blue Jays win, a new school record. The previous record of 74 yards was held by Joe Cowan who nailed one against Ursinus in 1968 and Eddie Miller against Western Maryland in 1948. Not too shabby.
Mid-Atlantic Region Top 5
1. Delaware Valley
2. Hampden-Sydney
3. McDaniel
4. Christopher Newport
5. Muhlenberg
McDaniel enters the top five with a gutty win in Bridgewater while the Mules used a multi-pronged attack to forge onto the scene. CNU falls to fourth in a unique loss at home against Rowan. The Captains have never topped the Profs, but just hanging in for a mere seven-point loss is encouraging.
Correction
Thanks to the multitudes who noted an error from last week's column. Randolph-Macon will host McDaniel in week eight, not vice versa.
What to watch this week
Bridgewater (0-1) at Shenandoah (1-0), Shentel Stadium, Winchester, Va., 7 p.m.: This intra-state tussle drew a Shenandoah record crowd of over 7,400 last year and will certainly spark some thunder in the valley. Bridgewater comes into the Hornets' nest for the second consecutive year having dropped a tight one to McDaniel.
Last year's game featured a stagnant offense and special teams theatrics from the Eagles aided by a variety of miscues from Shenandoah, leading to a lopsided but misleading 35-13 final. Graduated quarterback Brandon Wakefield had trouble with a pesky Hornets defense but the Eagles were sly in maintaining a "bend but don't break" defense that kept the Hornets sedate.
I'll be there once again and expect a significantly closer score this year. If you want a spectacular atmosphere for a D-III game, get to Winchester!
