By Pat Cummings
D3sports.com
I can't say I didn't see it coming. Three weeks ago we spotlighted Catholic's near upset of McDaniel. Last week Ursinus took the Green Terror to the finish, only to end up eight points short. Gettysburg decided it was time to make a stand for the underdogs.
Tom Sturges carried 37 times, amassing 187 rushing yards in Gettysburg's 20-17 upset of 19th-ranked McDaniel. Gettysburg got the ball rolling early on when Nathan Smith took the opening kickoff 95 yards to the house for a quick 7-0 lead.
The Bullets (2-3, 1-0) led 17-3 after three stanzas, but the Green Terror (3-1, 0-1) concocted two long drives to score 14 fourth quarter points to tie the game. Quarterback Tom Wenrich took the pigskin 11 yards for six points with 11 minutes on the clock, while Mekios Parker carried from 4 yards out with less than six minutes to play. A Jamie Unger reception on the two-point conversion tied the game and gave the Green Terror hope.
The kickoff to Gettysburg would spark a ten-play, 51-yard drive culminating in a 34-yard Josh Huson field goal with 1:10 remaining. The three-pointer was Huson's second on the rainy afternoon; the freshman nailed a 48-yarder with a minute left in the first half. McDaniel failed to move the ball on their final possession in the surprising defeat.
"We were beaten today," McDaniel coach Tim Keating told the Carroll County Times, "but this was a winnable game for us ... We haven't come out yet this season fired up or excited to play. I've got to figure out something."
The Gettysburg win was just their third win in the past 11 meetings between the two.
What would you do? Responses ...
Last week, we opened up the column with a listing of some decisions made by Hampden-Sydney coach Marty Favret in the Tigers' loss to Bridgewater, and asked for your thoughts on those decisions. You definitely responded. Below is a selection of the responses.
The Tigers were desperate for a win. Desperate coaches take wild chances. Most of the time it doesn't pay off. A losing streak can make a person stir crazy. Bottom line is, the coach (Favret) did not think his team was the better team. He felt he had to gamble.
-- Ken Rohle
If the BC/Hanover game was the template that H-SC used to game plan, then Favret knew the importance of each possession and I can understand the desperation to go on 4th down twice. The flip side of that action is the message sent that your defense can't stop the Eagles offense. The H-SC defense came to play Saturday; unfortunately, their coach thought too little of them (or too much of his offfense) and put them in position to fail. At BC, the Eagles chase championships. At H-SC, they chase BC.
-- "Texashorn"
I believe the rationale for HSC living on the edge Saturday, taking several risks based on their historical failures rather than allowing the power of the present team to drive those decisions, was grounded in the "Historical Halo." It is one that teams earn with continued years of success. It is the 12th player. The Halo left the field last week, not with a tarnish, but rather with a renewed glow.
-- "D3Waterboy"
While at the game, I couldn't believe the Tigers were goingfor it on 4th down in their own territory, at their own place when they had the lead. Afterwards, I read the following from a local paper [that Favret believes H-SC probably goes for it on fourth down more than just about any other school in the country.] Ok. That's all well and good, but just because you go for it a lot doesn't make it the right call.
Why roll the dice on 4th down calls when A) You're in your own territory, B) You have the momentum and the crowd, C) You have THE LEAD. If you look outside of one fumble, and those two 4th down calls, HSC played a much better first half. And yet, they trailed, and were fortunate BC only came away with FGs when given the short field.
I loved Favret's first two 4th down calls in the 2nd half. The only 4th down attempts I question are the ones in HSC territory, with the lead. The others...hey, you're in BC territory, you're tied or behind ... I understand that. - "Mizzou Mafia"
My conference for a quarterback
Voting for a first-team quarterback in the Centennial this season might be a tougher task than year's past. Just take a look at some of the numbers from all who have played the position and seen significant time this season in the CC:
Dickinson
Matt Torchia passing: 63-for-121, four touchdowns, six interceptions
Matt Torchia rushing: five carries for 11 yards
Franklin & Marshall
Jeff Harner passing: 56-for-131, two touchdowns, seven interceptions
Jeff Harner rushing: 49 for 74, two touchdowns
Gettysburg
Hunter McMillan passing: 77-for-144, five touchdowns, nine interceptions
Hunter McMillan rushing: five for minus-8
Johns Hopkins
Zach DiIonno passing: 85-for-142, one touchdown, three interceptions
Zach DiIonno rushing: 26 for minus-2, one touchdown
McDaniel
Brad Baer passing: 16-for-28, one touchdown, zero interceptions (one game played)
Brad Baer rushing: 12 for 92, no touchdowns
Brett Gibson passing: 22-for-47, one touchdown, one interception
Brett Gibson rushing: 25 for 62, one touchdown
Tom Wenrich passing: 48-for-102, one touchdown, two interceptions
Tom Wenrich rushing: 35 for 89, four touchdowns
Muhlenberg
Tom Kelleher passing: 38-for-90, three touchdowns, seven interceptions
Tom Kelleher rushing: 11 for minus-57, zero touchdowns
Matt Johnson passing: 29-for-55, two touchdowns, one interception
Matt Johnson rushing: 44 for 115, zero touchdowns
Ursinus
Vince Gallagher passing: 48-for-105, four touchdowns, four interceptions
Vince Gallagher rushing: 37 for 78, two touchdowns
Nicholas Dye passing: 21-for-43, two touchdowns, three interceptions
Nicholas Dye rushing: 12 for minus-15, zero touchdowns
Of each school's main starting quarterback, all of them have thrown as many or more interceptions than touchdowns, and only JHU's Zach DiIonno has completed more than 55% of his passes.
Might be tough filling out those postseason ballots.
Regional quick hits
Ferrum has pushed their record to 6-0 with another high-scoring win, last week against Maryville (Tenn.). Despite the hot record, the Panthers only garnered two votes in this week's D3football.com Top 25. Wondering why? The combined record of Ferrum's D-III opponents is 5-22. D-II provisional Chowan carries a 2-3 record, propping the overall record of Ferrum's opponents to 7-25. 6-0 is great, but not quite the same as other programs who are undefeated as well.
The playoff watch gets increasingly more interesting as we near the middle of November, but the focus this year may actually be on Pool B instead of Pool C. As it stands now, a host of teams sit with undefeated or one loss marks that could actually punt some Pool C teams from the postseason. While the Pool B teams involved aren't part of this region, the Pool C teams it could impact are. So if you are looking for someone to root against ... take out your aggression on: Thiel, Washington & Jefferson, Wesley, Salisbury, Huntingdon, Rockford, Whitworth, and of course, Linfield. Just something to keep an eye out for.
Lycoming's struggles continue to amaze. The Warriors are 1-4 this season going into a mammoth test against No. 8 Ithaca. Seeing the Warriors at the bottom of the pack is difficult considering where they were just two years ago. Second consecutive week I've mentioned this ... but I guess it just goes to show how much it astounds me.
Methodist scored 20 fourth-quarter points, topped by Chris Roncketti's 4-yard touchdown run with 26 seconds remaining, to propel the Monarchs over Averett, in Danville. Methodist was paced by running back Mike Hill who managed 170 yards on the ground.
Greg Tweardy's 2-yard touchdown pass to Jack Martin with five seconds left sent the Generals to victory over Catholic, 27-24. The touchdown was Martin's second of the day, an afternoon on which Martin managed 217 yards receiving. W&L's win negated a prosperous afternoon for Catholic quarterback Keith Ricca. The freshman threw for three scores and 382 yards in the loss.
Mid-Atlantic Region Top 5
Delaware Valley
Bridgewater
Johns Hopkins
Ferrum
Christopher Newport
What to watch in Week 7
Albright at No. 9 Delaware Valley, James Work Stadium, Doylestown, Pa., 1:00 p.m.: Albright's loss at home against Widener softens the impact of this game, but the Aggies know it is a must win if they want to take full control of the MAC.
Washington & Lee at Hampden-Sydney, Hampden-Sydney, Va., 1:00 p.m.: The Tigers stumbled against Bridgewater, but Washington & Lee still has an unblemished mark in the ODAC and will play at Jopson Field on Oct. 29. A win against H-SC and then Guilford would give the Generals a chance at the championship.
