Ithaca saves playoff chances
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"We've all been saying this was the biggest game of our career, especially the seniors," said senior free safety Peter Mayer in the Ithaca Journal. "If we lose this game, the chances for the playoffs are pretty much done. To come and beat the (ninth)-ranked team in the nation, that's a statement. The way we played as a whole unit, that was great."
Junior quarterback Bob Darnley, who entered the game as Division III’s fifth-rated passer, threw for just 68 yards, completing 10 of 22 passes.
"It all starts with pressure up front," senior tri-captain and linebacker Robert Truman told the paper. "We had that kid [Darnley] scrambling. He was trying to get rid of it quick and our defensive backs just had them locked down. We had a great scheme as well. We knew everything that was going to happen before it happened."
Ithaca’s defense held Brockport to 162 yards of total offense on 62 plays. The Golden Eagles gained just 49 yards on 39 plays over the final three quarters. Leading the Bomber defense was senior linebacker Robert Truman, with three tackles for loss, including a 9-yard sack, among his eight tackles. He also recovered a Brockport fumble. Sophomore linebacker Dustin Ross made a team-best 12 tackles. Junior defensive tackles Jeff Kasarjian and Alex Shafiro each had three tackles for loss and were in on two of Ithaca’s six sacks. Junior defensive end Bryan Steele recorded a pair of tackles for loss. Senior cornerback Seth Molisani intercepted a pass to set up running back Greer-Carney’s touchdown run.
Brockport senior linebacker Mike Dumaw had a game-high 13 tackles, including two for loss. He moved into 10th place on the Golden Eagles’ career sack list, raising his total to 11½. Junior defensive end Steve Flemming had a hand in two of Brockport’s six sacks and finished with three tackles for loss.
Armed and dangerous
Junior Patrick Thompson threw a 16-yard halfback option touchdown pass to sophomore Joe D’Imperio in the first overtime period to give No. 13 Rowan a 34-31 victory over host Cortland State in a New Jersey Athletic Conference matchup. The Profs improve to 5-1 overall and 1-1 in league play. Cortland falls to 2-4 and 1-3.
Thompson rushed for 180 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries. His 2-yard scoring run with 1 minute, 40 seconds left in regulation capped a nine-play, 67-yard drive and tied the game at 28-28.
In the overtime, Rowan won the toss and elected to play defense first. Cortland lost 1 yard over three plays, but junior Ryan DeCamp nailed a career-best 43-yard field goal to give the Red Dragons a 31-28 lead. It was DeCamp’s third field goal in as many attempts in the contest.
On Rowan’s possession, Thompson ran 15 yards to the Cortland 10-yard line on the first play. A penalty and a sack moved the Profs back to the 22-yard line and a 6-yard pass set up third-and-goal from the 16-yard line. Thompson took the ball, ran right then threw a pass to the back right corner of the end zone. Wide receiver Joe D’Imperio fought off a Cortland defender and made a sliding catch for the winning score.
Rowan raced out to a 21-3 lead after one quarter on three touchdown passes by freshman quarterback Mike Orihel. The Profs had a 21-6 lead at halftime. Cortland scored the next 22 points, including a two point conversion. Senior quarterback J.J. Tutwiler threw two touchdown passes of 23 and 33 yards to tie the game at 21 all.
With 7:46 left, junior running back Steve Davis bounced off a tackle and broke free for a 67-yard touchdown run to give Cortland a 28-21 lead. Davis finished with 148 yards rushing on 21 carries. The teams then traded possessions before the Profs started their game-tying drive with 4:19.
Rowan gained 503 yards of total offense to Cortland’s 434 yards. Both teams rushed for more than 200 yards and passed for more than 200 yards. Junior linebacker Mike McClain led the Profs with 13 tackles and a fumble recovery. Senior linebacker Domenic Tomeo made 12 tackles and forced a fumble. Cortland was led defensively by junior linebacker Chad Rowe and freshman defensive lineman Adam Haas with 13 tackles each. Haas made four tackles for losses, including 1½ sacks. Senior defensive lineman Travis Costin recorded 12 tackles and Sair finished with 10 stops, an interception and a pass breakup.
Kean no match for Sea Gulls
Salisbury scored two touchdowns in 88 seconds spanning the second and third quarters to pull away from Kean for a 21-0 victory in front of 1,213 homecoming fans at Kean Alumni Stadium on Saturday afternoon. With the victory, the Sea Gulls remained undefeated and improved to 5-0, while the Cougars fell to 1-6.
National Pool B Watch
North
UAA: Carnegie Mellon (4-2) dropped Case Western Reserve (4-2) 44-16. Barring a rash of two-loss candidates nationally, both teams are on the outside looking in at Pool B.
South
PAC: No. 15 Washington & Jefferson (6-0) defeated Bethany 38-3 this week, setting up a PAC title showdown on Oct 25 with Waynesburg (6-1). Waynesburg defeated Grove City (3-4) 45-10 this week.
ACFC Salisbury (5-0) defeated Kean (1-6) 21-0 this week. Salisbury hosts the USAC’s current No. 2 team, Shenadoah (4-2) on Nov. 8. Shenandoah beat Kean 34-7 on Sept. 6. Shenandoah’s losses have been to No. 11 Bridgewater (5-1) and No. 14 Christopher Newport (5-1).
West
NWC: No. 3 Linfield (5-0) beat Eastern Oregon (2-4) 56-14, this week. Linfield plays Menlo (5-1) on Saturday. Menlo lost to Williamette 41-19 on Sept 27.
Independent: See Menlo above.
Where do we stand?
Barring a rash of two loss teams in the East, it appears as if the Northern Pool B candidates are out of the running. Both Carnegie Mellon and Case Western Reserve have two losses.
If South Region Pool B contender Washington & Jefferson (6-0) can beat Waynesburg (5-1) on Saturday, it should eliminate Waynesburg from Pool B consideration. Salisbury (5-0) likely won’t be challenged this week, but faces its three best opponents the final three weeks: Wesley (3-3), Shenandoah (4-2) and Frostburg State (2-3).
In the West, No. 3 Linfield (5-0) should beat Menlo (5-1) this week giving the Oaks two losses. If not, then both remain Pool B candidates.
In the East there are too many tough head-to-head contests between teams still in the running. The only win out Pool B contestants are RPI (5-0) and TCNJ (5-1). RPI bounced Union (3-3) 33-7 this week. TCNJ beat George Mason 62-20 in a non-varsity contest, remaining 5-1 for NCAA purposes. TCNJ has one loss to I-AA La Salle. Both teams are undefeated in D-III and control their own fate.
RPI should beat Hartwick (3-3) this Saturday. TCNJ has a bye before facing Montclair State (5-1) on Nov 1.
This week, Brockport became the forth one-loss team vying for a Pool B bid. No 22. Ithaca (5-1) really helped their cause by beating No. 24 Brockport (6-1) while No. 12 Rowan (5-1) hung on by defeating Cortland (2-4) in overtime. Montclair stopped William Paterson (1-6) 23-13. Look for at least one of these one-loss teams to fall as Montclair faces both TCNJ and Rowan in November.
Brockport will try and rebound against Centennial opponent McDaniel on Oct 25. Ithaca (5-1) should have an easy game against Utica (1-6). Montclair (5-1) faces a tough Buffalo Bengal opponent. The Bengals may only be 1-6 but they play one of the hardest DIII schedules in the country. Rowan (5-1) is away at D-II Southern Connecticut (5-2). A win may help Rowan in Pool B tiebreaker situations, but a loss shouldn’t hurt the Profs.
Notes
RPI's 15th-year head coach Joe King is going for his 100th career victory this Saturday afternoon at Hartwick. King, who is 99-36-2 all-time (.730) is RPI's all-time leader in wins and winning percentage. Thus far this season, Rensselaer is 5-0, including wins in all three of its trophy games (44-7 in Shotglass Trophy vs. Coast Guard; 34-26 in Transit Trophy at WPI; 33-7 in Dutchman Shoes vs. Union).
RPI is ranked No. 6 in the nation in total offense with 470.2 yards per game, while St. John Fisher is ranked 18th with 436.8 yards per game.
Brockport State is ranked No. 23 in the nation in rushing defense with 95.6 yards per game, while Montclair is ranked 27th 99.0 and TCNJ is 34th with 105.0
Games of the Week
No. 12 Rowan (4-1) at D-II South Connecticut State (5-2), New Haven, Conn., 1 p.m.: This might be a good measuring stick for the Profs in how far they’ve come, or how far they need to go. So. Connecticut has lost to perennial D-II powerhouse C.W. Post 49-14 and D-II AFCA ranked No. 20 Bentley 37-20.
RPI (5-0) at Hartwick (1-4), Oneonta, N.Y., 1 p.m.: They have one common opponent, Utica. RPI beat Utica 17-6 on Sept. 13, while Hartwick beat Utica 31-6 on Sept 27. But the common question is, can Hartwick hang with RPI? Or is RPI on a roll?
Buffalo State (1-5) at Montclair (5-1), Montclair, N.J., 1 p.m.: On the surface this looks like an easy game for the Red Hawks, however NJAC doormats like Kean and William Paterson have been able to give Montclair a game the past two weeks before fading. The Bengals can win this game if Montclair isn’t careful.