Favorites win but in different ways
|
|
Trinity (6-1, 3-0 SCAC) took an early 13-0 lead before Centre (5-2, 3-1) answered with its only score of the day. The Tigers scored on their next two possessions to extend the lead to 22-7, and for the second consecutive week returned an attempted screen pass for a score. This time it was defensive end Brant McAdams, who raced 26 yards to make the score 29-7 at the half. Centre was unable to recover as Trinity piled it on in the second half behind a resurgent rushing attack. Ray Valencia had 110 yards on 14 carries, including touchdown runs of 41 and 2 yards, as the Tigers had their best rushing total of the season (243 yards). Dan DesPlaines, who according to some reports was fighting illness on the sideline, was 16 of 22 for 229 yards, two touchdowns, and scored another on a short run. In all, the Tiger offense put up 506 yards against what had been the top-ranked defense in the conference.
Trinity's "Black Flag" defense stifled Centre, allowing 201 yards to a unit averaging nearly twice that amount. Lorenzo Engleman accounted for over half of those yards (57 rushing, 50 receiving), but Brian Behrendt struggled, completing 14 of 28 for 147 yards plus the interception above. Behrendt was on the run all day, as officially nine quarterback hurries were recorded along with four sacks. Jarrod Smith recorded one sack to set the all-time Trinity sack record at 21. Defensive back Bryan Diaz had 11 tackles (seven solo), three for loss, two sacks and shared a third. The Tigers’ plus-three turnover margin (two fumble recoveries, one interception) was similarly their best performance of the season.
Trinity (which moved up to No. 14 in this week's D3football.com poll) travels to face Rhodes (3-3, 3-2 SCAC) this week, while Centre must rapidly put this loss behind them to face DePauw (5-2, 3-1) in Greencastle, Indiana. Both Rhodes and DePauw are unbeaten at home this season. DePauw comes off a 55-34 win against Millsaps (0-7, 0-3). Rhodes scored its first road win of the season, 46-27 over Colorado College (2-5), despite being outgained 426-410.
Hardin-Simmons wins a nail biter
In a game closer than many expected, No. 17 Hardin-Simmons (6-1, 6-0 ASC) was pushed to the limit by East Texas Baptist (5-2, 5-1) before finally winning at home in overtime. The win sets up yet another showdown with Mary Hardin-Baylor, with the winner having the inside track to the conference championship.
At first, though, it looked as if the Cowboys would run away with the game, as Jared May scored a touchdown both on the ground (a 6-yard run) and via the air (a 19-yard pass from Jordan Neal) to give HSU a 14-0 lead at the half. The Tiger defense stiffened in the second half, forcing two turnovers. The Cowboys missed a short field goal attempt, and ETBU got just enough offense to get back into the game. Jabori Jackson had four receptions including a 6-yard score in ETBU's first possession of the second half, and Tiger quarterback Brandon Morris completed a 6-yard pass to Earl Morris to tie the game at 14. Micah Huckaby's intercepted of a Jordan Neal pass with under a minute remaining ensured the game went into overtime.
In overtime, ETBU got to the Cowboys' 10, but two incomplete passes forced the Tigers to attempt a short field goal, which was blocked by the Cowboys' Reggie Robinson, who rambled 46 yards before being brought down. The ball was spotted on the 25 for HSU's overtime possession, and Lance Moore (16 carries for 162 yards) wasted no time, running for 22 yards on first down and scoring two plays later to give the Cowboys the win.
The Cowboy defense, led by Jason Rupert (11 tackles, six solo) and Anthony Rupert (11 tackles, five5 solo) held ETBU to its lowest output of the season, 247 yards. Brent Gailey added nine tackles (eight solo), three for loss, and forced a fumble. The Tigers' RoShawn Johnson did run for 131 yards, but took 35 attempts to do so. Brandon Nelson struggled at quarterback, completing only 10 of 26 for 118 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. He also fumbled once.
On the other side, the Cowboys' Jordan Neal completed 16 of 24 for 216 yards and a score, but was sacked five times for losses totaling 51 yards. ETBU's Littleton Dean had eight tackles (five solo), three for loss including two sacks. Despite being tackled nine times for loss (73 yards), the Cowboys managed 399 yards of total offense against the Tigers, led by Neal and Moore's 158 yards rushing.
Hardin-Simmons (which moved up to No. 15 in this week's D3football.com poll) will need better execution when it faces Mary-Hardin Baylor in Abilene on Sunday. Allowing five sacks and turning the ball over four times is not a recipe for success against the No. 4-ranked Crusaders. ETBU will try to keep its slim conference title hopes alive against Louisiana College (3-4, 3-3), before traveling to Belton for a do-or-die game against MHB in Week 10.
Texas Lutheran wins one for Coach Wacker
It's been an unlucky season for Texas Lutheran (1-6, 1-5 ASC). Inexperience, injuries, and bad breaks had resulted in no wins for coach Tom Mueller's Bulldogs this year. But on homecoming — and more importantly, Jim Wacker day, in honor of the beloved former coach who passed away earlier this year — the young Bulldogs played a strong game, defeating Louisiana College (3-4, 3-3) 26-21.
The key to the win — besides the sharp play of quarterback Sean Salinas (20-for-36 for 296 yards, one TD, one interception) — was simply desire. Texas Lutheran drove up and down the field all day (392 yards) but had difficulty turning the drives into points. Fumbles, interceptions, and turnovers on downs hurt TLU throughout the second half. When the Wildcats took their only lead of the day with 1:02 left, it appeared as though the Bulldogs would leave the homecoming crowd frustrated.
Fortunately for the TLU loyalists, Salinas found Charlie Forbes in stride for a 62-yard completion to the Louisiana 4, and Kenny Gransbury scored on a 4-yard plunge the next play. The drive was almost too fast; the Wildcats were able to drive to midfield after the kick, but could only attempt a desperation heave into the end zone, batted down as time ran out.
The win, Mueller's first in Matador Stadium as head coach, should help buoy the team's sprits as it prepares for this week's stop at Mississippi College (2-5, 1-5). The Choctaws are looking to stop a four-game slide of their own.
Elsewhere around the region
Mary-Hardin Baylor 62, Sul Ross 0. The Crusaders (7-0, 6-0 ASC) have now outscored their opponents 292-50, 160-7 in their last three games. Is there any way Hardin-Simmons can hope to win on Saturday? "Of course," say Cowboys fans.
The Crusader offense rolled up 508 yards while the defense limited Sul Ross (0-7, 0-6) to 222 yards, minus-21 on the ground. Cody Fredenburg was 6-for-12 for 135 yards and a touchdown in a half plus one series, Chad Starnes score twice to lead seven Crusaders with 30 yards or more rushing in limited action, and Zach Newcomb kicked a school-record 52-yard field goal in the win.
DePauw 55, Millsaps 34. Jamarcus Shephard continued to impress, returning two kickoffs for touchdown, and scoring two touchdowns in the air as part of his 11 receptions for 134 yards. "Had he [Shephard] not underthrown the receiver on a reverse pass he would have accounted for another score," said Tiger head coach Nick Mourouzis. The 55 points tied DePauw's all-time scoring record. Shephard set a Tiger record with two returns for touchdown, and tied the modern day DePauw scoring record with four touchdowns.
How unfortunate is it that DePauw (6-2, 3-1 SCAC) lost at Hope earlier this year? A win there would leave them 6-1 (instead of 5-2) and in serious contention for a Pool C bid. As it is, their only hope to get in the playoffs is if they defeat Centre this week and Trinity loses two of its next three games.
Note
The NCAA's strength of schedule ranking system for playoff teams has a chance of forcing Mary Hardin-Baylor to once again face Trinity in San Antonio. Trinity's loss doesn't hurt its strength of schedule rating, because it came out of region. UMHB's win at Willamette similarly doesn't factor in. Thanks to the NCAA's geographical focus, should this happen, it would once again be a first-round game regardless of seed. We won't know for sure until the games are played out; one win or one loss by either team's opponents has the chance to tilt the equation. Obviously, a loss by either team at this stage of the game means they'll travel. Stay tuned to D3football.com, which is calculating strength of schedule rankings using the NCAA's published formula. Around the ASC
Offensive POW: A. J. Edwards, RB, first-year, Howard Payne: 11 carries for 99 yards, scored twice, caught two passes for 19 yards, scoring once, and had 35 yards on 2 kickoff returns. Co-Defensive POW: Brett Page, MLB, Jr., Mary Hardin-Baylor; David Vogt, S, Soph., Texas Lutheran. Page had eight tackles, four for loss, to help hold Sul Ross to minus-21 yards rushing and 222 yards overall. Vogt intercepted a pass, returning in 19 yards, in the fourth quarter to help turn back the Wildcats. He added five solo tackles, one for loss, and broke up another pass. Special Teams POW: Reggie Robinson, DE, Soph., Hardin-Simmons: Blocked a field goal attempt in OT against ETBU, turning momentum away from the Tigers who had held the Crusaders scoreless for the entire second half. Around the SCAC
Offensive POW: Jamarcus Shephard, WR/KR, Jr., DePauw: all Shephard did was return two kicks 95 and 91 yards respectively for touchdown. On top of that, he also caught 11 passes, for 134 yards, scoring twice. Shephard's 47.0 yard kick return average leads not only the SCAC, but all NCAA divisions, and he is on pace to break the all-time Division III single-season record of 42.2 yards, set by Wesley's Brandon Steinheim in 1994.Defensive POW: Brian Diaz, DB, Jr., Trinity: 11 tackles (seven solo), four for loss including 2.5 sacks, a pass pressure, and a pass breakup as Trinity held Centre to 201 yards. Games of the Week (times local)
No. 4 Mary Hardin-Baylor (7-0, 6-0 ASC) at No. 15 Hardin-Simmons (6-1, 6-0), Abilene, Texas, 2 p.m.: I plan to be in attendance at this clash of the titans, where the Cowboys will be the latest team to try and slow Pete and Cory Fredenburg's juggernaut. But for all the press MHB has gotten recently, their offensive output — 432.4 yards/game — is only slightly above HSU's 422.7. It's actually defense that still makes the difference for the Crusaders, ranked 4th in Division III in scoring defense (7.1 ppg), 9th in turnover margin (+1.9) and 11th in overall defense (233.1 yards per game). Hardin-Simmons is no slouch defensively, either; its 14.0 points allowed per game ranks 25th in Division III.
If you want to talk about two teams that do not like each other - here you go. HSU sees MHB as the upstarts who took the title from them last year only because of numerous Cowboy injuries; MHB, having won relatively easily last year, may see HSU as a team whose time has passed. There will be emotion on display in Abilene, both on the field and in the stands, as these teams meet once again to determine who will don the mantle of ASC superiority.
Huntingdon (0-5) at Southwest Assemblies of God (1-6), Waxahachie, TX, 2:00pm: While we don't normally highlight out-of-division games, this is the Hawks' best chance to win a game in their initial season. SAGU (that's the acronym they use) has already lost 57-20 to an otherwise winless Langston, and has won exactly one game in two years.
Next week, the aftermath of HSU-UMHB, and perhaps a closer look into regional ranking possibilities as the regular season winds down.