2004 Around the Mid-Atlantic columns

November 30, 2004 You having fun yet? A sun-soaked late autumn morning at Delaware Valley College is unlike many scenes played out throughout Division III on any weekend. The Aggies hosted the Cardinals of St. John Fisher in a regional semifinal, but two hours before kickoff, you would not have guessed.

November 16, 2004 A Centennial-sized mess Muhlenberg defeated Moravian in their annual rivalry, which combined with a Johns Hopkins win over McDaniel along with Union and Hobart victories, clinched the Centennial Conference championship for the Mules, their third consecutive title. Dickinson and Franklin and Marshall each won its game this weekend, leading to the five-way tie we predicted two weeks ago.

November 9, 2004 Eagles escape Jackets' nest Oh, the fear that Bridgewater fans experienced on Saturday afternoon when lowly Randolph-Macon pushed the Eagles to an unimaginable overtime session.

November 2, 2004 Centennial could require a recount McDaniel's surprising 20-7 loss at Franklin and Marshall has knocked the Centennial championship wide open as each team now has at least one loss.

October 27, 2004 Heading into the home stretch Three weeks remain in the regular season and the Mid-Atlantic region remains as undecided as ever.

October 18, 2004 The most competitive conference in D-III? The average margin of victory in a Middle Atlantic Conference game this season is 12.1 points. Eighteen of this year's 30 MAC games have been decided by seven points or fewer.

October 12, 2004 Homer's grueling comeback Von Homer has two tackles for the Shenandoah Hornets this season. Four years ago, if you told the junior strong safety he would have two tackles in 2004 for anyone, you would have been laughed from the room. The hospital room, that is.

October 5, 2004 My region for some consistency Between the Centennial, MAC, ODAC, and USAC, there are four undefeated football teams (brace yourself): Albright, Averett, Delaware Valley and Moravian. To show you how much the coaches know, Albright was picked sixth in the MAC preseason poll with Del Val third and Moravian seventh. The three are a combined 10-0 in conference play. Averett managed fifth out of seven in the USAC preseason coaches poll and while they have only played one conference opponent, 4-0 is 4-0.

September 26, 2004 Captains on the half-shell Before a crowd of 3,600 at the 55th annual Oyster Bowl, Christopher Newport jumped to an early lead and never looked back, defeating 18th ranked Bridgewater (Va.) 21-16. The game was a rematch for the highly regarded teams who split their two matchups in 2003, with BC's win coming when it counted most -- the postseason.

September 20, 2004 Rain, rain, go away It rained on Saturday throughout eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. It rained some more. Then it rained a bit harder and the wind blew a bit faster. And yes, in fact, it kept raining. The remnants of Hurricane Ivan had their way on football fields across the area.

September 14, 2004 H-SC far ahead of Bridgewater I departed Philadelphia at 8:45 a.m. on Saturday morning for an afternoon of the ODAC's best. And 501 miles, 20 hours, two football games, and one Sheetz stop later, I have a firm handle on what to expect from No. 15 Hampden-Sydney and No. 19 Bridgewater.

September 8, 2004 Top teams find themselves on the bottom Few Division III fans would have predicted that both Bridgewater (preseason No. 7) and Christopher Newport (preseason No. 16) would sit in the loss column following their Week 1 contests. Granted, McDaniel and Rowan are far from pushovers, but fundamental mistakes from both the Eagles and Captains resulted in disappointing starts for the Mid-Atlantic region's top squads.

August 25, 2004 2004 regional preview The South Region of Division III remains a sprawling cross-section of America, and once again, covering the contentious Mid-Atlantic Region will be most enjoyable. Two-a-days are back in action and the grass is freshly mowed. You can smell it.