| Tyler Geis had one of six
sacks for Lycoming in its win against Rowan. Lycoming athletics photo |
No. 4 North Central may regret not taking that game at Coe that was originally agreed to this summer.
Instead, the Cardinals flew west, to Southern California, and they came away a Week 1 loser, 35-29 at Redlands.
The Bulldogs rallied from a 19-7 halftime deficit, scoring all four of their second-half touchdowns on long drives to earn the victory. Box score
The rematch of the 1998 national semifinal between Rowan and Lycoming was a defensive struggle until special teams helped the Warriors finish an 8-6 upset win over the 22nd-ranked Profs.
Lycoming held Rowan to minus-12 yards on 25 plays in the first half. The Warriors didn't fare much better with 100 first half yards, but they kicked two field goals and benefited from an errant Rowan long snap that resulted in a safety. Lycoming held that 8-0 lead until late in the fourth quarter when the Profs scored a touchdown following a Lycoming fumble. Rowan didn't convert the two-point conversion and Lycoming recovered the ensuing onside kick to preserve the victory.
On the other side of the country, No. 23 UW-Stevens Point played Willamette in a very similar game. The Pointers scored eight points on two field goals and a safety. They tried to put the game away by going for a first down on fourth and three from the Bearcats' 32, but the Willamette defense made the stop. Then the Bearcats marched into the end zone with 27 seconds remaining. After failing to convert the two-point conversion, Willamette tried an onside kick that was recovered by UW-Stevens Point for an 8-6 victory.
No. 14 Hardin-Simmons scored 31 points in a 25 minute span to cruise past No. 10 Coe, 41-14. Quarterback Taylor Byrd, making his first start for the Cowboys, outdueled Coe All-American Brad Boyle. Byrd was 23-for-31 passing for 326 yards and three scores, while Boyle was 11-for-30 with three interceptions for Coe. No. 3 Wesley pulled away in the second half and defeated East Texas Baptist 34-10. Sed Harris passed for 259 yards and ran for 61, but threw four interceptions, one of which Dominique Herald returned 24 yards for a score to put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter.
Two-time defending champion and top-ranked UW-Whitewater struggled in the red zone but kicker Eric Kindler came through, with field goals from 38, 33, 41 and 36 yards as the Warhawks defeated UW-La Crosse 26-7.
It was a crazy day for weather in Illinois, where lightning and severe weather delayed several games. That included the Wartburg-Monmouth game, which was held up for more than two hours before No. 15 Wartburg finished off the Scots 35-28. And the weather was a factor in Ohio as well, halting No. 20 Wittenberg's run for its 700th all-time win, at least for a day, as incessant lightning forced the game to be resumed Sunday with Wittenberg leading Capital 24-14 with 13:54 left in the third quarter.
The MIAC has three ranked teams entering the season. No. 7 Bethel had no trouble with Simpson, beating the Storm 55-3 behind 208 rushing yards from Brandon Marquardt. No. 25 St. John's had a similarly easy time in shutting out Northwestern, 34-0. No. 5 St. Thomas took care of defending MWC champion St. Norbert 20-7. (Photo gallery)
No. 13 Cortland State shook off a slow start and came back to beat Buffalo State 28-12. Dan Pitcher threw a touchdown strike to Brian Haber to give the Red Dragons a 13-12 lead and Justin Autera's 10-yard touchdown run put the game away. Buffalo State outgained Cortland 296-250 but went 0-for-13 on third down conversion attempts. No. 14 Ohio Northern scored 21 points in the fourth quarter to put North Carolina Wesleyan away behind 112 yards from sophomore running back Justin Buenger. No. 24 Franklin represented D-III to the FCS non-scholarship ranks, defeating Valparaiso 49-35.