Interconference intrigue in force
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Union scored on the first drive on a Zach Tillo run, but Springfield came right back, scoring their first touchdown of the season on a long pass by D3football.com All-American quarterback Chris Sharpe to Kyle Anderson. It definitely seemed to be a surprise for Union, who knew they would have to stop Sharpe and the vaunted option attack of the Pride. Watch the archived D3football.com/D3Cast broadcast.
Springfield had an 18-13 lead at the half, but scored 17 unanswered for the win.
Chris Sharpe continues to rip apart good Division III defenses, running for 224 yards and two touchdowns, including a 40-yarder and a 36-yarder.
In his first career start for Union, quarterback Ted Civitti was 8-for-19 for 90 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.
Union goes on to face Muhlenberg next, and Springfield will take on Montclair State of the New Jersey Athletic Conference.
Record breakers and milestones
With his two touchdowns against the Dutchmen, Springfield quarterback Chris Sharpe set the Pride career record for TDs with 51. The mark was previously set by Ryan Sylvia in 2004.
Playing against an offense that runs 95% of the time, Union sophomore linebacker John Peters set a school record with 22 tackles in one game. Fourteen of the tackles were solo shots, with eight assists. The previous record had been held by Dan Lombreglia, set in 2002.
Coast Guard scored 36 points against the Merchant Marine Academy in their 36-31 win over the Mariners. It was the most points the Bears have scored in 36 meetings against the Mariners.
WPI’s Mike Butler had eight catches for 180 yards and three touchdowns against Worcester State. All three are career highs for the senior.
Cortland senior kicker Michael Mintz matched his career-long field goal, 40 yards, in the rout of Morrisville.
Newport News senior Tony Scott set two records against ACFC foe Frostburg State. He blocked a punt, the 10th of his career, a new school record. Then with 35 seconds left, Scott snatched up his 11th career interception to seal the Builders 17-7 win. The interception set another school record.
Start on Saturday, end on Sunday
The Cortland-Morrisville game started at 7 p.m. Saturday night, but never ended until 12:46 a.m. Sunday morning due to two long lightning delays. The official game time, according to the box score was 2 hours, 33 minutes, but the delays combined took 3 hours, 13 minutes -- longer than the game itself.
Great performances
The Merchant Marine Academy’s Derrick Ventre made a splash in his first start for the Mariners.
The freshman quarterback, who entered in relief in Week 1 at Kean, went 27-for-45 for 327 yards and three touchdowns in Week 2 at Coast Guard.
He threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to fullback Davey May to give the Mariners a 31-30 lead with 1:58 left, but Coast Guard rallied to win the game and the Secretaries Cup, 36-31.
Worcester Polytech’s Rob Pantalone had a terrific week for the second week in a row as the senior had 404 yards of total offense and five touchdowns in a 40-14 win over Worcester State. Through the air, Pantalone was 16-for-26 for 264 yards and three touchdowns, all to Mike Butler, and he ran for 140 yards on the ground. I wasn’t there, but it seems like the only thing Pantalone didn’t do was give him teammates water during timeouts.
Cortland State had a trio of great performances. Junior running back Andrew Giuliano was named as NJAC offensive player of the week, as the backup had 16 carries for 247 yards and three touchdowns. Two of the touchdowns were over 50 yards and the 247 total was the second-highest in school history and the most for a Red Dragon running back since 1988, according to Cortland SID Fran Elia. All three of Giuliano’s touchdowns came in Cortland’s 35-point third quarter.
Mintz, as mentioned above, matched his career long field goal and with the eight extra points against Morrisville, the senior kicker has nailed 52 straight tries dating to 2005.
Freshman Cory Russell was named the NJAC’s offensive rookie of the week after rushing for 42 yards and two touchdowns in the waning moments against Morrisville.
Alfred senior quarterback Paul Keeley completed 19-for-28 for 353 yards and four touchdowns against Thiel in a 34-7 rout. Sophomore Vinson Hendrix went over 100 yards rushing and receiving in the game.
The Larry Beavers watch
Wesley wide receiver Larry Beavers was one of three players in new situations spotlighted in a question asking who will do the best. He $had another good game on Saturday for the Wolverines.
Beavers had 154 all-purpose yards against MAC opponent Delaware Valley, including six catches for 102 yards and a touchdown. Beavers and the Wolverines play Friday against Widener.
A team peering over the edge
Two teams are going in this spot this week.
The first is Montclair State, who beat Wilkes 14-7 at their place last week. The real test, however, will come in the next two weeks, when they face Springfield and then Wesley, both Top 25 teams. For now, they are here.
Another team that may have fallen off the edge is Kean. After rolling over the Merchant Marine Academy, the Cougars hit reality with a big, loud thud, losing to Albright 42-17. Are they for real or really mediocre? It remains to be seen.
The predictions
I had Springfield beating Union, WPI winning, and St. Lawrence beating Norwich, all three of which happened. Count me as 3-0 for the season so far.
The one prediction I didn’t get right, unfortunately, is one that said Morrisville wouldn’t get beat 52-14 again. Alas, they did, and this time it was worse: 71-7. The game was in reach for much of the first half, but Cortland scored 35 points in the third quarter after the game was delayed by thunderstorms. Coach Terry Dow, good luck the rest of the season, don’t let this one get your team down.
And here’s a message to coach Dan MacNeill and the rest of the Red Dragon team: Luckily in Division III (unlike other sports and other divisions), nobody really tries to run up the score and make the other team and the other coaches look bad. A ton of guys got to play and that's a great thing. Kudos go to Dan MacNeill and the Red Dragons for that.
East Region Top 10 poll
1. Springfield
2. St. John Fisher
3. Wesley
4. Ithaca
5. RPI
6. Union
7. Hobart
8. Alfred
9. Rowan
10. Cortland State
Three predictions for Week 3
Rochester at St. John Fisher, the Courage Bowl
I think Rochester’s 23-point loss in Week 1 was a fluke, but I still believe St. John Fisher has too many weapons.
St. John Fisher 38, Rochester 21.
Ithaca at Hartwick
The Bombers show the Hawks why they are ranked yet again.
Ithaca 30, Hartwick 13
St. Lawrence at Alfred
In this interconference battle, (see how my column comes full circle) the Saints take on the Saxons. This game should be close, but I believe Alfred will pull it out.
AU 27, SLU 20.