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| Whitworth continued to bottle up the PLU offense. Whitworth athletics photo |
Whitworth set up an undefeated showdown with Linfield, while Loras kept its offensive juggernaut rolling and conference races across Division III remained tight through Saturday's Week 7 games.
Whitworth built a 25-0 halftime lead and cruised to a 32-7 win over visiting Pacific Lutheran in a Northwest Conference football game at the Pine Bowl. The Pirates (6-0, 3-0 NWC), defeated PLU for the first time in six meetings. The struggling Lutes slipped to an 0-5 mark, 0-3 in the conference. Ian Kolste threw a pair of touchdown passes and Dalin McDonnell returned an interception 45 yards for a touchdown to lead the Pirates' attack.
Central scored with 1:41 left in the game, but that was more than enough time for Loras, which drove 69 yards for a touchdown behind Nolan Baumhover to take the lead with 47 seconds left and go on to win 55-48. The score was part of a 28-point fourth quarter for the Duhawks (3-3, 2-1 IIAC). .Baumhover needed just five plays and 48 seconds to move 69 yards, throwing a Loras record eighth touchdown pass—one less than the NCAA Division III mark-- then completing a two-point conversion toss for a 55-48 margin. Central then scrambled to the Loras 44-yard line but Gray was picked off at the 24 with 20 seconds left to close the deal.
Kyle Bryson caught two touchdown passes and a two-point conversion pass in the final 1:49 of the game to help Olivet stun Hope 31-27. The Flying Dutchmen led 27-16 before the Comets used an 8-play, 61-yard drive to cut their deficit to 27-24 at the 1:49 mark, with Braden Black hitting Bryson for both the touchdown and the two-point conversion. Olivet then executed a perfect on-side kick attempt by junior Gunnar Aper, with junior Mitch Bailey falling on the ball right at midfield. On the eighth play of the drive, Black threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Bryson with 26 seconds remaining in the game. Aper's PAT kick split the uprights. Hope started a drive at its own 48-yard line. After a complete pass to the Comet 39 and an incomplete pass, the Flying Dutchmen had one more chance but a throw into the end zone was intercepted by freshman Jaquan Short, capping Olivet's incredible comeback.
Olivet kept pace in the MIAA with Albion, which needed a stop in the final minute to survive 30-25 vs. Adrian. The Bulldogs were in the red zone at the 14-yard line with 30 seconds left when David Van Ittersum stripped the ball from quarterback Stephen Millarch and Dallis Reynolds pounced on the fumble.
Cortland's defense forced six turnovers and held Alfred off the board twice in the final five minutes, including a goal-line stand, and the Red Dragons took over sole possession of first place in the Empire 8 with a 20-14 home victory over the Saxons. Cortland improved to 6-1 overall and 4-1 in Empire 8 play. The Red Dragons sit atop the league standings, a game ahead of both Utica and St. John Fisher.
Nick Schlatz rushed for a career-high 115 yards and two touchdowns and RPI had a total of 239 yards on the ground in defeating the University of Rochester 35-21 in a key Liberty League matchup. The Engineers improve to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the league, keeping their hopes for a league championship alive. The Yellowjackets fall to 4-2 and 2-2.
Washington and Lee remained undefeated, rallying from a 10-0 halftime deficit to defeat Randolph-Macon 21-17. As always, the Generals marched forth on the ground, with two 100-yard rushers and three who ran for 80 yards or more, while John Carrick picked off two passes for W&L on defense.
Berry improved to 6-1 and remained undefeated in the SAA as Shayne Edwards intercepted a pass from Seth Peters with 17 seconds left in the game, sealing a 27-24 victory over Hendrix. The Vikings have sole possession of first place in the conference, with head-to-head wins vs. both of the conference's one-loss teams in pursuit of the SAA's first football automatic bid.
Muhlenberg scored the game's first points on an acrobatic interception and never looked back, ending Gettysburg's perfect start to the season with a 41-13 decision. For the second time in the past four seasons, Muhlenberg (4-2, 3-2 CC) gave Gettysburg (5-1, 4-1) its first loss. The Mules held the Centennial's most prolific rushing team to a season-low 86 yards on the ground and posted eight sacks and 11 tackles for a loss.
Western New England remained unbeaten, finishing off its longest trip of the regular season with a 58-35 win at Maine Maritime. The Golden Bears had allowed just 44 points in the first five games before getting a run from the Mariners' option offense.
Gabe Brown scored what proved to be the game-winning touchdown on a 5-yard run with 0:52 to play as King's overcame a 26-21 deficit with under nine minutes to play to post a 30-26 victory over visiting Lycoming. With the win, King's improved to 2-4 overall and 2-3 in the Middle Atlantic Conference while Lycoming fell to 1-5 and 1-4 in the MAC.
St. Norbert defeated Ripon 48-14, moving into sole possession of first place in the MWC's North Division and remaining undefeated overall. Jack Becker found Matt Freeman on a 57-yard touchdown pass on the first play from scrimmage, 16 seconds into the game, and the Green Knights never looked back vs. their archrivals.
Isaac Robinson kicked two field goals and Joe Beckford and Connor Cox each tossed a touchdown as Frostburg State downed TCNJ 19-6. The Bobcats improved to 5-1, 4-1 in their first season in the NJAC and a game behind fellow conference newcome Wesley for first place.
If you missed the final 3:48 of the second quarter, you missed all the scoring and thus, the possible deciding points of the entire UMAC season as St. Scholastica defeated Northwestern 13-7. Following a University of Northwestern touchdown, the St. Scholastica football team scored two touchdowns in the final 57 seconds of the second quarter and that held up.
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps turned to its ground game once again in the closing minute and once again came up with the winning score. This time around, it was Shane Pico who found the end zone for the winning score with 34 seconds left to give CMS a 25-23 win over Redlands, its first vs. the Bulldogs since 2003.