Quarterbacks find records falling
Whether a football program is known for 49 straight years of winning (Linfield) or 50 straight games lost (Macalester), it is always fun to see new players bump the names from the past aside and etch their names in the school record book.
It’s usually about this time, late in the season, when records start to fall. On Saturday, three quarterbacks in the west region broke a handful of their school’s records and with a game or more left, their looking for more.
When Adam Denny showed up at Macalester College for his freshman season of football he knew he’d have to wait his turn. Senior Aaron Quitmeyer was rewriting the Scots’ record book from the quarterback position and Denny was forced to watch and learn. He did just that.
In the Metrodome against Hamline his freshman year he threw 10-for-13 for 136 yards and two touchdowns in the final five minutes of a 35-28 loss to the Pipers. It was clear Denny was ready to take over for the graduating Quitmeyer—the school’s all-time leader in touchdowns and yardage.
Fast forward to Saturday as Denny stood between his parents, honored at midfield as the lone senior on a Macalester roster of just over 35 players.
While the wins haven’t piled up for Denny over the years, the yards and touchdowns have. He entered the game against Ripon just two touchdowns and 343 yards shy of Quitmeyer’s records.
In the first half he tied the touchdowns record throwing two while also running in one and catching another. The catch, his fifth touchdown on five receptions on the season, might be another obscure record he holds at Macalester.
He ended up 30 yards short of the career yardage record and the Scots ended up 21 points short of victory but there’s one game left to knock off that record. Denny will close out his college career against Lawrence — a team they beat last season 30-25.
Unlike Denny, Linfield junior quarterback Brett Elliott didn’t have to wait his turn to get on the field and he hasn’t struggled to win in his assault on the Linfield record books. However, like Denny, he is wiping out the records of his predecessor, 2003 All-American Tyler Mathews.
Since transferring to Linfield before the season from Division I Utah, Elliott has been a touchdown throwing machine. Against Lewis and Clark on Saturday he picked up five more touchdowns pushing his season total to 39 in eight games and shattering Mathews’ mark of 36 set last year.
Four of Elliott’s receivers have over 400 yards and 5 or more touchdowns and even freshman Tyler Kaluza has six receptions with two going for touchdowns.
In the season finale this week against Willamette, Elliott is poised to break another Mathews record as he needs only 256 yards to surpass the single-season yardage record. He currently sits at 2,829 yards.
Lastly, one quarterback who won’t have to wait another week to set his school’s single-season yardage mark is Central’s Mark Isaacson. In a 35-16 defeat of league leading Buena Vista, Isaacson threw four touchdowns and caught another while passing for 279 yards. He now has the school record for yardage in a season with 1,883 yards breaking the previous record of 1,790 set by Jeff Borgman in 2001. He’ll need quite a game against Cornell to catch Shad Flynn, the career leader with 4,984 yards (1990-93).
The names Isaacson, Denny and Elliott now get their time at the top in their respective schools record books.
History shows they may not be there for long.
Winter wonderland
Wartburg wide receiver Chris Winter worked wonders for the Knights offense on Saturday hauling in 10 passes for 163 yards and four touchdowns. His performance helped Wartburg pile up 481 yards of total offense in dismantling Cornell 49-7. The win ties Wartburg with Coe and Buena Vista atop the IIAC.
How’d we lose?
Upset minded Claremont-Mudd-Scripps must be scratching their heads following their 31-24 loss to Redlands on Saturday. The Stags outgained Redlands 480 yards to 285 yards in total offense and were able to nearly double up the Bulldogs in time of possession 39:19 to 20:41. They had two sacks and only committed six penalties. None the less, Redlands was able to hold off CMS and escape with a seven point win.
That was then, this is now
Things looked pretty bad for Coe following a Week 5 loss to conference doormat Dubuque. Five weeks later the Kohawks have a chance to win the IIAC title outright with a season ending win and a Wartburg loss. Coe used a 1-yard Neil Suckow plunge in the second overtime to down Simpson 24-17 and force a three-way tie with Buena Vista and Wartburg. It was the Kohawks’ second straight overtime victory.
Coe punter Cody Angle pinned the Storm inside their own 20 three times, twice on their own one. He averaged 44.4 yards per kick, including a 64-yarder. Linebacker Ken Ware downed those two punts on the one yard line and also recorded a career-high 18 tackles, including four in the backfield. He intercepted a pass, had one sack and broke up two passes.
Easy as 1, 2, 3
Willamette running back Quentin Brock piled up 146 yards on 24 carries Saturday to lead the Bearcats to a 28-17 victory against No. 25 Whitworth. He had touchdown runs of 1, 2, and 3 yards including the victory sealing plunge with 1:19 to play from one yard out. The victory sets up a showdown with Linfield for the NWC crown next week.
No experience necessary
Macalester freshman wide receiver Ben Dickinson, who never played football in high school, hauled in six passes for 161 yards including a 75-yard touchdown. He had nine catches for 122 yards coming into the game.
Weird stat line of the week
Simpson running back Eric Hentges ran the ball three times for minus-1 yard and two touchdowns.
GET to the GAME!
Willamette at Linfield, 1:00 p.m., McMinnville, Ore.: The NWC conference title will be on the line Saturday in McMinnville when Linfield and Willamette meet to close out their regular season. Just like last year, the conference championship comes down to the last game of the season between these two teams. The Wildcats picked up the championship in 2003 with a 34-21 defeat of the Bearcats. Linfield, who leads the nation in total offense (529 ypg) and points (51.75) has dropped Menlo and Lewis & Clark by a combine score of 131-20 in the past two weeks. Willamette, ranked 14th in the nation in rushing at 266.4 yards per game, defeated Whitworth last week 28-17. Both Linfield and Willamette have beaten Whitworth this season by 11 points. Look for both teams to put up big numbers in this battle for the NWC crown.
Coe at Buena Vista; 1 p.m.; Storm Lake, Iowa: The IIAC crown rides on this game as these two 5-2 teams battle for a trip to the playoffs. Buena Vista was upset last week at home by Central 35-16 while Coe won a heart stopping double overtime affair with Simpson. Assuming Wartburg wins its game against 1-6 Dubuque, a win by Buena Vista gives them co-conference championship status with Wartburg and sends BVU to the playoffs as they beat the Knights earlier in the season. A Coe win would tie them with Wartburg as co-conference champs but Wartburg would go to the playoffs as a result of its win over Coe earlier in the year.
St. Thomas at St. John’s, 1 p.m., Collegeville, Minn.: Last year, the Tommies almost put history on hold as they battled St. John's to the final seconds before losing on a last second field goal 15-12. The win gave Coach John Gagliardi his 408th win to tie Eddie Robinson and the Johnnies rolled from there to the national championship. This year, the Tommies come in with a better record than St. John’s although it looks like neither team will go to the playoffs. It’s about pride as this rivalry adds another chapter. The Johnnies will try to avoid their first-four loss season since 1997 while St. Thomas looks to beat St. John’s for the first time since that same season when they won 31-27 in the Metrodome.