By Ryan Briggs
Grove City SID
Although the projected game of the week, John Carroll at Baldwin Wallace, turned out to be a 36-0 Baldwin-Wallace rout, three other early-season league games in the Great Lakes Region turned out to be classics Saturday.
Northwestern Pennsylvania hosted two of those nail-biters. I was fortunate enough to see one of those thrillers as Grove City secured the Mercer County Cup for the 14th time in 19 years with a come-from-behind 16-15 win at Thiel in a Presidents' Athletic Conference clash.
In the NCAC, host Allegheny picked up its first win of the year with a 7-6 upset of Wabash.
Grove City (3-2, 2-0 PAC) trailed 15-7 at halftime and still trailed 15-10 with two minutes left in the game. The Wolverine defense forced a Thiel punt, though, and on fourth down, junior cornerback Gene Iannuzzi blocked Ryan Swartzfager's punt after Swartzfager rolled to his right to kick.
Following a mad scramble, Iannuzzi picked up the loose ball and sprinted 15 yards to the end zone with the eventual game-winner.
"It was getting tight and we needed the ball so we went after it," Iannuzzi told PA Football Digest. "I saw him roll out and I just stuck my hand out and was able to block it. We hadn't seen (the rollout) before, but after he did it earlier in the game, we went looking for it.
"A couple of our guys tried to jump on it, but it squirted out the right, I just picked the ball up and ran as fast as I could. It was the best play of my life."
Thiel had a chance to potentially win the game in the closing seconds as the Tomcats (1-3, 0-2) marched 57 yards into a strong headwind. But Paul Stibich's 40-yard field goal with seven seconds left fell short, giving Grove City a share of first place in the PAC. The win also ended Thiel's two-year grip on the Mercer County Cup.
About a half-hour northeast of Greenville, Allegheny pulled out a 7-6 win over Wabash at muddy Robertson Field in Meadville. On the first play of the fourth quarter, quarterback Bubba Smith fired a 9-yard touchdown pass to tight end Will McMahon on a slant pattern, tying the game at 6-6. Aaron Polack added the conversion to put the Gators (1-3, 1-0 NCAC) on top.
Wabash drove the final possession of the game into Allegheny territory but after Russ Harbaugh's 6-yard completion to Josh Bronaugh, time ran out on the Little Giants with the ball at the Gator 29.
Harbaugh's 6-yard touchdown pass to Russ Dawson gave Wabash (2-2, 0-1) a 6-0 lead with 4:24 left in the third quarter. The conversion failed and that proved to be the difference.
Allegheny wide receiver Jon Turner became the school's all-time leader in receptions with 127 for his career. The senior caught three passes Saturday.
Olivet's early-season undefeated run came to a halt Saturday in the MIAA opener as Albion escaped Olivet with a 20-19 victory.
Albion's Andy Kocoloski swatted a 39-yard field goal attempt by Justin Hunwick on third down to seal the Britons' victory. Kocoloski recovered the kick, preventing Olivet (3-1, 0-1 MIAA) from a second attempt with two seconds left.
Olivet's top-ranked rushing offense chewed up 303 yards and over 37 minutes of possession time. But Albion took advantage of two short punts and a fumble that set up all three Briton touchdown drives.
The Comets led 19-14 late in the fourth quarter but a 7-yard punt gave the Britons the ball at their own 47 with 1:56 left. On the first play following the shank, Steve Wasil fired a 53-yard touchdown pass to Steve Karasek. It was Karasek's only catch of the game and just the second of his career.
Anders awesome against John Carroll
Baldwin-Wallace running back Mark Anders ran for 118 yards and tied a school record with four touchdowns as the Yellow Jackets (3-1, 2-1 OAC) kept their playoff hopes alive with a 36-0 pasting of John Carroll on Saturday in Berea, Ohio.
Anders scored twice in the Jackets' 22-point second quarter that blew the game open.
Baldwin-Wallace's defense also shouldered more than a fair share of the load, however. The Yellow Jackets intercepted four passes and sacked John Carroll quarterbacks eight times. Nate Mitchell had two and a half sacks while Sam Rantucci hauled down the quarterback twice.
John Carroll managed just 31 rushing yards on 34 attempts and also went just 4-for-14 on third down. The Blue Streaks (3-1, 2-1 OAC) failed to reach the red zone, also.
Another example of Purple Raider domination
Mount Union continued to roll along Saturday, blanking Otterbein 66-0 in Alliance, Ohio. It is the Purple Raiders' third consecutive shutout.
The Purple Raiders (4-0, 3-0 OAC) have gone 13 quarters without allowing a point. They have outscored Ohio Athletic Conference opponents 148-0 this season. Saturday, Otterbein managed just 86 yards of total offense against Mount Union.
"Our players and coaches defensively have done an outstanding job the past few weeks," head coach Larry Kehres said. "It's clear by the results that we're playing extremely well on that side of the ball right now."
Not that the Purple Raider offense is struggling. Mount Union is averaging 47 points and 566.5 yards per game. The Raiders have also proven that a two-quarterback system can be effective. Jesse Burghardt is 37-of-51 passing for 702 yards and eight scores while Zac Bruney is 30-for-48 on the season, earning 677 yards and five touchdowns.
This week's token 100-yard interception return
It seems like every week that somebody returns an interception 100 yards for a touchdown. This week, Wittenberg's Adam Hewitt put an exclamation point on the Tigers' 60-7 home win over Denison on Saturday by returning a pick goal line-to-goal line.
Prior to the season, some thought the Tigers might be down a little bit due to graduation losses. But Joe Fincham's charges are anything but down this year. Wittenberg (4-0, 1-0 NCAC) spanked Albion 34-7 in the opener before downing Urbana, a member of the NAIA, 38-12 in Week 2. Following an off week, Wittenberg crunched Thomas More 56-28 before Saturday's NCAC-opening win.
Junior halfback Raymar Hampshire has seven touchdowns already and is averaging 7.2 yards per carry this year. His 440 rushing yards leads the team.
Wittenberg is currently tied for the early lead in the North Coast Athletic Conference with Allegheny, Wooster (a 34-7 winner over Ohio Wesleyan) and Oberlin. The Yeomen (1-3, 1-0 NCAC) broke into the win column with a 24-12 win at Hiram. Oberlin jumped out to a 24-0 lead and then held off the Terriers' rally.
On Q
Oberlin defensive back Quammie Semper intercepted two more passes Saturday, giving him a school-record 16 for his career. Semper broke Dave Everson's record in the Yeomen's 17-10 loss to Case Western Reserve on Sept. 20.
Muskingum continues hot start
Muskingum improve to 3-1 overall with a 24-16 home win over winless Ohio Northern Saturday as running back Trevor Cooper ran for 179 yards on 34 carries. It is the Muskies' first win over Ohio Northern since 1995.
The Muskies visit Wilmington this weekend before hosting Otterbein in two weeks.
Scotgun misfires in MIAA opener
Hope shut out Alma, 21-0, Saturday in Holland, Mich., limiting Alma's Scotgun offense to just 212 total yards and forcing six Alma turnovers.
Hope defensive back Tim Keur intercepted two passes to spark the Flying Dutchmen defense.
"I just took advantage of the good pressure that we had all day," Keur told the Holland Sentinel. "We wanted to make a huge statement in our first league game against Alma at our place."
Game of the Week
Wabash (2-2, 0-1) at Wittenberg (4-0, 1-0 NCAC), Springfield, Ohio: Wittenberg's reign as North Coast Athletic Conference champion came to an end last year as the Little Giants went into Springfield and downed Wittenberg, 46-43, in overtime. That snapped Wittenberg's 30-game NCAC winning streak.
Then, in the second round of the playoffs, Wabash ended Wittenberg's season with a 25-14 win in Crawfordsville, Ind. It is a must-win for Wabash if the Little Giants are to defend their conference title. By losing to Allegheny in the NCAC opener, Wabash has little margin for error the rest of the way. An at-large berth to the playoffs is unlikely as Wabash already has two losses.
Wittenberg would love nothing more than to end the title hopes of the team that did just that to the Tigers one year ago.
Other games of note
Kalamazoo (4-0, 0-0 MIAA) at Hope (2-2, 1-0 MIAA): Kalamazoo looks to remain undefeated while homestanding Hope looks to take control of the MIAA early. Hope blanked Alma last week, effectively shutting down the Scots' potent offense. Hope will have another tough challenge in stopping Kalamazoo's offense, which is led by quarterback Bryan Gnyp. Gnyp threw for 240 yards in Kalamazoo's 20-13 win at Tri-State on Saturday.
No. 24 Capital (4-0, 3-0 OAC) at Otterbein (2-2, 2-1 OAC): The Crusaders look to remain undefeated as they face an Otterbein team that will try to bounce back from a lopsided loss at Mount Union last Saturday. Capital has a legitimate chance to be 6-0 heading into its Oct. 25 trip to Mount Union. But they must first get past their crosstown rivals Saturday night.
No. 18 Washington and Jefferson (4-0, 2-0 PAC) at Grove City (3-2, 2-0 PAC): First place in the Presidents' Athletic Conference is at stake. The Presidents were picked to win the league in the preseason media and coaches' poll; Grove City was picked dead last. Grove City is the last team to take a PAC game from W&J, a 31-7 win in 1998.
