Hawks in the hunt for playoff bid
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The Crusaders (7-1, 6-0 ASC)have survived a Hardin-Simmons comeback attempt, 20-18, about a month ago and numerous injuries on offense to lead the pack in the ASC. They wrap up the season by hosting Howard Payne (2-6, 1-5 ASC) and traveling to Sul Ross State (3-5, 2-4.) Neither team is likely to spring an upset, though I’m sure UMHB coach Pete Fredenburg and his seniors are reminding the rest of he Cru that it was Howard Payne that knocked them off back in 2005 by a score of 24-20. Even if an upset were to happen, the Crusaders still hold the tie breaker by defeating HSU head-to-head. Their playoff ticket is all but punched.
Millsaps, of course, avenged the “Mississippi Miracle” this past weekend by breaking Trinity’s 36-game conference home winning streak at E.M. Stevens Field, 56-27. I won’t waste time rehashing the specifics here. You can get the details from Keith McMillan in the Around the Nation Podcast and his Thursday Around the Nation column. We’ll just say that the Majors have clinched the SCAC title and its’ automatic bid to the playoffs.
The Majors host winless Colorado College (0-7, 0-5 SCAC) this weekend before traveling to SCAC provisional member Birmingham-Southern on the final weekend, where they hope to cap an undefeated regular season. Again, an upset in either game would cost them nothing but a better playoff seed.
Now, the games of playoff importance in Around the South’s coverage area shift on to the Saint Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and front runners Huntingdon (8-0, 6-0 SLIAC) and LaGrange (8-1, 6-0).
The pair, who are football-only members of the conference that does not yet have an automatic bid, have been on a collision course for a SLIAC conference championship since early in the season. The winner of the Nov. 15 game could quite possibly seal up not only the SLIAC championship but a Pool B bid to the playoffs.
The Panthers, a third-year program who turned a 20-game losing streak into a Cinderella season, have this week off before hosting the Hawks next week in Georgia. They may need that extra time to prepare after falling to Huntingdon 43-0 last year in Montgomery. But, at just over an hour’s distance this game has the makings of becoming Division III’s version of the Georgia-Alabama rivalry.
Even though Huntingdon can grab the SLIAC crown with a win next week, if they want to guarantee a Pool B bid a win against Hampden-Sydney (7-1) this weekend at home is essential. It would be hard to deny an undefeated team a bid.
Rightly or wrongly, regional wins are one of the big criteria the selection committee considers when determining selection. Teams that are isolated from the rest of the country, like Huntingdon and LaGrange, or in this case the rest of their conference have a harder time filling out regional games in their schedules. The NCAA did correct its error, however, and lists Huntingdon with seven regional wins in this week’s regional rankings.
Granted, the competition in the SLIAC isn’t yet what it is in the ASC or SCAC. A big road block to the playoffs for Huntingdon and LaGrange, could be the lack of quality opponents on their schedule.
Before joining the SLIAC, the Hawks best record in their program’s six years was 7-2 in 2005 and LaGrange had never won a game. Huntingdon has played and been competitive with powers such as Trinity, Ithaca and Wesley. But at the same time, they had never beaten any of them.
That’s what makes this game so important for Huntingdon and to the SLIAC in general. It’s about respect and making some people take notice.
Hampden-Sydney is a team that has been ranked in the Top 25 and unbeaten most of the season before they were upset by Old Dominion Athletic Conference rival Catholic a couple of weeks ago. The Tigers were also in the playoffs last year and have similar aspirations this season.
“If you asked us preseason where we’d wanted to be,” Hawks coach Mike Turk said on his weekly coaches program. “We’d have said 8-0 with Hampden-Sydney coming to our place with a lot of different ramifications on the line, a lot of things that are big, playoff implications and the like.
“Our guys are excited to be where they are; focused on what we need to be focused on. We continue to talk about why we are where we are and not where we are. Our guys have responded every time.”
Last season, the Tigers defeated Huntingdon 34-21 in Virginia. So for the first time since their opener against Maryville, the Hawks probably enter the game as an underdog.
“They didn’t treat us too well up there, so our guys know what they are in for,” Turk said referring to the loss. “They bring a very solid football team in here and it will be a challenge for us.”
Another challenge for Huntingdon may be the fact that they haven’t played a close game since a 28-12 win over Greenville on Oct. 4. The next four games have been blowouts in which the starters haven’t played much in the second half, including last week’s 76-0 shellacking of Principia.
Hawks quarterback Justin Ridgeway sat out last week’s victory for an undisclosed violation of team rules, but will start this week. Ridgeway is a duel threat from an offense that features spread and “pistol” sets. The junior has passed for 1349 yards with 15 touchdowns and just four interceptions, while running for 297 yards and five touchdowns.
Sophomore Jared Hale, a transfer for North Alabama, stepped in and completed 12 of 16 passes for 170 yards with five touchdowns all in the first half.
Jamal Gardner (713 yards) and Miguel Gilmore (374 yards) have combined to produce a strong running game, while six players have double-digit reception numbers led by Steven Laye with 22.
Both teams, the Hawks and Tigers, have combined for an average of 944 yards per game this season. This game could be a shootout. Hampden-Sydney features running back Josh Simpson, who not only runs well (811 yards and 15 TD), but can also hurt you catching the ball as the Hawks found out last season when he racked up 180 receiving yards.
The Tigers also have veteran quarterback Corey Sedlar, who has five receivers with 25 or more catches. Sedlar has 17 touchdown passes, but has thrown 19 interceptions.
Pool C hopes for Hardin-Simmons and Trinity
After that two-point loss five weeks ago to UMHB, Hardin-Simmons (8-1, 6-1 ASC) continues to make a strong run at a Pool C (at large) bid. The Cowboys won their first four games by a combined 24 points. However, in their recent four-game win streak HSU has scored 207 points and allowed just 41.
Justin Feaster, who ranks seventh in the nation in pass efficiency, has led an attack that ranks fifth in the nation in total offense (476 yards a game). Mychal Carrillo (67-865-9) and ZaVious Robbins (36-601-7) are one of the most productive receiving tandems in the nation. The running game has three backs who have rushed for more than 350 yards headed by breakaway threat Derrick Grant.
The biggest difference compared to last season, when HSU slipped to 6-4, has been the defense. The Cowboys surrendered well over 400 yards a game last year, but this season they’ve reduced that to 359 yards a game. Even better, Hardin-Simmons is allowing just 17.9 points a game and the biggest factor is that the rank number in the nation in turnover margin (plus-2.11 per game.) Strong safety Matt Warnasch leads the unit with 92 tackles.
With wins over Linfield and UW-La Crosse early, and domination of late, the Cowboys could be first in line when it comes time to hand out one of the six the Pool C bids. In fact, you could argue that they may be playing as well if not better than any team in the region. Hardin-Simmons ends their regular season this week by hosting McMurry.
On the other hand, Trinity’s loss to Millsaps may leave them looking from the outside in at the playoffs this season. That’s happened only once since the mid 1990’s. The number of one-loss teams around the nation is high and getting a Pool C bid is going to be tough. Especially, since the Tigers opponents outside of Millsaps have a combined record of 17-38.
Trinity will get a boost if they can defeat Centre (5-3) on the road before ending the season hosting Austin (5-4.) Both those schools would like nothing more than to end Trinity’s playoff chances. Centre has lost seven straight to Trinity, last winning in 2000. While the Roos have lost to the Tigers six straight times and are looking for their first winning season since 2000.
Around the South Top Five
1. Millsaps (8-0, 6-0 SCAC)
2. Mary Hardin-Baylor (7-1, 6-0 ASC)
3. Hardin-Simmons (8-1, 6-1 ASC)
4. Huntingdon (8-0, 6-0 SLIAC)
5. Trinity (7-1, 5-1 SCAC)
On the radar: LaGrange (8-1, 6-0 SLIAC), DePauw (6-2, 4-2 SCAC), Austin (5-4, 3-3 ASC)
Send your comments to jcbowen@lf.k12.de.us, or a personal message to Conrad on the Post Patterns message boards.