By Clyde Hughes
D3sports.com
It’s a tale of two teams that have found the same fate — in the Division III playoffs.
One team is nationally ranked and has gone undefeated through the gauntlet of a tough conference that featured three other nationally ranked teams at one time.
The other team is making its second consecutive trip to the playoffs, but hasn’t received much respect beyond the boundaries of its conference.
For Augustana, of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, and Mount St. Joseph, of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference, both teams overcame early losses to find themselves streaking into the post season.
The No. 11 Augustana Vikings beat No. 15 North Central on a Josh Patterson 22-yard field goal with no time remaining Saturday, giving them the automatic playoff bid. Augustana will try to finish the conference undefeated on the road against always-tough Wheaton this Saturday.
It is the Vikings first playoff bid and CCIW title since 2001. It was the school’s 20th championship in school history and will enter the playoffs for the 15th time since 1976.
“This group has been so close to the championship and the playoff bid each of the last four teams years here, three prior times falling short to some outstanding teams in the 10th game of the season when the title and bid were on the line,” said Augustana coach Jim Barnes.
“It has been difficult, but each year we have returned to work the Habits of Champions — which has value in and of themselves — and this year have realized the recognition goal of a CCIW championship.”
Augustana (8-1, 6-0 in CCIW) opened the season with a 25-24 overtime loss to Central, currently the No. 20 team in Division III. Barnes said losing the opener was disappointing but it did little to diminish his team’s hopes to accomplishing their goals.
“I really didn’t have to rally this team,” Barnes said. “They were disappointed that they did not start with a greater sense of urgency. However, we knew we could still work hard to become a great team and achieve our major goal of winning the CCIW title and returning to the playoffs.”
Augustana has one of top running attacks in the country and rolled up 335 rushing yards against a tough North Central defense in the Vikings 20-17 win.
The Vikings crept up the national rankings all season long, often in the shadow of fellow CCIW schools Carthage and Wheaton, which were both ranked before the start of conference play, and then by North Central — that was until Saturday’s field goal. Barnes, though, dismissed the suggestion that the Vikings were able to sneak up on anyone.
“Augustana is never under anybody’s radar,” Barnes said. “Our tradition makes us the highlight game for most opponents on their schedule.”
Mount St. Joseph, though, comes from a different perspective. The Lions have had only two winning seasons in is 15 years of playing football and those were the last two seasons.
Without the tradition and reputation, Mount St. Joseph captured its second straight HCAC title last Saturday with 17-7 win over Anderson. It will wrap up its season Saturday against non-conference rival Thomas More at home.
“We’ve worked hard and we got a lot of good kids,” Lions coach Rod Huber said. “This group has probably won more games than any other group of kids at Mount St. Joseph. This team is resilient and it’s battle-tested.”
Mount St. Joseph (8-1, 5-1 in HCAC) went undefeated last year before losing 31-7 to Wheaton in the first round of the playoffs. Huber said he and his players dedicated themselves to get better. The Lions lone loss came in overtime as well, losing to Hanover 41-35 at home on Oct. 1.
He said starting quarterback Rashon Lewis and backup Bryan Hamrock, who led the Lions to the school’s only undefeated regular season, has share the quarterback duties since the loss to Hanover.
“Rashon is still learning the offense and he’s still learning to get us in the right plays, but he’s going to be a great quarterback for us,” Huber said. “Hamrock has come in and given us a change of pace and has handled everything very well. They have supported each other and pulled for each other.”
Huber said Mount St. Joseph’s strong suit is defense and not turning the ball over.
“We have a number of players on defense who would have been outstanding offensive players,” Huber said. “Matt Lawless (linebacker) was an outstanding high school fullback and he would have been a really good fullback with us but he has played outstanding defense. Ty Blair was a great quarterback in high school and I think he’s one of the best cornerbacks in the country.”
He cited numerous unsung heroes. Tailback Mike Lovell has put up MVP-type numbers this season, rushing for 261 yards on 38 carries in the Lions win against Anderson. Huber said Lovell’s lead blocker, fullback Tom Hornsby deserves some of the credit for Lovell’s numbers.
“He weights about 190 wringing wet, but he blocks like a 240-pound fullback,” Huber said. “He rarely gets the ball but has played in role on the team extremely well.”
He said Mount St. Joseph has had excellent play out of its punting and kicking games, with Brenton Eisenhard and Kevin Koch, respectively. Eisenhard pinned Anderson inside the 20 three times during last week’s game.
Huber said the offensive line has answered his biggest question mark this season. The quintet of freshman Kevin Carter, sophomore Brian White and Anthony Bradford, junior Steve Wergers and senior Ryan Mason, has turned a potential liability at the beginning of the season into one of its assets.
“We didn’t know how well they would play but they have played very well for us,” Huber said.
The Lions mentor said he’s not worried about the lack of national recognition for his team. Mount St. Joseph, despite its record over past two seasons, didn’t get a single vote in Top 25 rankings. “We don’t talk about (statistics and rankings),” Huber said. “You could win the statistical battle and still lose the game.”
He said the Lions have one focus right now and that’s Thomas More. The playoffs will just have to wait.
Chicago, Lakeland gain outright conference titles
Chicago (4-4, 3-0 in UAA) captured the outright University Athletic Association title with a 14-7 victory over Case Western Reserve at home. It was Chicago’s fourth consecutive win after starting the season 0-4. Defensive back Colin Carter had three interceptions, including one that killed a Case drive on the Chicago 9 with less than seven minutes left to ice the game for the Maroons.
Lakeland (8-2, 7-0 in IBC), which had already clinched a playoff spot last week, won the Illini Badger Conference title outright last week with a 20-13 victory over Greenville.
