Four Division III football conferences are joining the ever-growing number of leagues sponsoring postgame bowls, as the Ohio Athletic Conference, Presidents' Athletic Conference, North Coast Athletic Conference and Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference will square off this November in Canton.
The 2020-21 year has been entirely too short on Division III football games and much too long on adversity, but at many schools, freshmen are getting their opportunity to get acclimated to the college game by not just getting reps, but starting. Greg Thomas has more.
With the fall portion of the 2020-21 Division III football season complete, our honor roll looks back at the top individual performances from October and November in a special edition of the D3football.com Team of the Week.
Because of the pandemic, Bluffton got just one chance to play this fall, but the Beavers' ground game was in midseason form as they rolled up 372 rushing yards in sending Adrian to a 1-2 finish for the fall.
All four teams playing in October were supposed to take the field within a short drive of each other. Because of the pandemic, that didn't quite happen, but we check in with all four: Adrian, Bluffton, Manchester and Trine. Pat and Keith have that and more in the latest podcast.
Four Division III teams are playing in October, and two of them are slated to take the field Saturday. Here's what's coming up as Adrian, Bluffton, Manchester and Trine suit up for the fall.
Duncan had an all-time historic day for the Beavers. He finished with three touchdowns (receiving, passing and rushing). The junior also added three extra points and punted two times with a 45.5 average per kick that included a 50-yarder which backed the Jackets up to their own 16 late in the third quarter.
Wilmington has named Bryan Moore as its new head football coach, according to Terry Rupert, vice president of athletic administration and director of athletics. He announced the appointment is effective immediately.
Rose-Hulman finally defeated Franklin, a benchmark victory for the program. But, the Fightin' Engineers need to defeat Bluffton this week to even have a chance at the HCAC title. More in Around the Midwest.
Conner Sheehan’s four touchdowns pushed him to 47 career passing touchdown, breaking the previous mark of 43 set by Joel Parrett. Sheehan would also break the record for most touchdown passes in a season (18) as he has 19 with three games to play. Junior Micah Roberson broke the record for most career touchdown receptions (20) set by Andy Nowlin after his two scores gave him 21.
Raphael Dell hauled in five passes for 158 yards and three receiving touchdowns, giving him nine on the year. Dell is one touchdown away from tying the record for most receiving touchdowns in a season (10).
After a slow start, the Beavers took control of the game in the second half as they marched their way to a 62-22 victory. It marks the most points for Bluffton since a 63-6 victory over these same Ravens in 1988!
Bluffton's 604 yards of total offense was the most since the Beavers went for 609 against Hiram in 1999. The visitors moved the chains 31 times, compared to just 20 for the Grizzlies. Both teams were 5-of-5 on red zone scoring opportunities and the Beavers finished with an eight-minute edge in time of possession (34-26). The three Bluffton turnovers proved to be the difference as Franklin needed just eight plays to turn them into 20 points.
After a slow start by both teams, the Beavers were able to get the upper hand as the Lions struggled to move the ball against Coach Rashawn West's defense. This 16-6 win propelled the Beavers to their first 3-0 on the season since 1999 and more importantly a 1-0 mark in the Heartland Conference.
A last-second hail mary by the Thunder was unsuccessful as the Beavers marched to a 37-31 win and 2-0 start to the season. It is the first time that Bluffton has defeated Trine and it is the first 2-0 start for the Beavers since 2004!
The NCAA has announced that two Bluffton University standouts have topped the nation in three individual categories for the 2015 football season. Senior Ryan Aelker (Holgate/New Bavaria) is the Division III statistical champion for sacks per game and tackles-for-loss per game. Sophomore Micah Roberson (Ada) joined Aelker as an NCAA statistical champion on the other side of the ball. Roberson led the country in receptions per game.
When the Little Rock Touchdown Club and Wright, Lindsey & Jennings LLP handed out the awards for the 3rd annual CLIFF HARRIS AWARD, Bluffton defensive end Ryan Aelker (New Bavaria/Holgate) was announced as one of two athletes to share the top spot in Division III. Along with Aelker and Tom Lally from Mount Union, Adam Sauder took home top honors for NAIA while Marqui Christian (Division II) was named the overall winner of the Cliff Harris Award.
After four years of piling up sacks, tackles-for-losses and a host of records, senior Ryan Aelker (New Bavaria/Holgate) became the first Bluffton University football player to earn All-America honors since 1999.
A total of 63 players were named as finalists for the Cliff Harris award in 2015. Just 19 came from Division III with Ryan Aelker the only player from the Heartland Conference to be honored. Recently named First Team All-North Region by D3football.com, Aelker is a two-time finalist for the Cliff Harris award, the first Beaver to earn that distinction.
After earning second team recognition as a junior, Aelker became the only first team selection from Bluffton in the 11 years that D3football.com has recognized All-Region players. As a first team honoree, Aelker is now eligible for All-American honors which will be announced on Friday, Dec. 18, at the Stagg Bowl in Salem, Va.
A Bluffton record-tying seven Beavers (2000) earned First Team All-Conference honors while three were selected to the Second Team and two captured Honorable Mention honors. For the second straight season, senior end Ryan Aelker (New Bavaria/Holgate) blitzed his way to HCAC Defensive Player of the Year acclaim. He is the only defensive player in Bluffton University history to be named the HCAC Player of the Year and now he has accomplished that feat twice!
Sophomore wideout Micah Roberson (Ada) finished off his record-breaking season catching 12 passes for 83 yards. The 12 receptions gave him 100 for the season, crushing the previous single season record of 62 held by Eric Metz (1999) and Jack Tomlinson (2014). He also surpassed the school record (1.063) for receiving yards in a season which was also held by Eric Metz. Roberson finished with 1.096 receiving yards this season. He is now second on the all-time receptions list with 155 after two seasons, just eight from all-time leader Eric Metz (163).
The defense made huge plays throughout he game in order to keep the shutout streak alive, but nobody had a bigger day than Zickafoose with his eight
tackles, three sacks and four TFL’s. His sacks set Anderson back 30 yards, while his four TFL's went for 36 in reverse.
With the game over, there was one more surprise for Senior Day as starting offensive lineman Colton Kelso (Coschocton/River View), surrounded by his teammates, asked Raven Wilson to be his bride. And she responded YES to the jubilation of everyone on the field and in the stands! Congratulations to both Colton and Raven as they capped off a memorable Senior Day in which Bluffton's seniors went four years without surrendering a point to Anderson!
It was a record day for junior Micah Roberson (Ada), as his 10 receptions on the game broke the school record (62) for receptions in a season and his two TD catches tied the school record (10) in that category.