/notables/2015/10/week9-roundup

Roundup: Conference races come down to wire

More news about: Monmouth | St. Norbert | St. Scholastica
 
St. Scholastica is in a familiar position -- on top of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference.
St. Scholastica athletics photo by Brooke Krautbauer 

Brandon Carter was one of three St. Norbert players to rush for 100 yards on Saturday.
St. Norbert athletics file photo

Conference races are coming down to the wire, and that includes the Midwest Conference, where the title game pairings were set, as well as the USA South, where the top two teams remained on a collision course. Meanwhile, St. Scholastica clinched the first bid into the Division III playoffs, winning the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference.

St. Norbert remained undefeated and the Green Knights had an easy time of it on Saturday, with three 100-yard rushers and eight touchdowns on the ground in a 63-6 pounding of Lawrence. Their title game opponent, Monmouth, also cruised on Saturday with a 52-0 win vs. Grinnell. The Scots were in the Pioneers' backfield all day long, with 10 tackles for loss in the win. St. Norbert and Monmouth each have another game in their divisions of the MWC next week and will face off at St. Norbert in Week 11.

Huntingdon defeated Greensboro and Maryville topped LaGrange to remain first and second in the USA South Athletic Conference heading into next weekend's meeting. Luke Bailey threw two touchdown passes amd Vic Jerald and Jay Ware combined for 190 yards rushing in Huntingdon's 40-20 win. Maryville rallied from a 14-point deficit with 24 points in the fourth quarter to defeat LaGrange 38-31. Evan Pittenger hit Mario Williams for a 50-yard touchdown pass with 39 seconds left to break the tie and give the Scots the win.

St. Scholastica improved to 8-1, 8-0 in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference and clinched the automatic bid in the conference for the fifth consecutive year, defeating Westminster (Mo.) 48-12. The Saints are the only team to represent the UMAC in the Division III football playoffs.

Albion defeated Olivet to force a three-way tie for first place in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association. The Britons rebounded from their loss to Trine and handled the Comets 49-21 as Dominic Bona had another great day (33-for-44, 373 yards, five TDs). Trine edged Kalamazoo on Saturday to remain in the tie. The third tiebreaker in the MIAA rulebook is overall record, which would eliminate Trine (currently 5-3 overall) from the tie, and with Trine out, the tie would revert to today's head-to-head game between Albion and Olivet.

Cortland, Alfred and St. John Fisher are tied with two conference losses apiece in the Empire 8 after Morrisville knocked off Cortland. Alfred exploded in the second quarter to defeat Brockport 35-13, while St. John Fisher shut out Ithaca 34-0 to move back into the conference title hunt after an inauspicious start to the season. It's the Cardinals' second consecutive shutout win, while Ithaca has lost four in a row and stands at 4-4. 

Ian Kolste accounted for 454 yards of total offense and ran for three touchdowns to lead Whitworth past Pacific 50-33. The Pirates, who remain in the hunt for a Pool C bid at 7-1, scored 33 unanswered points after trailing 21-10.

Dubuque crushed crosstown rival Loras 42-14 to remain alone in first place in the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Spartans, who held the Duhawks to 174 yards passing, just need to bat Coe or Central in the final two weeks to clinch their first playoff trip since 2011.

Stevenson, Albright and Delaware Valley each won Saturday to remain tied for first place in the MAC. Stevenson defeated Wilkes 31-14 as Austin Tennessee has an interception, two pass breakups and blocked a kick. Albright remained in the three-way tie as Colton Ryan intercepted two passes, and returned one 100 yards for a touchdown in a 38-28 win at King's. This three-way tie won't make it to the end of the season, however, as Albright and Stevenson face off next Saturday. More coverage of Delaware Valley's win in the Top 25 roundup.

Husson and Norwich remained deadlocked atop the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference headed into their showdown next week. Castleton could still force a three-way tie, as the Spartans host Norwich in Week 11. Husson cruised past SUNY-Maritime 40-14 while Norwich defeated Mount Ida 33-7 behind 215 passing yards and 69 rushing yards from Philippe Bazinet.

La Verne ran for a season-high 421 yards and scored all seven of their touchdowns on the ground on a Chapman defense that had given up only 146.5 rushing yards and a total of two rushing touchdowns coming into the game as the Leopards won 49-42. ULV improved to 6-1, 5-0 in the SCIAC and will clinch the automatic bid with any win or any loss by Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the teams' final two games.

Marko Adams booted a 42-yard field goal with 2.5 seconds left and gave DePauw a 31-29 win at Denison. Connor Dunn had given the Big Red a 29-28 lead after booting a 33-yard field goal with 1:43 left. DePauw improved to 7-1, 6-1 in the NCAC. Denison fell to 6-2, 5-2.

Berry got by on another week of winning with defense, as the Vikings defeated Millsaps 24-14 to improve to 7-1. Berry scored on an interception return early in the fourth quarter to take a two-score lead and won despite just 260 yards of total offense and 7-for-18 passing. The Vikings will clinch their first-ever playoff bid with a win in either of their last two games.

Matt Pawlowski passed for a school- and ODAC-record 611 yards as Guilford defeated Catholic 52-49. He threw a personal-best seven touchdowns and compiled 648 total offensive yards in Guilford's fourth straight victory. It's the most passing yards in a game in Division III this season and the ninth-best single-game passing total all-time. T.J. Tutone, who was 39-for-54 for 394 yards and five touchdowns, nearly led Catholic to the win but the Cardinals couldn't recover the onside kick with 34 secodns left.

Hamilton snapped a 25-game losing streak, which is more than three NESCAC seasons long, in defeating Williams 20-17. The Continentals scored a touchdown in the first half for the first time all season and came back to win after trailing on three separate occasions. It's the first time Hamilton has beaten Williams on any field since 1996 and the first win at Williams since 1986.

The Rowan offense rode Wit Marcelin once again, to the tune of 29 carries for 101 yards and a touchdown, but lost him to an injury late in the game. The Profs held on to defeat Frostburg State 15-6.

Dec. 15: All times Eastern
Final
Cortland 38, at North Central (Ill.) 37
@ Salem, Virginia
Video Box Score Recap Photos
Dec. 9: All times Eastern
Final
North Central (Ill.) 34, at Wartburg 27
Box Score Recap
Final
Cortland 49, at Randolph-Macon 14
Box Score Recap Recap Recap Photos
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