Austin provides region's shocker
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Austin went into the locker room down 9-0, but the visitors were hardly panicking. According to AC coach David Norman, “we really made no adjustments at all. We just told our young men to keep doing what they were doing, something good was going to happen, and we would need to be ready to respond. Our defense was playing great.”
The offense, on the other hand, was having some problems — compounded when starting quarterback Brian Womack went down with an injury late in the first half. Freshman Zach Siefert replaced Womack, and while his numbers (4-for-11 for 38 yards, six rushes for 16) weren’t stellar, he kept the’Roos in it, and eventually guided them to the win. “Zach did a great job as a freshman,” added Norman, “leading us down the field for the eventual winning score. (The drive was) 11 plays that ate up almost six minutes.”
Perhaps the most startling statistic was that ETBU was held to 11 points on its home field, and only 31 yards on the ground. When asked how his team accomplished that, Norman stated “Loren Dawson, our defensive coordinator, does a great job with our defense, and we play about 18-20 defensive players a game. They are a great group of unselfish individuals which make a great unit.”
In fact, “team” seems to be the key word to describe AC’s play this season. When asked for a list of key personnel, Norman offered this: “all of our players down to the 66th are the key. We have a great team concept that comes from young men believing more in each other than anything else.”
The results from the last two weeks seem to indicate that Norman’s approach is working. The next team up for the’Roos is a similarly improved Texas Lutheran unit which easily handled McMurry, and which gave nationally ranked Trinity and Mary Hardin-Baylor more than either expected. “It will be a tough game,” said Norman, “and we will have to play even better than we have to win. They are very explosive on offense, have great special teams and a very fast defense.”
If Austin can continue its series of improbable wins in Seguin, their next opponent — Howard Payne — could provide a matchup of conference unbeatens should HPU also defeat Hardin-Simmons on Saturday. Don’t tell that to Norman. “We don’t think in those terms,” he said, referring to the possibility of a 3-0 ASC start. “We just want to be 1-0 on a daily basis.”
Trinity snatches victory from the jaws of defeat
DePauw’s Bill Lynch and his Tigers seemingly had everything going their way. They had contained Trinity’s dangerous offense for much of the game and moved the ball successfully in building a six-point lead in the fourth quarter. DPU extended its lead to 28-16 when Jason Murphy broke a 15-yard run. With a little over five minutes remaining, could DePauw win for the first time in series history?
It certainly seemed that way. On Trinity’s next series, wide receiver Kolby Brailsford made two sterling plays — a 41-yard kickoff return and a 25-yard touchdown reception, in a drive that took less than 30 seconds — but DePauw still led by five. All they needed to do to seal the victory was to run some time off the clock, as Trinity had only but single timeout remaining. DePauw recorded one first down but was forced to kick after Ross Weithoff’s pass on third-and-four was just out of the reach of Brett Claxton. The punt sailed into the end zone, leaving Trinity exactly two minutes — and no timeouts — to score.
Quarterback Dan DesPlaines quickly guided Trinity’s no-huddle offense to the DePauw nine before the defense stiffened. On fourth-and-goal from the 9, DesPlaines was flushed from the pocket but found Robin Kelner in the end zone to put Trinity up 29-28. Two Hail Mary passes by Weithoff fell incomplete, and Trinity (4-0, 1-0 SCAC) had the most improbable of all seven victories in the series. DePauw (2-2, 1-1) will have to wait at least one more year for that elusive first win.
Moore does it again
Hardin-Simmons running back Lance Moore continued to pile up the yardage as the No. 14-ranked Cowboys rolled at home over Mississippi College 49-14. Moore’s three touchdowns give him a conference-leading eight for the year; with 22 for his career, Moore is tied for all-time ASC honors with UMHB’s Chad Stearnes. For the season, his 409 yards trail only UMHB’s Justin Bryson (448).
One series in particular demonstrates the senior’s value to the team. The score was knotted at zero early in the second quarter, with the outcome of the game was still very much in doubt. With the ball resting at the Wildcat 44, Moore carried the ball eight times in a row, ending in a 2-yard dive to give the Cowboys the lead for good. With 22 carries for 144 yards, Moore reached the 100-yard plateau for the seventh consecutive game. Next up for Moore and the Cowboys is the by far the toughest challenge of their young season — a road trip against undefeated Howard Payne.
Texas Lutheran breaks into the win column
After staying close to nationally ranked Trinity and Mary Hardin-Baylor, the young Texas Lutheran squad traveled to Abilene. They found home-standing McMurry to be a much more hospitable foe, taking advantage of six McMurry turnovers to score an easy 40-14 win in Abilene.
Quarterback Sean Salinas continued his fine play for the Bulldogs, completing 22-of-38 passes for 290 yards, three touchdowns, and only one interception. His stats would likely have been even better had his receivers managed to hold onto some passes dropped in the first half. Salinas shared the wealth, with three different receivers recording touchdowns. Texas Lutheran (1-2/1-1 ASC) rolled up 445 yards while holding McMurry (1-2/0-2) to 249.
Maryville gets its initial win, too
We haven’t had much occasion to talk much about either of the two independents yet, so a tip of the hat to Maryville (Tenn.), which recorded its first win of the season at Sewanee (1-3), 16-13 in overtime. Sewanee dominated time of possession (33:53-26:07), first downs (22-10) and yardage (409-306), but turned the ball over on downs twice in Fighting Scot territory. Another early drive past midfield also ended in a fumble, and a missed field goal stopped another.
The Fighting Scots (1-3) led late, 13-10, only to see Sewanee drive 76 yards in 3:59. Jake Roberts converted the 30-yarder to send the game into overtime. In OT, neither team could move the ball. Maryville’s Brad Pesterfield was successful on his 37-yard attempt, while Roberts – a hero just a few minutes earlier — could not duplicate his earlier success. Maryville linebacker Chris Howerton had 21 tackles (nine solo), two for loss, and two quarterback pressures. Playing every defensive down, Howerton was named to this week’s D3football.com Team of the Week.
Players of the week
American Southwest Conference:
Offense: Sean Salinas, sophomore quarterback, Texas Lutheran, and Tony Steele, senior lineman, Austin. Salinas had his third strong game, completing 22-of-38 passes for 290 yards and three touchdowns in TLU’s 40-14 victory against McMurry. With 4,232 yards, Salinas is already within 188 yards of the school passing record. Steele played three different positions (right guard, left tackle, and center) during Austin’s 15-11 upset win at East Texas Baptist. His play was key in neutralizing ETBU’s Littleton Dean, the conference preseason defender of the year.
Defense: Kelvin Kirby, sophomore linebacker, Mary Hardin-Baylor: Kirby returned an interception seven yards for a score, then returned a blocked punt for another as UMHB rolled over Louisiana College 68-16. Kirby finished the night with 11 tackles (six solo), a pass breakup and one tackle for loss. He is the first defensive player in UMHB history to record two touchdowns in one game. Kirby was named to this week’s D3football.com team of the week, as well.
Special Teams: Clint Rushing, sophomore punter, Austin College: Rushing did his part to keep East Texas Baptist at bay, averaging 43.2 yards on ten kicks. His best effort of 55 yards pinned ETBU at their one early in the third quarter. Rushing landed three punts inside the 20, and two inside the five. Honorable mention: Justin Moore, sophomore punter, Howard Payne: had only three punts, but averaged 46.3 yards per punt, placing two inside the 20. One of those, downed at the one, set up a safety in Howard Payne’s 44-7 win against Sul Ross State. Moore was named to this week’s D3football.com Team of the Week.
Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference:
Offense: Robin Kelner, junior wide receiver, Trinity: Kelner caught the game-winner against DePauw, a 9-yarder with ten seconds left. He finished the game with 104 yards on nine receptions, two for touchdown. Kelner’s four receptions on the final two drives helped lead the team to the come-from-behind win. Honorable mention: Brian Behrendt, quarterback, and David Crowley, wide receiver, both Centre: Behrendt was 28-of-40 for 377 yards and 3 touchdowns in the Colonels’ 28-23 win over Washington and Lee; Crowley was the primary beneficiary, with 8 catches for 206 yards. Both yardage totals set team records.
Defense: Dustin Allen, sophomore defensive lineman, Trinity: Allen totaled 11 tackles (six solo), three for loss of 13 yards, and two sacks. His sack on the last play of the game preserved the win for Trinity. Allen was also named to this week’s D3football.com Team of the Week.
Notes from around the South
Start time for the Oct. 16 game in Alpine between Sul Ross State and Mary Hardin-Baylor has been moved from 2 p.m. to 1 p.m.. … Mary-Hardin Baylor’s home game on family weekend against Howard Payne on Oct. 9 went the other direction, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. … Rose-Hulman’s defense already has 11 interceptions on the season, with Trinity up next …Mary Hardin-Baylor (3-0, 2-0 ASC) rolled up Louisiana College (1-2, 0-2) 68-16, as running back Justin Bryson (147 total yards) scored twice on the ground and once in the air.
Games of the week (all Oct. 2)
No. 12 Hardin-Simmons (3-0, 2-0 ASC) at Howard Payne (3-0, 2-0), Brownwood, 2 p.m.: After three games against ASC lightweights, Hardin-Simmons will have a chance to show the country how good it is in this tussle against the Yellow Jackets. Similarly, Howard Payne will have a chance to show that their win against ETBU was no fluke. Both teams feature an excellent quarterback — Jordan Neal for the Cowboys, Adam King for the ‘Jackets. Neal’s 172.9 efficiency rating (51-of-67 for 671 yards, 5 TDs, 4 INTs) leads the conference, and King (66-of-102 for 829 yards, 7 TDs, 2 interceptions) ranks third with 146.0. Howard Payne’s top-ranked rushing defense (80.3 yards/game, 2.8 yards per rush) will have its hands full stopping Cowboy running back Lance Moore. Interestingly, neither team is at its best defending the pass, though HSU’s 201.3 yards allowed bests HPU’s 244.7. The winner of this game will have a leg up on the conference championship, though both have yet to play pre-season pick Mary Hardin-Baylor.
Austin (2-1, 2-0 ASC) at Texas Lutheran (1-2, 1-1), Seguin, noon: This game is interesting as it features two teams on the upswing in conference play. AC will have to handle TLU’s Sean Salinas as adroitly as it did East Texas Baptist’s Phil Van Cleave; the latter, while racking up huge yardage against AC also had several passes picked off by the young ’Roo secondary. The Bulldogs will be returning home and will do their best to play as well in front of the home crowd as it did in two close losses against superior opponents.
Regional defensive leaders
Last week, we looked at offensive leaders —unfortunately, as of this writing, the NCAA has not updated its defensive stats page to reflect last week’s games. You can check back later to see if they’re updated by clicking on the NCAA Stats link on the left-hand rail, which will take you to their site. We just won’t be around to filter out the other regions.
Next week
We’ll look at where things stand nearly midway through the season. Your comments and suggestions are always invited — write me at ron.boerger@d3football.com.