Games of Sept. 9-11, 2004
Offense
QB Joel Clark, So., Whitworth
Clark led Whitworth to scores on eight of Whitworth's 10 possessions (not counting taking a knee at the end of the game) in a 52-49 win at Redlands. He was 25-for-34 passing for 323 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions, while adding 37 yards and a touchdown on nine carries. His yardage and completion percentage (74%) were career highs.
OL Dylan Everett, Tadeo Padilla, Jeff Lemmons, Joey Fratto, Bob Sempkowski, McMurry
The line didn't even allow a quarterback hurry, providing excellent protection and opening up large holes for 335 yards rushing on 62 carries by 10 players in a 52-7 season-opening win at Colorado College. Last season, McMurry's average rush was 3.2 per attempt and 126.9 per game.
RB Garrett Granberg, Sr., Wheaton
Granberg averaged nine yards per carry in Wheaton's 42-21 win over Gustavus Adolphus. He ran for a career-high 190 yards on 21 carries, with two touchdowns. His longest run of the day was a 42-yard TD scamper through the heart of the Gusties' defense to give Wheaton a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter. His second score came late in the fourth quarter on a 16-yard run has he scored Wheaton's final touchdown.
RB Mick Faasen, Sr., Olivet
Faasen led the ground attack with 194 yards and four touchdowns on 21 carries. Olivet rushed for 591 yards, and 678 total offensive yards, in a wild 63-62 win at Franklin. He also surpassed the 2,000 career rushing yards mark in just 20 career games.
WR Ben Bascon, Jr., Bridgewater State
Bascon had only three receptions, but all were for touchdowns as he scored from 35, 57 and 22 yards out (in overtime) in a dramatic 37-34 win.
WR Horace Gant, Fr., St. Olaf
In his first collegiate game, Gant caught a 76-yard TD strike with 1:17 to play to tie the game at 31 in St. Olaf's come-from-behind win against Luther, 32-31. He finished the day with nine catches for 222 yards and two touchdowns.
TE Jon Branche, So., RPI
In a 42-7 win at Endicott, Branche tied for a game-high with 11 catches including touchdown receptions of 4 and 14 yards. He had 130 receiving yards.
Defense
DL Mike Lewis, Jr., Adrian
Lewis helped limit Defiance to zero points and 269 total yards with eight tackles (six solo), four tackles for loss and three sacks. Defiance was limited to just 47 yards rushing on 34 carries.
DL Adam Haas, So., Cortland State
Haas returned a fumble 21 yards for a TD in Cortland's 17-14 loss to New Jersey. Four of his seven solo tackles (eight total) were for lost yardage, including two sacks.
DL James Riley, Sr., Hampden-Sydney
Riley led the Tigers with seven tackles (five solo, three for loss) to go with two sacks, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and one pass breakup in a 59-16 win at Gettysburg.
LB Rich Nines, Jr., Coast Guard
Nines led CGA with 15 total tackles (10 solo), broke up a pass, recovered a fumble and returned an interception 56 yards for a touchdown in a 62-7 win against Mass Maritime.
LB Brad DeHaven, Sr., Salisbury
DeHaven recorded four sacks for a combined loss of 39 yards and also intercepted a pass on Brockport State's first play from scrimmage in Salisbury's 46-21 win. He also caused two fumbles and ended the day with eight tackles (five solo).
LB Mark Sanger, Sr., Central
Sanger recorded a career-high 21 tackles (10 solo) and three for lost yardage in a 21-20 overtime upset win against Bethel.
LB Vincent Werner, Jr., Allegheny
Werner recorded only five tackles but returned a fumble 25 yards for Allegheny's second touchdown of the day, then picked off a tipped pass in the end zone to seal a 21-14 win in the second overtime.
DB Adam Schmidt, Jr., Ursinus
Schmidt had seven tackles (six solo), including two for lost yardage, while also blocking a field goal attempt and returning an interception 7 yards for a touchdown.
DB Kenneth Halvorson, Jr., UW-La Crosse
Halvorson had a game-high 12 tackles, including eight solo in a 34-13 victory at Minnesota-Duluth. He also had one tackle for loss and one pass breakup. Halvorson returned a fumble 43 yards for a touchdown and also blocked an extra-point attempt.
DB Aaron Margo, Jr., Grove City
Margo registered career-high 15 tackles (10 solo), including four for loss in Grove City's 16-14 win at Carnegie Mellon Saturday. It is the Wolverines' first-ever victory at CMU's Gesling Stadium. Margo helped Grove City limit CMU's ground-based Wing-T offense to just 2.9 yards per carry.
DB A.J. Jackson, So., Sewanee
Jackson had two interceptions and a fumble recovery in a 28-17 win against Huntingdon. Jackson's second pick was a 63-yard return for a touchdown in the third quarter as Sewanee then trailed, 17-14.
Special teams
K Dan Eggertsson, Sr., Franklin and Marshall
Eggertsson hit a 45-yard field goal as time expired in the first half and added a 28-yarder in the third quarter of the Diplomats' 41-21 win against Oberlin. He also hit all five of his extra point attempts.
P Dayne Poirot, Sr., Western New England
Poirot, a starting defensive tackle, made his collegiate debut as a punter in a 26-21 President's Trophy win against Westfield State averaging 40.7 yards for seven punts with a long of 53 and three inside the 20. He also had two solo and two assisted tackles, and a forced fumble.
ST Ted Serafini, Sr., Beloit
Serafini tied an NCAA record with four blocked kicks in Beloit's 39-20 loss to St. Norbert on Saturday. Serafini blocked three extra points and one punt against the Green Knights to tie the record held by three other players. The D-III record is held by Bob Paulus of Rhodes, who blocked three field goals and one PAT against Washington U. on Sept. 29, 2001. The other record-holders are at the D-I level.
RET Danny Sears, So., Franklin
Sears returned a kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown and a punt 71 yards for another score in the first quarter alone of Franklin's 63-62 loss to Olivet. He finished the day with 160 yards on four kickoff returns.