By John Regenfuss
D3sports.com
Put away the shovels. Stop engraving the headstones. Call off the wakes. Two defending conference championship teams -- Hanover and Concordia (Wis.) -- that have been seemingly DOA from the outset of the season, came back to life Saturday and gained key wins.
Hanover, undaunted by a 72-24 whipping by Bridgewater (Va.) the previous week and an ugly 0-3 start to the season, earned a major upset, knocking off No. 20 Waynesburg, 34-31. Senior running back Andrew Padgett scored from one yard out with 12 seconds remaining to lift the Panthers to their first victory of the season. However, the offensive star of the game for Hanover was another senior rusher, Adam Stevenson. While he only scored one of Hanover's five touchdowns, Stevenson accounted for 244 of the Panthers' 444 yards from scrimmage. He rushed for 139 yards and caught 10 passes for 105 yards. He also collected 73 yards on kick returns, upping his all-purpose yardage total to 317 for the day.
A win against a ranked opponent, or any win for that matter, could not have come at a better time for Hanover. The boost of confidence will be most certainly needed because awaiting it next Saturday, in its conference opener, is HCAC title-contender and undefeated Mt. St. Joseph (3-0).
Concordia (Wis.), after being battered in its first two games and gaining a hollow victory versus a winless foe in Week 3, looked to be in even more serious peril with a talented team in MacMurray set to visit Mequon in Week 4. But the Falcons defended their home turf and secured a huge IBFC victory, toppling the Highlanders 28-24. Immanuel Mills keyed the Concordia offense, rushing for 175 yards and two touchdowns. Wide receiver Jon Collier also played a major role in the win. The sophomore caught a 6-yard touchdown pass and returned a blocked punt 28 yards for a score.
MacMurray receiver Anthony Ballerino did his best to keep the Highlanders in the game. The senior caught 11 balls for 189 yards, scored three touchdowns, and totaled 261 yards. Quarterback Mike Schmidtke threw for 339 yards in the loss.
The Falcons face an improving Aurora team this weekend, with a key matchup with IBFC favorite Lakeland three weeks away.
Games of the Week revisited
No. 21 UW-Whitewater 12, No. 13 UW-Eau Claire 7
Points were at a premium in this WIAC opener for both teams and, for UW-Eau Claire (2-1, 0-1), so were yards. The Blugolds managed just 132 yards of total offense in their first loss of the season. Eau Claire's lone touchdown was scored by freshman Adam Zehm off a blocked punt in the second quarter. While Eau Claire struggled to amass yards, UW-Whitewater tailback Colin Burns had no troubles, rushing a WIAC-record 54 times for 241 yards. Amazingly, he accounted for 88% of the Warhawk offense. Whitewater (4-0, 1-0) got its points on a 1-yard touchdown run by Keiya Square in the second quarter and two field goals from Michael Chaulk.
UW-Platteville 25, No. 24 Augustana 23
UW-Platteville jumped out to a 16-7 third quarter lead before staving off a fourth-quarter Augustana comeback attempt en route to the mild upset. Pioneer freshman kicker John Heck played the unlikely and unwitting hero, after having a crucial extra point blocked earlier in the final quarter, nailed a 25-yard field goal with less than two minutes remaining in the game to lift Platteville to victory.
The interconference matchup was a battle of opposing styles -- a fact clearly visible in the game's final statistics. Augustana threw for just 60 yards while Platteville accumulated 375 through the air. The Auggies rushed for 318 yards while the Pioneers managed only 20 yards on the ground.
J.J. McDowell led Augustana in total yardage with 112 (79 yards rushing, 33 yards receiving). The junior also scored on touchdown runs of 14 and 3 yards.
Platteville quarterback Brent Nelson passed for 329 yards and two touchdowns and did not throw an interception. Mike Lauritsen caught six passes for 142 yards, including a 39-yard scoring toss from Nelson in the third quarter.
The win bumps the Pioneers' record up to 3-0 for the time since 1976.
Piling on the points
In continuation of what seems to be a growing trend in Division III this season, Lakeland became one of the litany of teams this season to score in the 70's, pounding IBFC opponent Benedictine on Saturday, 75-7. As one might expect, the offensive numbers posted by the Muskies were staggering. Lakeland scored 11 rushing touchdowns, just one shy of tying the NCAA record. The offense totaled 738 yards, 594 of which came on the ground. Muskies running backs averaged 9.0 yards per carry. Six Lakeland runners had 50 or more yards rushing, led by junior quarterback Ryan Maiuri's 150 yards. Finally, four Lakeland players had two or more touchdowns.
Surprisingly, after the first quarter, Lakeland led only 7-0. But a 33-point second quarter made up for the relatively slow start. Benedictine did not get on the board until the Muskies held a 61-0 advantage.
I am not sure what this trend means -- I don't know if there is that great a disparity in talent between teams or if coaches are less unwilling to run up the score now more than in the past--but, whatever the factors are, it is making for some ugly, ugly games.
The folly of (some) football polls
Football polls, by their very nature, are often fickle and enigmatic things. For this reason, it is sage advice to not take much stock in them or let them upset or uplift you too much. But, in good conscience, I could not let the Sept. 21 AFCA Coaches' poll fade into history without offering comment.
In the previous AFCA poll, UW-La Crosse polled as the No. 2 team in the nation. In its latest poll, after a 45-44 road loss to Division II South Dakota, the Eagles dropped to No. 8. This six-spot fall goes beyond head scratching. First, the main reason why La Crosse schedules two Division II opponents for non-conference competition is that it can't find any Division III schools to play them. The Eagles play a grand total of nine games this season as a result.
Second, La Crosse lost by one point to a Division II South Dakota squad. The Division II coaches think enough of South Dakota to rank them No. 25. Apparently, the coaches prefer crediting teams that rack up blowouts against much weaker Division III opponents than close losses against higher-level competition... or maybe they just aren't paying attention. By the way, adding sanity to the polling process, La Crosse held steady at No. 3 in the D3football.com poll, despite the loss. Further proof that the D3football.com Top 25 is the authoritative poll for Division III football.
Midwest Region Top 10
With four weeks of the 2004 season in the books, I have decided to lend my perspective on how things are shaping up in the Midwest Region with a ranking of its Top 10 teams. If the list seems WIAC-heavy, it is and will be until two things happen: (1) the WIAC teams start knocking each other off (this still may not even change the number of WIAC teams in my top 10) and (2) any other team or conference in the Midwest Region proves they can keep pace with any of the WIAC teams. I am willing to bet that the former will happen long before the latter. Despite its losing record, 1-3 Hanover makes the list because it has one of the few victories by a region team versus a ranked opponent this season. No team from the IBFC made the initial ranking because it looks to be a very lean year in the league with no dominant team having stepped up, if one exists at all.
1. UW-La Crosse (1-1)
2. UW-Stevens Point (2-1)
3. UW-Whitewater (4-0)
4. UW-Eau Claire (2-1)
5. Wheaton (3-0)
6. UW-Platteville (3-0)
7. UW-Stout (2-0)
8. St. Norbert (3-1)
9. Augustana (2-1)
10. Hanover (1-3)
Keep an eye on: North Central (3-0), Mt. St. Joseph (3-0), Lake Forest (4-0), Illinois College (4-0).
Notes
CCIW: Garrett Granberg rushed for 153 yards and one touchdown and Brad Musso had 197 yards in receiving and caught two touchdowns in Wheaton's 45-28 victory versus Hope, the Thunder's 21st consecutive regular season win. ... Illinois Wesleyan recorded 12 sacks, including four by sophomore defensive linemen Jacob Kummer, in the Titans' 31-13 victory over Chicago. ... Millikin scored on a 38-yard fumble recovery by Jeff Poulos and a 57-yard interception by Seantae Holland in a losing effort versus Albion. ... Indiana transfer Tyke Spencer caught 14 balls for 288 yards and three touchdowns for North Central in its 38-28 win versus Washington U.
IBFC: In Aurora's 52-0 whitewashing of Greenville, Spartan quarterback Andrew Hornung completed 16-of-23 passes for 262 yards and three touchdowns had no interceptions. ... Eureka running back Andy Swenson carried the ball 43 times for 214 yards and one touchdown in leading the Red Devils to a 22-7 win over Concordia (Ill.). ... Eureka's two wins in three games matches or surpasses its win total for each of the last four years.
MWC: The five winning teams this week scored an average of 47 points. ... Nate Wineinger of Grinnell rushed for 191 yards and three touchdowns but the Pioneers fell to Illinois College, 37-26. ... Four of running back Bryce Crocker's 13 carries in Carroll's win over Lawrence went for touchdowns. ... Beloit's Chris LaPorta scored all 23 of the Buccaneers' points (one field goal, three touchdown receptions, and two extra points) in their loss to Monmouth. ... The Ripon running back tandem of Tom DePietro and Ryan Johns combined for 254 yards rushing and five touchdowns but the Red Hawks still lost to Lake Forest, 45-41. ... Head coach Jim Purtill earned his 50th career win (50-8) at St. Norbert and Ryan Hartman became the Green Knights' all-time leading passer last Saturday.
WIAC: UW-Stevens Point quarterback Brett Borchart passed for 336 yards, 248 of which came in the second quarter, in the Pointers' 41-7 win over NAIA Waldorf (Iowa). ... Stevens Point has scored 35 or more points in six consecutive games. ... UW-Stout was 2-of-11 in third down conversions and had six fewer first downs but still decisively downed UW-Oshkosh, 49-17.
Games of the Week
No. 3 UW-La Crosse (1-1, 0-0) at No. 9 UW-Stevens Point (2-1, 0-0), Goerke Field, Stevens Point, Wis., 1 p.m.: Another week, another Top 25 matchup in the WIAC. UW-La Crosse enters the game coming off a bye week while UW-Stevens Point looked sluggish early but rallied to rout Waldorf last weekend. La Crosse will likely count on the duo of quarterback Steve Tennies and receiver Scott Burnoski for offensive spark and free safety Ken Halvorson for defensive play-making. Stevens Point's offense is what fuels the Pointer engine, as it tops the WIAC in both scoring offense (44.3 ppg) and total offense (502.3 ypg). In reality, this is a must-win game for Stevens Point. With its prior loss to Linfield, the Pointers can ill afford another if they have any hopes of advancing to the postseason. La Crosse edged Stevens Point in last season's matchup, 24-21.
North Central (3-0, 0-0) at No. 10 Wheaton (3-0, 0-0), McCully Field, Wheaton, Ill., 1 p.m.: A battle of undefeated teams highlights this crucial CCIW opener and the battle for the traveling trophy, the Little Brass Bell. North Central is the up-and-coming challenger while Wheaton is the two-time defending conference champion. The Cardinal offense is firing on all pistons, thanks to the prolific quarterback-receiver combination of Kam Kniss and Tyke Spencer. All-American linebacker Lenny Radtke leads the North Central defense. Wheaton's offense is also in midseason form, headlined by receiver Brad Musso and running back Garrett Granberg. North Central is averaging 34 points per game as compared to over 50 for Wheaton, so an offensive shootout may be in the offing. North Central has not held the bell since 1997.
Mt. St. Joseph (3-0, 0-0) at Hanover (1-3, 0-0), L.S. Ayres Field, Hanover, Ind., 2:30 p.m.: Despite being the HCAC opener for each team, the outcome of this matchup could ultimately decide the 2004 league champion. If Mt. St. Joseph is to establish itself as a conference power, this may be the year in which to make its move. Hanover had an extremely difficult and challenging beginning to the season, losing its first three games, but regrouped last week behind a resurgent ground game to knock off a nationally ranked opponent. The Mount has been solid and consistent in gaining its three consecutive victories. This is a matchup of contradictory styles -- Mt. St. Joseph is defensive minded while Hanover lives and dies by its offense -- so it should be fun to see which approach wins the day.
Other games of note: No. 15 UW-Whitewater (4-0, 1-0) at UW-Platteville (3-0, 0-0); Millikin (1-2, 0-0) at Carthage (3-0, 0-0); Lake Forest (4-0, 3-0) at Monmouth (3-1, 2-1); Illinois College (4-0, 3-0) at St. Norbert (3-1, 3-0).
