By Ryan Tipps
D3sports.com

Muhlenberg has relied on its defense all season to stave off tough opponents and to keep many more from even coming close. But Dickinson found the cracks in the Mules’ hide and hung 24 points on the home team at Scotty Wood Stadium. As was the case, that wasn’t enough.

After blazing out to a 17-point lead early in the second quarter, Dickinson began to crumble. Over the next 19 minutes of play, Muhlenberg put up 23 unanswered points, snagging the lead late in the third quarter.

Dickinson coach Darwin Breaux told me before the game that beating a team at Muhlenberg’s level would take a combination of things, but that when all was said and done, “Field position is going to be the single most important factor in this game.”

To a large extent, he was right. Four of the day’s scoring drives began with less than half the field to cover. One of those drives came midway through the fourth quarter as Red Devil quarterback Ian Mitchell ran 5 yards into the endzone, capping a 41-yard drive and putting Dickinson on top once again. The touchdown gave Dickinson 24 points, more points than any other team had scored on Muhlenberg this season.

The Mules needed to rely on its offense to come through late in the final period. Junior quarterback Eric Santagato answered that call, connecting 29 yards for his fourth touchdown of the day and the game-winner. Final score: 29-24.

This reliance on many facets of a team illustrates the larger picture involved in winning games. A stout defense won’t perform well if the offense can’t stay on the field longer than two minutes. An offense will weaken if every drive starts 80 or more yards from the endzone. 

Muhlenberg showed that the various elements of its team were capable of shouldering their burdens. Likewise, Dickinson has focused on managing its well-roundedness this year.

“The team approach has been the thing that we’ve always stressed,” Breaux said. “Defense has come up big at times, offense has come up big, special teams have done the same. It’s always been about the team concept. We’ve made plays in certain situations, and all three phases have been a part of that.”

Muhlenberg remained unbeaten after picking off Dickinson.

Earlier in the season, Dickinson earned one of the region’s most notable wins, thwarting Hobart in overtime. Muhlenberg, too, has come up big several times, celebrating four shutouts, including two that came in the first games of the season against tough nonconference opponents New Jersey and Union.

“Our defense has been great up till now,” Muhlenberg coach Mike Donnelly said, “and that’s been sort of the springboard.”

Defense isn’t just stopping the offense, it’s about forcing the opponent to make mistakes – and that could have been the most significant thing the Mules did to win Saturday. Muhlenberg came up with crucial turnovers four times, often leaving Dickinson’s defense in troublesome situations.

Going into the weekend, Donnelly said he hoped that his offense would be able to pound at Dickinson’s linebackers on the ground.

“We’ve got to be able to establish our run, which is what we’ve tried to do for all seven of the games so far. No question, we have to do that,” he said. “And I think the component of the game that has got to click for us is that we’ve got to make more big plays than we give up.”

That run game didn’t materialize as he had hoped, with Muhlenberg garnering only 96 yards in that aspect. Though the 180 yards passing did leave the team with 276 yards of total offense, a fair complement – and a slight edge – to the 261 yards Dickinson compiled.

Though, of course, what mattered was the scoreboard, and Donnelly credits his players for their dedication to the program and their unity as a squad.

“Clearly they’ve been an outstanding team,” Donnelly noted. “And I know a lot of people talk about that, but it’s the idea of leadership and chemistry and just being a team. They work hard every day, and they enjoy it. It’s a special group.”

And coaches know that, especially in a conference where the bottom teams have shown they can compete with the top teams and there’s no obvious “middle pack,” each game becomes critical. A loss earlier this season against a now 3-5 Johns Hopkins team put significantly more pressure on Dickinson at this point late in the season.

“Every conference game is so critical with the automatic qualifier being in place,” Breaux said. “Every game means the same as the other games. They count them as a win or a loss. I’m sure kids look at games in that they know this is a big football game with conference implications. But it’s still about executing every single play.”

Donnelly is certainly eyeing the playoffs, though a win this coming weekend is needed against Ursinus, which is 5-1 in conference play, to assure Muhlenberg the automatic qualifier. But a loss isn’t the end of the world. The Mules have positioned themselves nicely for a Pool C bid if necessary, but not to be overshadowed, they’ve also cemented a season among the best in school history. You would have to scroll through just over 60 years of football history to find the last time Muhlenberg started a season 8-0.

And, thanks to losses last weekend from two of the South Region’s top 5 NCAA-ranked teams, Muhlenberg is poised to move up from its fifth-place spot.

The Centennial has long been cast aside as one of the lower-tier conferences in Division III football, but that perception may have changed after some big wins against New Jersey AC and Liberty League contenders. Donnelly, for one, thinks things are looking up.


“I think people have underrated our conference,” the Muhlenberg coach said. “We have a lot better teams in the year 2007 than people give us credit for. I’m a big fan of show me the money now; I’m not a big fan of what happened in the past. And I know this: (Going into last weekend) the top four teams in our conference have the best record of any top four teams in the country.”

It’s, of course, impossible to be everywhere I want to be on Saturdays, which is why I’m happy when a few folks out there help be my eyes and ears. On of those important places on Saturday was Pomoco Stadium in Newport News, Va., where Christopher Newport and N.C. Wesleyan were having a showdown in what is likely to be the USA South’s de facto championship game.

I say “de facto” because the winner, which turned out to be NCW, needs only one more win over the next two weeks to take the conference title and automatic qualifier. Those final two games are against Ferrum and Greensboro. However, Ferrum can play the spoiler, because if it wins out, it will snag the AQ. The Panthers already have one loss in conference and still have to play the other two of the USAC’s top teams down this stretch. A tough road for a still-developing young team.

So, while it’s not a guarantee that the CNU/NCW game was for all of the USA South marbles, it was certainly the conference’s most anticipated matchup and one that notably dealt CNU it’s first home conference loss since September 2001.

Dave DiPersio, aka CNU85 to the message board folks, gives us his first-hand account of how the day unfolded:

The rain let up at Pomoco in time for tailgating, and I was fortunate enough to be invited to tailgate with the family and friends of CNU players Matt Long and Jesse Bradshaw. 

I was also fortunate enough to be invited into the radio booth with announcers Francis Tommasino and Tracey Cooper. I bribed my way into the booth by bringing them food from the tailgate.

The game opened with a long NCW drive that went 80 yards and sapped up half of the first quarter. CNU countered with a long drive of its own, but a fumble on the 2-yard line ended the scoring threat. CNU forced NCW to punt on the next possession, giving Captains quarterback Todd Faison the opportunity to connect for a 70-yard play with Bradshaw for a score as time expired in the first quarter. 

NCW responded on the next possession with a drive that culminated in a touchdown pass from Townsend to Bush. It was then evident that a shootout was beginning to take place.


After a few more scores, the defensive units for both teams decided to show up as two fourth-down stops by NCW surround their three-and-out possession on offense. The second fourth down attempt by CNU was near the end of the half and on the CNU side of the field. NCW took over on downs in very good position to score before the half. CNU sophomore defensive back Jack King intercepted the ball in the endzone and ran it out to effectively end the first half with NCW leading 21-10.

The halftime stats were close. In fact, they favored CNU as far as yards and time of possession. However, I was surprised by those stats. The game “felt” like NCW was in complete control in all aspects, not just on the scoreboard.

CNU took possession to start the second half, but the Bishops forced the Captains to punt, which was blocked. Punter Matt Barcus was injured on the play, bringing back sour memories of last year’s home game against Mary Hardin-Baylor. I was thinking that this could be a huge loss. I was at the Virginia Tech/Boston College game Thursday night, and I remember noting that Barcus was hands down a better punter than the Tech punter. It’s not even close.

It was also around this time that we were notified in the radio booth that CNU head coach Matt Kelchner was not on the sidelines. Instead, he was in an ambulance outside of the locker room. All we were told was that he was feeling lightheaded. At this point I’m thinking that none of this is good. NCW and CNU traded scores in the third quarter, and another CNU fumble in the red zone led to an NCW drive to make it 35-17. The game was about to get ugly for CNU, or so I thought. But CNU scored the next 15 points to pull within three, 35-32. A 2-point conversion run by 5:38 left in the fourth quarter made this a very interesting game.

NCW scored one last time to pull ahead 42-32, but CNU wasn’t finished. Another long drive ends with yet another long pass from Faison to Bradshaw, but this time the ball stripped away 2 yards from pay dirt, the third fumble in the red zone for the Captains. I’ve met Bradshaw a few times. From what I can tell, he’s a fierce competitor, and I’m sure he would be happy to give up his record setting day in pass receiving yards for a win. He finished the game with 10 receptions for 272 yards and two touchdowns. 

Overall it was a fantastic game to watch. Two very well coached teams with a lot of talent, especially on offense -- each team trading punches and neither team willing to give up. It was as if this game would be a key in determining the conference champion. Oh yeah, it pretty much was. I give credit to the NCW coaching staff and players for coming into a hostile, homecoming environment and ending the Captains’ 20-game home conference winning streak. I give credit to CNU for not giving up, even with their coach in the hospital during the second half.

Widener essentially derailed Delaware Valley’s hopes of making the playoffs with a 13-10 defensive struggle. The Pride remains at the top of the MAC with Albright, both teams undefeated in conference play. Albright’s toppling of Lebanon Valley 27-20 on Saturday prepped the stage for this coming weekend’s match, which will take place in Chester, Pa.

Neither Widener nor Del Val was dominating on offense Friday, as indicated by the scores and by the fact that each team totaled only about 250 yards in total offense.

I am continually impressed to see Widener able to play stronger for longer in critical games, something that I’ve mentioned several times before as a shortcoming for the team early in the season. The Pride’s momentum remained elevated late against the Aggies, as Widener posted 10 of its 13 points in the second half.

As with the CNU/NCW game, I have the benefit of a first-hand account, thanks to D3football.com deputy managing editor Gordon Mann. Here’s what he had to say:

The weather was undoubtedly a factor in Friday night's game. It rained throughout the evening, varying from pouring to misting. There were six fumbles in the game, at least four of which could have been weather aided (one was on a quarterback sack and another on a desperation lateral play). More than the turnovers, the rain appeared to negate the speed upon which both team's passing games are based. Normally these teams throw 8- to 15-yard patterns and ask their wideouts to turn them into bigger gains. That couldn't happen in these conditions.

Coming into the game, I had heard two advantages that Del Val would supposedly have over Widener. Neither materialized. One was the speed factor. Widener traditionally has some receivers who are very fast but supposedly doesn't have that this year. Del Val has some quick guys, particularly at wide receiver. But no one looked quick in the rain.

The other supposed advantage was in running the ball. Del Val entered the night as the top-rated rushing offense in the MAC (160.3 yards per game) and Widener as the second worst against the run (176 yards per game allowed). But Widener plugged the run all night and turned Del Val into a one-dimensional attack on a night where it desperately needed to run the ball. Meanwhile, Widener's Ian Decker, a sophomore fullback, ran for 101 yards on 24 carries against a normally solid Aggie run defense.

The game was basically a defensive struggle with it coming down to whose offense would squeak out the most against the other. Widener's three drives were set up by good punt returns and a fumble recovery. No “drive” was more than 28 yards. The Aggies had longer drives because of some gaffs by the secondary but generally couldn't get anything going either.

Three stars stood out Friday night:

-- Widener’s Decker, who ran the ball well and threw a crushing block to give Matt Campbell enough time to throw the game-winning touchdown pass to Tim Kilkenny.

-- Widener freshman linebacker Joe Favinger (10 tackles, 2 sacks) who exemplified the quick, aggressive play of the Pride's linebackers.


-- Delaware Valley safety Quincy Thaxton, who recovered a fumble and had an interception. The senior has now been involved in five turnovers (one fumble recovery, one fumble forced, three interceptions) in two weeks. Del Val's defense was very good again, but it can't beat good teams unless the offense can give it something on the ground. Otherwise, quarterback Mike Isgro is asked to make a play every down -- and too many of those plays have involved Isgro scrambling for his life like a chicken in a Perdue factory.

It’s certain: The Old Dominion’s automatic qualifier will go to either Randolph-Macon or Hampden-Sydney. They’re the only two teams left in the ODAC with fewer than two conference losses -- and the showdown is set for Nov. 10. 

R-M certainly would like to go into its last game riding high, but as the ODAC’s only undefeated conference team, they can afford to lose to Bridgewater next week and still be in control of their destiny when H-SC comes to town. Seeding is important, but so is keeping starters healthy. I wouldn’t be surprise if both the Yellow Jackets and the Tigers rest their key players for most of this weekend’s games.

Because the Eagles lost last weekend, they’ve been taken out of the playoff hunt. Even if they do win out, a Pool C bid is not in their future.

It’s been well documented as to how the ODAC as a whole has evened out the quality of its internal playing field. But if you need more evidence, take note that only four times all year have games between ODAC teams been separated by more than 10 points. That’s out of a total of 15 conference games played. No matter who’s up to bat, teams here seem to keep it close.

After a first quarter where both Ferrum and Greensboro put seven points on the board, a scoring drought ensued -- appropriately ironic for this part of Southwest Virginia, which is where I spent this past Saturday. For almost 45 minutes of play, the teams remained locked at seven. Then, with about three minutes left in the game, Ferrum burst forth with a 10-play, 72-yard drive to the endzone, putting the Panthers on top for the first time Saturday.

But it truly was the defense that finished off Greensboro. The Prides’ final three drives became stuck in a downward spiral: First, the Panther defense forced Greensboro to punt after stopping run attempts twice behind the line. In the Prides’ next drive, Ferrum sacked the quarterback twice for a total of 19 yards, then intercepted the third down pass, which was returned 49 yards for a touchdown. Lastly, on the only play of Greensboro’s final drive, the Panthers had another pick. Something changed in the last three minutes of the game, and either Ferrum began to play like conference contenders, or Greensboro ran out of steam – or maybe both.


Ferrum is shaping up into a team to keep an eye on for the next couple of years. The very young team solidified at least a .500 season, and going into the first week of November, the Panthers are still in the conference title hunt. Quintel Banks, a freshman fullback, played in his first game of the season, and showed the kind of strength a fullback should. He tallied 76 yards for the day, but more notably scored the team’s only two offensive touchdowns. Couple his potential with freshman Mike Vann, the conference’s leading rusher, sophomore quarterback Matt Dobson and junior running back Ronnie Edwards, and you’re looking at a skilled crew executing the team’s run-based offense in coming years.

Earlier this month, Moravian lost a member of its athletic family. Doug Pollard, who had served as an assistant football coach during a period about two decades ago, died last week. Though a couple of readers had written into me to say that they remembered his years as a gridiron coach, Pollard was more known as the school’s track & field coach, where he coached several conference championship teams and as well as national-caliber athletes.

Lycoming’s 26-14 win on Saturday gave coach Frank Girardi sole possession of the 15th place spot on the NCAA’s all-time winningest coaches list. Girardi’s Warriors took control of the game early, putting up touchdowns on their first two possessions against FDU-Florham.

Franklin and Marshall needed overtime to edge out McDaniel 24-17, but the Diplomats were able to do just that thanks, in part, to 215 yards earned by running back Ryan Murray. To put it in perspective, F&M was averaging fewer than 100 yards per game on the ground coming into the weekend.

Wilkes showed what defense is all about, holding King’s to 7 yards of offense in a 35-0 rout on Saturday. The Colonels also forced the Monarchs to turn the ball over five times.

Speaking of defense, Washington and Lee’s came up with a strong performance, keeping Bridgewater, which had been averaging about 450 yards of total offense per game, to just 212.

The Around the Mid-Atlantic top teams:
1. Muhlenberg
2. Widener
3. N.C. Wesleyan
4. Christopher Newport
5. Bridgewater

If you’re the keen-eyed type, you’ll notice that things have changed around a little here. Last week’s Nos. 1, 2 and 3 all lost on Saturday. CNU’s loss was far from being surprising. It’s been predicted and discussed extensively on the message boards, in Around the Mid-Atlantic and in the ATN podcast before. The bigger upset came with Washington and Lee taking down Bridgewater. I didn’t see that coming, and I doubt many others did either. Muhlenberg is left as the only undefeated team in the region and had earned its spot at the top with the strong victory over Dickinson. Also, Widener proved it belongs in the MAC title hunt with its win, and NCW found its way back into the mix. Next week will tell about Albright and Randolph-Macon, two teams that can find their way into the rankings if they beat Widener and Bridgewater, respectively.

I find it exciting that while many conferences around the country already have locked in their Pool A playoff representative, not a single team in the Mid-Atlantic is guaranteed of being bound for the Stagg Bowl. It makes the November stretch of games worth staying plugged into.

By grade level, here are the mid-Atlantic’s players of the week:
Freshman
Quintel Banks, fullback, Ferrum: Muscled his way into the end zone twice in the Panthers’ 21-7 win against Greensboro. And this was just his first game of the season.

Sophomore
Jesse Bradshaw, wide receiver, Christopher Newport: Broke a school record with 272 receiving yards in the Captains’ loss against N.C. Wesleyan. Bradshaw, who also hauled in two touchdowns, accounted for all but 56 yards of CNU’s air game.

Junior
Nick Olivero, defensive back, Catholic: Intercepted Emory and Henry three times to help boost the Cardinals to a 31-21 victory, their first in conference play.

Senior
Eric Dube, linebacker, Dickinson: Recorded a game-high 14 tackles, including one for a loss. Dube led his team in holding Muhlenberg to just 96 yards rushing.