By Ryan Tipps
D3sports.com
This year’s Hampden-Sydney is not the Hampden-Sydney of 2007. This is not the team that won a conference championship. And this is not the team that averaged 35 points on offense per outing.
This team, in fact, is probably better.
Parity defines the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, and no Saturday is a win a sure thing. But H-SC overcame what is arguably one of its top conference hurdles last weekend by putting the shootout talk to rest and handing Guilford a 35-14 defeat.
This win is “going to help us down the road,” said Marty Favret, the Tigers’ head coach. “Guilford’s got a good team. (Quakers quarterback Josh) Vogelbach’s is a terrific player. For him to go 0-4 against us over the last four years, that makes me feel good because he’s one of the best the conference has ever seen. We’re happy, we’re hoping to build on it.”
Vogelbach was denied a passing touchdown for the first time since October of last year. In the past three years when these teams have met, focus has been put on the scoring blitz that has occurred, with point totals for day the even reaching past 100. But Saturday’s effort by the Tigers points to something that has been happening all season -- even if a little under the radar.
Hampden-Sydney has been showing fortitude on defense.
Hampden-Sydney cornerback Boaz Young-el forces a fumble. Guilford turned the ball over four times in the loss. Courtesy of Axionfoto |
“We really rallied against this call that everybody said this was going to be a shootout,” Favret noted. “I told our defense that the culture here is changing and we’re going to go out, and it’s not going to be a 52-45 game. We really thought we could keep that in check. ... When all was said and done, they only got in the end zone twice. I was thrilled with how we played on defense.”
H-SC’s upperclassmen -- such as linemen Zack Sanchez and Sam Rosten and safety Thomas Hovis -- are proving they can mesh with the younger players, such as cornerback Michael Ware, to produce results. Those results include holding opponents to fewer than 21 points a game (a sharp turnaround over last season) and statistically becoming the conference’s top rushing defense.
That change did not come overnight, but rather the groundwork was laid in prior seasons -- and more importantly, offseasons.
“In the recruiting process,” Favret said, “we always get this that only the best players play on offense. If I had to rate it, 10 of our top 15 players are playing defense right now. We had a good recruiting class two or three years ago, and those kids are juniors and seniors now.”
But there’s also the comfort that comes with their surroundings, and the Tigers’ defenders have been better settling into their roles.
“It’s the second year in our system, which is a different kind of deal now,” he said. “We’re doing a West Virginia 3-3-5, and the kids are more comfortable with it. We have just a lot of really good players over there.”
Josh Vogelbach gets chased by H-SC linebacker Andrew Sellers. Vogelbach had a less than stellar day -- by his usual standards. Courtesy of Axionfoto |
To be sure, talent also still runs deep offensively. H-SC played its first full game of the year without injured running back Josh Simpson, who led the nation last year in points per game.
Favret made the point, though: “With Simpson not playing, it was good for us to show that we have more than just him.”
Against Guilford, others easily filled that gap. Quarterback Corey Sedlar showcased a day of 316 passing yards and three touchdowns, including two that connected with junior Adam Gillette. The wideout had a breakout day, more than doubling his number of yards on the season and getting his first touchdown receptions. Favret had been looking forward to that moment.
Gillette “has obviously lived in Drew Smith’s shadow for a couple of years,” the coach said. “His dad played in the NFL; he’s 6-8. He’s an interesting player. His confidence has really turned a corner over the last couple of weeks. … We have a lot of good players on offense, but he’s the guy who has really stepped up.”
The road is still long to round out the 10 scheduled games. Last year’s attempt to sweep the conference slate was marred early. Even so, the Tigers rode the automatic qualifier into the playoffs. And, today, the Tigers bring an even more balanced team to the ODAC table.
“It’s time that we start realizing that we got Simpson and Sedlar and some really great players on offense,” Favret said, “but we also got really good kids on defense. And I think they’re starting to look forward to the challenge and have a little bit of strut there.”
What stunned Wesley has now stunned Salisbury. The Sea Gulls traded touchdowns with Delaware Valley through the first half of Saturday’s game, but errors later in the contest cost them the lead -- and the win.
Salisbury has dropped from sixth place in the national poll to 17th place after the 41-27 loss. Delaware Valley had two weeks to soak in the confidence of its win over a highly touted Wesley team. Salisbury’s confidence should have been climbing toward its own summit, having already bested three teams that will likely finish at or near the tops of their conferences.
With seven regional games on their schedule, the Gulls have a fragile Pool B spot to consider, and the Wesley meeting is still to come. Whether you consider the loss a surprise or not, it ultimately pressures Salisbury into playing with near perfection down the stretch.
On Saturday, Salisbury was held to its lowest rushing total of the season, though it also happened to be the team’s most productive day passing. Four players found the end zone, including a 33-yard reception by Kevin Tillage.
On defense, senior linebacker Matt Barnes pounded his way to a game high 14 tackles while Jarrell Chandler, who left the field with an injury, was behind Mike Isgro’s only sack of the day. However, the defense allowed its first 100-yard rusher of the season.
The week after Wesley lost, the Wolverines turned around and pounded Widener 41-9. As Salisbury heads to Newport News next week, will this loss be on their minds?
With a steady rain falling all day, McDaniel was able to capitalize on Dickinson fumbles to field a 20-13 victory at home. The Green Terror had only half the offensive yardage of the Red Devils and only a third as many first downs, yet McDaniel used the turnovers well, including one late in the game and deep in Dickinson territory. Dickinson quarterback Ian Mitchell combined for 279 yards and a touchdown, but running back Greg Lord was held to under 100 yards for the first time all season. For McDaniel, Mike Weick logged a career-high 14 tackles.
If you were looking for a win from coach Mike Clark in the Bridgewater-Lycoming game Saturday, you got your wish. Bridgewater’s coach, at the school for 14 years, went head-to-head with Lycoming’s new coach -- both of whom bear the Mike Clark moniker. The young Eagles team struggled to take off as Lycoming burst out to a 34-0 halftime lead. The tide turned slightly after the break, with Bridgewater keeping Lycoming scoreless but still able to only to put 17 points on the board themselves.
The front office of D3football.com dubbed this weekend’s matchup between Randolph-Macon (Keith McMillan’s alma mater) and Catholic (Pat Coleman’s alma mater) the Guru Bowl, and the Yellow Jackets got three passing touchdowns from Austin Faulkner to propel them past the Cardinals 32-20. R-MC is continuing an impressive switch in its offense this season, creating much more balance between the run and pass games. The Yellow Jackets, in spoiling Catholic’s perfect season to date, also controlled the field with a time of possession of 35:28 and 23 first downs, which was eight more than their opponent.
In the loss against Hampden-Sydney, Guilford quarterback Josh Vogelbach set three NCAA Division III records: pass completions (1,037), pass attempts (1,721) and 300-yard passing games (24).
Washington & Lee and Averett met again this year at Salem Stadium in a game that helps benefit Habitat for Humanity. The game broke open in the second half, with the Generals putting up 24 unanswered points in the 31-23 victory.
With just 10 seconds left in the game, a field goal by Jay Graham lifted Christopher Newport past Wilkes 21-20. It was CNU’s second game of the season, and the win meant battling back from a seven-point halftime deficit on the road.
The Blue Jays got clipped for a loss thanks in part to five turnovers as Moravian extended its perfect season -- and ended Johns Hopkins’. Moravian had two players, linebackers Kevin McGorry and Andrew Morrissey, notch 11 tackles in the 33-10 landslide. Also, Greyhounds kicker Brian Reckenbeil broke two school records and extended his streak to 51 straight extra points made.
N.C. Wesleyan broke four program records in a 42-0 pounding of Methodist. According to the school’s news release, the records involved the 12th-straight conference win, team rushing yards (359), margin of victory and longest running play (84-yarder by freshman Stedman Mathis).
Muhlenberg started its conference slate the same way it spent it last season: as winners. Quarterback Eric Santagato threw for four touchdowns and almost 250 yards in the 42-21 win over Gettysburg.
Ferrum and Shenandoah each averaged at least 4.5 yards per rush as the Panthers took the lead in the second quarter but had the Hornets hot on their tails until the close of the 14-12 affair. One of the key plays of the day came on a 60-yard touchdown pass from Ferrum quarterback Marcus Mayo to halfback Mike Vann.
The Around the Mid-Atlantic top teams:
1. Muhlenberg
2. Wesley
3. Hampden-Sydney
4. Salisbury
5. Moravian
The Gulls’ loss was the only real shakeup in the list, as they and other previously undefeated teams (Catholic, Johns Hopkins) came out on the losing end last weekend. I think Salisbury still has the muscle, as well as credible wins against Albright and Christopher Newport, to keep them nestled in the High Five. In a head-to-head against Moravian, I’d give Salisbury the edge, hence my placement.
