By Ryan Tipps
D3sports.com
There’s no question that we, as Division III parents, fans, alumni and athletes, live in the shadow of major-college football. From the increased traffic around college towns on game day to the mall shelves stocked with school colors and to the sports-section headlines in newspapers, Division I is unavoidable.
But the beauty of Division III is that we as a community are there, too – as well as here and everywhere else you look. It’s just not always so obvious.
Barely a month ago, while in line at a Taco Bell on a Friday night, I bumped into a sophomore on Emory and Henry’s football team. In the past week, I learned that the man who works with my three horses’ hooves played on Bridgewater’s 1980 team, the first year the Eagles won the ODAC. And his son went on to play for the team earlier this decade. At my full-time job, I’ve known co-workers who were graduates of Oberlin, Washington and Lee, Sewanee and Wooster.
Division III isn’t the classification that often gets its name in lights – our impact is more latent. But that’s part of why D3football.com and its staff are here.
Most of you reading this probably aren’t new to the site, and in fact, you’ve been salivating for a while now to get the season started, more than eight months after the Stagg Bowl ended. But I hope that some of you are just now getting your first taste of what D3football.com has to offer and will walk with me through the next 11 weeks in the Mid-Atlantic region.
For newcomers and returners alike, I recommend purchasing Kickoff 2009. It’s the only paid product we put out all year, and while offering you a look at all 238 teams in the country and providing a tall stack of feature stories, it also helps us cover travel costs and all the other expenses that will be incurred over the next few months.
Buying it will help you look at the teams outside your comfort zone and, hopefully, give you a taste of the bigger picture across the country. Because, that’s part of what I said at the beginning of this column – we’re everywhere you look.
Thousands upon thousands of student-athletes pick Division III as their balance between a challenging classroom environment and a competitive field experience. It has often been said they do it for the love of the game, and their passion to play will make these coming Saturdays some of the best days of the year. Give it three weeks, and you’ll realize that come Tuesday or Wednesday, you’ll already be looking forward to the next Saturday. You may even be at that point now.
The Around the Mid-Atlantic column will come out every Tuesday, and I will strive to bring you a roundup of the weekend, including stats and standout players, while also giving you a look inside some unique parts of college football at this level. After a couple of seasons as a columnist, I’ve learned so much about what it takes to compete and what kinds of people (from students up to coaches) Division III draws out.
If you haven’t taken a peek at D3football.com’s message boards (www.d3boards.com), I encourage you to do so. Under the South Region label, you’ll find fans’ broad insight into this region’s teams, which stretch from North Carolina up into Pennsylvania. The message boards are broken down by conference, but this year I’ve also added an Around the Mid-Atlantic thread. Please comment and discuss interconference and regional games there, and feel free to post story ideas there or by emailing me directly at ryan.tipps@d3football.com. I’m always happy to answer questions as long as you’re prepared for sometimes long-winded responses.
The first grand piece of insight I’ll offer for the 2009 season: It won’t be like last year. The 2008 playoff teams – Christopher Newport, Muhlenberg, Randolph-Macon and Wesley – have large targets on their backs. And it’s a safe bet that all of them won’t return to the postseason in November.
And in that spirit of looking ahead to the season, there are 10 games (plus change) that will be especially worth keeping an eye on. There will certainly be more biggies than this in 2009, but this is a good place to start.
Christopher Newport at Wesley on Sept. 5. The game that Hurricane Hanna supplanted. In 2008, Christopher Newport shut down the school and canceled sporting events as the storm blew through. Both of these eventual playoff teams saw their season openers delayed a week, with Wesley suffering a notable loss against Delaware Valley the following week. For CNU, the Captains didn’t get to play their first home game until the second week of October. In ’09, both teams have some question marks but are likely to make playoff runs. This will be a perfect test for both.
Ferrum at Emory and Henry on Sept. 5. This decades-long rivalry, which I have in the past affectionately referred to as the Battle of Bluegrass Belt, has opened the season the past two years, with the Wasps emerging with slight victories both times. This season, each team’s cement core will have to make sure its exterior cracks are mended before conference play starts. Emory & Henry returns probably its best offense in years, including running back Caleb Jennings, but the team lacks experience in its usually potent defense. For Ferrum, a prime quarterback candidate didn’t return, and there are some holes in the defensive secondary, cornering the Panthers even before the season started. Both teams have something to prove, and to prove early.
Hobart at Dickinson on Sept. 12. With just four minutes to play last year, the Red Devils led the Statesmen and seemed likely to log a big win over a future playoff team. But 60 minutes is 60 minutes, and Hobart rallied back to notch a 28-21 victory. Both teams are solid postseason possibilities this year, and the winner won’t have any shortage of confidence over the following two months.
St. John Fisher at Salisbury on Sept. 26. It’s hard to forget last year’s game between these two future conference foes: A last second quarterback sack sealed a four-overtime 58-52 victory for Salisbury. Only half of this year’s Gulls schedule is made up of in-region Division III teams – and Fisher falls outside of that range. So while this game is not part of the primary criteria the NCAA uses for postseason decisions, the game will be a battle of status and pride for two top squads hoping to again have the opportunity to be on the schedule in Week 12.
Johns Hopkins at Dickinson on Oct. 10. With Muhlenberg being forced to fill its voids at quarterback and running back, the door has swung wide open for another Centennial team to step to the top of the pedestal. Dickinson and Johns Hopkins appear as the most likely candidates to do that. Both teams return the bulk of their offensive starters, including a power trio for the Red Devils of Ian Mitchell, Pat O’Connor and Steve Lord and for Johns Hopkins the muscle of the trenches led by preseason All-American lineman Mike Stoffel.
N.C. Wesleyan at Christopher Newport on Oct. 17. The past two seasons, this game has decided the USA South’s automatic qualifier – and the road teams have been the winners. Last year, CNU captured a one-point victory; the year before NCWC held onto a halftime lead to help nab the conference crown. By this point in the season, N.C. Wesleyan’s defense should be nailed down and ready as the Captains will come armed with preseason All-American Tunde Ogun, who was among the nation’s top rushers last season.
Bridgewater at Emory and Henry on Oct. 24. Few conferences are as wide open or require as much guesswork in 2009 as the ODAC, but with the Eagles and Wasps signaling the return of some key performers from 2008, this game could very well separate the Nos. 1 and 2 teams (though Hampden-Sydney should not be discounted as a top contender as well in the ODAC). The youth from last year’s Bridgewater team is a year older, a year wiser and a year better. The Wasps will get to benefit from many returners on offense as well as preseason All-American linebacker Evin O’Sullivan on defense.
Salisbury at Wesley on Oct. 31. With Salisbury getting closer to becoming an affiliate for the Empire 8, this ACFC rivalry has an expiration date, at least as a conference game. As in recent years, a Pool B playoff bid can hinge on this performance. Both teams should be contenders to be in the NCAA’s regional rankings, and a win over a ranked team goes a long way to getting into the playoffs and being seeded highly. Wesley’s 15-point win last season was the largest margin of victory since 2005, after two years of games being separated by only 7 and 3 points.
Randolph-Macon at Hampden-Sydney on Nov. 14. “The Game” will be played for the 115th time this year, and after last year’s matchup, H-SC will be out to avenge its loss. The Tigers were one quarter away from a playoff bid before the Yellow Jackets posted 21 unanswered points in the final 13:40 of play, setting up their first conference championship in more than a decade. H-SC and R-MC have won the Old Dominion’s automatic qualifier in each of the past two years, and that notion alone should make this one worth watching.
Moravian at Muhlenberg on Nov. 14. Another on the year’s rivalry slate, the neighboring schools have a long and heated tradition of competition. In ’08, the Greyhounds spoiled the Mules’ perfect regular season and damaged Muhlenberg’s hopes of a better Round 1 seed. With Centennial competition at a premium this year – and at least three other conference teams able to make strong runs at the title – this game could become rooted largely in pride for seniors hoping to end their careers on a high note.
Other good games that didn’t quite make the list: Guilford at Greensboro on Sept. 5; Johns Hopkins at Delaware Valley on Sept. 5; Maryville at Centre on Sept. 12; Salisbury at Christopher Newport on Sept. 19; N.C. Wesleyan at Emory & Henry on Sept. 19; Frostburg State at Salisbury on Nov. 14.
