Playoff race heats up
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If Union can beat Hobart and RPI wins out there is the potential for a three way tie between Hobart, RPI, and Union. The Engineers appear to own the league tie breaker due to their non-conference opponents having a better overall record in comparison to Hobart’s and Union’s non-conference opponents.
Hobart is undefeated and will take the Liberty League outright by winning their remaining three games. Union must beat Hobart and RPI to win the league title and the Pool A bid.
The ACFC comes down to Salisbury and Wesley this week. Winner will take the Pool B.
The E8, will most likely come down to the Nov 5 contest between undefeated Alfred and Ithaca. St. John Fisher has an outside shot at the league title if Alfred beats Ithaca and the Cardinals beat the Saxons on Nov 12. If Alfred loses to Ithaca, but beats St. John Fisher the Saxons will be a good Pool C candidate. If St. John Fisher and Ithaca win out, the Cardinals will be the Pool C candidate.
No.4 Rowan (6-0) is in the driver’s seat in the NJAC. With quarterback Mike Orihel out 3-6 weeks, the Profs’ grasp on the NJAC title, Pool A, and the number one seed in the East is not certain. Backup Joe Rankin did a capable job throwing four touchdowns and rushing for one touchdown beating Kean 35-14. Two of the three games remaining on Rowan’s schedule, Brockport and Montclair, are more formidable than Kean. A loss to Brockport will probably drop Rowan out of the top playoff seed. A loss to Montclair could put the NJAC title up for grabs between Montclair and Cortland and leaves the Profs hoping for a Pool C bid.
With Mount Union and Hardin-Simmons losing, it hurts the East region’s opportunity for more than one Pool C in my opinion. So we will see how things shake out. The NCAA regional polls come out this week, which will give us a good idea where everyone stands.
Hobart survives a close call
The Saints (2-4, 1-3) came into Geneva with an upset in mind as they faced the No.24 Hobart Statesmen (7-0, 5-0). Their upset bid fell short, as the Statesmen rallied from a 9-6 halftime deficit to win 13-9 Saturday afternoon in a muddy affair at Boswell Field.
The Saints racked up 212 yards rushing on the Statesmen, who led the league in rush defense averaging just 68.0 yards per game. Buchanan, senior Tom Gipson and Anderson all had 50+ yards rushing for the Saints. Sophomore Brett Young led the Saints with 41 yards on four catches. Sophomore Josh Hodges led St. Lawrence defensively with eight tackles. Seniors Jon Shaw and Joe Bertino had seven each. Anderson was 8-for-28 for 122 yards, finishing the game just three shy of tying the Saints career pass attempts record (637). Anderson now has 634 pass attempts.
Defense saves Union’s day
Sophomore safety Alex Markel returned an interception 76 yards with 31 seconds remaining in regulation to lift Union to a 7-0 victory over the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in front of a Homecoming crowd of 1,560 at Frank Bailey Field.
"I thought Alex did a great job," Union coach John Audino said in the Times Union. "As I saw the thing unfold, I said, 'Oh, I can't believe this.' It was absolutely crazy. "
"We'd better find out what's up on offense, or else we're not going to win another game," Audino said. "But again, the defense played great."
The Dutchmen remain undefeated at 7-0, with their best start since a 7-0 mark in 1996. Union improved to 4-0 in the Liberty League. The Bears fell to 2-4 overall and 0-4 in the league.
Brockport pummels Wesley
Freshman quarterback Zack Luke threw for 263 yards and four touchdowns as the Golden Eagles stunned Wesley College, 47-0, in an Atlantic Central Football Conference game Saturday in Brockport.
Wesley (7-1 overall, 3-1 ACFC) came into the game as the 22nd ranked team in NCAA Division III and were held to minus 3 yards rushing and just 87 yards through the air.
"They (Wesley) like to throw the ball downfield," Brockport coach Rocco Salomone said to the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. "We did a nice job in pass coverage and forced them to run.
TCNJ beats La Salle
New Jersey recorded a 21-16 home win against Division I-AA non-scholarship La Salle on Saturday afternoon to improve to 3-4 overall, while La Salle dropped its third straight contest to fall to 2-6.
The Explorers are 0-3 against Division III schools this season, schools who are otherwise a combined 6-12.
The victory was the 175th career win for Lions coach Eric Hamilton. Now in his 29th season with his alma mater, Hamilton boasts a career record of 175-106-6.
TCNJ sophomore quarterback Jeff Struble threw for 186 passing yards with a touchdown, while rushing for two scores, including the winning score. LaSalle’s sophomore quarterback Michael Jump threw for 273 passing yards in the loss on a 29-for-60 effort with two touchdown passes. On the day, LaSalle racked up 357 total yards on 84 plays, while TCNJ had 311 yards on 76 plays.
"When you have a team (La Salle) that is going to throw the ball 60 times the defense has to love that," Hamilton said in the Trentonian. "They played well and they were aggressive."
For the Lions, sophomore defensive back Jeff Bower led the squad with 11 tackles, an interception return and five pass breakups. Sophomore Andrew Larkin and senior Miles Shanklin each added 10 tackles with a pair of breakups.
Games of the Week
Union (7-0) at St. Lawrence (2-4), 1 p.m., Canton, N.Y.: St. Lawrence has been playing teams tough. The Saints had a 9-6 halftime lead on Hobart. Union required a 76-yard interception return with 31 second remaining to win 7-0.
Salisbury (6-1) at Wesley (7-1), 1 p.m., Dover, Del.: Wesley just got blown out by Brockport, before that the Wolverines were on pace with the Sea Gulls. Winner will probably take the ACFC.
Brockport State (3-4) at Rowan (6-0) 1 p.m., Glassboro, N.J.: Brockport is certainly this season’s version of Sybil. Which Golden Eagle team is going to show up, the one that barely beat Newport News 14-7 and got spanked by Ithaca 42-17, or the one that hammered Wesley 47-0? Rowan proved that all is not lost when quarterback Mike Orihel got injured last week. Backup Joe Rankin threw four touchdown passes in a 35-14 win over Kean.
Notes
Mike Butler caught nine passes for 186 yards, including the game-winning touchdown on a 61-yard reception with 33 seconds remaining, as WPI earned a come from behind 19-17 victory over Rochester. Both the nine receptions and 186 yards were team highs for the game and season highs for a WPI player.
Salisbury’s Leroy Satchell earns his second ACFC Offensive Player of the Week award after rushing for more than 100 yards for the fifth time in seven games this season, finishing with 188 yards against Division I-AA non-scholarship St. Peter's. It was also the third time he's rushed for at least 174 yards this season. He was not stopped for a loss all day long and finished with three touchdowns, which is the fourth time he has scored at least three times in a game this year.
Montclair’s Ryan McCoach earns NJAC Offensive Player of the Week honors for the second consecutive week after leading the Red Hawks to a 36-13 NJAC win over Western Connecticut. In the victory, he rushed 30 times for 190 yards and one touchdown. He also added one reception for a 48-yard touchdown as Montclair improved to 4-3 overall and 3-1 in the NJAC. McCoach currently leads the NJAC in all-purpose yards with an average of 137.1 per game.
Jose Colon recorded 14 tackles, caused two fumbles, and recovered a third as Ithaca recorded its 13th shutout in the past 80 games, 37-0 over Utica. He made eight unassisted stops and registered two sacks for a loss of 12 yards. The Bombers' defense forced eight turnovers.