By Ryan Tipps
D3sports.com

College is a time of building independence, a transition into life in the real world. Students learn to study on their own, manage their time and maybe even make some money in the workforce.

At least that's the way it is at a "normal" school.

The Apprentice School in Newport News is no normal school, and the independence these students feel is amplified more than most places. Employment and school work are intertwined, housing is up to the student, and the bills surely don't pay themselves.

The Apprentice School is a trade school, linked with Northrop Grumman Newport News shipyard. From here, students graduate after four years with a trade certificate in fields such as welding, pipefitting or electrical work. And they can go on to get a bachelor's degree after graduation.

That's what makes Apprentice School unique, and leads to it not being an NCAA member. (D3football.com recognizes the school for purposes of maintaining the ACFC standings.) That's also what made the school enticing to players such as Mana Ohia, who traveled 5,000 miles from his native Oahu Island, Hawaii, to attend.

His first thought about going to a school in Virginia? "Oh, man, this is really far!"

Ohia is the rookie star for the Builders. As a freshman linebacker in his second semester at Apprentice School, he has tallied 40 total tackles in six games, including eight tackles for a loss and one sack.

He has adjusted well on the field as well as in everyday life.

The differences between Virginia and Hawaii are "just something you got to get used to. It's not bad or good, you just got to get used to it," Ohia said.

He says back home, in his town near Pearl Harbor, people are "more relaxed, more chill." In Virginia, the things many people take for granted -- the food, the weather -- was a bit of a culture shock for the 19-year-old.

"I came up here with my parents, and they just showed me the grocery stores, they gave me a few recipes," he said. "I think it helps me because it makes me grow up. I know back home I was dependent on my parents a lot. Now that I'm here, I'm growing up, I'm becoming a man."

He now calls the fit "perfect." Ohia said, "I told my [high school] football coach, who was also my counselor, I told him that I wanted to go to a trade school, and then he told me about this school, about Apprentice School. … I knew that I wanted to go to a small school."

Being so far away from Hawaii means that Ohia doesn't get to go home much. He worked through the summer but plans to take advantage of the "Christmas shutdown" at the shipyard, a two-week break for employees. He'll make his first trip back home, where he grew up with six brothers and a sister, since arriving in Virginia last winter. 

He said, jokingly, "A lot of people told me already, when I told them that I'm going back home in December, they asked, ‘Are you going to take me with you?' "

The break will be a good one for Ohia. Students at The Apprentice School get a 40-hour a week paycheck, and they spend about 80 percent of their time on the job and about 20 percent as class time. Early on, students focus on trade classes such as ship construction, drafting and math, but as Ohia entered his second semester, he has begun taking English and U.S. history, classes that are more typical of a college education.

Everything takes place at the shipyard. The 2,500-person capacity stadium is the only facility that is available to the public. And it's where Ohia has tried to shift from his comfort area as a strong safety into the role of middle linebacker.

Though he admits, "I don't really have true linebacker qualities, I'm not very big. … I have the more speed qualities."

Nonetheless, he has settled into this world on the opposite side of the country.

"I have a little routine going right now. I like it."

Route to victory

There was no question what was at stake when Wesley and Salisbury met Saturday in Maryland.

"It was game that both teams knew was a must win," Wesley head coach Mike Drass said. "It was a great day as far as playoff-type atmosphere."

The Wolverines, who had not broken into the NCAA's regional rankings when the list debuted last week, pulled away from their conference foe and ranked rival in a 36-21 victory. And after that performance, it's hard not to imagine Wesley making its way into regional rankings -- a barometer that indicates who could get Pool B or C bids to the postseason.

But the team came a long way to get here, after starting the season with a canceled game at Christopher Newport and then a loss at Delaware Valley.

"I'd like to think that we're still evolving, but we're getting there," Drass said when asked to look at the season's scope. "And when I say that, please print, ‘DelVal beat us fair and square.' We're responsible and accountable for that game. It wasn't a situation in which we played so horrible or we would ever make an excuse."

So what has changed, what has improved so drastically to have led the Wolverines to their victory over the Gulls? Well, it's two-fold.

First off, Drass said, "Especially on defense, we really have jelled and come together and played well. We haven't missed tackles."

He also pointed to the highly debated decision early in the season to change the man under center.

"We made a very difficult decision early in the year to go with Shane McSweeny over a senior, Jason Schatz, who had taken us to the quarterfinals last year" the coach said. "It's a decision a lot of people were very skeptical of, but we thought it was the best thing for the team at that time. And Jason has handled it like a man, moved and played some receiver and has been our backup. And Shane has flourished."

McSweeny, a sophomore, not only threw for two touchdowns and more than 200 yards on Saturday, but he was also second on the team in rushing, gaining 77 yards and another touchdown.

The success was funneled through Wesley's front five on offense.

"Up front, our offensive line did a great job. It wasn't one back. … They did that with our offensive line really doing a great job against and outstanding Salisbury front eight that had been performing at a very high level," Drass said.

That offensive line also helped make Wesley the first team all season to out-rush Salisbury. The game was partly built on chances. In the Route 13 Rivalry, it's an anything-goes atmosphere where speed and skill come to the forefront.

"There was a point in the game on a fourth-day play when we were deciding whether we were going to punt the ball or were we going to go for it and take control of this game," Drass recalled. "We really felt like we wanted to play for that win."

He said, pointedly: "I felt like, throughout the game, like we weren't going to be denied. And that was the attitude our team took."

The blitz package

Keith Ricca completed 73 percent of his passes and had five touchdowns in Catholic's 38-23 win over Emory & Henry. For the Wasps, rusher Caleb Jennings had 357 all-purpose yards, including an 88-yard kickoff return for a score.

Muhlenberg struggled to pull away from opponent Dickinson for much of the game before finally clearing 60 minutes with a 31-25 win on the road. Both teams put up roughly 400 yards of total offense.

Juniata's difficulties on the field continued Saturday, losing 12-0 to Johns Hopkins. The Eagles exemplify the idea of "so close, yet so far." They're 1-8 and have lost six of those games by relatively slim margins.

Christopher Newport used a fourth-quarter rally and a record-setting performance from Tunde Ogun to topple N.C. Wesleyan 27-26 in Rocky Mount, N.C. Ogun had 283 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

Bridgewater got its first home win of the season, a 32-19 victory over Washington & Lee. Defensive back Brandon Mitchell was an Eagles' standout, with 10 tackles and a lot of pass disruption in between.

Ferrum had 469 yards of rushing -- more than 120 yards each from Mike Vann and Marcus Mayo -- in a road win against Greensboro. The Panthers stretched the lead early, with Le'Bryan Patterson returning the opening kickoff for a touchdown. 

Franklin & Marshall receiver George Eager notched 138 yards and a touchdown to lead the Diplomats to a shutout win over McDaniel. F&M's record is 4-4 on the season -- all of the wins have come at home while all of the losses have been on the road.

Randolph-Macon posted its first 50-plus-point game since 1999, beating Guilford 55-24 on Saturday. Quarterback Austin Faulkner passed for more than 200 yards and ran for more than 100 in the outing -- as well as having a hand in four touchdowns.

High five

The Around the Mid-Atlantic top teams:
1. Wesley
2. Muhlenberg
3. Salisbury
4. Ferrum
5. Catholic

The two teams lingering just off the grid are Christopher Newport and Hampden-Sydney. Even though Salisbury lost over the weekend, it was to one of the best teams in the country, and I don't see them objectively falling behind Ferrum or Catholic, not matter what kind of streaks these two teams are on. Salisbury has the kind of wins to back up their continued positioning at No. 3 on this list.

Contact me

I would be happy to hear from anyone who has questions or feedback regarding the Around the Mid-Atlantic column or Division III football in general. Please write to me at ryan.tipps@d3football.com. I take the good, the bad and the ugly. Or, if there is an idea you'd like to see me write about, I'm always open to hearing about that, too.