By Pat Cummings
D3sports.com
As I've said before in this column, the writers and contributors to D3football.com partake in this website outside the realm of full-time careers and busy lives. This past week, business took me to Knoxville, Tenn. Always looking out for a connection to the column, I visited Maryville, a new entrant to the Mid-Atlantic region by way of the USA South Conference.
Fly into McGhee-Tyson Airport, just five miles north from Maryville's campus, and you have entered Division III's abyss. Sure, there are no D-III football programs in states such as Montana or North Dakota, but being one of three football programs (Sewanee and Rhodes being the others) in a six-hour wide state like Tennessee tends to expand your horizons. Look to the north and south of the Volunteer State: There are two D-III teams in Kentucky (Centre and Thomas More), and one in Alabama (Huntingdon).
This is the land the rest of Division III forgets because there is actually something there to forget, rather than nothing to recognize at all in places like Montana and Wyoming.
That doesn't mean there isn't a story to tell.
"We're trying to build something special," Maryville coach Tony Ierulli says from his office tucked inside the Cooper Athletic Center.
Ierulli's first head coaching position is here at the foot of the Great Smoky Mountains, where much of his life took shape. The 1980 graduate of Maryville also met his wife on campus and led the Fighting Scots on the gridiron as a linebacker. It's been a long, winding road ever since.
Maryville's defense was strong, but not enough in a 13-7 loss at Centre. Centre photo by Chris Floyd |
Spending time at, in order: Bowling Green, Missouri, little Salem College in West Virginia, then bouncing north to Susquehanna, back down to Samford University and the World Football League's Birmingham Fire, then to the CFL's Birmingham Barracudas, and most recently at D-II Shippensburg in south-central Pennsylvania, it was time to go home.
"I'm a native of Sarasota, Fla., but everything is here. My wife is home here, her parents work for the college. It's good to be back."
Ierulli took over the reins of his alma mater in 2003 and turned an 0-10 team from 2002 into 2-8 through his first year and 5-4 last season. Maryville added its name to the USAC and with it, the hopes of continuing the improvement.
"If we lose a game as an independent, your season is shot. It's a tough road to make the postseason. Now carry that over to recruiting. Kids want to know what conference you are in, who your traditional rivals are. It's a rough sell to a recruit."
Even so, allegiance to the USAC still carries a hefty travel schedule. Their nearest conference opponent, Ferrum, is a five-hour drive.
"We try to make the D-III experience as special as possible. With all the travel, we try to stop at a D-I school along the way. Maybe Virginia Tech or North Carolina State, where we stopped when going to North Carolina Wesleyan. There's been a lot of that this year with three of our longest possible conference trips all in the same year, at Wesleyan, CNU, and Shenandoah."
And with one exception, a win at home against 1-5 Greensboro, the Scots have struggled against a palate of unfamiliar opponents.
"I don't want to say we expected to regress this year, you never want that to happen, but we played all the same teams as independents. You are limited as to who you can play and when. This is a new experience for us, but we expect to grow from it over time."
The Fighting Scots agree.
"This is the toughest competition we have faced, and they're mostly all new to our schedule," junior linebacker Matt Price said after the Scots' 17-13 loss at Centre. "We were picked to finish eighth in the conference and we're out to prove that the coaches were wrong."
It's not going to take all that much. Shenandoah was picked to finish second and lost to Greensboro, picked to finish seventh. Oft discussed 7-0 Ferrum was predicted to finish fifth.
Matt's twin brother Justin starts at quarterback for Maryville. Both were USAC players of the week, in the same week, earlier this season. That they are Fighting Scots at all is a long, winding road.
Justin was "Mr. Football Tennessee" his senior year of high school and received a scholarship to East Tennessee State. The program folded and Justin and Matt went to Pikeville, an NAIA school. Family health issues brought the twins much closer to home, to Maryville.
"We do everything together, always have. We live together, take all the same classes, have the same major" Justin noted.
The two connected frequently on the field before coming to Maryville, as Matt played at wide receiver for his entire career. Ierulli and the Scots needed Matt in the secondary, where he currently plays. With one year remaining for both of them, and a history of making connections on the football field, perhaps the Price brothers will hook up on the same side of the ball. While the twins have a natural connection, the rest of the Scots have bonded well in a growing year, despite their 1-6 record.
"We started camp with 124 guys, and we didn't lose one of them," Ierulli glowed.
Justin and Matt Price, along with senior running back Marcus Kenny, were unanimous in their disbelief at that fact.
"Never," Kenny said, "not once."
The Prices thought back to their many years of football together and did not recall a time when someone decided they wouldn't play.
"I can remember all the way back to middle school, and even then, it's never happened like this. And this was the toughest camp I've ever been a part of," Matt Price said.
"It's a testament to Coach I, he's one of the best men I've had the pleasure of knowing," Kenny glimmered. "He has a vision and doesn't let go. I know we're 1-6, but Coach's philosophy is a winning tide, an attitude that we all try to live by. That's why we didn't lose a man (in camp)."
When it comes to not losing a man, Kenny can relate on a much deeper level. In January 2004, the feisty running back served with the United States Marine Corps Reserves in Iraq.
Even as Kenny's world was about to take a dramatic turn before leaving for the challenge of his life, he couldn't escape football. "I was driving for a recruiting trip and heard his company was called to active duty and leaving that night," Ierulli recalled. "I turned around."
"Here I am sitting down ready to face who knows what," said Kenny, I'd already said goodbye to my family, and there's Coach I. I was very surprised. I didn't know if I'd ever see him again"
For Ierulli, it was a unique experience. "It's an incredibly emotional thing to witness. Here's a kid I've known through football sitting there with a machine gun and a rocket launcher getting ready to go off to war. He's such a leader on our team, and he was before leaving for Iraq, and even more so now," choked up in his recollection.
Lima Company 324, based in Johnson City, Tenn., served as general infantry support in the infamous "Sunni Triangle." Kenny conducted foot patrols through Ramadi and Fallujah, well known as some of the most dangerous cities for American personnel in Iraq.
"I grew up real fast," Kenny remembered, "you learn how to make quick decisions and analyze a situation."
"So many people compare a football game to a war, but having been in both, they're nothing alike. Some people have to do it to get psyched, but I need no extra motivation. When we come out on the field, you have to leave all your personal problems aside that you might have with another guy. I try to pass that on to my teammates, my brothers."
Lima Company returned home in February 2005. Remarkably, every member of the troop came home with Kenny.
Saturday's game in Danville, Ky., brought the Fighting Scots together with their longtime rivals from Centre. Just a three-hour trip, short in comparison to their average road hauls, makes the Colonels one of Maryville's natural rivals.
"Our alums focus on this game and Sewanee as the most important of the season," said the Maryville alum himself, Ierulli. "They're big games, but we are going to produce alums who will be used to a whole new group of rivalries in the USAC as we grow in the conference."
Just glancing at records, Centre stood tall over the Scots. The Colonels came into Saturday's game with a 5-1 mark, their only loss coming on the road at Sewanee when starting quarterback Kevin Phelps sat out with an injury. The game would not play out as such.
Centre opened a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter, only to be tied by the Scots on a Hubert Payne 1-yard dive as time wound down in the half. After a scoreless third quarter, Centre regained the advantage on a 17-yard scamper by Adam Blandford with nine minutes remaining. Maryville responded immediately on a seven play, 47-yard drive to come within one. Adam Cox's low extra point was blocked and the Colonels maintained a one-point margin they would not relinquish.
"We've played tough all year," Justin Price replied after the loss. "We were toe-to-toe with Ferrum and Averett, and we definitely could have that one today. But we just need to keep working and getting in the weight room."
"We can build on this," Matt Price agreed.
The rest of Division III football world might not pay much attention to Maryville. But it has its stories to tell.
"We're a better team now at 1-6 than we were in 2004 with a better record," Ierulli says. "We just need to keep plugging away to get over the top."
Warriors outlast Bombers in another regional shocker
Go figure.
For the past two weeks, I verbally scratched my head, wondering what happened to the Lycoming program. And then this.
Frank Girardi realized it was time to make some changes. And he did. Two fresh faces to the offensive line, sophomore Tom Coyne and freshman Nick Schrack, helped give quarterback Glenn Smith the time to run the offense.
The result?
In just about the biggest upset in the East region this year, Smith completed 24 of 32 passes for 251 yards and two touchdowns, more completions and passing yards for the Warriors than in any other game this year. Smith also ran for 67 yards and another pair of touchdowns, another season high in rushing for a Lyco signal-caller.
The Warriors found themselves trailing by 13 with less than ten minutes to play when Smith found the end zone from eight yards out three minutes later to cut the deficit to six. Four minutes later, Jim Laky went 19 yards for another score, tying the game. Mike Monastra missed the extra point, sending the game to an extra session.
After Brett Kitenplon's 28-yard field goal on Ithaca's possession, Smith scampered from 9 yards out to give the Warriors a 33-30 overtime win before a blissful crowd at David Person Field in Williamsport.
W&L remain undefeated, setting up tussle with Bridgewater
Washington & Lee's come-from-behind 38-34 win at Hampden-Sydney ruined homecoming for the Tigers, and also procured what should be the final nail in the coffin for H-SC. The win sets the stage for the previously unconsidered ODAC title bout on Oct. 29 in Lexington.
A potent combination coagulated better than before as quarterback Greg Tweardy has found receivers Colton Ward and Jack Martin with regularity, including 18 of his 29 completions on Saturday for 290 yards and two touchdowns combined. W&L has been mired in mediocrity for years, but the potent offense is getting the job done.
"We can get away from the day when 5-5 was doing OK," Tweardy told the Roanoke Times, sounding much like a head coach. "We're turning the corner here at W&L."
After falling behind H-SC 14-0, the Generals rallied behind the foot of Ben Long who nailed three field goals to cut the Tigers lead to five. A Tweardy pass to Colton Ward followed by a two-point conversion created a 17-point swing triggering a see-saw battle for the rest of the contest, capped by another TD to Ward from 29 yards out with 34 ticks remaining.
"They've got a lot of confidence and composure" coach Frank Miriello said after the win, W&L's biggest victory in years. "They're a never-die unit."
The Generals' huge win came one year after a near-upset at home against the same Tigers. In 2004, W&L found themselves down by three with 50 seconds remaining and the ball at midfield. Tweardy, then a junior, was intercepted on the first play of the drive, ruining any chance at the upset.
Miriello got a bath after sealing the win. "That's the first (dousing) of my career."
Good things come to those who wait.
Red Devils kick past McDaniel
Freshman kicker Matt Stark sent four field goals through the uprights, including the game-winner in the third overtime to give Dickinson its first win over McDaniel (4-2, 1-2) since 1995. McDaniel's kicker Jay Leonard tied the game at 19 with a 25-yard field goal as regulation expired, one of his five field goals on the day.
The save would only be temporary as the Red Devils found a way to pour more salt in the wounds of the Green Terror. McDaniel now travels to 1-5 Randolph-Macon in what could bring about another crazy result.
Panthers beat quality opponent
Well, it happened. Ferrum opened up to a 20-0 lead over Methodist and never trailed, en route to a 42-37 win on Friday night. Get your sneaks ready for the Panthers. The only 7-0 team in the Mid-Atlantic region rushed 69 times for 380 yards.
I've received feedback from Ferrum fans almost every week this season, mostly from those who think the Panthers aren't being respected in the region. Keep this in mind: Making the Top 25 isn't the only way in which your squad earns respect. Wins similar to those against a decent team like Methodist add up over time. Keep winning and the respect will come. A loss, and it tends to take a while to build respect back up.
The Panthers are beginning to build some respect in my opinion, but the road to nationwide recognition is a long one.
Major conference realignment pending?
Word has been kicking around the region of some major changes to the Middle Atlantic and Centennial Conferences. Here is what we've been hearing:
->Juniata and Moravian would move from the MAC to the Centennial. It is possible that Moravian's football team would move a year ahead of its other sports.
->Susquehanna would move to the Liberty League from the MAC.
Should these changes go through, the Centennial would play an eight-game conference schedule, the most in their history. Since Swarthmore's sudden departure from football, the CC has had the minimum number of teams required to maintain an automatic bid, seven.
Moravian would maintain its long-time rivalry with Muhlenberg.
Susquehanna's potential switch would dramatically increase their travel schedule. The Crusaders' longest trip in the MAC is currently about three hours. Most of the trips to LL squads are significantly longer. Rochester checks in at four hours as does Schenectady (Union), Worcester and Canton (Worcester Polytech, St. Lawrence) are a friendly six hours-plus.
Each of the teams in the MAC would now be freed for an additional non-conference game and the removal of the awkward arrangement that currently keeps all teams in a given season from playing each other. The Centennial would lose two non-conference games in the process.
Are these changes definite? No. But the level of language flowing around the topic is louder than it has been in recent memory. Stay tuned.
Mid-Atlantic Region Top 5
Delaware Valley
Bridgewater
Ferrum
Johns Hopkins
Widener
Honorable mention: Christopher Newport, Washington and Lee
Yeah, I dropped CNU. Just a feeling, not much more. Widener pokes in having stepped up their play since a rough first week, 5-0 since then.
What to watch in Week 8
Christopher Newport at Methodist, Fayetteville, N.C., 1 p.m.: The Monarchs fought back from a 20-0 deficit at Ferrum to nearly pull off the road upset. Now they have a chance to hang tough in the USA South Conference while the Captains look to push themselves past Methodist, keeping pace with Ferrum.
Johns Hopkins at Muhlenberg, Allentown, Pa., 1 p.m.: While the Centennial has been an unusual jumble all year, the winner of this game takes the driver's seat for the automatic bid
Widener at King's, Wilkes-Barre, Pa., 1 p.m.: The Pioneers need a win in their last legitimate conference test before the regular season finale at Del Val if they are to have any chance in the MAC.
