Leave it to Beaver
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After missing the season opener due to injury, Beaver has rushed for 926 yards and 11 touchdowns in five games. He averages 185.2 yards per game and 6.7 yards per carry.
The Warhawks sit alone at 6-0 a top the WIAC and are one win away from their win totals in 2003 and 2004.
Linfield: A broken record of winning
With their 49-14 victory over Southern Oregon, Linfield broke its own record of consecutive winning seasons reaching the 50 season plateau. Not since the Wildcats finished the 1955 season at 3-6 have they finished a season with more losses than wins. The Wildcats started that season with a loss to Southern Oregon and also lost to Lewis & Clark 47-7, Whitman 21-13 and a team called the Seattle Ramblers.
In their span of 50 winning seasons, the Wildcats have claimed four national championships (three in NAIA Division II and the 2004 NCAA Division III championship), 15 undefeated regular seasons and 30 won or shared conference championships.
I’ll drink to that
Pomona-Pitzer wide receiver Mathew Martini hauled in five passes for 99 yards including a 28-yard touchdown pass to give the Sagehens a 30-3 lead en route to a 37-10 victory over CMS. Martini leads the team in receiving with 19 catches for 330 yards and three touchdowns.
Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades
Simpson has lost seven of their past nine games dating back to the end of the 2004 season. The total margin of victory by the Storm opponents during that time is 56 points (an average margin of victory of eight points) including two three-point losses this season.
Since Jay Niemann took over the program in 2002, only once (42-13 against Coe in 2002) have the Storm lost by more than 16 points. The 15 losses that have occurred during Niemann's tenure have been by a total of 155 points (an average margin of defeat of 10.5 points).
2-for-2 for 2
Few players in their career return a PAT for two points. Even fewer do it more than once. Bethel strong safety Kirby Carr has now done it in consecutive games. After returning his own blocked PAT last week against St. John’s, Carr returned a blocked PAT at 9:57 in the fourth quarter against St. Thomas to put the Royals up 23-13 before finishing with the 30-13 victory.
Sealed with a pick
Wartburg and Central are tied atop the IIAC but it wasn’t until both teams came up with victory-sealing interceptions to solidify their lofty spot.
After racing to a 40-14 lead behind running back Vance Schuring’s four touchdowns (three rushing, one passing), the Dutch held on for dear life. Luther scored three touchdowns in 11 minutes cutting the lead to 40-35 with 6:32 to play. With the Norse marching and the Dutch looking at a colossal collapse, Central cornerback Brett Doud picked off a Luther pass with 42 seconds remaining to seal the victory and move the Dutch to the top of the IIAC.
Northeast of Pella in Waverly, Wartburg was holding off Duhawks after Ashton Northern scored a touchdown with 59 seconds to play reducing Wartburg’s lead to 17-14. Coe wide receiver K.C. Pochobradsky recovered the ensuing onside kick and Coe went to work from the 50-yard line. The Duhawks advanced to the Wartburg 27-yard line before the Knights Nick Weber intercepted an errant pass in the end zone to seal the 17-14 win with 33 seconds to play.
Notes, scribbles and things you likely didn’t know…
->UW-Oshkosh running back Andy Moriarty broke the school’s single-game rushing record with 245 yards on 36 carries, bettering the old record of 234 set by Ron Cardo against St. Norbert in 1968.
->The last time St. Olaf started 5-0 was in 1978 under the direction of head coach Tom Porter. On Saturday at halftime, the field house adjacent to the St. Olaf football field was named Tom Porter Hall.
->UW-La Crosse threw a team record 57 passes on Saturday
->Concordia held St. John’s to minus-17 yards rushing, but lost the game 20-16
->In their last two games Macalester has rushed 83 times for 3 yards.
->UW-La Crosses’ 19-game homecoming winning streak was snapped on Saturday by UW-Whitewater 29-23.
Around the MIAC
St. John’s nipped Concordia 20-16 on a 74 yard touchdown with 16 seconds remaining…St. Olaf doubled up Gustavus 34-17 behind quarterback Jason Wilsey’s 324 yards and three touchdowns…Bethel drubbed St. Thomas 30-13 picking off St. Thomas three times…Augsburg outlasted Hamline 19-13 in double overtime on a touchdown pass from Marcus LeVesseur to Ricky Schreier. Carleton dominated Macalester 31-7 behind three touchdowns from R.J. Jackson.
Around the IIAC
Central held off Luther 40-35 behind 172 yards and three touchdowns from running back Vance Schuring…Wartburg held off Coe 17-14 for a share of first place…Loras defeated Simpson 15-7 for their first win over the Storm since 1993…Cornell defeated Dubuque 25-21 behind 262 yards and two touchdowns from quarterback Anthony Kobler…Buena Vista dropped Waldorf 14-3 behind five tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery from Brant Goodchild.
Around the WIAC
UW-Eau Claire dropped UW-Stout 17-9 behind two touchdowns from running back Joe Gast…UW-Whitewater defeated UW-La Crosse 29-23 despite 195 yards and three touchdowns from wide receiver Ted Everson…UW-Oshkosh outlasted UW-Platteville 30-28 behind 245 yards and a touchdown from running back Andy Moriarty…UW-Stevens Point defeated UW-River Falls 23-16 behind 255 yards passing and 83 yards rushing and two touchdowns from quarterback Brett Borchart.
Around the SCIAC
Pomona-Pitzer drubbed Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 37-10 behind 186 yards and two touchdowns from running back Robert Pepple…Redlands outlasted Whittier 30-24 in overtime behind 163 yards and three touchdowns from Karl Mikolon…Cal Lutheran defeated La Verne 35-7 forcing the Leopards into six turnovers.
Around the NWC
Linfield beat up Southern Oregon 49-14 behind 283 yards and four touchdowns from quarterback Brett Elliott…Whitworth dropped Puget Sound 46-27 behind 439 yards of total offense and six touchdowns from quarterback Joel Clark…PLU drubbed Chapman 49-10 behind 136 yards and three touchdowns from Chase Reed.
Games to Watch
Redlands at Occidental, Los Angeles, 7 p.m.: The SCIAC conference title will be on the line when these two schools meet up on Saturday. These teams have shared or won outright the SCIAC title since 1999. While Occidental is the favorite going in, Redlands has improved over the course of the season. Look for the Bulldogs to rush the ball a lot behind Karl Mikolon who has five touchdowns in his last two games. The Tigers will look for a strong showing from quarterback Andy Collins.
St. Thomas at Carleton, Northfield, Minn., 1 p.m.: Carleton can take a big step forward by defeating a St. Thomas team that has been decimated by injuries. At 3-3, a once woeful Carleton program is on the verge of establishing themselves as a solid competitor in the MIAC. St. Thomas, who lost quarterback Ryan Jansen for the season due to injury, is looking for players to step up and salvage the season. This should be a solid battle resulting in a possible shift in the usual conference standings.
Reminder
One guy covering five conferences means I could always use your help on story ideas. If you have feedback on a story, have a human interest story idea or want to email me for any other reason, I can be reached at adam.johnson@d3football.com.