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| Colin Moore came up with an interception for the second consecutive week for Wheaton. Wheaton athletics file photo by Kodiak Creative |
No. 4 Salisbury edged Rowan in its first big test of the season, while No. 9 UW-Whitewater rallied at home past No. 8 UW-Platteville, Muhlenberg rallied past No. 16 Carnegie Mellon, No. 7 Wartburg held off No. 14 Central and No. 19 Hope scored on the last play of the game to hand No. 25 Adrian its first loss on Saturday afternoon. Here's the Top 25 recap for Week 8.
SyRus McGowan hit deep touchdown passes to Micah Brubaker (50 yards) and Dario Belizaire (80 yards) in the first half to stake the Sea Gulls to a 21-14 lead at halftime. Rowan tied it up on a Jaden Everett pick-six and the Profs forced a three-and-out, but Rowan muffed the punt and Ryan Salvosa recovered it at the Profs 32. Salisbury found the end zone three plays later on a 14-yard Darrell Walter touchdown run. After a field goal made it 31-21, Rowan embarked on a 10-play, 75-yard drive which Nate Maiers capped off with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Nunes Bukula IV to cut the lead to 3 at 31-28 with 3:22 left. Rowan was unable to cover the onside kick, however, and Salisbury eventually kneeled down with first-and-goal from the 2 to run out the clock. McGowan finished the day with 221 yards on 11-for-16 passing.
At Whitewater, the third quarter belonged almost entirely to UW-Platteville, as Nathan Uselding hit on two touchdown passes and yes, UW-Whitewater snapped a long snap out of the back of the end zone for another safety, staking the No. 8 Pioneers to a 19-14 lead. But the fourth quarter belonged almost entirely to the No. 9 Warhawks, and frankly, to Justin Klinkner and Blake Haggerty, as the pair connected on two touchdowns and a two-point conversion to give the Warhawks a 29-19 win. Klinkner survived three interceptions, completing 18 of 28 passes for 264 yards and three touchdowns, while running for one himself. The Warhawks recorded three interceptions themselves in the win.
Muhlenberg trailed 23-7 as the fourth quarter started, but the Mules rallied behind backup quarterback Luke Spang and scored three touchdowns in the final 15 minutes to knock off No. 16 Carnegie Mellon 27-23. The Mules (6-1, 3-1 Centennial Conference) scored on a Matthew Manning 2-yard touchdown run with 1:57 left to take the lead, then had to hold on down the stretch as the Tartans (4-3, 2-2) drove all the way into the red zone despite a couple of agonizing dropped passes, one of which was in the end zone. Joseph Papa got a huge sack of Joey McGinnis IV on third down from the Muhlenberg 18, then Jeffrey Lopez picked McGinnis off in the end zone on the final play of the game. Spang, who entered the game early after an injury to Dante Mahaffey, was 21-for-33 passing for 227 yards and ran for two touchdowns as well in the win.
Jack Drahos had two and a half sacks, part of a five-sack effort from the Wartburg defense on the afternoon as the No. 7 Knights handed No. 13 Central its first loss of the season, 28-13. Dawson Rud ran for 98 yards and three touchdowns for the Knights (8-0, 6-0 American Rivers Conference), while Leo Dodd threw for 239 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, Mac Watts had nine tackles and a pass breakup, as the Knights held Central to 34 rushing yards.
Caden Balkon drilled a 45-yard field goal with 10 seconds left in the game and No. 19 went to No. 25 Adrian and handed the Bulldogs their first loss of the season, winning 19-17. Adrian (6-1, 3-1 MIAA) led 17-14 at halftime, but Jake Punches sacked Noah Beaudrie in the end zone for a safety midway through the third quarter and Hope ate up 7:45 of the fourth quarter on its game-winning drive, going 59 yards in its first 15 plays before Alex Thole hit a little dump-off ove the middle to Kaden DeHorn to pick up 6 yards and center the ball in the middle of the field. After an Adrian timeout, Balkon, who had had a 41-yard attempt blocked just before halftime, came out and kicked the game-winner. Hope improved to 6-1, 3-1 in the MIAA, the only loss coming on the disputed overturned call vs. Alma.
Zeke Harris had 13 tackles and an interception at the Wheaton 11-yard line to help the No. 20 Thunder hold off WashU 28-24 and remain in line for an at-large bid to the 2025 Division III NCAA playoffs. Mark Forcucci threw three touchdown passes in the first half to help stake Wheaton to a 21-10 lead, but the Bears rallied with a Levi Moore TD run and a TD pass to take the lead 24-21, late in the third. Wheaton bounced right back as Forcucci hit Ben Juska for a 38-yard TD pass on the first play of the fourth quarter, and Wheaton picked Moore off twice down the stretch, the first by Colin Moore near midfield and the second by Harris with under 30 seconds left.
Haas went 29-of-41 for 396 yards with four touchdowns and one interception as No. 12 UW-La Crosse scored two touchdowns in each of the first three quarters on the way to defeating No. 18 UW-Oshkosh 44-13. Oshkosh fell to 4-3 overall, 2-2 in WIAC play. All three losses are on the road, and Oshkosh goes to Platteville next week. La Crosse remained in a four-way tie for first in the WIAC with River Falls, Whitewater and Stout.
Cortland scored 31 straight points between the second and third quarters to overcome an early deficit and the No. 22 Red Dragons defeated host St. John Fisher, 31-7, to remain in first place in the Empire 8. It's the sixth consecutive win for Cortland after its season-opening loss to Grove City. St. John Fisher dropped to 5-2 overall and is now in a three-way tie for second in the conference at 3-1 along with Brockport and Utica. Cortland running back Ethan Gallo ran 22 times for 145 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Mike Rescigno completed 10-of-15 passes for 119 yards and two scores and rushed 15 times for 88 yards, ending his streak of 100-yard rushing games at five.