Congrats, seniors
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Passing Fancy
The Simpson passing game rewrote the school record book as the Storm thundered to a 54-7 victory against Upper Iowa. Simpson quarterback Mike Donnenwerth led a Storm passing attack that threw for 586 yards, breaking the 1926 school record of 520 which was set against the now defunct Des Moines University.
Donnenwerth surpassed the 3,000 yard plateau for the season as he went 24-41 for 516 yards and six touchdowns. The six touchdowns broke his previous school record (five) which was set on two previous occasions. His 516 yards were the second most in school history. Charlie McCoy threw for 520 in that 1926 game against Des Moines. For the year, Donnenwerth threw for a school record 3,189 yards and a school record 30 touchdown passes.
Mike Tiedeman caught passes for 248 yards and a school record four touchdown catches. Tiedeman caught three of his TD strikes from Donnenwerth. The fourth was a 70-yarder from fellow wide receiver Dusty Kain on a wide receiver option play early in the first quarter. Kain and Kyle Peterson joined Tiedeman in the 100-plus yard receiving club. Kain caught eight passes for 172 yards and one TD while Peterson had five catches for 113 yards and a touchdown.
Streaking 3s
The Carleton Knights ended the season on a three game winning streak after knocking off Hamline, Macalester and Colorado College. A three game winning streak isn’t an extremely impressive accomplishment in Division III football but when it comes on the heels of a very long 33-game losing streak, it’s that much sweeter. With Bethel, St. John’s and Concordia on their schedule next season they likely won’t counter their dubious 33-game streak with 33 wins but the first three are victories that show Carleton is turning the corner as a program.
Frosty goes out a winner
Frosty Westering ended his 32-year stint as Pacific Lutheran head coach on a positive note as the Lutes defeated Puget Sound 40-14 at Sparks Stadium.
Westering finishes his career — which spanned 40 years total — with a 305-96-7 record (a .742 winning percentage). His record at PLU is 261-70-5 (.789).
Empty the bench!
It was little more than a Saturday afternoon practice for the St. John’s Johnnies as they welcomed Crown College to Collegeville, Minnesota. During the 50-0 one-sided victory the Johnnie fans saw 19 players carry the ball, nine players catch a pass and eight SJU quarterbacks attempt a pass. The leaders were Ryan Keating with 111 yards on 6-for-8 passing, Lee Clintsman with 120 yards receiving and Jake Theis with 60 yards rushing. The followers included four quarterbacks whose sole passing attempt went incomplete, Mike Lofboom who hauled in one pass for three yards and R.J. Welsh who rushed twice for minus-18 yards (though to his credit he threw for 88 yards).
Records over streaks
The Wartburg Knights used a record setting day from quarterback Reed Hoskins to defeat the Central Dutch and snap their streak of 42 consecutive winning seasons. Hoskins, completing his first 15 passes in a row, ended the day 20 of 22 for 371 yards and three touchdowns. His 371-yard effort eclipsed the old single-game record of 353 yards set by former standout Matt Wheeler against Coe in 1999. Senior wide receiver Chris Winter benefited from Hoskins' record day, hauling in eight receptions for 259 yards with all three touchdown receptions, setting a new single-game record for receiving yardage.
Excuse me, do you have the time?
Menlo took a slim 27-26 lead to halftime Saturday against West Region opponent Concordia. To open the second half, the Oaks were late to take the field, at which point Concordia-Moorhead kicked an onside pooch kick, and recovered at the Oaks’ 30 yard line. Seven plays later, the Cobbers took a 34-27 lead on a Hebrink-to-Chad Worthington touchdown strike.
All the king’s horses and all the Kingsmen
Well, it wasn’t all the Kingsmen but a good number of them. In Saturday’s 70-13 drubbing of Whittier by Cal Lutheran, the Kingsmen used touchdowns by nine different players to run off 70 unanswered points before closing out their season at 5-4 and 4-2 in conference.
Quote machine
“I have to tip my hat to Wartburg.”
— Central head coach Rich Kacmarynski after losing to the undefeated conference champ
Game of the Week
No. 5 Bethel at No. 3 Wartburg
This matchup between the Wartburg Knights (10-0) and Bethel Royals (9-1) is the most anticipated first round game from the West Region playoff bracket. The Royals bring a solid team that took St. John’s to the wire in Week 10 only to lose by three points.
The Royals average 38 points per game and split 396.5 yards of total offense per game just about down the middle between passing and rushing yards. They hold the ball for just over 30 minutes per game and convert on 40% of their 3rd downs and 75% of their 4th downs. They average 17.1 yards on kick returns, 14.4 on punt returns and 12.5 on interception returns. They are 10-for-15 on field goal attempts this year and 32-for-38 on PATs.
The Knights will have to contain All-American candidate Scott Kirchoff and key on freshman running back Phil Porta. John Kilde could be the x-factor for Bethel if he gets hot catching or returning the football. Sam Lacy will lead the defense and give Wartburg quarterback Reed Hoskins trouble in the secondary.
The Knights average 38.3 points per game and lean heavier on the passing than rushing in their 439.3 yards of total offense per game. They hold the ball for over 31 minutes per game and convert on 47% of 3rd downs and 56% of fourth downs. They average 14.4 on kickoff returns, 13.7 on punt returns and 9.1 on interception returns. They are 3-8 on field goals and 48-54 on PATs.
The Royals will need to pressure Reed Hoskins better than they pressured Ryan Keating in week 10. Brad Hodapp averages 116 yards per game rushing and Cody Kelley should be a focus for the Royal offense and defense. Vince King and Matt Stoffel lead the team in sacks with 10 and 11 respectively. The Royal offensive line will need to give Kirchoff time to throw.
The game has the ingredients for an instant classic. Bethel brings in a mediocre playoff performance history and Wartburg’s last defeat came at the hands of Linfield in last year’s playoffs. Both teams should be ready to roll.