2003 Around the Great Lakes columns
November 19, 2003
Waynesburg bucks regional trend
Saturday, 35 years of waiting came to an end as Waynesburg wrapped up the PAC title with a 34-20 home win against Westminster (Pa.).
November 11, 2003
OAC, NCAC, MIAA champs clinch bids
Seven days can make a big difference. Seven days ago, no Great Lakes region team had wrapped up an NCAA playoff berth. Since then, three automatic berths were secured while a handful of teams continued to move into position for Pool B and C invitations.
November 4, 2003
Several teams on the doorstep
No playoff berths have been secured in the Great Lakes Region. But a handful of teams moved closer to earning their place in the 28-team 2003 Division III tournament.
October 28, 2003
Hold onto the ball, hold onto first place
Probably no stat is more indicative of a team's success than turnover margin. Teams that hang onto the ball usually win; teams that give it away often lose. Saturday, previously undefeated Capital and Washington and Jefferson both went to hostile environs in conference play and committed early turnovers in defeat.
October 21, 2003
And then there were three
Just three teams in the Great Lakes region sport undefeated records entering Week 8. Mount Union held off pesky John Carroll 34-16 for the Purple Raiders’ 48th consecutive win while fellow Ohio Athletic Conference member Capital also improved to 6-0 with a 56-10 drilling of Heidelberg in Columbus.
October 14, 2003
Oberlin's win resonates through NCAC
For now, eight other NCAC teams are looking up at conference co-leader Oberlin, which shocked Wooster Saturday 14-7 at the Yeomen’s Dill Field to improve to 2-0 in the conference.
October 7, 2003
Away from the spotlight, games shone brightly
Although the projected game of the week, John Carroll at Baldwin Wallace, turned out to be a 36-0 Baldwin-Wallace rout, three other early-season league games in the Great Lakes Region turned out to be classics Saturday.
September 30, 2003
Sutton starts as Wooster rolls
Wooster tailback Tony Sutton gashed the Case Western Reserve defense for a school- and North Coast Athletic Conference-record 338 yards and six touchdowns as No. 19 Wooster knocked Case from the ranks of the unbeaten with a come-from-behind 62-33 win in Cleveland.
September 23, 2003
Defense leads way in blanking B-W
Adamson. Ballard. Borchert. Bubonics. Moore. Pugh. For years, Mount Union's offensive standouts have gotten much of the attention and credit for the Purple Raiders' run of success. But Saturday, the Mount Union defense took its turn in the spotlight in front of a Mount Union-record crowd of 8,732.
September 15, 2003
Sirianni's first win a thrilling one
More than a few memories were made in Washington, Pa., on Saturday night, the site of this past weekend’s Game of the Week. Host Washington and Jefferson gave new head coach Mike Sirianni his first victory with a thrilling 28-23, come-from-behind win against Allegheny.
September 9, 2003
Region's first week is an offensive one
After the first week of Division III football competition, one thing is certain in the Great Lakes Region: The offenses are certainly ahead of the defenses early in the season.
August 28, 2003
2003 regional preview
Here’s a look at who could contend, who might take a step backward and who could sneak up in 2003.