Prediction could have been more right
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Here I am getting all smug and presuming an easy Mary Hardin-Baylor win against Christopher Newport and the Crusaders go and make me look (even more) stupid (than usual). A 15-10 loss is not what I expected nor is it what anyone in Belton thought.
On the other hand, most of the 5,500-plus fans in Virginia probably thought this was possible. For sure, the 11 guys on the Captains defense thought it was possible. Up 15-10 with 1:37 left, they came up with three huge stops, the third forcing a fumble, and preserving a win that could change the Newport program (see Keith McMillan’s Around the Nation for more on this).
Due respect to Zakee Williams, who forced the fumble from Cru quarterback Josh Welch but why wasn’t Freddie Rollins getting the ball as many times as it took at that point. He already had 125 yards on just 15 carries. That averages out to 8.3 yards per carry in case you were wondering. You don’t think he could have scratched out ONE more yard on four possible carries.
"I was just expecting big No. 23 getting the ball three times up the gut," Newport head coach Matt Kelchner said.
You and me both, but Pete Fredenburg has a little more football experience than I do so I’m not doing any second-guessing.
Surprise, surprise?
I don’t know if it’s a huge surprise to anyone else but how bout Texas Lutheran?! They ended Trinity’s 14-game regular season winning-streak with a 14-9 win in Seguin and beat the Tigers for the first time since 1977. In fact they’re the first ASC team to beat Trinity in 19 games. I’m sure all the ASC teams feel pretty good about that (note sarcasm).
Sophomore Derrick Heath blocked a punt that set p the game winning score and, in fact, the entire Matador defense was stout. Cornerback Dwight Bonner had interceptions on Trinity’s final two offensive possessions with the last coming at midfield with ten seconds left.
Bonner and the defense have gotten it done in both wins this season. They’re only giving up 4.5 points per game thanks to their season-opening shutout against Austin College. I would imagine that number would go up since they face Mississippi College this week and the Choctaws hung 52 on Millsaps in the first week of the season. Plus, MC racked up 476 yards of offense in their meeting last season, a 27-22 TLU win.
The win moved TLU to 2-0 since the first time since 1976 and coach Tom Mueller said the win was the biggest the program has had since winning an NAIA Division II national championship in 1975.
Making a point
Speaking of Millsaps, they might not shock the nation this year and they might not do it next year. But give it some time and coach Mike Dubose will have this team winning a lot of games in addition to scoring a lot of points.
In Week Two, the Majors dropped a 41-38 decision to Louisiana College thanks to a late Tiger drive. The 38-point outburst was the most Millsaps has scored since losing 51-41 to Centre in 2003.
While 0-2 is never pleasant, make sure to keep up with Majors signal-caller Juan Joseph. He leads the SCAC in passing yards (240.5 ypg) this season.
Centre of attention
Just like I didn’t think that Texas Lutheran would be on top of the ASC through Week Two, I certainly wasn’t sure of how good Centre would be. But here they are sitting atop the SCAC standings at 2-0. And I say good for them.
I say that for no other reason coach Andy Frye was incredibly helpful to me when I was writing their preview for Kickoff 2006. I’ve learned in my years of writing that there is nothing better than a coach that returns phone calls. For that I will be a Centre fan for life.
But as far as football goes, Frye needs just one more win to reach the big 5-0. He’d be the fourth Centre coach to win 50 games and I’ll be pulling for him this weekend when the Colonels play at Rhodes this weekend in their SCAC opener.
On the other hand …
…pulling for Frye might not be a great idea when you look at what Rhodes did to LaGrange. Five yards of total offense and negative-32 yards rushing on 30 carries? That was LaGrange’s career-opener so there aren’t any previous games to compare those rushing numbers to but that’s not good for any program.
Particularly impressive for Rhodes was defensive tackle Matt Medford. He had 3.5 tackles for a loss and recovered a fumble for a touchdown. Need perspective? He tallied more yards on tackles for a loss than LaGrange did handing it off to their backs.
Big players make big plays. Lots of them.
DePauw running back Jeremiah Marks (200 yards, two TDs), Millsaps running back Nick Namias (111 yards on 21 carries in his first start of the season), Trinity linebacker Phillip Kownslar (15 tackles, eight solo), Sewanee defensive back George Twitty (nine tackles, five solo) were all big time stars in the SCAC this week while Sul Ross State’s T.J. Barber was the king of the ASC this week. Barber had 191 yards on 17 carries for the Lobos in a 35-6 win against Southwest Assemblies of God. LC’s Xavier Mims picked off two Millsaps passes and his teammate Dexter Falgoust had two huge receptions to help the Wildcats forge their fourth quarter comeback.
Game of the Week
No doubt about it this week, it’s Hardin-Simmons against Linfield. Hardin-Simmons is the highest-ranked team in the ASC (No. 7, D3football.com) and Linfield is coming off of its first regular season loss in 41 games. You’d think that there would be an obvious favorite, right?
Well, if you think I’m making any kind of prediction, you’re crazy. Why don’t you email me your predictions and I’ll tell you if I agree. And while you’re at it, keep me in the loop of what’s going on at your favorite school. Fans, coaches or players are all welcome to e-mail me at callman@eaglgolf.com. See you next week.