By Ryan Tipps
D3sports.com

I suppose it’s appropriate to put them to rest -- our expectations, that is. Because from here to Salem, our notions of how games should play out are going to be just as challenged as they were in the regular season.

The Centennial Conference emerged as a tougher conference than past years, while the Old Dominion posted an impressive nonconference resume going to a regular season where every game was up for grabs on Saturdays.

The Middle Atlantic, a highly rated conference that struggled through a noticeable down year, failed to start a single team at 3-0 ... or 2-0 for that matter. And the USA South did something for the first time: produce an undisputed conference champion.

I wrote in a column back in September that not a single 2005 playoff team in the region was able to repeat that feat for 2006. Guess what. We’re not going to see any of 2006's teams back this year either. We again have a brand new crop of teams that we’re throwing to the playoff wolves, and read closely to see who’s going to be all bark and who’s going to have bite.

Hampden-Sydney dispatched conference rival Randolph-Macon to the tune of 31-13. It was “The Game,” the most recent in a series that dates to 1893. Yet that feat has still left the Tigers with what I think is the toughest playoff draw of the mid-Atlantic’s four playoff reps. H-SC is paired against two-time South Region defending champion Wesley, a team that crushes opponents beneath an average of 257 yards rushing and 222 passing per game.

The Wolverines thrive on speed on both sides of the ball, but they still have to contain the Tigers’ potent arsenal, most notably Josh Simpson, who himself puts up 233 all purpose yards per game. And with Corey Sedlar typically gunning 300-plus-yard games and with Drew Smith and Josh Baumgartner there on the receiving end, Hampden-Sydney will be a solid 50 percent of this shootout. Both teams are well accustomed to posting 40- and 50-point games.

Wesley, though, has already seen some of the area’s best competition this year and has handled them all: N.C. Wesleyan, Widener, Salisbury (all of whom are playoff teams). H-SC’s “A” game could keep this interesting, but even the slightest slip, and HS-C will be watching Round 2 from home.

N.C. Wesleyan is the lowest seed in its bracket, which puts the team squarely in Washington & Jefferson’s sights. The undefeated Presidents has a history of making the USA South look bad. W&J has dealt the knockout blow to the conference’s playoff team in two of the past three years. 

But has W&J even played anyone this year? Sure, the team can put points on the board, but the best team they’ve played is an 8-2 team that didn’t make the playoffs. NCW, on the other hand, has lined up against 9-1 and 8-2 teams that are in the playoffs. And the Bishops have evolved into a more precise team since those games. But to be fair, I’m not sure that bragging about playing good teams means a whole lot when those earlier games both wound up as losses.

Stats point to a solid defense for the Presidents, having allowed more than 21 points only twice this season. Conversely, NCW has only scored fewer than 21 points once this year. They seem to have the kinds of strengths that could cancel each other out.

Regardless, this has all the makings of an upset, and NCW has every opportunity to give W&J something they haven’t seen all season: an “L.”

Widener is the Mid-Atlantic’s other eighth seed, though it was also the only team to be situated into the UW-Whitewater Bracket, which consists mostly of North Region teams. Heading into the playoff match against No. 2 seed Case Western Reserve, the Pride will no doubt be drawing from the experience of playing Wesley and N.C. Wesleyan. Coach David Wood has waited for this moment, and foresaw the potential in a difficult early schedule. Back in Week 2, he told me that “by Week 12 or Week 13, you’re playing good football teams, and you’ve got to play good football teams on the road.”

For a bottom-seed Widener, every postseason game will be on the road. Also for Widener, Case is a fortunate draw. Case may not be accustomed to the kind of heavyweights Widener has faced, which should give the Pride a bit of an edge. But the pass game shoulders the bulk of the Spartan offense, and Widener is near the bottom of its conference when defending the pass.

This year’s Widener team, though, hasn’t been built on one-dimensional play. Success has been drawn from a quarterback who can throw as well as he can push the run. The Pride have an all-around solidity to them that means while there’s not focal point of the team, there are also no absolute shortcomings. And factoring in special teams, Widener may be able to exploit a team such as Case.

Muhlenberg is the Mid-Atlantic’s only team to get a home game in Round 1. And with an opponent such as Salisbury, an advantage -- whether mental or physical -- is a blessing. The Gulls get behind their rushers and just plow forward. And after that, they plow some more. Salisbury averages 340 yards rushing a game. The exciting contrast is that Muhlenberg allows only an average of 63 yards rushing a game. Fellas, you are each meeting your match.

The Gulls thrive on offense, and though their passing game has several weak spots, they have still been able to put up a total of 418 points this season. Muhlenberg, of course, is a dig-in-your-heels kind of team that makes the defense its star component.

Both teams have beaten quality competition this year. Salisbury has driven through Christopher Newport, Albright and Delaware Valley. Meanwhile, Muhlenberg has turned the College of New Jersey, Dickinson and Union into notches on its belt. The Mules have also been riding high on their play down the stretch. The final five games have yielded two shutouts and two games where opponents have scored just seven points. 

Few games this weekend will be as evenly matched as Muhlenberg and Salisbury, and to the home team I think can go the spoils.

Since this column formally brings things to a close for me, I wanted to end the regular season by thanking everyone who read this column and everyone who helped make the farthest reaches of the mid-Atlantic accessible with their feedback and personal observations. At times it was difficult for me to step into the role of spectator, analyzer and writer, but you as readers kept me motivated and grounded, and I appreciate you for that.

Players and coaches wrote in and thanked me for doing what I do for do for Division III. Meanwhile, parents and fans have thanked me for doing what I did for their sons and teams. Some of those correspondences were a sentence long, others were several paragraphs. It didn’t matter because the crux of them were all the same, and I want to tell all of those people that I appreciate the thought they put into them.

I have an invigorated respect for the amount of work that Pat Coleman and Keith McMillan do -- the travel, the long hours, the piecing together stories. It has been done to the highest standards week after week. They truly do it for the love of the game. It’s the only way someone could walk those shoes for so many years.

Personally, this year has taken me to see three states, eight stadiums and 13 teams. I made it to see players from every conference, and even saw first-hand three teams that ultimately would represent the mid-Atlantic in the playoffs -- though at the time, neither I nor they realized it. On paper or over the phone, I feel like I’ve traveled to most corners of the region and have lived first-hand the immense successes and the heartbreaking disappointments that football can bring.

Crunching my feet over the parched field of N.C. Wesleyan, standing in the drizzle at Franklin & Marshall, tailgating twice with Stone Station and watching the sun sink behind the mountains at Shenandoah are all memories I’m going to take with me this year. And in between all of that are the dozens of people I’ve met, those who sincerely give grandeur to the Division III experience. Whether they were players, fans or school staff members, hospitality and openness were always close by.

I’m already jotting down some destinations for next season. As a Virginia resident -- even as one who lives near the interstate -- Pennsylvania is a long and difficult hike, though I will make the trip at least once again next year, maybe pairing a Friday night game with a Saturday afternoon one somewhere in that direction. I’m also thinking of adding another state to my checklist, which you will learn about next season. But, of course, all of this is contingent on whether Pat will have me back for another year, though I think things are looking up in that regard ...


By grade level, here are the mid-Atlantic’s players for Week 11:
Freshman
Kyle McKechnie, running back, Juniata: Racked up three touchdowns and 181 yards in the Eagles’ win over Gallaudet.

Sophomore
Ryan Murray, running back, Franklin & Marshall: Ran for five touchdowns and 240 yards in the Diplomats’ 56-38 victory over Gettysburg. Murray averaged 6 yards per carry.

Junior
Josh Simpson, running back, Hamden-Sydney: Piled on 232 yards of total offense and scored twice to help the Tigers win the conference and head to the playoffs.

Senior
Eric Dube, linebacker, Dickinson: Posted 12 tackles and two sacks in the Red Devils’ win over Ursinus. Dube broke Dickinson’s single-season tackling record with 132 total.

This was a difficult week to choose players because as I scrolled through the news releases and stat sheets, most every player whose name popped out was a sophomore. So this week’s “Head of the class” list doesn’t really do justice to the breadth of good performances that occurred in the regular season’s final week. However, it’s nice to know that there is so much depth among the region’s sophomore class, making for good years to come.


Going into Week 11, three teams from the Mid-Atlantic were hanging onto 0-9 records. I can’t imagine how hard it would be to finish a season winless. But two of those teams, Juniata and King’s, salvaged a victory in their season closer while Averett remained without a single game in the “W” column. Juniata handily beat Gallaudet while King’s took down FDU-Florham in a close one.

But Averett has struggled the entire year. The team’s closest game was a 2-point loss to Greensboro, and though a winless season wasn’t foreseen going into 2007, the loss of so many seniors from last year’s squad doomed this team.

Fans of the USA South probably have gotten used to this sort of fall. For the past three years, the team that was conference co-champ with CNU has tumbled abruptly. In 2005, Shenandoah came off a conference championship season to end 1-9. The next year, Ferrum followed its playoff run with a 2-7 record. Then, of course, we get to this year’s Averett team 0-10 after being 7-3 in 2006.

Averett has a lot of youth on its team, and a rebound next year is possible. There is still a disparity between the top and the bottom of the USAC, and the Cougars have worked hard since their first year in 2000 to build toward the top. That kind of mentality will be need if they expect to get there again.


For the first time in its history, Muhlenberg finished a season 10-0, rounding out its play with a 35-7 drubbing against Moravian. The Mules outgained the Greyhounds in yardage 529-193, and quarterback Eric Santagato completed 15 of 19 passes for 297 yards. This game is considered a rivalry, though people have debated its intensity and meaning between players and alumni. Admittedly, it’s a little tough to be enthused about such a rivalry when Muhlenberg has lopsidedly won eight of the past 10 games.


Gettysburg has been tapped to play Carnegie Mellon in the Southwest Eastern College Athletic Conference bowl game. Both teams ended the regular season 6-4, and it will be the first postseason game for the Bullets since 1985.

Dickinson will host Waynesburg in the Southeast ECAC bowl game. Both teams finished at 8-2.

Albright and Montclair State will meet for the first time ever, lining up in the South Atlantic ECAC game. Albright finished 7-3, while MSU was 8-2.


Franklin & Marshall showed some fire on Saturday, with the Diplomats winning a 56-38 shootout against Gettysburg. F&M outscored its opponent 28-7 in the final quarter, and the game as a whole featured 1,023 in offensive yards. F&M put up 544 of those, the most in school history.

Ferrum’s offense is built on the run, and I applaud the team’s efforts to branch out. However, those efforts resulted in the Panthers being picked off five times in their 34-23 loss to Christopher Newport. For the Captains, Fela-Tunde Ogun led with 200 yards of rushing.

Turnovers were also a factor as Albright fell to Delaware Valley 21-14. The Lions gave up the ball three times, and the loss capped what was a surprising and exciting run for the team through the MAC. 


Cue the drumroll, please. I’m dishing out my Around the Mid-Atlantic players of the year. They have been chosen by me, and are not at all representative of picks by the whole of the D3football.com staff. As you’ve come to expect, they’re sorted by class, but with the added bonus of spreading the recognition to both sides of the ball as well as to specialists. I’m also including a partial mention of their stats, though this by no means covers the extent of what these men have done on the field this year.

Freshman
Offense: Mike Vann, running back, Ferrum
(730 yards rushing, 9.5-yard per carry average, 9 touchdowns)
Defense: Adam Irving, defensive back, Guilford
(Three interceptions, 47 total tackles)
Special teams: Alex Lachman, kicker, Johns Hopkins
(Went 11 of 12 in field goals, long was 44 yards, made 100 percent of PATs)

Sophomore
Offense: Tanner Kelly, quarterback, Albright
(Passed for 2,629 yards and 25 touchdowns, completed 68.2 percent)
Defense: Matt Long, safety, Christopher Newport
(Five interceptions, 57 total tackles, two sacks)
Special teams: Kevin Fisher, wide receiver, Widener
(Averaged 28 yards per kick return and 9.1 yards per punt return)

Junior
Offense: Josh Simpson, running back, Hampden-Sydney
(27 total touchdowns in seven games, 1,635 total yards)
Defense: Evin O’Sullivan, linebacker, Emory & Henry
(136 total tackles, three forced fumbles, 4.5 sacks)
Special teams: Torrey Lowe, wire receiver, Greensboro
(31.3-yard kick return average, 13.8-yard punt return average)

Senior
Offense: Tom Sturges, running back, Gettysburg
(1,431 yards rushing, 13 total touchdowns)
Defense: Kyle Follweiler, linebacker, Wilkes
(131 total tackles, six sacks, 22 tackles for loss)
Special teams: Tom Wenrich, punter, McDaniel
(Averaged 38.7 yards per punt, had two punts over 60 yards)

Of course, there are certainly good players, whose leadership helped their teams come together, who are not listed. Players such as Zak Thornton, Eric Dube, Matt Barcus and Cedric Townsend would be on my two-deep, if there were one. But my list of the players of the year are all student-athletes who showed up to play the game week in and week out and were lynchpins to their teams’ success. And, almost without fail, these players epitomized heart and skill.


About midway through the year, I listed where players in our region fit into the national statistic picture. Now that the regular season is wrapped up, here are the players who have found a place in the NCAA’s national top 10 statistically:

All purpose yards
8th, Stuart Sitterson, Washington & Lee, 192.8 yards per game
Field goals per game
9th, Tom Laurich, Widener, 1.2 per game
Forced fumbles
2nd, Daniel Barnes, Emory & Henry, four total
4th, Keith Wilson, Widener, four total
Interceptions
2nd, Orlando Brown, Widener, eight total
6th, Rantz Teeter, Gallaudet, six total
10th, Russell Destefano, Lebanon Valley, seven total
Kickoff returns
5th, Mike Vann, Ferrum, 30.3 yards per return
Pass sacks
2nd, Ryan Yaple, Lycoming, 1.4 per game
10th, Robin Shannon, Gallaudet, 1.1 per game
Passing efficiency
7th, Tanner Kelly, Albright, 163.4 rating
Passing yards
1st, Josh Vogelbach, Guilford, 361.8 yards per game
6th, Corey Sedlar, Hampden-Sydney, 311.8 yards per game
Punting yards per kick
3rd, Matt Barcus, Christopher Newport, 42.8-yard average
Receiving yards
2nd, Drew Smith, Hampden-Sydney, 146 yards per game
8th, Jesse Bradshaw, Christopher Newport, 117.8 yards per game
Receptions
1st, Hagen Miller, Guilford, 10.3 catches per game
2nd, Drew Smith, Hampden-Sydney, 10.2 catches per game
Rushing yards
5th, Zak Thornton, Randolph-Macon, 155.1 yards per game
9th, Tom Sturges, Gettysburg, 143.1 yards per game
Scoring
7th, Phillip Carter, Bridgewater, 20 touchdowns
Tackles for loss
6th, Kyle Follweiler, Wilkes, 2.2 per game
9th, Robin Shannon, Gallaudet, 2.0 per game
Total tackles
8th, Evin O’Sullivan, Emory & Henry, 13.6 per game


The final regular season Around the Mid-Atlantic top teams:
1. Muhlenberg
2. N.C. Wesleyan
3. Widener
4. Hampden-Sydney
5. Christopher Newport

So, last week I had Randolph-Macon in the spot that Hampden-Sydney now occupies. If you interpret that as meaning I had predicted R-MC to win this past Saturday, you would be right -- and I, of course, was wrong. But I did say last week that that spot was essentially a coin flip between the two teams. Anyway, keep an eye on these teams as all -- save for CNU -- have kept their seasons alive into the playoffs.


How did my predicted games of the year wind up? Which ones would I add in hindsight? Here’s some thoughts on how those things played out this year:

Widener at N.C. Wesleyan -- Final score: Widener wins 27-17
Turns out that both teams went on to win their conferences, which I was happy to see filled my prediction. And that made this early season matchup a good barometer for both clubs. It also made this a worthwhile game to watch this year. Widener capitalized on some mistakes NCW made early in the game, but the Bishops had taken advantage of an unconditioned Pride squad to make the game even closer than the final score showed. At times, this was anyone’s game, an exciting one to see.

Christopher Newport at Mary Hardin-Baylor -- Final score: UMHB wins 51-19
The trip to Texas for the Captains didn’t hold the luster of last year’s game. UMHB went up early and stayed on top, never looking back. Sure the trip was a long one for CNU, but bigger things were expected since CNU was coming off a win against Rowan the week before. As it turns out, Rowan isn’t quite the team it was last year, and CNU itself was working to rebuild some elements of its team, especially against the run. Unfortunately, you can’t travel to Abilene and expect to play well if your team has some defensive shortcomings.

Rowan at Wilkes -- Final score: Rowan wins 14-13 
Both teams came into this game at 0-2, an unexpected turn for the traditional powerhouses. But defense ruled the day, and as their seasons played out, these mighty teams did fall, each landing with 4-6 seasons. This game didn’t have the playoff implications I had hoped for, but it sure had the tension.

Guilford at Greensboro -- Final score: Guilford wins 41-35 
This perennially close game didn’t disappoint again, as the Quakers took the lead on the overall series after a close match. For the third time a row, a mere touchdown separated the cross-town rivals.

Delaware Valley at Lebanon Valley -- Final score: Del Val wins 49-13
With Lebanon Valley not panning out to be a conference contender this season, this game didn’t play the role I had hoped it would. The Aggies had a slow start to the season but were still playoff contenders in the final weeks. Del Val solidified its place in the MAC pecking order with this throttling, 

Bridgewater at Washington & Lee -- Final score: W&L wins 17-14I expected the ODAC title to be on the line here, but at this point in the season, W&L already had faltered enough to no longer be in contention. And the loss here for Bridgewater cut off any postseason hopes the Eagles had. What was significant was that W&L got a moral victory, of sorts, against Bridgewater. Last season, despite the Generals winning the conference, they still lost to the Eagles -- a loss that hung over them. Bridgewater was long the top of the ODAC food chain, and W&L’s win here proves they have the potential to beat anyone top to bottom.

N.C. Wesleyan at Christopher Newport -- Final score: NCW wins 42-32
This definitely was one of the best games of year, with the USA South title hanging in the balance. Every time NCW seemed to be pulling toward an unreachable lead, CNU battled back and made the game close. This game also was the first time CNU lost at home against a USAC opponent since 2001. The Pomoco curse might now be broken.

Ursinus at Dickinson -- Final score: Dickinson wins 35-20 
When Muhlenberg jumped into the driver’s seat, I was surprised, as I figured the Bears and Red Devils would be vying here for the Centennial’s automatic qualifier. Instead, this game was a battle for second place in the conference, which Dickinson handily earned.

Widener at Wilkes -- Final score: Widener wins 20-17 
Widener may have already wrapped up the conference championship, but the win here gave the Pride a clean sweep of the MAC. And more excitingly, Widener did it after being down 17-0 in the second quarter. The team opened up its passing game, and used the second half to its advantage to take the lead -- and keep it -- midway through the fourth.

Moravian at Muhlenberg -- Final score: Muhlenberg wins 35-7 
Moravian was a talker early in the season, entering a new conference and expected to strongly compete for the title. The Greyhounds muscled through their nonconference slate, but the Week 11 loss to Muhlenberg was one of four Moravian endured in conference play. This rivalry game became important for the Mules as they needed it to secure home-field advantage in at least the first round of the postseason. 

Some of the games that probably deserve to have been on the must-see list were three with significant conference title implications: the Centennial’s Dickinson at Muhlenberg, the Old Dominion’s Hampden-Sydney at Randolph-Macon and the Middle Atlantic’s Albright at Widener games. Muhlenberg also had good games against the College of New Jersey and the one-point contest against Gettysburg. And Christopher Newport’s win against Rowan was a tight game that gave a boost to the Captains’ morale. Lastly, N.C. Wesleyan’s three-point loss to South Region defending champion Wesley was key to proving that NCW was more than just preseason hype. Looking back on things, these would have all been candidates for the mid-Atlantic’s 10 matchups to watch.