By John Regenfuss
D3sports.com
With key wins against league opponents Saturday, St. Norbert of the Midwest Conference and Aurora of the Illini-Badger Football Conference joined HCAC champion Mt. St. Joseph as Midwest Region playoff qualifiers.
St. Norbert downed nemesis Lake Forest 28-13 to wrap up a perfect 9-0 conference record and secure its fifth postseason berth in six seasons. The Green Knights have also earned a share of the MWC crown in six consecutive years.
Running back Casey Meehan paved the way for the win, racking up 132 rushing yards and three touchdowns and catching a 50-yard pass for another score. With the four touchdowns, Meehan set a new school record for touchdowns in a season with 25. Quarterback Ryan Hartman hit another milestone, going over 7,000 yards passing for his career. The Green Knight defense also starred, recording seven sacks while holding Lake Forest to 49 yards rushing.
The win vaults 9-1 St. Norbert into the D3football.com Top 25 poll for the first time this season. The Green Knights are slotted at No. 25 with 63 votes, two behind UW-Eau Claire.
Aurora crushed MacMurray, 42-10, to seize a piece of its first IBFC title since 2000. The Spartans mush share the 2004 championship with both Lakeland and Concordia (Wis.), but Aurora holds the tiebreaker and receives the league's automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs.
Running back Dan Whalen took center stage for Aurora in its victory over the Highlanders. The senior rushed for 129 yards and four touchdowns. The Spartan defense also played a major role in the win, limiting MacMurray to just 142 total yards.
Aurora will face Division I-AA non-scholarship Valparaiso on the road this Saturday before entering postseason competition versus an opponent yet to be determined.
In its last postseason appearance four years ago, Aurora fell to Wittenberg of the NCAC in the first round, 31-20.
The Insider
In this week's installment of The Insider, Augustana's JJ McDowell writes on the Vikings' setback versus North Central last weekend and previews their upcoming matchup with rival Wheaton. Scroll down to the bottom.
Nothing decided yet in the CCIW
Heading into last weekend's slate of CCIW play, Augustana held a firm grip on first place and had a crystal clear path to the 2004 league title. However, a 31-10 upset loss to North Central, coupled with wins by Wheaton and Carthage, clouded its course and caused a three-way deadlock atop the CCIW standings entering the final week of conference action.
The good news for Augustana is that it controls its own destiny. The bad news is that 8-1 Wheaton stands squarely in the way of its championship and postseason paths. Nevertheless, a win over Wheaton would give the Vikings at least a share of the CCIW championship and the league's automatic bid to the Division III playoffs.
After being whipped by Carthage two weeks ago, Wheaton rebounded and took its frustrations out on last-place North Park, blasting the Vikings, 56-14. Thunder quarterback Jeremy Chupp passed for 291 yards, connecting with Colin Sinclair 16 times for 194 yards and two touchdowns in the win.
Carthage claimed its stake to the top spot in the conference with a 33-15 road victory against Illinois Wesleyan. Redmen workhorse Dante Washington carried the ball 42 times for 185 yards. Brett Barnes once again led the defense, registering nine tackles, an interception, and a fumble recovery.
Check below for complete analysis of CCIW championship and playoff scenarios.
Conference champion and playoff scenario breakdown:
If Carthage loses to Elmhurst, the winner of the Augustana-Wheaton matchup is the outright CCIW champion and earns the conference's automatic bid to the playoffs.
If Carthage beats Elmhurst and Wheaton defeats Augustana, Carthage and Wheaton are the 2004 CCIW co-champions, but Carthage earns the conference's automatic bid to the playoffs by virtue of its 39-21 head-to-head win over Wheaton.
If Carthage beats Elmhurst and Augustana defeats Wheaton, Carthage and Augustana are the 2004 CCIW co-champions, but Augustana earns the conference's automatic bid to the playoffs by virtue of its 35-0 head-to-head win over Carthage.
WIAC still unsettled
While last weekend provided greater clarity on which WIAC teams still have a shot at the 2004 league championship, it did nothing to uncover the league's best team.
UW-Eau Claire, the conference's highest ranked team entering Saturday's matchups at No. 10, was ambushed by unranked UW-Stout, 36-21. The Blugolds, whose season looked so promising after beating defending national champion St. John's in Week 1, are out of the WIAC title race following back-to-back losses to Platteville and Stout. Despite upsetting UW-La Crosse and Eau Claire in consecutive weeks and the fact that it may be playing the best football in the league, Stout's 3-3 conference record will not get it beyond the regular season.
UW-Whitewater and UW-La Crosse are in excellent position to secure a WIAC crown and a postseason berth and UW-Stevens Point remains in the thick of the championship and playoff hunt. All three posted key victories last weekend and are tied atop the conference standings with 4-2 records.
Whitewater survived a scare from UW-Oshkosh, winning on a Justin Jacobs one-yard scoring run in overtime, 22-16.
La Crosse bounced back from a bad loss a week ago to pound UW-River Falls, 38-14. A season-high 347 rushing yards, including 205 from Corey Geldernick, helped the Eagles overwhelm the visiting Falcons.
Stevens Point, after starting its WIAC schedule 0-2, has won four in a row, including three-consecutive come-from-behind victories. On Saturday, the Pointers overcame an 11-point deficit with under six minutes left to knock off UW-Platteville, 29-26. Platteville, in spite of several wins against ranked opponents this season, is out of contention, due to its 2-4 conference mark.
As confusing and as crazy as this season has been in the WIAC, the conference championship and playoff tiebreak scenarios involving the three teams still alive, UW-Whitewater, UW-La Crosse, and UW-Stevens Point, are rather simple and straightforward.
Conference champion and playoff scenario breakdown:
If UW-Stevens Point loses to UW-River Falls, the winner of the UW-La Crosse/UW-Whitewater matchup is the outright WIAC champion and earns the conference's automatic bid to the playoffs.
If UW-Stevens Point beats UW-River Falls and UW-Whitewater defeats UW-La Crosse, Stevens Point and Whitewater are 2004 WIAC co-champions, but Stevens Point earns the conference's automatic bid to the playoffs by virtue of its 15-12 head-to-head win over the Whitewater.
If Stevens Point beats UW-River Falls and UW-La Crosse defeats UW-Whitewater, Stevens Point and La Crosse are 2004 WIAC co-champions, but La Crosse earns the conference's automatic bid to the playoffs by virtue of its 35-14 head-to-head win over Stevens Point.
For the Bird
Monmouth hammered Knox, 45-0, Saturday to win the historic Bronze Turkey Game for the sixth-consecutive year. This year's meeting between the teams was their 116th, the third-longest rivalry in Division III, dating to 1888. The Scots now possesses a 56-50-10 advantage in Bronze Turkey matchups.
Record-setting performances by quarterback Mitch Tanney and receiver Evan Haffner fueled the Monmouth victory. Tanney threw for 299 yards and a school-record six touchdowns. His favorite target was Haffner, who notched five receptions for 213 yards and two scores. With his effort, Haffner became Monmouth's single-season record for receiving touchdowns (11), receiving yards (911), and all-purpose yards (1,523).
The shutout victory was amazingly the fourth recorded by the Monmouth defense this season. The last time in program history when that was achieved was in 1947 when the Scots' recorded five shutouts.
Despite the win, Monmouth's hope for the MWC's automatic bid to the postseason died with St. Norbert's victory over Lake Forest. Even with its 9-1 record, the Scots still hold slim aspirations of receiving a Pool C playoff berth.
Border battle
While one Wisconsin team was just starting to dismantle a Minnesota team in Madison (sorry, I couldn't help getting a dig in on any Gophers fans out there), a different team from the Badger State, Ripon, was finishing off another Minnesota team, Macalester, in St. Paul.
Behind four touchdowns from running back Tom DiPietro and 137 rushing yards by quarterback Bob Faulds, the Red Hawks rallied for a 56-35 win over independent Macalester. The Scots held a 28-14 lead at halftime but two touchdown runs of one and 8 yards by DiPietro knotted the game at 28-28 heading into the fourth quarter. From that point on, Ripon outscored Macalester 28-7 to secure the victory and up its record to 4-5.
The Red Hawks will try to salvage a .500 record from what has been a disappointing year next week in their season finale versus Knox.
Even More on the Saints
Not to beat a dead horse (at least for those who have read this column the past two weeks), but the season independent Thomas More is having is remarkable. It has been remarkable not because Thomas More is undefeated, in fact it is just 4-5, or because the Saints are posting record-breaking offensive or defensive numbers. Instead, it is remarkable because Thomas More can't seem to play a game without it being decided in its final moments.
In the first-ever meeting between Rockford and Thomas More, the Saints fell in overtime, 20-17. Kicker Brian Sheeley gave Thomas More a 17-14 lead in the extra period with a 30-yard field goal but Rockford responded with a game-winning two-yard touchdown run from Regent running back Anthony Risa.
This week's dramatic ending marks the sixth time this season that Thomas More has either won or lost in overtime, in the final seconds of game, or in come-from-behind fashion.
The 13-10 Amendment
In last week's Around the Midwest Region, I noted that Illinois College defeated Knox, 13-10, when, in fact, it was the other way around. Knox notched its first win of the season by defeating Illinois College, 13-10. My apologies to the Prairie Fire faithful.
Notes
CCIW: In Elmhurst's 28-21 loss to Millikin, Bluejay receiver Todd Evans caught two touchdown passes, tying the school record for touchdown receptions in a season with 18. ... North Central's win over Augustana was its first over the Vikings since 1980. ... Kam Kniss became the first North Central quarterback in program history to throw for over 2,000 yards in a season and broke the school record for touchdown passes in a season with 18 in the Cardinals' historic win versus Augustana. ... With his seven receptions versus Carthage, Illinois Wesleyan receiver Eric White set the school record in career receptions (234).
HCAC: Mt. St. Joseph beat Anderson, 31-21, for the first time since 1998, due in large part to its defense, which allowed the Ravens just 31 yards rushing. ... Franklin's Joliba Brogan rushed for 135 yards and Ben Dodds of Bluffton ran for 140 yards in a game won by the Grizzlies 24-14. ... Freshman quarterback Nate Fitton threw for 225 yards and ran for two touchdowns in leading Defiance over Manchester, 19-14, and to the Yellow Jackets' first win of the season.
IBFC: Benedictine quarterback Joe Sergo threw for 222 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 145 yards and another score to help the Eagles attain their first victory of the season, a 22-15 defeat of Concordia (Ill.). ... Lakeland got three 100-yard rushing performances from Aaron Barrie (114), Ryan Maiuri (106), and Marcus Denham (104) en route to earning a 46-27 win against Greenville and a share of the 2004 IBFC championship. ... A week after hanging 65 points on Benedictine, Concordia (Wis.) used just seven to get by Eureka, 7-3, and secure a three-way piece of the IBFC title.
MWC: Illinois College sophomore running back Jarid Crain rushed for a career-high 220 yards and one score in the Blue Boys' season-ending 20-6 win over Beloit. ... Sophomore kicker Bud Baumgartner connected on a 32-yard field goal with just over a minute remaining to lift Grinnell to a 31-28 victory against Carroll.
WIAC: Quarterback Brett Borchart threw four touchdown passes, including two in the final five and a half minutes of the game, to lead UW-Stevens Point to a crucial win over UW-Platteville. ... If Platteville can beat UW-Stout this Saturday, it would secure the Pioneers' first winning season since 1992. ... UW-Oshkosh recorded 155 of its total 267 yards of offense in the fourth quarter in the Titans' overtime loss to UW-Whitewater. ... Defensive end Jason Boehlke notched 10 tackles, three sacks, and two forced fumbles to help the Warhawks past Oshkosh. ... UW-Stout quarterback Nick Ohman totaled 382 yards and four touchdowns in the Blue Devils' 36-21 whacking of then-No. 10 UW-Eau Claire. ... UW-River Falls fumbled six times, losing five of them, as the Falcons fell to UW-La Crosse, 38-14.
In addition to the season-high eight nationally ranked Midwest region teams, two other squads are receiving votes in the latest D3football.com poll: Mt. St. Joseph (61) and UW-Stout (10). ... My top 10 Midwest region teams through ten weeks: 1. UW-Whitewater (7-2), 2. UW-Stevens Point (6-3), 3. UW-La Crosse (5-3), 4. Wheaton (8-1), 5. Augustana (7-2), 6. UW-Eau Claire (6-3), 7. St. Norbert (9-1), 8. Mt. St. Joseph (9-0), 9. Carthage (8-1), 10T. Monmouth (9-1)/UW-Stout (5-3).
Games of the Week
No. 14 Wheaton (8-1, 5-1) at No. 22 Augustana (7-2, 5-1), Ericson Field, Rock Island, Ill., 1 p.m.: A meeting of the CCIW's two top scoring offenses. Wheaton, averaging 39.5 points per games, features the prolific quartet of quarterback Jeremy Chupp, receivers Colin Sinclair and Brad Musso, and running back Garrett Granberg. Augustana, scoring at a 31.7 points per game clip, will counter with a bevy of talented rushers that comprise one of the nation's most powerful ground attacks, including backs Mike Guzman, J.J. McDowell, and Aaron Kuzniar and quarterback Matt Roe. In each of the three years prior, Augustana's lone conference loss has come at the hands of Wheaton, including last year's 28-27 heartbreaker. The Vikings last beat the Thunder in 1999.
Elmhurst (4-5, 1-5) at No. 18 Carthage (8-1, 5-1), Art Keller Field, Kenosha, Wis., 1 p.m.: Carthage has high hopes of securing the CCIW's automatic berth to the playoffs and the possibility of the Redmen accomplishing that feat is very real. However, even if it doesn't, a win over Elmhurst would up its record to 9-1 and maintain its top 25 standing, earning the Redmen serious consideration for a Pool C bid. Carthage continues to be led by the talented offensive-defensive tandem of running back Dante Washington and defensive back Brett Barnes. Washington leads the CCIW in rushing (1,385 yards) and Barnes tops the league in interceptions (6). Elmhurst is not to be overlooked, though, especially offensively. Quarterback Dom Demma has thrown 25 touchdown passes and for nearly 2,200 yards this season while running back Eric Luna has rushed for 10 touchdowns.
No. 17 UW-La Crosse (5-3, 4-2) at No. 13 UW-Whitewater (7-2, 4-2), Perkins Stadium, Whitewater, Wis., 1 p.m.: This crucial contest features a clash of opposing strengths. UW-La Crosse scores, on average, 31.5 points per game while UW-Whitewater limits its opponents to just 12.4 points per game. The trio of quarterback Steve Tennies, running back Corey Geldernick, and receiver Scott Burnoski headlines the La Crosse offense. Whitewater's Jason Boehlke is a one-man wrecking crew. The senior defensive end leads the WIAC in sacks, tackles for loss, and forced fumbles. The Eagles defense is fronted by junior free safety Ken Halvorson, the conference leader in fumble recoveries, and sophomore cornerback Steve Teeples, the league leader in passes defended. On offense for Whitewater, look for running back Colin Burns to shoulder much of the load. A year ago, La Crosse defeated Whitewater, 36-23.
No. 20 UW-Stevens Point (6-3, 4-2) at UW-River Falls (2-7, 2-4), Ramer Field, River Falls, Wis., 2 p.m.: A must-win game for UW-Stevens Point. The matchup pits the WIAC's leader in total offense, Pointer quarterback Brett Borchart, against the productive rushing tandem of UW-River Falls' senior John Peterlik and freshman Nathan Anderson. Borchart alone has accounted for 2,873 yards and 26 touchdowns this season. He will have his opportunities Saturday, as River Falls is dead last in total defense in the WIAC. Peterlik and Anderson have combined for 1,729 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns in 2004. Stevens Point is giving up a middle-of-the-road 143.1 rushing yards per game on average. Crucial for River Falls' fortunes will be its ability to hang on the ball. During its current two-game losing streak, the Falcons have coughed the ball up ten times, losing eight of those fumbles.
Mt. St. Joseph (9-0) at Thomas More (4-5), Thomas More Stadium, Crestview Hills, Ky., 1:30 p.m.: A matchup of non-conference foes, one of which has already clinched a conference championship and an NCAA playoff berth while the other is striving just to reach .500 for the season. A meaningless game? No way. This is Bridge Bowl IX. (The two schools are on opposite sides of the Ohio River). Besides that, Mt. St. Joseph would like nothing more than to preserve a perfect season with a win versus the Saints and retain momentum heading into the postseason. Couple those factors with Thomas More's penchant for exciting finishes this season, the fact that it has not lost to the Mount in their previous eight Bridge Bowl meetings, and that the Saints are trying to prevent their first losing season since 1998 and an intriguing game takes shape.
The Insider
On a weekly basis, Augustana junior wingback JJ McDowell describes his experiences from the practice field to the playing field.
With an away game on our schedule, a typical Augustana Saturday gets off to a start with our 7:30 a.m. team breakfast. From there, we get our equipment gathered and load the buses. An average bus ride for us will usually take about three hours, which usually comes with a nap and an additional sore neck.
We traveled to Naperville, Ill., this past Saturday to take on the Cardinals of North Central. We arrived on campus in the midst of many other activities already taking place because North Central was also hosting the IHSA soccer state finals and the CCIW volleyball tournament.
With everything going on, kickoff was pushed back to two o'clock, and from the get-go we flat-out got outplayed. The past couple of weeks we have been getting off to a slow start, and this week it really caught up with us. I refuse to sugarcoat the assessment of the game in anyway because, on this Saturday, North Central beat us in nearly every facet of the game. We were put on our heels and as we staggered their confidence grew. That is our style of football, and they gave us a taste of what it is like to be on the other side. We were faced with a 28-3 deficit coming out of halftime and never recovered, losing 31-10. Great teams have many qualities, and one is bouncing back after a tough loss.
That said, this Saturday the conference championship is on the line as Wheaton College comes to Augustana with a record of 8-1. If you have any knowledge of CCIW football history, this game certainly needs no explanation or introduction. However, what most may not know is that coming out of high school, my college decision came down to Augie or Wheaton. I liked both colleges, had a great respect for both coaching staffs, and the cafeteria at Wheaton was really impressive, but my decision ironically enough came down to baseball. With talk of Wheaton's baseball team folding, my decision obviously was to attend Augustana.
Taking a look at the 2004 schedules, we believed that this year would come down to this game with a championship and NCAA playoff berth on the line. Relative to so many other college football programs we are fortunate to be playing for so much the final week of the regular season. The opportunity we have earned this coming Saturday is what makes it all worth it. Every workout this summer, every day of two-a-days, and every practice was geared for the situation we have at hand. Not too many teams get the chance to play in a game of this caliber, and we take great pride in putting ourselves in this situation. As they say, if you are a part of this game in any sort of way and are not excited, you better check your pulse.
