Enough fun, let's play for keeps
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Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (8-6, 6-4 non-conference)
Rose-Hulman (2-0, 1-0)
The wild card so far in the SCAC is Rose-Hulman. The small, fiercely academic school known for its engineering prowess has not started a season 2-0 since 1987. With game No. 2 against SCAC contender Sewanee, that result seemed unlikely this year. But new Engineer head coach Ted Karras has combined solid fundamental work with some timely defensive stops, resulting in an undefeated start to 2003.
 Head coach Ted Karras encourages his team during Saturday’s game. |
Nowhere was this more evident than in last Saturday’s game at home against Sewanee. The Engineers had taken a 17-0 lead, but turnovers allowed Sewanee back into the game. The Tigers scored 20 straight to take the lead at 20-17, but Rose drove the field to take the lead back with time running out in the third quarter. Sewanee then drove to the RHIT 5-yard line, but inspired play by the Engineer defense forced the Tigers to kick a field goal, making the score 24-23. After an exchange of punts, the RHIT offense embarked on a long drive which consumed most of the time remaining, and senior defensive back Brian Knaub intercepted the Tigers’ last gasp pass to seal the victory for the Engineers.
Freshman quarterback Cameron Hummel led the way, completing 19 of 33 for 226 and two scores while rushing for 90 yards and one TD on 13 carries. The Engineers’ reward for their 2-0 start? A tough contest against No. 4 &&Wheaton&& in Terre Haute. Karras is the first RHIT coach to start his career 2-0 since Heze Clark in 1923; should he start 3-0, it would certainly give the SCAC frontrunners pause.
Trinity (Texas) (2-0, 0-0 SCAC)
Sure, you expect Trinity (Texas) to be undefeated at this point, but you don’t expect the defense to be setting the pace for the pass-happy Tigers. Trinity’s sometimes-maligned “Black Flag” is holding opponents to under 190 yards per game. That’s an improvement of over 50 yards per game compared to the same period in 2002 — and without All-America candidate Kenny Brunette, held out due to injury. Junior linebacker Wacey Clarke is the unlikely star of the defense so far, with 18 tackles (13 solo), 1.5 sacks and 2 quarterback pressures.
Dan DesPlaines, in his first real shot as the starting quarterback, has performed competently (43-for-60 for 547 yards and five touchdowns). He’s also suffered three interceptions, often after tipped passes, as well as a fumble. Even after outscoring its opponents 82-14, coach Steve Mohr says there is improvement to be made; after last weekend’s win against Texas Lutheran, he told the San Antonio Express-News he was “disappointed that we didn’t take advantage of the field position, especially down in the red zone. We left too many points on the field.” If Trinity can refine its offensive execution, it won’t be good news for opposing teams in the SCAC.
Centre (2-0, 0-0)
It’s somewhat surprising to see Centre undefeated, but questions about the inexperienced line play of the Colonels are fading away as the season progresses.
Asked about his team’s fast start, coach Andy Frye remarked “we are not terribly surprised, but feel we need to improve in our overall play. I am pleased with our play offensively — our young O-line has improved immensely.”
Frye also gave special praise to tailback Lorenzo Engleman and defensive back/specialist John Ortega. Engleman — the SCAC offensive player of the week in Week 1 — had 96 yards rushing on 18 carries to go with six catches for 35 yards in Saturday’s win against Franklin and Marshall, while Ortega had 13 tackles (seven solo), a sack, and a critical interception deep in F&M territory to set up the Colonels’ first score. The Centre defense held F&M to 190 yards and only 25 on the ground. The Colonels face possibly their toughest test so far this week against SCAC foe Rhodes.
The Rest
DePauw’s (1-1, 1-0) only victory was a narrow one against Rhodes. DePauw seems to be a team in search of itself; the Tigers’ defense (why is it every other team in the SCAC is the Tigers, anyway?) has allowed more than 425 yards per game. Once again, passing defense (300+ yds/game) is DePauw’s weak spot. To make matters worse, the toughest part of their schedule — consecutive road games at No. 15 Hanover and No. 8 Trinity (Texas) — is yet to come. The Greencastle-based Tigers’ rushing game is more than competent; over 200 yards per game, led by RB Jackson Rust (180 total yds, 2 TDs) and rushing quarterback Ross Wiethoff (125 yds, 1 TD), but passing quarterback Andy Yoder has gotten off to a slow start this year. Yoder has completed 35 of 52 passes for 320 yards, no touchdowns, and two interceptions. Weithoff, who splits time with Yoder, is himself only 6-for-15 for 44 yards and two interceptions. To compete for the championship, DePauw needs to pick up the pace. … Rhodes’ (1-1, 0-1) win came in a come-from-behind effort at home against Maryville (Tenn.). Like previous years, it’s hard to figure where the Lynx are headed. They’ve already lost a game in conference play, and it seems unlikely they’ll win out. But the offense has rolled up over 900 yards in two games, nearly 600 of which come from the arm of junior Dan Swanstrom (44-for-75, 568 yards, five touchdowns, two interceptions). It’s been over 10 years, though, since Rhodes defeated Trinity (1992), which with one conference loss they’ll have to do in order to factor in the SCAC championship. … Millsaps (0-2, 0-0) and Sewanee (0-2, 0-1) seem lost already, though the Tigers did make a game of it against Rose-Hulman after trailing early. The Majors are trying to find their offense under new head coach David Saunders, averaging less than 10 points per game.
American Southwest Conference (2-8, all non-conference)
Mary Hardin-Baylor (1-0)
The only ASC team to come out of the non-conference schedule in good shape, salvaging the ASC’s pride in the process, is Mary Hardin-Baylor. The Crusaders are ranked 6th in this week’s D3football.com Top 25 after their 27-15 win at Willamette. MHB’s young defense responded to last week’s challenge on the road and junior linebacker Bret Page appears to taken up where his predecessor, All-America Patrick Meyer, left off. Page had 11 tackles (seven solo) including five for loss against Willamette. Two more familiar names, seniors Tony Salazar (defensive back) and Dexter King (linebacker), added a combined 19 tackles (14 solo) in the win.
Coach Pete Fredenburg said “our defense was put in some very tough situations, and had to play hard with their backs against the wall. Our effort in those situations was exciting to see.”
Also picking up where he left off in 2002 is senior quarterback Cody Fredenburg, named ASC Offensive POW after rushing 19 times for 113 yards and passing for 73 more, including a 20-yard touchdown strike to wide receiver Austin Schrader. Special teams also contributed in the win, with a 65-yard return of a missed field-goal attempt by Anthony Johnson. With all cylinders clicking, this weekend’s game at Austin should provide a tune-up for more challenging games to follow.
Hardin-Simmons (0-1)
Hardin-Simmons put up a good fight for a quarter and a half against then-No. 12 UW-Stout. After taking a 14-0 lead early in the second, the Cowboys unfortunately went into a tailspin which allowed the Blue Devils to score 31 consecutive points on the way to a 31-21 victory. The Cowboy defense gave up nearly 440 yards to Stout, showing there is still much work to be done.
Quarterback Jordan Neal started impressively, going 26-for-31 for 273 yards, one touchdown and one pick, but the Cowboys’ rushing attack was anemic, netting only 93 yards on 23 carries. That, too, will need work going into ASC play. The good news for the Cowboys is that the return of All-America tight end Matt Moskosky from a high ankle sprain should bolster both the running and passing attack, leaving only the defense as a question mark. Look out, Texas Lutheran; the Cowboys are on their way to Seguin this week.
The Rest
The only ASC team besides UMHB to register a win so far this season is Mississippi College (1-0), which did it in less than impressive fashion (at least on the offensive side of the ball) against 0-2 Millsaps. MC will meet Howard Payne this week in a game suddenly of great importance to the Yellow Jackets. Howard Payne (0-1), shell-shocked in a 42-0 loss to UW-La Crosse in week 1, has questions to answer on nearly all fronts. Coach Vance Gibson has his work cut out for him, not only addressing the gaps exposed by La Crosse, but in rebuilding the team’s psyche. McMurry (0-1) came within a missed 30-yard field goal attempt of knocking off Colorado College in the thin air of Colorado Springs, but the rest of the ASC — Austin, East Texas Baptist, Louisiana College, Sul Ross State, and Texas Lutheran (all 0-1) — comes off of lopsided defeats, either to Trinity or non-Division III schools. To make matters worse, many of the “have-nots” play the “haves” this week; TLU gets an angry HSU, Austin gets UMHB, and as mentioned previously, MC gets an HPU squad that’s looking for redemption.
Around the ASC: Thanks to UMHB, the ASC was 1-3 last weekend ... Offensive POW: Senior quarterback Cody Fredenburg, Mary Hardin-Baylor (19 carries for 113 yds and one TD, 6-for-11 for 73 yards and a TD in a 27-15 win at Willamette) ... Defensive POW: Sophomore linebacker Colby Witt, McMurry (seven tackles, one for loss, returned an interception 16 yards for a score in a 21-20 loss at Colorado College) ... Special Teams POW: Senior returner Jabori Jackson, East Texas Baptist (returned the opening kickoff 79 yards for a score and averaged 61 yards per kick return in a 35-14 loss to Division II Southeastern Oklahoma).
Around the SCAC: The conference was again 3-2 in non-conference games. Offensive POW: Junior quarterback Daniel Swanstrom, Rhodes (23-for-37 for 293 yards, one TD, plus 18 carries for 89 yards in the win against Maryville, Tenn.) ... Defensive POW: Freshman cornerback Ben Hobbs, Rhodes (five tackles, two blocked punts, and an interception against Maryville).
Games of the Week (times local)
Howard Payne (0-1, 0-0) at Mississippi College (1-0, 0-0), 2 p.m.: The Yellow Jackets desperately need a good performance in Clinton. They’ll face a rested Choctaw defense that was impressive in its win against Millsaps in Week 1, allowing 225 yards.
DePauw (1-1) at No. 15 Hanover (2-0), 1:30 p.m.: Similarly, the Tigers need to find something positive against Hanover heading into next week’s SCAC showdown in San Antonio against Trinity. This could be difficult, given Hanover’s 370-plus yard passing attack.
Finally, a tip of the hat to the folks at the SCAC, who have added a link from their football pages to this weekly column.
Comments? Complaints? Praise? Interesting story idea for an upcoming column? If so, contact me via email at ron.boerger@D3football.com