/notables/2021/10/week8-wrapup-top25

Titans deliver veto; Warhawks deliver late blow

The Titans vetoed the Presidents' passing game, limiting W&J to 155 yards through the air on 35 attempts.
Westminster (Pa.) athletics photo by Sarah Dudik
 

The Presidents got deposed, the Warhawks hung on, the Eagles are flying high again and there's a four-pack on top of the Presidents' Athletic Conference.

Westminster (Pa.) scored three consecutive touchdowns to rally from a 12-3 deficit, then held on with a fourth-down knockdown in the end zone to defeat No. 11 Washington & Jefferson 23-18. Frank Antuono found Tylon Eilam for a short touchdown pass and Cole Konieczka hit him for two long ones in the fourth quarter as the Titans won for just the eighth time in 44 meetings, but for the fifth time in six years and the second time in 2021 as Westminster defeated W&J in the PAC's spring season title game. Down 23-12, the Presidents rallied, driving 56 yards and finishing with a touchdown catch by Andrew Wolf to cut the lead to 23-18. A failed two-point conversion attempt meant that W&J needed another touchdown, and afte a three-and-out, the Presidents got the ball back at their own 40 and got as far as the Westminster 23 before Jones's pass to the end zone was knocked away by Ian Barr, preserving the 23-18 Westminster win.

The result means the leader of the PAC is actually four teams, as Westminster, W&J, Grove City and Carnegie Mellon are all tied at 5-1 in conference play.

UW-Whitewater defeated UW-River Falls for the 19th consecutive time, but it was hardly without drama as the No. 3 Warhawks kicked two fourth-quarter field goals and got two key takeaways to get past the Falcons 34-28. Matt Maldonado had missed from 39 yards out and Max Meylor threw an interception deep in his own territory which the Falcons (5-2, 2-2 WIAC) and Kole Hinrichsen converted immediately into a 24-yard touchdown pass to Andy Groebner, tying the game at 28. But the Warhawks (7-0, 4-0) responded immediately, as Jaylon Edmondson ripped off a 46-yard kickoff return down to the 19 and Maldonado converted a 28-yard field goal to give UWW the lead, and River Falls fumbled the kickoff, leading to another field goal. Hinrichsen threw four touchdown passes and ran for 79 yards to boot, but was picked off twice by Kyle Koelblinger, the last one in the final minute, allowing UWW to run out the clock.

Joey Stutzman ran for 147 yards and Brad Tobin added 65 yards and two touchdowns as No. 14 UW-La Crosse defeated UW-Stout 44-38. The Eagles (6-1, 4-0 WIAC) led by two scores on two separate occasions in the fourth quarter before Stout (5-2, 2-2) scored with 1:27 left to cut the lead to six. Stout was unable to cover the onside kick and La Crosse ran out the clock.

Ryan Stevens threw for 366 yards and five touchdowns and the Blue Jay defense held Gettysburg to just 115 yards as the Blue Jays cruised to their 13th consecutive win against the Bullets with a 50-0 win at Gettysburg's Musselman Stadium. he Blue Jays sprinted to a 30-0 lead at the half as Stevens was 24-of-38 for 297 yards and four of his five touchdowns before halftime. He needed less than nine minutes to give the Blue Jays all the offense they would need as he capped Hopkins' first two drives of the game with touchdown passes of seven and 21 yards to Harrison Wellmann and Quinn Revere.

Braxton Plunk was picked off three times but it didn't have much impact on the final score as the No. 4 Purple Raiders pulled away from a 14-14 tie to defeat Heidelberg 49-14. Plunk finished 37-for-47 for 500 yards and three touchdowns, with Wayne Ruby catching nine passes for 106 yards and two scores. Jaden Manley and Ulice Gillard each finished with more than 100 receiving yards as well as Mount Union improved to 7-0. 

No. 19 Susquehanna blew the game open in the second half and went on to roll past McDaniel, 45-16. McDaniel kept it close early in part thanks to a bad snap field goal attempt which McDaniel kicker Peyton Denlinger turned into a touchdown pass, as well as a blocked punt which the Green Terror returned for a score. Susquehanna led 17-16 at halftime. After the break, Susquehanna forced McDaniel into four punts, a missed field goal and an interception while surrendering only 52 yards of offense to the Green Terror on the last six drives.

Special teams and defense carried the day for John Carroll, as the Blue Streaks got an 86-yard kickoff return and a 75-yard interception return to get past Marietta 19-10. On a day in which JCU (5-2, 5-1 OAC) got zero offensive touchdowns, it was Grant Gonya who gave the Streaks the lead for the first time, as he booted through a 47-yard field goal with 9:43 to play to give JCU a 13-10 advantage. The Pioneers (3-4, 3-3) then missed a 34-yard field goal wide left with 3:03 to play that would have tied the game before Tyshawn Jones picked off Connor Vierstra at the 25 yard line and returned it 75 yards for the score.

No. 22 Birmingham-Southern used a combination of big plays and stifling defense to defeat Rhodes 41-6. Jon Lewis scored on an 81-yard run and Tavion Fleming hauled in an 80-yard touchdown pass from Trey Patterson for the Panthers. The Lynx were limited to just 79 yards of total offense on the evening. Birmingham-Southern (7-0) keeps pace atop the SAA with No. 21 Trinity as the Tigers easily raced past Sewanee 66-7. Chris Stewart caught two touchdowns and returned two punts for touchdowns for Trinity. The Trinity defense had another outstanding game, holding Sewanee to just 104 yards of total offense while not allowing a third down conversion on 18 chances.

Illinois Wesleyan hung around with No. 1 North Central for a half, but the Cardinals scored 42 second half points to secure a 55-7 win. Andrew Kamienski hauled in 10 receptions for 154 yards and two touchdowns while Ethan Greenfield carried 21 times for 199 yards.  Terrance Hill added three rushing touchdowns for North Central (7-0, 6-0).

No. 6 Wheaton ambushed Carthage with 31 first quarter points en route to a comfortable 69-20 win over Carthage. Sam Singleton rushed for 164 yards and three touchdowns on just 12 first half carries. Caleb Egbert had two interceptions for the Thunder, returning one for a touchdown to highlight another dominant defensive performance by Wheaton (6-1, 5-1).

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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