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| Mount St. Joseph picked up a rare win for an Ohio team against an OAC team in non-conference play, thanks in no small part fo Cornell Beachem Jr. Mount St. Joseph athletics photo by Mark Byron |
The Ohio Athletic Conference had a tough open to the season, while Wabash outlasted Hampden-Sydney in a classic and Hope scored 21 unanswered points to get past Aurora in Week 1 games.
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Josh Taylor completed 20 of 31 passes for 261 yards with two touchdowns and ran for two more as Mount St. Joseph scored a big win for the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference, defeating Baldwin Wallace 31-28. Taylor and Cornell Beachem Jr. combined to have huge days, as Beachem had 22 carries for 130 yards and eight catches for 131. The HCAC hasn't won more than six non-conference games or finished with a winning percentage of better than .333 out of conference in the regular season since 2009.
John Carroll scored back-to-back touchdowns after trailing 28-7, but it wasn't enough as Washington & Jefferson held on to defeat the Blue Streaks 35-20. The Presidents picked off JCU quarterback Joe Collins three times, including one which Tyler Sabo returned 49 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. Meanwhile, W&J quarterback Colton Jones went 32-for-45 for 358 yards and two scores as the Presidents got off to a 1-0 start.
In all, the OAC went 3-3 in games on Saturday afternoon, with Ohio Northern losing at home to Alma in overtime. Marietta edged Dubuque 14-13, Otterbein won 21-13 at Ohio Wesleyan and No. 3 Mount Union rolled past Defiance 65-0. Drake Neuberger started off his super senior season with authority, as the Marietta linebacker racked up six and a half tackles for loss and five sacks among his 13 total tackles in Marietta's narrow 14-13 win against Dubuque. The Pioneers finished with 12 tackles for loss, seven sacks and a forced fumble.
Donovan Snyder's 15 yard touchdown run with 46 seconds to play was the decisive score in Wabash's 52-48 victory over Hampden-Sydney. The teams combined for 1,153 yards of total offense in the contest. Wabash's Liam Thompason threw for 380 yards and four touchdowns while adding 102 rushing yards and two more rushing touchdowns for Wabash. Tanner Bernard threw for 339 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception for the Tigers.
Hope twice rallied from 17 point deficits to defeat Aurora 38-34 in Holland, Michigan. The Flying Dutchmen had two receivers cross the 150-yard mark as Terrell Harris caught five passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns while TJ McKenzie totaled 151 yards with his game high 11 receptions. Chase Brown threw for 439 yards for Hope. Trey Madsen led the Spartans with 132 yards receivng and three touchdowns.
Susquehanna put up a 35-point first half on Lycoming and made it look easy, retaining the Stagg Hat trophy in their game with their Central Pennsylvania rivals by a 45-16 score. Michael Lefever caught three touchdown passes as part of an eight-reception, 183-yard day, helping Michael Ruisch to an efficient 22-for-28 passing day for 382 yards. The River Hawks defense limited Lyco to 7-for-22 passing for 109 yards.
Ron Ernst's 32nd and final season as the head coach at Ripon got off on the right foot as the right foot of Erik Flores connected on a 36-yard field goal with 1:26 left to play, lifting the Red Hawks to a 13-10 win over St. Norbert. The win snaps an eight-game losing streak for Ripon in the series.
Jaelen Ray joined the ranks of quarterbacks having big days, as Beloit could not slow Rockford down. Ray was 32-for-35 for 462 yards and four scores in a 41-14 win. The schools are just 21 miles across, straddling the Illinois-Wisconsin border.
Daniel Papantonis had four touchdown runs and Rochester jumped out to a 21-7 lead in the first quarter but did not have enough to finish the deal as Utica rallied and went on to win, 43-28. Papantonis rattled off touchdown runs of 92, 88, 44 and 17 yards, averaging a whopping 17.2 yards per carry. But Nate Palmer had a big day for the Pioneers as well, with four touchdown catches as part of an eight-reception, 222-yard performance.