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| Jake Page, left, had two interceptions on the afternoon for Wabash. Wabash athletics photo |
Four of Kyle Radavich's passes went for touchdowns, but one of those was scored by UW-Stevens Point, and it was enough to lift the Pointers to a 27-21 upset of No. 10 UW-Oshkosh. Meanwhile, No. 11 Wittenberg lost to Wabash in overtime, picking up its first loss of the season as well in Saturday's early D3football.com Top 25 action.
Oshkosh's loss, combined with a win by No. 5-ranked UW-Whitewater over UW-Stout, clinched the WIAC title and automatic bid for the Warhawks. St. John's clinched the automatic bid from the MIAC and a share of the conference title as well with a win vs. Concordia-Moorhead. Berry also clinched a playoff bid by securing the SAA title.
Jake Page intercepted a Jake Kennedy pass in overtime to give Wabash a 28-21 victory at Wittenberg, moving the Little Giants into a three-way tie for the lead with Witt and Denison in the North Coast Athletic Conference standings. Page picked off two passes in the game, part of three interceptions over for Wabash (7-1, 6-1 NCAC). The Little Giants held a 21-14 lead heading into the final minutes of the regulation before Wittenberg (7-1, 6-1) scored on the final play of regulation on a touchdown pass from Kennedy to Liam Duncan.
Wabash started on offense in the overtime period with quarterback Jake Reid connecting with Matt Penola for a 16-yard completion on the first play. Junior running back Isaac Avant raced 9 yards for the score to put the Little Giants in front. Wittenberg took over on its offensive series with Page ending the game with the interception at the goal line.
Radavich was intercepted four times on the afternoon, the last of them coming at the Pointers' 15-yard line to seal the game. Omarri Johnson had two picks, while Sam Shafer returned his interception 42 yards for a score to put UW-Stevens Point up 27-14 early in the fourth quarter. Radavich bounced back to lead Oshkosh on a 75-yard touchdown drive on its next possesion, but he was sacked on back-to-back plays in the Stevens Point red zone on the team's next possession and the Titans came away empty handed. Oshkosh's final possession saw Radavich's final interception, sealing the game for Stevens Point (3-5).
No. 20 Wesley lost for the second consecutive week, and picked up its third one-point loss of the season as the Wolverines fell at home to Montclair State, 10-9. The Wolverines were once again victimized by the point-after conversion process, as a bad snap on Wesley's first-quarter touchdown led to a failed attempt. However, Wesley held the lead until the fourth quarter. Montclair's Hunter Daly missed a field goal attempt from 35 yards, but the Wolverines were whistled for offsides, giving the Red Hawks a first down. Three plays later, Ja'Quill Burch hit Kason Campbell for a 6-yard touchdown and Daly's extra point made it 10-9. Wesley fumbled on the 1-yard line on its next possession and missed a 23-yard field goal attempt on its final possesion of the game.
UW-Whitewater rolled up more than 550 yards of offense and forced three turnovers in a 40-10 win at UW-Stout. Alex Peete collected 15 carries for 154 yards and three touchdowns, his fourth 100-yard performance of the year, while Jacob Erbs led the defense with nine tackles, a forced fumble and a pass breakup. The Warhawks will return to the playoffs after a one-year absence.
Linfield clinched its 63rd consecutive winning season as the No. 24 Wildcats made easy work of Pacific Lutheran, winning 41-7. Chidubem Nnoli rushed for 104 yards and two touchdowns for Linfield, while Wyatt Smith was 18-for-21 passing for 228 yards and two touchdowns with one interception in the win. The Wildcats, who play a nine-game schedule, are now 5-2.
Albright scored first but No. 19 Delaware Valley scored often in a 49-14 rout of the winless Lions. Dashawn Darden threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more, and Anthony Thomas added a pick-six in the Aggies' victory. The win was the 18th consecutive conference win for the defending MAC champions as the Aggies improved to 7-1 overall and 6-0 in the league.
No. 23 Johns Hopkins handed No. 18 Muhlenberg its first loss of the season, as David Tammaro threw for two touchdowns and ran for another in a 27-16 win. The Blue Jays scored the first 21 points of the game and were never seriously threatened, intercepting Michael Hnatkowsky four times, two of them from Addison Quinones. Johns Hopkins also broke up 11 passes.
Whitworth went to the fourth quarter of its Northwest Conference game with visiting Pacific tied 16-16 and with its unbeaten record on the line. The 14th-ranked Pirates outscored the Boxers 21-3 in the final period for a 37-19 victory. Whitworth can clinch the NWC automatic bid with one win in its last two games, against Lewis & Clark and Willamette.
D'Angelo Fulford threw for seven touchdowns on just 21 attempts, completing 18 of them in a 55-24 win vs. Ohio Northern. The top-ranked Purple Raiders rolled up 27 first downs while only facing third down seven times on the afternoon. Justin Hill was the target on four of Fulford's touchdowns, catching four passes for 109 yards. Markeith Miller ran for 146 yards and four touchdowns on just 11 carries Luke Poorman got a start at quarterback for No. 2 UMHB for the first time as the Cru routed McMurry 80-7. Poorman completed 14 of 16 passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns, while Marquis Duncan carried 21 time for 121 yards in the win. Jase Hammack, the Cru's starter to open the season, ran for two TDs and completed all four of his passes in the win.
No. 3 Brockport's defense got the scoring started with a safety and the Golden Eagles limited Utica to minus-62 yards rushing in a 22-6 win. Brockport's defense came up with three sacks, five tackles for loss and an interception. Connor Cox accounted for six touchdowns to push No. 6 Frostburg State to a 61-7 win over Southern Virginia. No. 7 St. Thomas (7-1, 5-1 MIAC) scored on its first seven possessions to get out to a 40-0 halftime lead and added three second-half touchdowns to hand St. Olaf (5-3, 3-3) its third defeat in a row after a 5-0 start. The Tommies outgained the Oles by a 485-55 margin.
With just nine passes, Trine racked up 59 points in a 59-42 win vs Albion. Brandon Winters completed all nine of those attempts, for 300 yards, while Lamar Carswell had 23 carries for 149 yards and two scores. The Thunder (8-0, 5-0 MIAA) scored three consecutive touchdowns after Albion took a 14-7 lead and Albion never got within 14 points again.
No. 13 Berry scored the first 20 points of the game and went on to defeat Birmingham-Southern 26-10. The Panthers scored a touchdown in the final minute. CJ Stone picked up 124 yards on 19 carries and scored the Vikings' first touchdown of the game.