By Ryan Tipps
D3sports.com
How do two best friends compete against each other every year and still almost never see each other play?
That's the situation Dickinson's Gregory Lord and Johns Hopkins' Andrew Kase are in. The answer is that both of the Centennial Conference athletes are on offense, which means when one of them is on the field, the other is on the bench with his teammates preparing to again take a crack at his opponent.
Despite that, from start to finish in the season, there isn't much that these guys miss. They talk and text each other often, and their long friendship comes from the fact that they ran side-by-side as teammates at Wyomissing High School in Pennsylvania. Lord, a year behind Kase, describes his fellow rusher as "a straight-ahead, bruising" fullback while calling himself "more of a shifty, elusive type of runner."
We have "different styles and different ways of attacking the hole and the defender," Lord said.
There's no doubt that at their high school, they complemented each other well.
Back then, especially once they got older and more dominant on the field, "there was a sense of competitiveness," Lord said. "In high school Andrew was a senior, and I was a junior. … There was an idea about who got the most yards, but at the end of the day, we were both looking for the win."
Those years helped developed the starting running backs into the players they are now in college. They were a mutual support structure -- discussing opponents and finding ways to get better.
"We definitely pushed each other," the 20-year-old Kase said. "My senior year, I had more carries than him, but he usually had a higher average per carry, and he would say, joking around, that if they gave him the ball more, he'd have more yards than me."
The high school pair finished as the Nos. 1 and 2 rushers in Berks County in 2005, both averaging around 8 yards per carry.
But these days, friendships aside, there's only so much these competing athletes can talk about.
"We talk to each other leading up to the game, and we don't want to give away any secrets," Kase said. "It never comes down to game-plan type of stuff, but we'll talk week to week about what each other did individually and how the team looked. Usually it's pretty obvious stuff as far as the team goes."
Even stickier between them is how adamantly they support the other's team. Sure, they'll root for each other to do well individually, but with an automatic qualifier on the line, the other team's loss can become your treasure.
Still, from an individual perspective, there's plenty of common ground to be had, not least of which is having to play against another close friend and former high school teammate, Muhlenberg's Patrick McDonough. The linebacker has put both Kase and Lord in their place at times -- and he doesn't exactly do it with a smile.
"He had a few good hits on me last year," Kase said, "and it is weird [to be tackled by him]. … Pat's one of the nicest guys I know off the field, but he tackled me, and he'd help me up. … But he didn't joke around. He was stern once you get him in the heat of the moment. I don't think he said a word to me on the field or cracked a smile at all."
Lord knows that feeling well. "I always tell a little story about Patrick," Lord said. "I came right down the middle of a hole last year, and he met me and got the better of me. I was laying on the floor, and he's screaming at me. I'm looking up at him, knowing who it is; I'm annoyed because he's yelling in my face. … He pretty much lit me up. It was one of those things that we'll look back on and laugh."
With McDonough and his Muhlenberg team having loosened their recent grip on the Centennial, teams such as Dickinson and Johns Hopkins have been stepping into the limelight and proving themselves two of the strongest contenders for the conference's automatic qualifier. The teams, which will meet Saturday, have only one loss between them this year, JHU's opener at Delaware Valley.
Kase, 20, has been a crucial factor in the Blue Jays' successes. The senior leads the conference in rushing yards with 596 and has eight touchdowns.
Lord, on the other hand, is one of four contributors to the potent attack Dickinson wields, which has posted 179 points in just five games. And he's comfortable with his place in the mix.
"I think the wealth is spread around and allow us to have a lot more options," he said. The 20-year-old junior has only 213 yards this year, but averages 4.8 yards per carry. It's his second year as a college rusher while spending most of his freshman year on defense.
For both players and both teams, an NCAA postseason game is within reach -- and anything less will be a disappointment.
"We expect to win the Centennial Conference championship," Lord said, "and we know it's going to be a fight week in and week out. We have to prepare each day for that."
In that vein, when these two best friends meet each other on the field, it could be the Centennial's biggest fight of the year.
Overlooked but not underappreciated
Some teams that Around the Mid-Atlantic got up close and personal with last season have flown under the radar a bit this year. Most are having interesting seasons, and it's definitely worth checking in:
In 2008, this column highlighted a Maryville team that was being revived from some tough years and had become a competitor in the USA South. On Saturday, that team, which is now 2-2, also played its most exciting game of the season. Methodist muscled 10 points in the fourth quarter to tie the game before the Scots won 36-30 in four overtimes. Linebacker Kyle Chewning, last season's conference defensive players of year, proved why he earns honors such as that after tallying 15 tackles and two sacks. But it was running back Darrell Tate who gave Maryville the final go-ahead score with a 12-yard touchdown run. When Methodist got the ball back, their game ended with an interception by the Scots' Demetrius Christian. The Monarchs passing game showed variety, with two quarterbacks throwing for more than 100 yards.
Last season, we got a look at the unique kind of students who attend Apprentice School in Newport News, where work and school (and athletics) strike a unique balance. The Builders opened conference play on a difficult note, losing on the road Saturday to Salisbury 77-7. Apprentice's lone score came on a 67-yard run by Reggie George, while Salisbury was able to put seven different players in the end zone. The focal point of last year's story, linebacker Mana Ohia from Hawaii, had only two tackles on Saturday but is second on the team for the season with 22. Apprentice falls to 1-4 while Salisbury breaks .500 at 3-2.
For my annual trip up to Pennsylvania, I traveled to Collegeville last year for a game story on Ursinus, which had a strong day defensively against Johns Hopkins back then. But this past weekend, when Ursinus met Gettysburg on the field, defense played only a bit part. The teams combined to put up more than 100 points, with the Bears edging out the Bullets 55-50 despite a furious 20-point rally in the fourth quarter by the visiting team. The teams combined for 1,327 yards of offense, and according to the Ursinus press release, conference records were set when Ursinus put up 48 points in just one half and when Gettysburg became the highest scoring team in a loss. Ursinus receiver Nick Giarratano hauled in passes for 218 yards and two touchdowns as the team became 2-0 in conference play for the first time in more than a decade. The Bullets were led by quarterback's Matt Flynn's 519 yards, while the defense, led in tackles by Tim Widdoes (14) and Sebastian Sullivan (12), forced four fumbles and an interception.
Last year, Around the Mid-Atlantic caught up with Randolph-Macon as they became the surprise ODAC champs and were shoving off to face Mount Union in Round 1 of the playoffs. This year, after dropping its first two, the Yellow Jackets have won the next three and have some momentum going into the meat of the conference. R-MC signal-caller Austin Faulkner had one receiver in mind on Saturday, Earl People, who accounted for 100 percent of the team's receiving yards. Peoples racked up 295 yards and two touchdowns in the outing.
Blitz package
Hampden-Sydney, led on offense by a combined three touchdowns from quarterback Corey Sedlar, also showed what it can do on defense by blanking conference opponent Bridgewater 19-0. Bill Doody and Boaz Young-el totaled three interceptions, and six players had tackles for a loss. What can the Eagles take away from Saturday? Well, it was the fewest points that the Tigers were held to since last season's Emory and Henry game -- which is the matchup that happens to be coming up this weekend.
Shenandoah almost did something it hasn't done since 2001: beat Christopher Newport on the road at Pomoco Stadium. After two overtimes, Captains kicker Matt Bourne elevated the team to a 30-27 victory. SU, who dominated many of the game's stats, missed a chance to win as two field goals during the fourth quarter were missed.
Defense played a hand in Guilford's first win of the season, which came against Southern Virginia. Jordan Nelson tied a school record with three picks, while Richie Paul and Trey Billian each were in the double digits with tackles. The Quakers utilized their run game, scoring five of their seven touchdowns on the ground in the 48-6 win.
Contact me
I would be happy to hear from anyone who has questions or feedback regarding the Around the Mid-Atlantic column or Division III football in general. Please write to me at ryan.tipps@d3football.com. I'm sure that I missed some highlights in the region. I invite you to talk about players and performances on the message board's Around the Mid-Atlantic thread. Additionally, if there is an idea you'd like to see me write about, post it there or email me.
