Pioneers post Week 1 surprise
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The biggest surprise of the week (at least for Division III) may have come in the East Region, with the New Jersey Athletic Conference’s William Paterson Pioneers narrowly edging the Wilkes Colonels from the Middle Athletic Conference 17-16.
There were many reasons for the upset, mostly notably five turnovers from a Colonel squad who went 11-1 last year.
Another nice stat for the Pioneers was controlling the ball for over 33 minutes, which also helped the cause.
On the other end of the spectrum, William Paterson only won one game last season, so both teams match the respective wins and losses from 2006.
Many of Wilkes skill players are guys who haven’t played a whole heck of a lot and it showed on Saturday.
"We’re an inexperienced football team, and I thought that was accentuated tremendously," Wilkes coach Frank Sheptock told the Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader.
Now the defending MAC champs have to play Delaware Valley, who lost by 2 against Division I FCS non-scholarship Iona last week. The Colonels should rebound nicely. William Paterson faces off against Merchant Marine in two weeks after a bye this week.
Record-breakers/milestones
Kean kicker Jonathan Robinson hit all four of his field goals against the Merchant Marine Academy to set a Cougars record for field goals made in a career with 15.
Worcester Polytech receiver Matt Burger had a career day in a 49-17 against Mass-Dartmouth. The fifth-year senior had seven catches for 149 yards and two touchdowns. Another WPI receiver, Orry Cummings, was the leading receiver for the Engineers on the day, with five catches for 163 yards, including a 78-yard touchdown catch.
Record breakers ... almost
Hartwick senior Lindy Crea picked up where he left off in 2006. The top-ranked player in Division III in all-purpose yards last season had 299 all-purpose yards against Western New England in a 48-21 loss Saturday.
Part of that yardage was an 84-yard kickoff return on the opening kickoff and eight catches for 115 yards at receiver. He is within five yards of breaking the Hartwick school record for all-purpose yards.
Hartwick senior quarterback Jason Boltus moved into second place on Hartwick’s passing touchdowns list with 52 after throwing two against Western New England.
Great performances
1. St. John Fisher linebacker Anthony Cucit was named as an Empire 8 co-defensive player of the week after a 49-7 Fisher win over King’s. Cucit, a junior, made nine tackles, registered a sack, had a forced fumble and a fumble recovery, and an interception to set up a touchdown for the Cardinals.
2. Kean looks to be for real, no question about it. I won’t get into Kean’s performance here since you’ll be able to read much more in Around the Nation, but the Cougars had a hell of a day in a 48-7 win over the Merchant Marine Academy. The Cougars, who had a 7-4 record last year, their first winning season in more than seven seasons, racked up an even 500 yards of total offense. 327 of those yards were on the ground, and the defense held the Mariners to 19 yards rushing on the day.
A bold prediction: Kean should be in the running all the way to the end of the year for a playoff bid, but they’ll have to beat Rowan, Cortland or both.
3. In Kickoff, Wesley’s Larry Beavers was one of three players in new situations spotlighted in a question asking who will do the best out of the three. Here’s Beavers’ performance from Week 1 against North Carolina Wesleyan: four catches, 38 yards and a touchdown. He also returned the second half kickoff 82 yards for a score. Sounds like Beavers is on the right track.
4. Utica sophomore Kamaal Mabry ran for 123 yards and three touchdowns in a 41-22 victory over Becker. Both totals were career highs for Mabry.
No offense here
In an out-of-division game in Newport News, Va., the Apprentice School was blanked 3-0 by Division II’s Fairmont State. Fairmont’s Alex Ashley kicked a 34-yard field goal with 8:59 left in the second quarter to provide all the offense they needed. The Builders were held to 86 yards of total offense, and only cracked Fairmont State territory once -- on a blocked punt.
Run run run ...
Another Atlantic Coast Football Conference team, Salisbury, beat MAC school Albright 42-12 in the non-conference matchup. The Maryland school threw for 147 yards on the day, which doesn’t seem odd until you realize that it’s the most passing yards for a SU team since Oct. 15, 2005, when they threw for 179 yards against Buffalo State.
Three predictions
1. Springfield at Union. I think Springfield will start fast, but Union will be able to fight back against Springfield quarterback Chris Sharpe. This will be a tight one, just like last year. Springfield 32, Union 30.
2. Worcester Polytech at Worcester State: In the battle of Worcester, the Engineers and the LL get the better of the Lancers and the NEFC Bogan. WPI 30, Worcester State 14.
3. St. Lawrence at Norwich: In another LL vs. E8 early-season matchup, the Saints and the Cadets will face off at Northfield, Vt. Take the Saints in this one, by a close margin. St. Lawrence 17, Norwich 14.
An extra one: Morrisville at Cortland. Cortland beat the newly-formed Mustangs 52-14 last year. Cortland will still win, but the margin will be closer in 2007.
A team peering over the edge
Ithaca. A team I never thought I would put in this spot, but here they are. They held Lycoming to 90 yards of total offense in a 31-6 win, the first time the Bombers held a team under 100 yards of offense since 2001, when they beat St. John Fisher 52-0. It was the 27th time in 31 opening day games the Bombers came away with a victory.
They face King’s next week, then start Empire 8 play against Hartwick.
Top 10 poll
Last year, I did an East Region Top 10 that caused some positive and negative e-mail. I will probably do it again, but since not all the teams have played yet in 2007, there is no poll this week.
I welcome feedback and comments. E-mail me at adam.samrov@d3football.com with either or other ideas for the column.