On Opening Day, a big record falls
| Sam Durley's Eureka Red
Devils neded every single one of his 736 passing yards in a
come-from-behind 62-55 win at Knox. Photo by Pat Coleman, D3sports.com |
Sam Durley set the Division III and overall NCAA all-time single-game pasing record as he threw for 736 yards in Eureka's 62-55 come-from-behind win at Knox in the inaugurual Lincoln Bowl.
His performance, on 34-for-52 passing, surpassed the 731 yards which Menlo's Zamir Amin threw for against Cal Lutheran in 2000.
Durley's final touchdown pass, a 13-yard toss to Bane with 20 seconds remaining, gave the Red Devils their first lead of the afternoon, which held up.
Casey Kacz threw for 579 yards and five touchdowns himself as Buffalo State defeated Cortland State 49-31. Kacz finished 30-of-42 and matched a school mark with five touchdown passes against just one interception as he paced the Bengals to a school-best 706 yards of total offense. Freshman receiver Ryan Carney led the receiving corps with 12 catches for 242 yards and two scores, and Caesarae Lewis had seven grabs for 156 yards, including two scores.
Cortland State had won the previous six meetings between the two.
UW-La Crosse scored the biggest upset of the afternoon as Jacob Flegner returning an interception 39 yards for a touchdown to lift the Eagles to a 21-17 win at No. 6 North Central. North Central fumbled twice and threw an interception in the fourth quarter. Rowan upended No. 9 Delaware Valley 27-13 as the Profs turned two Aggie turnovers into 14 points. Casey Dillon returned an interception to the Delaware Valley 10 yard line to set up one touchdown and Kurt Kingett returned a fumble all the way for another score. Elsewhere in the MAC-NJAC challenge, Lebanon Valley topped Montclair State 31-21 and No. 25 Widener hammered Western Connecticut 63-17.
No. 8 St. Thomas scored two touchdowns in a span of 52 seconds to rally past UW-Eau Claire 27-24. The Tommies' defense allowed 283 total yards but limited the Blugold offense to just 10 yards on 14 plays in the game's final 14:00.
Kevin Burke got the call at quarterback for No. 2 Mount Union and the Purple Raiders offense did not miss a beat, as they rolled past No. 13 Franklin 45-7. Chris Denton returned two punts for touchdowns for Mount Union. It was the 700th win in Mount Union football history, with more than 300 of them with Larry Kehres as coach.
Albright closed the game with 22 unanswered points to rally past No. 14 Kean 29-26. The Cougars were held scoreless for the final 28:47 of the game and got three of their four scores as the result of one big play apiece, or a short field. Running back Joe Benedetti ran for 216 yards and four touchdowns and quarterback Dan Griffin rushed for 102 yards and two scores as No. 7 Salisbury pulled away from Christopher Newport 40-16.
Mickey Inns threw for two touchdowns and caught a 17-yard scoring pass, and Josh Hill rushed for 113 yards to power No. 5 Linfield past Menlo. No. 11 St. John Fisher needed overtime but came away a 13-7 winner against No. 20 Thomas More. Cody Miler tallied the game winner for the Cardinals with a 2-yard run in overtime.
Willamette took to the air under new coach Glen Fowles, as Josh Dean threw for 468 yards and six touchdowns in a 58-34 road win at Hardin-Simmons. Johns Hopkins rolled up 510 yards of total offense, including 344 on the ground, as the Blue Jays defeated Randolph-Macon 36-13. The Blue Jays also had six sacks, including one for a safety. North Carolina Wesleyan defeated Ohio Northern in overtime, giving the USA South a rare signature win.
Aryton Scott made his first start for Augsburg and accounted for 294 yards of offense in a 41-20 win over Concordia (Wis.). Scott ran 22 times for 155 yards, and completed 9 of 18 passes for 139 yards and three touchdowns.
Misericordia's first Division III football game might have been one to forget, as the Cougars lost to Gettysburg 70-0. It started with an 89-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by the Bullet.
Although some of the all-time winningest coaches have had wins taken away in recent years, John Gagliardi keeps adding to his win total. The St. John's coach picked up No. 485 as the Johnnies rolled over Northwestern (Minn.) 52-7.
On Friday night, No. 1 UW-Whitewater won its 46th consecutive game, allowing just 10 rushing yards and 55 yards of total offense in a 34-0 win on a rainy night at Washington U. John Carroll and St. Norbert took a long trip to Ireland and it was a short trip home for the Blue Streaks with a 40-3 win against St. Norbert. Wheaton (Ill.) rolled past Benedictine 48-7 on Thursday night to start the season with a win.
