By Pat Cummings
D3sports.com
All four conferences I cover have already determined their champions, leaving the last week of the regular season as somewhat anti-climatic. Del Val clinched the MAC with a steamrolling of Juniata and combined with Rowan's loss at William Paterson, will give the Aggies a chance at the top spot in the region. DVC was second in the last group of NCAA regional rankings, with Hobart and Union just behind. Union's win over Hobart may push the Dutchmen past Delaware Valley in the rankings, which should be released on Wednesday.
Johns Hopkins was thoroughly thrashed by Hampden-Sydney 49-20 but still found their ticket to the field of 32 in the locker room thanks to Franklin and Marshall's narrow win over Ursinus. The bid is the first in Blue Jays history. This week JHU faces McDaniel to round out the season, and possibly slide into the postseason on a three-game losing streak.
Bridgewater's ticket has been punched for two weeks, but the Eagles soared against Randolph-Macon last week. A McDaniel win against Johns Hopkins could possibly help BC's strength of schedule index as the Green Terror represent the only splotch on the Eagles' resume. Hopefully the committee will realize that McDaniel was a much better team in Week 1, before a rash of injuries, than they were in the following weeks.
Ferrum continued its winning ways with a 63-28 shellacking of North Carolina Wesleyan. The Panthers clinched the USAC when Averett surprised Christopher Newport on senior day in Danville. Methodist can still tie the Panthers for the USAC crown, but Ferrum's win over the Monarchs gives the Panthers the automatic bid via tiebreaker.
Next week I will preview the playoff matches and take some of this unusually early postseason clarity in stride as the week progresses.
Knoblauch reaches rare milestone
A D3football.com feature, and numerous mentions in this column, highlighted Del Val quarterback Adam Knoblauch's pursuit of a rare feat: 10,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in a career. While playing only three quarters at Juniata last week, Knoblauch completed 19 of 25 passing attempts for 350 yards and ran for an extra 70 to break into the elite club of six, headlined by Division I-AA Alcorn State's Steve McNair. Adam King from Howard Payne is the only Division III player on the list, which he joined last year.
Young routs R-MC
Bridgewater running back Winston Young single-handedly beat Randolph-Macon last week with four rushing touchdowns, a receiving score, and a blocked punt for a safety. His take for the afternoon brought 32 points to R-MC's 20. The Eagles made a few extra points and tacked on some more for a final tally of 53 against the Yellow Jackets. Combined with fellow backfield teammate Marcus Washington, the two have managed 21 rushing scores in 13 combined appearances. Washington missed one game, while Young sat out for two.
Lyco nailbites way to winning record
The much talked-about strife in Williamsport has turned back to the positive. After a 1-4 start, lowlighted by a 35 point loss to 3-6 FDU-Florham, Frank Girardi's Warriors have reeled off four consecutive wins. I'll be the first to tell you a win is a win is a win, but the Warriors are a meer nine points from being 1-8. Lyco's winning ways came in conjunction with some lineup changes prior to the Ithaca victory and could help propel the Warriors to finish the season 6-4 with a win against Susquehanna on Saturday. Not what I would have anticipated leading up to Lyco's game against the Bombers.
Quakers take epic passing battle
You didn't really expect it to end, did you? In a battle of freshman passing machines, Guilford and Catholic just kept on playing. The Quakers and Cardinals broke or tied a trio of Division III records.
With 80 completions, the ODAC squads quashed the record of 72 set in 1981 between UW-Stevens Point and UW-Superior.
With 1,180 passing yards, the Quakers/Cardinals bout now owns the record for most passing yards in a game. The prior record was 1,100 between St. Thomas and Bethel in MIAC action from 1993.
With 143 attempts, GC and CUA tied Bethel and Gustavus Adolphus for most passing attempts in a game almost 20 years ago to the day (Nov. 2, 1985).
The contest took three hours and 29 minutes to complete thanks in part to 27 penalties, of which only four were pass interference calls. Of the 29 possessions in the game, only five resulted in punts.
I had the chance to speak with Guilford's first year head coach Kevin Kiesel last week. "It's been real exciting, but we need finish the job."
Vogelbach's addition to Guilford has helped propel the Quakers to prominence, even with a 4-5 mark. "He's had several family members play Guilford athletics and introduced him to the option of moving here, and we're certainly glad he did."
The Quakers have a chance to finish with a .500 mark for the first time since 1997. "It's a work in progress," Kiesel hinted. With a flashy quarterback at the helm, recruiting players to the Greensboro institution should be more promising going forward, increasing the quality of an already improving ODAC.
Wilkes scores 59 in 22
The Susquehanna Crusaders held the football for nearly twice as long as Wilkes, but the Colonels outscored the Cru 59-38. The last time Wilkes scored that many points was back in 2003, also against Susquehanna. It took only 22 minutes of game time for the Colonels to score their nearly five dozen points.
Wilkes maintains an outsider chance at a Pool C playoff spot and would need a win against crosstown rival King's to keep the possibility alive, although an ECAC bid is more likely. Considering Wilkes's two losses have come against Del Val and William Paterson (which will look somewhat better considering their well-publicized win against Rowan, even if it was sans Mike Orihel), the Colonels probably stand a better chance than some others, but it remains slim. My own opinion of the contenders would put: Hobart, St. John Fisher, and possibly even Alfred ahead of the Colonels. St. John Fisher hosts Alfred this weekend and a Saxons win over the Cardinals, combined with a Wilkes win would put all three at 8-2.
Wilkes's quality of win index is 44th at the moment and Alfred's is 41st. St. John Fisher checks in 26th. Alfred would move up with a win on the road against SJF while Wilkes would gain little from a win over 95th indexed King's.
Just some food for thought over the weekend.
Martin rolls over Wasps
Completing the triumvirate of ODAC football superlatives, Jack Martin caught eight passes for 203 yards and two touchdowns, accounting for 72.2% of Washington & Lee's receiving yardage in a 45-7 blowout win over Emory & Henry. Through nine games this season, Martin has just under 1,300 yards receiving and is averaging almost 20 yards per catch. Good luck to the ODAC player of the year voters; brutal picks in 2005.
My Mid-Atlantic Region Top 3
Delaware Valley
Bridgewater
Ferrum
The top three don't change and anyone else just gets farther away.
What to watch in Week 11
Widener at Delaware Valley, James Work Stadium, Doylestown, Pa., 1:00 p.m.: When the Aggies and Pioneers meet, tempers flare. Now that the Aggies have clinched the MAC, G.A. Mangus will need to keep his squad on point to secure favorable playoff seeding, especially following the Rowan loss.
Hampden-Sydney at Randolph-Macon, Day Field, Ashland, Va., 1:00 p.m.: The Game CXI. Enjoy.
Moravian at Muhlenberg, Scotty Wood Stadium, Allentown, Pa., 1:00 p.m.: The battle for supremacy in the Lehigh Valley kicks off once again. These two continue their rivalry in 2006 as non-conference opponents and then in the Centennial in 2007 where each renewal will matter just a bit more.
King's at Wilkes, Ralston Field, Edwardsville, Pa., 1:00 p.m.: Mayor's Cup XX. Not quite the 111th meeting, but a coal country version celebrating its twentieth renewal.
Week 12 Column Preview
Next week, we'll pick out the superlatives of the 2005 season in the Mid-Atlantic Region, along with a preview of the playoff matchups.
