McMurry's win of the century
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The Indians benefited from good performances from all phases. Special teams started things out when Eddie Love blocked a punt, which Trey Bates covered in the end zone to give McMurry an 7-0 lead early in the second. The offense contributed next, as Indian quarterback Jordan Neuman (14-for-17, 144 yards, two touchdowns, plus 13 carries for 61 yards) scored on a 10-yard run to make the score 13-0. The Kangaroos came back to trail only 13-10 at the half, but McMurry’s defense — led by Colby Witt’s nine tackles — held Austin scoreless in the second half. Witt’s interception in the fourth quarter with McMurry up 33-10 sealed the win for the Indians.
“Jordan played like a guy that made his mind up we were going to win no matter what he had to do to make it happen. He made good decisions which has to be the heart of what a quarterback does,” said Keenum. “Colby is a guy who loves to play the game and has a great nose for the ball. He is getting better everyday. He is part of a group of defensive guys who are beginning to jell.”
McMurry had lost a heartbreaker to Colorado College to start the season, then played East Texas Baptist nearly even for a half before being overwhelmed. When asked how his squad kept its spirits up despite the streak, Keenum replied, “ ‘Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.’ (Galatians 6:9). We have reminded them that this is true. If we continue to do the right things and if we play hard and if we do what we are coached and if we don’t care who gets the credit, then we will reap good things as we did on Saturday.”
Based on its play so far, McMurry stands a decent chance of winning two in a row, with a contest at Texas Lutheran on Saturday, but Keenum knows it won’t be easy: “we must eliminate mistakes and become a better football team.”
With the 22-game monkey off their back, this could be the start of something good for McMurry and its long-suffering fans.
ASC’s big three loses one to upset
I observed in the preview column that East Texas Baptist (2-1, 2-0 ASC) was building a pretty good team, but that it might be a year too soon for them to make much noise in conference play. Apparently the Tigers disagreed with that assessment, for they got the biggest win in their short history by defeating Howard Payne (1-2, 1-1) 24-21.
The visiting Yellow Jackets took a 21-10 lead into the fourth quarter, but ETBU was driving as the final stanza got underway, scoring on a 25 yard touchdown pass from Tiger quarterback Brandon Nelson (9-for-21, 190 yards) to Andrew Jackson. A failed two-point conversion left ETBU down five, 21-16.
HPU drove deep into Tiger territory before Damon Ausberry picked off a pass from Adam King (21-for-40, 318 yards, one interception, one TD) at the ETBU 16. Two lengthy completions from Nelson made it first-and-goal from the 3, and two plays later running back RoShawn Johnson scored from the 4. This time the two point conversion was successful; with 5:22 remaining, ETBU led 24-21. HPU drove to the ETBU 32 before King was sacked on fourth down by ETBU’s Chad Glover, leaving the Tigers to run out the clock and celebrate their first defeat of one of the ASC’s “big three.”
The ETBU defense held HPU to minus-15 yards on 28 attempts, and sacked King five times for 28 yards in losses. RoShawn Johnson led all rushers with 36 carries for 133 yards and the one score.
Hardin-Simmons (2-1, 2-0) stepped up into the No. 1 contender role with a 57-3 thrashing of Louisiana College (1-2, 1-1) in the Cowboys’ home opener. Jordan Neal was 14-for-21, for 285 yards, three touchdowns and an interception, Donta’ Howard added 81 yards and a score on 14 carries, and Joe Lemberg had a career day with six catches for 188 yards and three touchdowns. The Cowboy defense allowed only four third-down conversions in 21 attempts, posted three sacks, two interceptions, and recovered a fumble. Special teams added two touchdown returns by Jared May — an 86-yarder after a free kick and a 49-yard punt return — as well as a safety on a blocked punt.
For the second week in a row, Texas Lutheran (0-3, 0-2) gave a top-25 opponent a game, but Mary Hardin-Baylor won 27-7 thanks in large part to a 20-point third quarter outburst. MHB led only 7-0 at the half as TLU had 149 yards of offense to the Crusaders’ 162. TLU was unable to run the ball, netting just 19 yards on 32 carries, while MHB rolled up 226 yards on the ground.
The more things change …
A few years ago, mentioning Rose-Hulman and Washington University in a football matchup usually led to discussions of how many touchdowns the Bears would win by. Not this season; the Engineers (3-1) defeated Wash U. by a 17-13 count. As you might expect, this was a defensive battle; the Bears led 13-10 late in the fourth quarter until the Engineers embarked on a 13-play, 80-yard drive for the win. Running back Charley Key (25 carries, game-high 96 yards) finished the drive with a 9-yard run around right end. Key figured prominently in the final series, with a 23-yard catch on third-and-10 to keep the drive alive, and a 24-yard jaunt on a fake halfback option to get the ball inside the Bear 10-yard line. Rose-Hulman LB Matt Jackson had 16 tackles (nine solo), a sack, and interception, and a pass breakup. His interception with 1:29 left sealed the win. Jackson is tied for fifth in Division III with eight solo tackles per game.
The more they remain the same …
DePauw (3-1, 1-1 SCAC) gave it its all, but in the end it wasn’t quite enough as Trinity (3-1, 1-0) held off the visitors by a 26-24 count. The win extended Trinity’s home regular-season streak to 35 games and was the closest regular season game in San Antonio since Trinity’s last defeat, a Oct. 21, 1995, loss at the hands of Centre. Saturday’s game was an unusual contest which featured no fewer than 42 Trinity rushes (99 yards). The home team, in coach Steve Mohr’s words, was “playing to keep (DePauw’s) offense off the field.” Why? One reason: DePauw’s Jamarcus Shephard had eight catches for 171 yards including two long touchdown receptions. Fortunately for Mohr, Dan DesPlaines also did his part, completing 21 of 30 for 353 yards, no interceptions, two touchdowns, plus rushing for a third. In the end it was a safety caused by a high snap on a punt, plus several dropped passes by wide-open receivers, which cost DePauw a chance at the win.
DePauw also fought field position problems all night; their last series, which started on their own 29, represented their best starting position all night. They were pinned inside the 5 twice by Greg Genung punts. In the words of DePauw head coach Nick Mourouzis, now 0-6 lifetime against Trinity: “Our men put forth a great effort with great intensity for 60 minutes. If we make a key play, we win the game.”
Oops
Someone forgot to tell Washington and Lee (1-2) it was supposed to lose to Centre (3-1), and the Colonels absorbed an unfortunate 23-17 defeat. Centre lost despite a 33-for-50, 295 yard performance from Brian Behrendt. With a win, Centre might have picked up a good number of Top 25 votes. With the loss, they join the ranks of all other SCAC teams, and now need to win the conference to advance to the playoffs.
Notes
Austin College’s David Aird scored two points the hard way against McMurry, returning a blocked PAT 100 yards.
East Texas Baptist’s All America punter Scott Verhalen keeps doing his thing. Against HPU he had five punts for a 43.8-yard average. That’s actually slightly below his Division III-leading average of 44.7 yards, and six of his 13 punts have landed inside the 20!
Huntingdon scored the first points in the program’s history on a 60-yard touchdown run by Jacob Godwin. They added a second TD on a 9-yard pass from Clay Elliot to Austin Allen. That wasn’t nearly enough as the Hawks lost to Wabash 61-13. Huntingdon doesn’t play again against D-III competition until Oct. 25, at Sewanee.
Through three games, Mary Hardin-Baylor’s punt return specialist P. J. Williams ranks second in the nation, with a 25.0-yard average return. McMurry’s Brian Malbrough is tied for fourth at 21.5 yards per return.
DePauw’s Jamarcus Shephard is tied for second in the nation on kick returns, averaging 40.2 yards. Unfortunately for DePauw, he had no returns against Trinity.
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Around the ASC
Offensive POW: Jordan Neuman, QB, Jr., McMurry: 14-for-17, 144 yards, two TDs including 11 consecutive completions; 13 carries for 61 yards and 1 TD.
Defensive POW: Chad Glover, DE, Fr., East Texas Baptist: forced a fumble and returned it 18 yards for a score, six tackles including a sack on fourth down late in the game to seal the win.
Special Teams POW: Jared May, SB/KR, So., Hardin-Simmons: Two kick returns for touchdowns (46-yard punt return and 86-yard free kick). May is 5-7, 145, and was the smallest player on the field that day. He was untouched on the two returns.
Around the SCAC
Offensive POW: Dan DesPlaines, QB, Sr., Trinity: 21-for-30, 353 yards, two TDs, and scored on a 4-yard run.
Defensive POW: Matt Jackson, LB, Sr., Rose-Hulman: 16 tackles (nine solo) and a game-securing interception.
Games of the Week
No. 24 Trinity (Texas) (3-1, 1-0) at Rose-Hulman (3-1, 1-0), Terre Haute, Ind., 2 p.m. EST: Be honest — when the season started, did anyone in the country pencil this in as a match up between two 3-1 teams? Trinity must guard against road ennui and will no doubt try to establish the run against a decent Engineer defense (314 yards, 20.2 points per game). They also must improve on red zone execution, where they’re below 60% for the year (and were only 2-for-5 against DePauw). RHIT, predominantly a running team, will try to keep doing what’s been working. The Engineers will also try to solidify the early SCAC coach of the year lead for first-year head coach Ted Karras.
McMurry (1-2, 1-1 ASC), at Texas Lutheran (0-3, 0-2), Seguin, Texas, 2 p.m. CDT: Most of the games in the ASC this week are between the haves and have-nots. This game offers an intriguing matchup between an Indian team that could easily be 2-1 and a Bulldog squad that’s simply had the misfortune of playing three Top 25 teams this year, and has played pretty well against two of them.
Centre (3-1, 1-0 SCAC) at Sewanee (2-2, 0-1), Sewanee, Tenn., 1:30 p.m.: Centre needs a win to keep pace with the Trinity-Rose Hulman winner. Sewanee is coming off two consecutive wins, including a 37-13 victory against the same Washington and Lee team that surprised Centre last week. A win is vital for the Tigers to have any hope of winning the SCAC.
Is anyone reading this? Have an interesting story idea for an upcoming column? Think your team isn’t getting enough coverage? Think the column is STILL too long? If so, contact me: ron.boerger@d3football.com.