Two in, three out
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What happened last week?
That’s a good question, as two favored teams fell ignominiously. Hardin-Simmons (8-2, 7-2 SCAC) traveled to Texas Lutheran (5-5, 4-5 ASC) only to be upset by a Bulldog squad that had never before defeated it in conference play. Sean Salinas unexpectedly started for TLU and completed 21-of-37 for 255 and two touchdowns. Adam Vyvial relieved Salinas for one play and made the most of it, completing a 73-yard bomb to Jason Trahan for one of Trahan’s two scores. Hardin-Simmons’ Ryan Hinojosa completed 23-of-42 for 283 yards and three scores, and Jared May completed his fine career with nine receptions (150 yards) including two touchdowns. Turnovers doomed the Cowboys, as they suffered four (three fumbles, one interception) against a single TLU fumble. The last was the most costly; Dwight Bonner intercepted Hinojoza in the TLU red zone just as it seemed the Cowboys would pull out the win. The Bulldogs got a first down from there and were able to run out the clock.
Congratulations to Texas Lutheran on a win which partially made up for what was an otherwise disappointing season. Sean Salinas deserved to go out with a win. The Cowboys are left to wonder “what if” until next year, though losing two quarterbacks to injury certainly made life more difficult in 2005. Hardin-Simmons fell from No. 8 to No. 22 in the D3football.com poll as a result of the loss.
I got the following e-mail message on Monday, apparently from a Texas Lutheran supporter: “Good call with that one . ..looked like smooth sailing! “ Yep, I did state that HSU should have smooth sailing, based on the assumption that Salinas would be unable to play on Saturday. Of course, it’s easier when you’re writing e-mail after the fact.
Hawks also tumble from playoff consideration
Things were looking pretty good for the Huntingdon Hawks’ playoff chances as Saturday afternoon progressed. A lot of one-loss teams were losing ahead of them and all they had to do was overcome 2-7 Maryville to stake their claim to a possible Pool C slot.
With a 24-14 lead midway through the third quarter, it appeared the Hawks would do just that. The Hawks’ defense allowed three Maryville touchdowns from there, however, and a gallant comeback was denied when Zach Golson’s pass went through the hands of a Hawk receiver and into the hands of Maryville’s Nick Davidson standing on the goal line with 19 seconds remaining.
The loss, Huntingdon’s second of the year, eliminated them from playoff consideration. Golson completed 15-of-24 for 232 yards and a score; the interception was only his third of the season. Willie Horn led the Hawks’ ground game with 109 yards on 18 carries.
If nothing else, this season should have established that Huntingdon is a team to keep an eye on next year. Virtually nobody is graduating and a 7-2 record is significant for a program in only its third year of existence. Here’s hoping the Hawks’ competition next year plays at just a bit higher level; most of this year’s opposition played under .500 ball. It’s hard to get a decent Quality of Wins Index, which the NCAA uses to determine playoff selectees, when that’s the case.
Back to the e-mail thread: I received possibly more e-mail from Huntingdon supporters than from any other team in the three years I’ve been doing this. Without exception that e-mail was polite and cordial. Thank you! I’m looking forward to next year, are you?
DePauw held just short in Monon Bell game
DePauw (7-2) had its chances against No. 15 Wabash (10-0), but the Little Giants had the day’s only drive into a stiff wind to prevail 17-14. An overflow crowd of 8,000 — plus nationwide TV and webcast viewers — was on hand to witness the 112th meeting of these two bitter rivals.
It was an unusually defensive contest with both teams allowing about 250 yards. As might be expected, first downs were at a premium. DePauw did not convert a third down all day (0-for-14), while holding Wabash to 5-for-15. Even stranger was DePauw’s ability to convert on fourth down, where they were four-of-four before the last drive. It was a Wabash fourth down conversion, however, that turned the tide of the game.
The Tigers held a narrow 7-3 lead late in the third quarter when Wabash drove to the DePauw three. On third down and goal, Wabash quarterback Russ Harbaugh appeared to fumble the snap from center but was ruled down at the 5. D3football.com’s Keith McMillan, on the scene, reported that the official’s call appeared correct. Good thing, as DePauw would otherwise have scored off the resulting fumble return. Facing fourth-and-goal from the 5 the Little Giants called an option for the first (only?) time all day. The Tiger defense watched helplessly as Chris Ogden swept around right end untouched for the go-ahead score.
DePauw still had chances after that. An interception in Wabash territory went horribly awry when DePauw could not move the ball and had the resulting punt blocked. Wabash then moved rapidly downfield, and Harbaugh found Kyle Piazza on an innocent-looking screen pass … until Piazza escaped outside of a would-be tackler and tiptoed 39 yards down the sideline to put the Little Giants up by ten. The Tigers were able to respond for a score by abandoning their ineffective running game in favor of eight straight Ross Wiethoff passes, including a crucial 13-yard completion to Chris Gines on fourth-and-8. Two plays later, Wiethoff found a wide-open Chase Jonason streaking on the post for six, closing the gap to three.
Wabash returned DePauw’s kickoff to midfield and threatened to score again, but a holding penalty pushed the Little Generals out of field goal range. Chad Finley’s coffin corner kick placed the Tigers 91 yards away from a winning score — but DePauw had the wind and needed only a field goal to put the game into overtime.
Wiethoff scrambled for a first down on the drive’s initial play, and proceeded to drive the Tigers into Wabash territory with plenty of time remaining. Frank Knez picked a good time for his only tackle of the day — a 9-yard sack of Wiethoff which knocked the Tigers back onto their own side of the field. An illegal procedure call pushed DePauw back even further. Everything came down to yet another fourth down, and this time, Wiethoff overthrew Jonason, wide open for what looked like a first down — and securing the win for a relieved Wabash side.
After a slow start, Wiethoff ended his college career with 174 yards passing on 11-of-24. He was also the Tigers’ leading ground gainer with 38 net yards. SCAC offensive player-of-the-year candidate Jeremiah Marks was held to just 31 yards on 19 carries by the swarming Little Giant defense.
One key factor in the Tigers’ demise was a decision by Wabash head coach Chris Creighton to call two timeouts with under a minute remaining in the first quarter. This forced DePauw to try a 35-yard field goal into a stiff wind which pushed the kick wide left. Those three points were the difference in this ball game.
The loss put a damper on what otherwise was an unexpectedly fine effort by first-year DePauw coach Tim Rogers. Rogers saw his SCAC co-champions fall 10 points short of an undefeated season, with both losses coming to NCAA playoff teams (Wabash, Wesley). It’s unfortunate for the Greencastle faithful that scheduling issues related to Hurricane Rita prevented a matchup with Trinity that could have allowed DPU to win the conference title outright, and to soldier on in the playoffs.
Easy wins set up yet another UMHB-TU first round pairing
At least two games went to form last weekend, with both Trinity and Mary Hardin-Baylor winning in shutout fashion. No. 8 Trinity (9-0, 5-0 SCAC) overcame a slow start with three touchdowns in the second quarter on their way to a 41-0 dismantling of Millsaps. No. 4 Mary Hardin-Baylor (8-1) was even more overpowering with a 58-0 win at Austin (1-9) which saw everyone who made the trip get playing time.
The NCAA seeded Trinity first in the regional bracket, UMHB third, both normally assuring teams of a first-round home game. But, for the third time in four years, the NCAA has elected to once again take away UMHB’s home game by sending them to Trinity in the first round. The other time? The NCAA left UMHB at home despite a 9-1 record. I’ll have much more about this game in a preview to be published later in the week.
The NCAA continually shows its contempt for Division III teams located on geographic “islands” by using the geography/money issue as a crutch. If you’re going to seed teams, Trinity should draw No. 8 Johns Hopkins; UMHB, No. 6 Washington and Jefferson. Failing that, D3football.com’s playoff scenario showed that it is possible to have brackets that are so much fairer without spending much more money. If Pat and company can do it, the pencil pushers at the AA should be able to do something similar. It’s all about the student-athletes, right?
I know that:
->You get tired of reading about this every year.
->I get tired of writing about it every year.
->The impacted fans and players are tired of having to travel so the NCAA can save a few bucks.
But until the NCAA wakes up, I’m going to keep complaining. Maybe if enough schools and fans did, too, the NCAA would do something about it (when pigs fly — if then!). In the meantime, consider this: UMHB has had a top ten ranked team heading into the playoffs in 2002, 2004, and now in 2005. It has never had a home playoff game, while lesser teams get them all the time just because they’re not stuck in a geographic bubble. This happens in all sports, not just football, but the impact is greatest in a sport like ours that has the highest amount of fan support and player participation. It’s a shame that Division III schools in Texas (along with those on the West Coast, see No. 6 Occidental at No. 1 Linfield) are all treated with such disdain by the NCAA. I better stop now. If nothing changes, I can see the day when the ASC rep and Trinity are No. 1 and No. 2 in the country, only to be matched up in the first round by the NCAA.
One good bit of news for UMHB: a win on Saturday would secure the first home playoff game in history against the winner of Wesley/Ferrum, both of which already have five-touchdown-plus losses to their, ahem, credit. But there’s still a first-round game to be won, the fourth in the last five years between these two.
Heck, they’ll have played as much as Trinity and DePauw.
Elsewhere …
Howard Payne (7-3, 7-2 ASC) tied for second in the ASC with a wild overtime win over Mississippi College (1-8, 1-8). Jordan Bullard hit a 47-yard field goal with 0:03 remaining to send the game into overtime, and Adam Johnson (38-of-56, 357 yards, six touchdowns) hit Greg Nixon for the game winning score in the second overtime stanza. Johnson still has a year of eligibility remaining, which should make the folks in Brownwood quite happy. MC will play Belhaven this Thursday night in the sadly watered-down “Backyard Brawl” to close out both teams’ season.
East Texas Baptist (6-4, 6-3 ASC) put an unhappy end to Ty Sellers’ brief McMurry career in a 36-10 victory in Abilene. Antroin Broom, making his first start at quarterback for the Tigers, had 295 yards of total offense including 13-of-23 passing (217 yards). Chad Glover had two interceptions for the Tiger defense, returning the second for a touchdown. Sellers, the ASC rushing champion, was held to -13 yards rushing on 15 attempts. McMurry’s (5-5, 4-5 ASC) finish is the team’s best since 2000, but the Indians have yet to defeat the Tigers in six tries. Keep an eye next season on East Texas Baptist; the young Tigers lose only two starters. I believe ETBU and Trinity are on the schedule in 2006, and that should be an interesting game.
Sewanee (5-5, 4-2 SCAC) wrapped up a surprising third-place SCAC finish with an overtime win at Rhodes (2-8, 0-6 SCAC). Rhodes was stopped just short in overtime and had to settle for a 19-yard Hunter Tigert field goal. Wesley Satterfield scored from 5 yards out to secure the win for the visitors. Satterfield led all ground gainers with 138 yards on 28 carries, scoring three touchdowns.
And, finally — Rose-Hulman (5-5, 2-4 SCAC) closed out its SCAC membership with a 27-16 loss at the hands of Centre (7-3, 3-3 SCAC). The Engineers were intercepted four times in the finale; Kevin Phelps completed 17-of-23 for 203 yards and a touchdown. Rose-Hulman did keep Adam Blandford (84 yards, 21 carries) 22 yards short of 1,000 rushing yards. The Engineers begin play in the HCAC in 2006, hoping to break the .500 rut of the last three seasons.
Finis
This wraps up the regional column for this year. I will be going to San Antonio this weekend to cover UMHB at Trinity. If Trinity wins, I’ll already be in San Antonio Thanksgiving weekend; if UMHB wins, I’ll do my best to get to Belton. Someone should record for posterity when the Crusaders finally get a home playoff game. My thanks to everyone who has taken the time to drop me a note during the year.
Questions, comments, and story ideas are always welcome: ron.boerger@d3football.com.