By John Regenfuss
D3sports.com
In what is already an intriguing CCIW championship race, North Central made a little more interesting on Saturday in thrilling fashion.
Down 16-13 to Illinois Wesleyan with 10 seconds remaining, Cardinal quarterback Kam Kniss hit receiver Brad Spencer in the left corner of the end zone on a fade pattern for a game-winning 6-yard touchdown pass. The Kniss-to-Spencer connection capped a 14-play, 64-yard drive that chewed up the final 3:18 of the game.
"This is a great win not only for our team, but our program," North Central coach John Thorne told The (Bloomington, Ill.) Pantagraph.
"The last play was something. We put a slight variation on the play because we saw how they defended it in a similar situation earlier when they got down by the goal line. We wanted to put the ball on the backside shoulder instead of going over the top like we normally do."
The victory put a dramatic end to North Central's 14-game losing streak to Illinois Wesleyan. The Cardinals up their conference record to 2-1 and 5-1 overall while the Titans' drop to 1-2 in the CCIW and 3-3 overall. Not only did Illinois Wesleyan lose the game but also most likely saw its conference championship aspirations die with it.
Spencer's clutch catch was his ninth of the day. The junior totaled 103 receiving yards. Kniss finished the day 21-for-36 passing for 249 yards with no interceptions and the one touchdown toss to Spencer.
While the win was significant for North Central, the most difficult part of its conference schedule still lies ahead. After traveling to play Carthage this weekend, the Cardinals will face three of the top teams in the CCIW in Wheaton, Millikin, and Elmhurst in consecutive weeks. NCC's lone conference loss came at the hands of Augustana, a 27-7 defeat.
Warhawks on the warpath; La Crosse back on track
After last weekend's action in the WIAC, UW-Whitewater can claim a position not often attained by any conference team during the regular season -- sole possession of first place.
The Warhawks proved some doubters wrong on Saturday, at least for one more week, by knocking off then-No. 17 UW-Stout 28-23. Whitewater used five turnovers and held off a late furious rally to get past the Blue Devils. By virtue of their third WIAC victory, the Warhawks cracked the D3football.com Top 25 for the first time this season, polling at No. 21. However, if Whitewater is celebrating its success, one look at its upcoming schedule should bring it quickly back down to Earth. In the remaining four weeks, the Warhawks will face Eau Claire and Oshkosh at home while traveling to Stevens Point and La Crosse.
As foreshadowed in last week's column, UW-La Crosse, after being upset the Saturday prior by UW-Eau Claire, responded with a vengeance by rudely dispatching a visiting Oshkosh with a 56-14 throttling. The win was La Crosse's 18th consecutive victory versus the Titans.
The Eagles scored on their first five possessions and racked up a season-high 535 yards in the win. Quarterback Steve Tennies had an efficient afternoon, completing 11 of 13 passes for 246 yards and three touchdowns.
UW-La Crosse is 2-1 in the WIAC and tied with UW-Eau Claire for second place, although the Blugolds hold the tiebreaker due to their head-to-head advantage over the Eagles. La Crosse also maintained its No. 9 ranking in the D3football.com Top 25 national poll.
Lion-hearted defense
The driving force behind Mt. St. Joseph's 5-1 2003 start has been the play of its hard-nosed defense. Through six games, the Lions are yielding just 9.8 points per game. Especially stingy is its run defense. Mt. St. Joseph has held opposing offenses to just an average of 60.5 rushing yards per game, good enough to rank it No. 5 nationally, an astounding 1.8 yards per rush, and only one rushing touchdown.
The Lions defense is headlined by a play-making corps of linebackers and a rugged group of linemen. Linebackers Brooks Klosterman leads the team in solo tackles (23) and total tackles (60) while Andrew Ackerman, an imposing 6-5, 225-pound sophomore, tops the team in sacks with 4.5. Up front, the monstrous Eric Johnson (6-3, 300) and Mike Holzinger (6-3, 315) are key run stuffers. Johnson is third on the team in tackles, including 10 tackles for loss. End Pat McAtee has registered a team-high 14 tackles for loss and is second on the squad with four sacks.
Numbers game
Week 8 featured some impressive displays of offensive firepower (and equally poor exhibitions of defensive stoutness) throughout the Midwest Region. Of the 24 teams that were victorious, an incredible 14 (or 58 percent) scored more than 40 points. Of those 14, seven teams posted 50-plus points, including three that notched more than 60. Even more remarkable, the average margin of victory for those 14 teams was 34.5 points.
Specifically among these 14 teams, Wheaton and St. Norbert shared the honor of scoring the most points in victory, as each posted 63 in its respective games. Knox earned a victory by the smallest margin, a three-point edging of Grinnell (42-39) while Aurora registered a win by the largest margin, a 51-point thumping of Eureka (51-0).
Notes
HCAC: After trailing 15-0 in the second quarter, Franklin replacement quarterback Jeremy Neibert led the Grizzlies to a come-from-behind 27-21 victory over Manchester to obtain their first win of the season. ... Hanover quarterback Brett Dietz was honored as HCAC Player of the Week for his 28-for-41, 415-yard, four touchdown-pass performance versus Bluffton.
MWC: Four MWC teams faced independent Macalaster this season with the conference posting a 3-1 record versus the Scots. ... Ripon totaled 417 yards rushing, including 208 by Collin West on just 16 carries, in the Red Hawks 49-8 topping of Macalester. ...The Monmouth defense allowed Lawrence just four trips into the red zone and recorded three interceptions in the Scots' 50-14 win vs. the Vikings. ... Lake Forest wide receiver Nick Hildreth caught seven passes for 188 yards and a touchdown in the Foresters' 21-9 triumph over Illinois College.
IBFC: MacMurray's fall from IBFC elite status appears now to be complete after its 15-13 loss to Benedictine last Saturday. ... Aurora is currently on a three-game winning streak and will meet Lakeland this weekend for what will likely be a battle for second place in the IBFC. ... The Spartans have outscored their previous three opponents by 142-16 margin. ... Jeff Hynes, former coach at Lakeland and current head coach at Concordia (Ill.), lost his homecoming game, as the Cougars were pounded by the Muskies in Sheboygan, Wis., 49-7.
WIAC: After transferring to Division III UW-Oshkosh from Division I Wisconsin before the season, tight end Bob Docherty has just nine catches for 87 yards and two touchdowns ... UW-Stevens Point running back Jason VanderVelden set a school record by carrying 43 times (for 204 yards) in the Pointers 31-28 defeat of UW-Eau Claire ... Stevens Point also held off a 28-point comeback attempt and recovered three onside kicks in the fourth quarter to secure the crucial win ... UW-River Falls notched its first win of the season last Saturday, a 44-21 whipping of UW-Platteville.
CCIW: Wheaton amassed 508 yards (258 passing, 259 rushing) of offense in its 63-14 crushing of Carthage. ... Millikin kicker Andy Beals kicked four field goals in the Big Blue's 47-37 victory over Elmhurst to become the school's all-time leader in that category. ... Augustana has allowed just three total points to its opponents in the second quarter through six games ... In the Vikings 48-17 win over North Park, its offense had six different running backs rush for 40 or more yards.
Elsewhere: The Washington U. defense recorded four interceptions, four sacks, a safety, and a blocked field goal in the Bears 28-0 blanking of the Chicago Maroons. ... Westminster (Mo.) running back Robbie Coleman rushed for a school-record 210 yards to help the Blue Jays win their division and earn a berth in the UMAC championship game in two weeks.
In addition to the five nationally ranked Midwest region teams, six other squads are receiving votes in the latest D3football.com poll: UW-Stout (14), Hanover (6), Millikin (6), Augustana (4), UW-Eau Claire (4), Concordia (Wis.) (3) ... My top 10 Midwest region teams through seven weeks: 1. UW-La Crosse (5-1), 2. Wheaton (6-0), 3. UW-Whitewater (5-1), 4. UW-Stevens Point (4-2), 5. UW-Eau Claire (3-3), 6. St. Norbert (7-0), 7. Augustana (4-2), 8. Concordia (Wis.) (6-1), 9. Hanover (5-1), 10. Millikin (5-1)
Games of the Week
Augustana (4-2, 3-0) at Millikin (5-1, 2-1), 12:00 p.m., Decatur, Ill.: A crucial matchup in what is shaping up to be an exciting and what could be a down-to-the-wire CCIW title race. Because Millikin has already lost to top-contender Wheaton, the Big Blue must secure a win here if it is to have any shot at the 2003 crown. The game will be a clash of strength vs. strength, as Augustana brings a stalwart defense to face Millikin's potent offense. The Big Blue's last victory vs. the Vikings came during the 2000 season (42-21).
Hanover (5-1, 3-0) at Anderson (4-2, 2-0), 1:30 p.m., Anderson, Ind.: Expect a high-scoring shootout, as two of the nation's most prolific offenses meet in an important HCAC contest. Conference-favorite Hanover averages 41.8 points per game while Anderson scores at a 35 point-per-game clip. An aerial assault will undoubtedly mark this matchup, as Anderson and Hanover are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the nation in passing offense, respectively. Raven quarterback Joel Steele (363.3 yards per game) and Panther signal caller Brett Dietz (362.0 yards per game) key their pass-happy offenses. A year ago, Hanover defeated Anderson 41-23.
UW-Eau Claire (3-3, 2-1) at No. 21 UW-Whitewater (5-1, 3-0), 1:00 p.m., Whitewater, Wis.: A week after surviving the first major test to its first-place position in the WIAC standings, Whitewater faces another stern challenge from a talented and cornered Eau Claire team. For the three-loss Blugolds, the one path to the playoffs remaining for them is a WIAC championship. Losing another game is not an option for Eau Claire if that is to happen. Making the situation more difficult for the Blugolds is that they are coming off a tough 31-28 loss to UW-Stevens Point. Rebounding from that disappointing showing while battling Whitewater on the road may be too much for Eau Claire to overcome but, as it has been proved time and time again, no team can ever be counted out in any game in the wild WIAC.
No. 25 St. Norbert (7-0, 6-0) at Ripon (4-2, 3-2), 1:30 p.m., Ripon, Wis.: Receives mention simply because Ripon is one of the few possible remaining stumbling blocks for St. Norbert en route to a perfect season, another MWC championship, and the conference's automatic bid to the postseason. However, one has to wonder how much of a challenge Ripon will be for St. Norbert considering the Red Hawks lost to Carroll earlier this year 13-9 while the Green Knights throttled the Pioneers last week, 63-27. Ripon last beat St. Norbert in 1998.
