SWC75
Bored Historian
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FIRST ROUND RESULTS:
#1 WISCONSIN-WHITEWATER, the defending champions, breezed by unranked Macalister 55-2. (Somehow the score seems more pathetic when the loser got 2 points than if they were shut out: it seems more comical). The Scotts were down 0-34 when they got their safety. They didn’t manage to gain 354 yard but Whitewater amassed 583. Matt Behrendt passed for 213 yards and 3TDs. Jordan Ratcliffe rushed for 100 yards and 3 more TDs.
#2 MARY HARDIN-BAYLOR struggled to get past #17 Texas Lutheran, a team they’d crushed 72-16 on October 25th. The game was interrupted by as sustained lightning storm on Saturday with the Crusaders, (locally known as “The Cru”), leading 14-10. They waited more than 6 hours to resume, played briefly, then decided to cintu8e the game on Sunday morning. The Cru went on to a hard-fought 27-20 win. The Bulldogs out-gained their former tormenters 452-284 but had the game’s only two turnovers and missed a couple of field goals. Texas Lutheran controlled the ball for 48:22 of the game and ran 99 offensive plays compared to 35 for UMHB. MHB won it on big plays. Kamrey Runnells caught a 33 yard TD pass and returned a punt 65 yards for another score. Wykeyhe Walker caught a 73 yard TD pass. Two other scores, one a pick 6, were called back. Lutheran scored with 1:36 left and tried an onside kick, which they recovered. But they had touched the ball before it went 10 yards so the Cru got the ball. But the Bulldog’s forced a punt and drove to the MHB 31, where a Hail Mary on the last play was intercepted. They’ll be talking about that one in Texas for years.
#3 MOUNT UNION, (and I’m not sure why they dropped to #3 after beating John Carroll by a touchdown in their finale), rolled over poor Adrian, (remember them- the tiny school form Michigan the SU basketball team toyed with?), 63-3. These Bulldogs were out-gained 197-650 by the Purple Raiders, who beat everyone but John Carroll by scores like this one. The “game” was 50-3 at halftime. Mount Union had 38 first downs to 11. Kevin Burke passed for 286 yard and 4 touchdowns.- all in the first half. Logan Nemeth and Jamal Johnson both ran for over 100 yards for the winners, for whom, in the end, it’s not about blow-outs. It’s about finding a way to beat Whitewater.
#4 WARTBURG (lovely name) topped the Tommies of #18 St. Thomas , 37-31. The Knights jumped out to a 13-0 first quarter lead, only to see the Tommies close it to 23-21 entering the fourth quarter. A failed onside kick led to a Wartburg score to make it 30-21. A 48 yard touchdown pass from John Gould to Charlie Dowdell restored the two point margin. Logan Schrader scrambled for 44 yards and then avoided a sack to throw a 10 yard TD pass to Will Ebert to make it 37-28 with 4:30 left. The Tommies went with the theory that if you need a field goal and a touchdown, it doesn’t matter which one you get first and Paul Graupner kicked a 28 yard field goal with 52 seconds left. “His onside kick traveled 23 yards and bounced among several Knights before Hamlin covered it at the Wartburg 42 with 49 seconds to go. Gould completed one of two passes, to the 39, but his third-down pass was intercepted and the Knights ran out the clock to win the game.” (D3.com) Wartburg had a small edge in total yardage, 442-417 Schrader passed for 168 yards and a score and ran for 80 yards and another TD. Brandon Domeyer rushed for 138 yards and 3 scores for the winners.
#5 WESLEY had no problem with unranked Hampden-Sydney, 52-7. This game was actually 42-0 at the end of the first quarter. “Quarterback Joe Callahan threw four of his five touchdown passes in the opening quarter with three of them going to Steve Koudossou”. They then hooked up again in the second quarter to make it 49-7 at halftime. Callahan wound up with 336 yards and 5TDs, 238 of those yards and the 4 scores to Koudossou. The Wolverines had outgained the toothless tigers 560-223 and intercepted 6 passes in the rout.
#6 JOHNS HOPKINS got past former power Rowan, (who played in 5 title games from 1993-99, losing all of them), 24-16. The teams alternated dominating quarters, with the Blue Jays winning quarters 1&3 24-0 and the Professors, (they used to be Glassboro State) winning 2&4 16-0. The Jays held on downs with 4 minutes left on their own 7 but the Profs came back tos core with 51 seconds left. Unfortunately, the extra point was blocked and their onside kick was recovered by Hopkins. Braden Anderson threw for 286 yards and 3 scores for the winners.
#7 HOBART, the current power in Upstate New York, (33-2 the last three seasons with both losses in the playoffs) beat another former power, Ithaca, ((7 championship game appearances from 1974-1991 with 3 wins), 22-15. The Bombers made it seem like old time when they took a 12-0 halftime lead. The Statesmen finally caught them with 12 seconds to go when quarterback Patrick Conlan went over on his third try from the 1. They only lead for those 12 seconds but it was the last 12 seconds. Conlan passed for 203 yards but no scores with 3 interceptions. He ran for 62 yards and two scores. Hobart outgained the Bombers 355-212. The Statesmen’s 4 turnovers, (to none) kept the Bombers in the lead for the first 59:48. (Scott Shafer’s son Wolfgang plays for the Bombers- he’s a back-up QB but didn’t make the box score due to the closeness of the game.)
#8 WHEATON won the battle of Illinois against Benedictine, 43-14. The Thunder out-rushed the Eagles 325-56 on their way to a 542-315 edge in total offense. Wheaton moved out to a 28-7 halftime lead and closed it out with a 12-0 fourth quarter. Johnny Peltz was 21 for 29 for 217 yards and 2 scores while Danny Puknaitis had 121 yards on 18 carries and two more scores.
JOHN CARROLL, who should probably be ranked higher than #9 considering their numbers and the fact that they gave Mount Union their only semblance of a close game, buried the Praying Colonels of #16 Centre, 63-28. The “Blue Streaks” streaked to leads of 28-0 after one quarter and 49-14 at the half and the Colonels didn’t have a prayer. “For the third time this season, John Carroll returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown. Kelly Culbertson took the opening kick 94 yards darting and shifting from side to side to keep free of the Colonels' special teams units. Said Arth, "It's something, we put so much emphasis on our special teams. We spend so much time preparing our special teams units. So much practice time goes into it. It's great to see when that pays off on the field. That's where you win tight games and playoff games. It's going to come down to how you play on special teams." (D3.com)Mark Myers passed 24/30 for 264 yards and 5TDs. Tommy Michaels rushed for 150 yards and 2 more scores.
#10 WIDENER, another former power, (they were the 1977 and 1981 champs) won a wild one from #22 Muhlenberg, (were Ben Schwartzwalder was once the coach), 36-35. Both teams scored in every quarter. It was already 21-21 at the half when Widener returned an interception to the Mule’s 1 yard line and scored four plays later. Muhlenberg then marched 96 yards to tie the score at 28 going into the fourth. Seth Klein’s 57 yard pass to Montrell Hicks-Taylor set up a Widener field goal. The Mules then drove 88 yards, aided by a fake punt, to take the lead, 35-31. Widener appeared headed for frustration at the end. A drive was thwarted by an interception but a tipped pass pick gave then the ball back on the Mule 5. But on fourth down, Klein was forced out of bounds at the one. But the “Pride”, (they used to be the Pioneers) had the top rushing defense in the country and they lived up to that rating. “On third down at the one, running back Max Cepada was trampled in the end zone by a swarm of players on Widener's front seven for a safety with 92 seconds to go and a 35-33 game.” The kick was returned to the Mule 39 and a 14 yard pass from Klein to Blaine Price set up a 32 yard field goal attempt by Ryan O’Hara to win it. Klein passed for 364 yards and 2 scores. Muhlenberg out-gained Widener 510-422 but it was little solace.
#11 LINFIELD overwhelmed #20 Chapman 55-24 after building up a 38-3 halftime lead. “The Wildcats (9-1) were playing seven days after the death of sophomore linebacker Parker Moore, and Moore's jersey number 35 could be spotted on t-shirts and sweatshirts throughout the crowd and on Linfield support staff on the Wildcat sideline.” (D3.com) “Moore, a 20-year-old Linfield College student and resident adviser who played linebacker on their football team, was stabbed to death late Saturday (11/15) night in an apparent random act of violence” (KOIN6). Sam Riddle solved the riddle of the Panthers’ defense for 279 yards and 4TDs. Charlie Poppen popped for 10 catches for 158 yards and 2 scores.
Hah! An upset! (The NAIA didn’t have one and first 12 1 games here were all won by the favorites.) #21 WASHINGTON & JEFFERSON, (only two guys but two really good guys) beat #12 Wittenberg, (winners of the first and third ever D3 championships in 1973 and 1975), 41-25. The two former Presidents picked off 8 Tiger passes offsetting a 317-536 deficit in yards. W&J built up an early 17-0 lead helped by a fumble. Then the interceptions started. One ended a drive at the end of the half. Another came late in the third and was returned to the 2. “Ryan Ruffing punched it in from there, his national-leading 25th rushing touchdown of the season and 29th overall, 27-13.” Another interception set up a score to make it 34-15 and a field goal was negated by a 95 yard kick-off return to make it 41-18. It was that kind of a day for Wittenberg.
In a battle of Saints, #13 ST. JOHN’S of Minnesota beat unranked St. Scholastica 35-7. After a scoreless first period, the Johnnies, no longer coached by the legendary John Gagliardi, who was head coach there for 60 years until 2012, winning 489 games), score two touchdowns in the second period and three more in the third to take an unsurmountable 35-0 lead. “The Johnnies intercepted St. Scholastica quarterback Tyler Harper on the Saints' first four drives of the second half.” (D3.com)The yardage was only 303-282. Sam Sura rushed for 147 yards and scored twice.
#14 WABASH won the battle of Indian vs. unranked Franklin, 33-14, (but could they beat the NAIA’s Marian?). This one was close until the “Little Giants” pulled away with a 14 point fourth quarter. They out-rushed the Grizzlies 206-48 and their defense recorded 8 sacks, including a safety, and 11 other hits on the QB. "Knowing that you only have to cover for two to three seconds instead of six to seven is huge," Houston Hodges '15 said. "Their receivers got away a couple of times, but the quarterback couldn't look down field. He was constantly worried about our guys running after him." (D3.com)
Unranked CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT upset #19 Delaware Valley 29-26. Captain Newport, (he delivered the ill-fated Jamestown colonists to their destination), came back from a 129 point deficit to win it on a 38 yard field goal as the clock ran out. (One wishes the people of Jamestown had been so fortunate.) The Captains were down 7-26 midway across the Atlantic, I mean the third quarter, Drives of 70 and 84 yards got them to 20-26. An onsides kick produced a 45 yard drive to tie the score but the extra point was missed with 6:26 left. After forcing a punt, “The Captains then took over on their own 19-yard line with 1:24 remaining. Quarterback Marcus Morrast rushed for seven yards on first down and another 15 yards was tacked on due to a face mask penalty on Delaware Valley. A 17-yard run by Morrast put the ball in Aggie territory and he followed with rushes of one and seven yards for a third-and-two at the 34 yard line. Storm Parker got just enough for the first down and then picked up 11 yards and a first down at the Delaware Valley 21 as Christopher Newport called time with two seconds left. (Mason) Studer came onto the field and, after a pair of Aggie timeouts, drilled the game-winner into the wind to set off a celebration and the Captains' first NCAA playoff win since 2004.” Marcus Morast passed for 216 yards and a score and ran for 108 yards and another.
#24 MIT figured out how to beat Husson, 27-20 but it took overtime to do it. “Trailing by three points with less than a minute to play, MIT got a game tying 38-yard field goal as time expired in regulation from sophomore Tucker Cheyne (Avon, Conn.), and then a spectacular TD catch by junior Seve Esparrago (St. Louis, Mo.) in overtime.” (D3.com) The Eagles scored with 5:37 left to take a 20-17 lead. “MIT drove into Husson territory, but the Engineers coughed up the ball, with Husson recovering on its own 36. The Eagles worked on running down the clock, gaining the MIT 33 before the Engineers stopped them on a fourth and six when senior Cameron Wagar dropped Ellis Throckmorton after a three-yard gain on a fake punt attempt. “ Aided by an unsportsmenlike conduct penalty, the Engineers got to the Husson 21 where they settled for the tying field goal. Esparrago’s diving catch gave MIT the lead in the first overtime and then the defense held on downs, the final play being an incomplete pass. Husson’s John Smith, (did Christopher Newport ever meet him?) carried 52 times for 264 yards but never found the end zone. MIT’s Peter Wilson passed for 229 yards and two scores while Justin Wallace rushed for 144 and a score.
#23 St. John Fisher, (NY) and #25 Concordia of Minnesota were not invited to the tournament, despite the fact that several unranked teams were, (there are automatic bids to conference winners involved).
The second round match-ups:
WABASH (Ind)10-1, (446-130), lost to Wittenberg 15-21, ranked #14, post season record: 11-7, (no titles)
at
WISCONSIN-WHITEWATER 11-0, (463-88), Ranked #1 post season record: 39-7 (5 titles)
LINFIELD (Ore) 9-1, (496-116), lost to Williamette 28-31, ranked #11, post season record: 35-21 (4 titles)
at
MARY HARDIN-BAYLOR (Tx) 11-0, (602-165), ranked #2, post season record: 25-12 (0 titles)
WASHINGTON & JEFFERSON (Pa) 10-1, (498-223), lost to Waynesburg, 28-31, ranked #21, post season record: 22-23-1 (0 titles)
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MOUNT UNION (Ohio) 11-0, (671-81) ranked #3, post season record: 82-13 (11 titles)
ST. JOHN’S (Minn) 10-1,(342-130), lost to Concordia 14-23, ranked #13 post season record: 40-19 (4 titles)
at
WARTBURG (Iowa) 11-0, (490-147), ranked #4, post season record: 7-10 (0 titles)
MIT (Ma) 10-0,(390-231), ranked #24, post season record: 1-0 (0 titles) at
at
WESLEY (De) 10-1, (564-119), lost to Charlotte 33-38, ranked #5, post season record: 23-10 (0 titles)
JOHN’S HOPKINS (Md) 11-0, (426-159), ranked #6, post season record: 4-5 (0 titles)
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HOBART (NY) 11-0, (355-154), ranked #7, post season record: 8-10 (0 titles)
JOHN CARROLL (Ohio) 10-1, (584-126), lost to Mount Union 24-31, ranked #9, post season record: 6-4 (0 tiles)
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WHEATON (Ill) 11-0, (342-151), ranked #8, post season record: 11-8 (0 titles)
CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT (Va) 8-3, (390-339), lost to Salisbury 32-41 and Hampden-Sydney 30-35, unranked, post season record: 3-9 (0 titles)
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WIDENER (Pa) 11-0, (441-154), ranked #10, post-season record: 18-11 (2 titles)
Comments: Expect Whitewater and Mount Union to continue climbing toward another confrontation, although the games might get a little more difficult than 55-2 and 63-3. Watch out for John Carroll, who is considerably un-ranked. Linfield beat Mary Hardin-Baylor for the title in 2004, the last time either Whitewater or Mount Union were in the final. Blow-out alert: Wesley loves to roll up scores and MIT is a minnow in this pond. I like St. John’s track record more than Wartburg’s. I think Widener will send Christopher Newport home. Hobart-John’s Hopkins is a pick-‘em.
#1 WISCONSIN-WHITEWATER, the defending champions, breezed by unranked Macalister 55-2. (Somehow the score seems more pathetic when the loser got 2 points than if they were shut out: it seems more comical). The Scotts were down 0-34 when they got their safety. They didn’t manage to gain 354 yard but Whitewater amassed 583. Matt Behrendt passed for 213 yards and 3TDs. Jordan Ratcliffe rushed for 100 yards and 3 more TDs.
#2 MARY HARDIN-BAYLOR struggled to get past #17 Texas Lutheran, a team they’d crushed 72-16 on October 25th. The game was interrupted by as sustained lightning storm on Saturday with the Crusaders, (locally known as “The Cru”), leading 14-10. They waited more than 6 hours to resume, played briefly, then decided to cintu8e the game on Sunday morning. The Cru went on to a hard-fought 27-20 win. The Bulldogs out-gained their former tormenters 452-284 but had the game’s only two turnovers and missed a couple of field goals. Texas Lutheran controlled the ball for 48:22 of the game and ran 99 offensive plays compared to 35 for UMHB. MHB won it on big plays. Kamrey Runnells caught a 33 yard TD pass and returned a punt 65 yards for another score. Wykeyhe Walker caught a 73 yard TD pass. Two other scores, one a pick 6, were called back. Lutheran scored with 1:36 left and tried an onside kick, which they recovered. But they had touched the ball before it went 10 yards so the Cru got the ball. But the Bulldog’s forced a punt and drove to the MHB 31, where a Hail Mary on the last play was intercepted. They’ll be talking about that one in Texas for years.
#3 MOUNT UNION, (and I’m not sure why they dropped to #3 after beating John Carroll by a touchdown in their finale), rolled over poor Adrian, (remember them- the tiny school form Michigan the SU basketball team toyed with?), 63-3. These Bulldogs were out-gained 197-650 by the Purple Raiders, who beat everyone but John Carroll by scores like this one. The “game” was 50-3 at halftime. Mount Union had 38 first downs to 11. Kevin Burke passed for 286 yard and 4 touchdowns.- all in the first half. Logan Nemeth and Jamal Johnson both ran for over 100 yards for the winners, for whom, in the end, it’s not about blow-outs. It’s about finding a way to beat Whitewater.
#4 WARTBURG (lovely name) topped the Tommies of #18 St. Thomas , 37-31. The Knights jumped out to a 13-0 first quarter lead, only to see the Tommies close it to 23-21 entering the fourth quarter. A failed onside kick led to a Wartburg score to make it 30-21. A 48 yard touchdown pass from John Gould to Charlie Dowdell restored the two point margin. Logan Schrader scrambled for 44 yards and then avoided a sack to throw a 10 yard TD pass to Will Ebert to make it 37-28 with 4:30 left. The Tommies went with the theory that if you need a field goal and a touchdown, it doesn’t matter which one you get first and Paul Graupner kicked a 28 yard field goal with 52 seconds left. “His onside kick traveled 23 yards and bounced among several Knights before Hamlin covered it at the Wartburg 42 with 49 seconds to go. Gould completed one of two passes, to the 39, but his third-down pass was intercepted and the Knights ran out the clock to win the game.” (D3.com) Wartburg had a small edge in total yardage, 442-417 Schrader passed for 168 yards and a score and ran for 80 yards and another TD. Brandon Domeyer rushed for 138 yards and 3 scores for the winners.
#5 WESLEY had no problem with unranked Hampden-Sydney, 52-7. This game was actually 42-0 at the end of the first quarter. “Quarterback Joe Callahan threw four of his five touchdown passes in the opening quarter with three of them going to Steve Koudossou”. They then hooked up again in the second quarter to make it 49-7 at halftime. Callahan wound up with 336 yards and 5TDs, 238 of those yards and the 4 scores to Koudossou. The Wolverines had outgained the toothless tigers 560-223 and intercepted 6 passes in the rout.
#6 JOHNS HOPKINS got past former power Rowan, (who played in 5 title games from 1993-99, losing all of them), 24-16. The teams alternated dominating quarters, with the Blue Jays winning quarters 1&3 24-0 and the Professors, (they used to be Glassboro State) winning 2&4 16-0. The Jays held on downs with 4 minutes left on their own 7 but the Profs came back tos core with 51 seconds left. Unfortunately, the extra point was blocked and their onside kick was recovered by Hopkins. Braden Anderson threw for 286 yards and 3 scores for the winners.
#7 HOBART, the current power in Upstate New York, (33-2 the last three seasons with both losses in the playoffs) beat another former power, Ithaca, ((7 championship game appearances from 1974-1991 with 3 wins), 22-15. The Bombers made it seem like old time when they took a 12-0 halftime lead. The Statesmen finally caught them with 12 seconds to go when quarterback Patrick Conlan went over on his third try from the 1. They only lead for those 12 seconds but it was the last 12 seconds. Conlan passed for 203 yards but no scores with 3 interceptions. He ran for 62 yards and two scores. Hobart outgained the Bombers 355-212. The Statesmen’s 4 turnovers, (to none) kept the Bombers in the lead for the first 59:48. (Scott Shafer’s son Wolfgang plays for the Bombers- he’s a back-up QB but didn’t make the box score due to the closeness of the game.)
#8 WHEATON won the battle of Illinois against Benedictine, 43-14. The Thunder out-rushed the Eagles 325-56 on their way to a 542-315 edge in total offense. Wheaton moved out to a 28-7 halftime lead and closed it out with a 12-0 fourth quarter. Johnny Peltz was 21 for 29 for 217 yards and 2 scores while Danny Puknaitis had 121 yards on 18 carries and two more scores.
JOHN CARROLL, who should probably be ranked higher than #9 considering their numbers and the fact that they gave Mount Union their only semblance of a close game, buried the Praying Colonels of #16 Centre, 63-28. The “Blue Streaks” streaked to leads of 28-0 after one quarter and 49-14 at the half and the Colonels didn’t have a prayer. “For the third time this season, John Carroll returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown. Kelly Culbertson took the opening kick 94 yards darting and shifting from side to side to keep free of the Colonels' special teams units. Said Arth, "It's something, we put so much emphasis on our special teams. We spend so much time preparing our special teams units. So much practice time goes into it. It's great to see when that pays off on the field. That's where you win tight games and playoff games. It's going to come down to how you play on special teams." (D3.com)Mark Myers passed 24/30 for 264 yards and 5TDs. Tommy Michaels rushed for 150 yards and 2 more scores.
#10 WIDENER, another former power, (they were the 1977 and 1981 champs) won a wild one from #22 Muhlenberg, (were Ben Schwartzwalder was once the coach), 36-35. Both teams scored in every quarter. It was already 21-21 at the half when Widener returned an interception to the Mule’s 1 yard line and scored four plays later. Muhlenberg then marched 96 yards to tie the score at 28 going into the fourth. Seth Klein’s 57 yard pass to Montrell Hicks-Taylor set up a Widener field goal. The Mules then drove 88 yards, aided by a fake punt, to take the lead, 35-31. Widener appeared headed for frustration at the end. A drive was thwarted by an interception but a tipped pass pick gave then the ball back on the Mule 5. But on fourth down, Klein was forced out of bounds at the one. But the “Pride”, (they used to be the Pioneers) had the top rushing defense in the country and they lived up to that rating. “On third down at the one, running back Max Cepada was trampled in the end zone by a swarm of players on Widener's front seven for a safety with 92 seconds to go and a 35-33 game.” The kick was returned to the Mule 39 and a 14 yard pass from Klein to Blaine Price set up a 32 yard field goal attempt by Ryan O’Hara to win it. Klein passed for 364 yards and 2 scores. Muhlenberg out-gained Widener 510-422 but it was little solace.
#11 LINFIELD overwhelmed #20 Chapman 55-24 after building up a 38-3 halftime lead. “The Wildcats (9-1) were playing seven days after the death of sophomore linebacker Parker Moore, and Moore's jersey number 35 could be spotted on t-shirts and sweatshirts throughout the crowd and on Linfield support staff on the Wildcat sideline.” (D3.com) “Moore, a 20-year-old Linfield College student and resident adviser who played linebacker on their football team, was stabbed to death late Saturday (11/15) night in an apparent random act of violence” (KOIN6). Sam Riddle solved the riddle of the Panthers’ defense for 279 yards and 4TDs. Charlie Poppen popped for 10 catches for 158 yards and 2 scores.
Hah! An upset! (The NAIA didn’t have one and first 12 1 games here were all won by the favorites.) #21 WASHINGTON & JEFFERSON, (only two guys but two really good guys) beat #12 Wittenberg, (winners of the first and third ever D3 championships in 1973 and 1975), 41-25. The two former Presidents picked off 8 Tiger passes offsetting a 317-536 deficit in yards. W&J built up an early 17-0 lead helped by a fumble. Then the interceptions started. One ended a drive at the end of the half. Another came late in the third and was returned to the 2. “Ryan Ruffing punched it in from there, his national-leading 25th rushing touchdown of the season and 29th overall, 27-13.” Another interception set up a score to make it 34-15 and a field goal was negated by a 95 yard kick-off return to make it 41-18. It was that kind of a day for Wittenberg.
In a battle of Saints, #13 ST. JOHN’S of Minnesota beat unranked St. Scholastica 35-7. After a scoreless first period, the Johnnies, no longer coached by the legendary John Gagliardi, who was head coach there for 60 years until 2012, winning 489 games), score two touchdowns in the second period and three more in the third to take an unsurmountable 35-0 lead. “The Johnnies intercepted St. Scholastica quarterback Tyler Harper on the Saints' first four drives of the second half.” (D3.com)The yardage was only 303-282. Sam Sura rushed for 147 yards and scored twice.
#14 WABASH won the battle of Indian vs. unranked Franklin, 33-14, (but could they beat the NAIA’s Marian?). This one was close until the “Little Giants” pulled away with a 14 point fourth quarter. They out-rushed the Grizzlies 206-48 and their defense recorded 8 sacks, including a safety, and 11 other hits on the QB. "Knowing that you only have to cover for two to three seconds instead of six to seven is huge," Houston Hodges '15 said. "Their receivers got away a couple of times, but the quarterback couldn't look down field. He was constantly worried about our guys running after him." (D3.com)
Unranked CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT upset #19 Delaware Valley 29-26. Captain Newport, (he delivered the ill-fated Jamestown colonists to their destination), came back from a 129 point deficit to win it on a 38 yard field goal as the clock ran out. (One wishes the people of Jamestown had been so fortunate.) The Captains were down 7-26 midway across the Atlantic, I mean the third quarter, Drives of 70 and 84 yards got them to 20-26. An onsides kick produced a 45 yard drive to tie the score but the extra point was missed with 6:26 left. After forcing a punt, “The Captains then took over on their own 19-yard line with 1:24 remaining. Quarterback Marcus Morrast rushed for seven yards on first down and another 15 yards was tacked on due to a face mask penalty on Delaware Valley. A 17-yard run by Morrast put the ball in Aggie territory and he followed with rushes of one and seven yards for a third-and-two at the 34 yard line. Storm Parker got just enough for the first down and then picked up 11 yards and a first down at the Delaware Valley 21 as Christopher Newport called time with two seconds left. (Mason) Studer came onto the field and, after a pair of Aggie timeouts, drilled the game-winner into the wind to set off a celebration and the Captains' first NCAA playoff win since 2004.” Marcus Morast passed for 216 yards and a score and ran for 108 yards and another.
#24 MIT figured out how to beat Husson, 27-20 but it took overtime to do it. “Trailing by three points with less than a minute to play, MIT got a game tying 38-yard field goal as time expired in regulation from sophomore Tucker Cheyne (Avon, Conn.), and then a spectacular TD catch by junior Seve Esparrago (St. Louis, Mo.) in overtime.” (D3.com) The Eagles scored with 5:37 left to take a 20-17 lead. “MIT drove into Husson territory, but the Engineers coughed up the ball, with Husson recovering on its own 36. The Eagles worked on running down the clock, gaining the MIT 33 before the Engineers stopped them on a fourth and six when senior Cameron Wagar dropped Ellis Throckmorton after a three-yard gain on a fake punt attempt. “ Aided by an unsportsmenlike conduct penalty, the Engineers got to the Husson 21 where they settled for the tying field goal. Esparrago’s diving catch gave MIT the lead in the first overtime and then the defense held on downs, the final play being an incomplete pass. Husson’s John Smith, (did Christopher Newport ever meet him?) carried 52 times for 264 yards but never found the end zone. MIT’s Peter Wilson passed for 229 yards and two scores while Justin Wallace rushed for 144 and a score.
#23 St. John Fisher, (NY) and #25 Concordia of Minnesota were not invited to the tournament, despite the fact that several unranked teams were, (there are automatic bids to conference winners involved).
The second round match-ups:
WABASH (Ind)10-1, (446-130), lost to Wittenberg 15-21, ranked #14, post season record: 11-7, (no titles)
at
WISCONSIN-WHITEWATER 11-0, (463-88), Ranked #1 post season record: 39-7 (5 titles)
LINFIELD (Ore) 9-1, (496-116), lost to Williamette 28-31, ranked #11, post season record: 35-21 (4 titles)
at
MARY HARDIN-BAYLOR (Tx) 11-0, (602-165), ranked #2, post season record: 25-12 (0 titles)
WASHINGTON & JEFFERSON (Pa) 10-1, (498-223), lost to Waynesburg, 28-31, ranked #21, post season record: 22-23-1 (0 titles)
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MOUNT UNION (Ohio) 11-0, (671-81) ranked #3, post season record: 82-13 (11 titles)
ST. JOHN’S (Minn) 10-1,(342-130), lost to Concordia 14-23, ranked #13 post season record: 40-19 (4 titles)
at
WARTBURG (Iowa) 11-0, (490-147), ranked #4, post season record: 7-10 (0 titles)
MIT (Ma) 10-0,(390-231), ranked #24, post season record: 1-0 (0 titles) at
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WESLEY (De) 10-1, (564-119), lost to Charlotte 33-38, ranked #5, post season record: 23-10 (0 titles)
JOHN’S HOPKINS (Md) 11-0, (426-159), ranked #6, post season record: 4-5 (0 titles)
at
HOBART (NY) 11-0, (355-154), ranked #7, post season record: 8-10 (0 titles)
JOHN CARROLL (Ohio) 10-1, (584-126), lost to Mount Union 24-31, ranked #9, post season record: 6-4 (0 tiles)
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WHEATON (Ill) 11-0, (342-151), ranked #8, post season record: 11-8 (0 titles)
CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT (Va) 8-3, (390-339), lost to Salisbury 32-41 and Hampden-Sydney 30-35, unranked, post season record: 3-9 (0 titles)
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WIDENER (Pa) 11-0, (441-154), ranked #10, post-season record: 18-11 (2 titles)
Comments: Expect Whitewater and Mount Union to continue climbing toward another confrontation, although the games might get a little more difficult than 55-2 and 63-3. Watch out for John Carroll, who is considerably un-ranked. Linfield beat Mary Hardin-Baylor for the title in 2004, the last time either Whitewater or Mount Union were in the final. Blow-out alert: Wesley loves to roll up scores and MIT is a minnow in this pond. I like St. John’s track record more than Wartburg’s. I think Widener will send Christopher Newport home. Hobart-John’s Hopkins is a pick-‘em.
