Huntingdon puts SLIAC in playoff contention
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And it was surely the last thing from his mind the second day of camp when freshman defensive lineman Sam Collins died after practice.
But after defeating crosstown rival Faulkner 21-7 on Saturday night in the Capital City Classic, it might be time for Turk start thinking about it.
What, may you ask?
The Hawks are playoff contenders.
Turk has his hawks at 2-0 for just the second time in the program’s six-year history. They have a real shot this fall at challenging for a Pool B playoff bid reserved for independents or conferences without an automatic bid.
Huntingdon started the season as the preseason favorite in the Saint Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, which begins its first football campaign since 1999. But most didn’t expect them to come out of the gate in two non-conference victories, which included a 41-35 shoot out over Maryville in their opener.
In its first five years, scheduling was a major problem for the program. There just aren’t that many Division III programs close to Montgomery, Ala. And it forced the Hawks to log a lot of travel miles. Those trips included visits to some of the elite programs in Division III: including trips to Wesley (Dover, Del.), Trinity (San Antonio, Texas), and Ithaca (Ithaca, N.Y.).
Now with a considerably more friendly slate -- the rest of the SLIAC has posted a combined 3-11 record in first two weeks -- the Hawks could be 8-0 heading into their last non conference game against Hampden-Sydney, a 2007 playoff team, on Nov. 8. A victory against the Tigers, who downed the Hawks last season 34-21 in Virginia and figure to be near the top of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference gain, would be important to boost an opponents' winning percentage that will suffer in the SLIAC.
Leading the way on offense for that has averaged 375 yards a game thus far is senior running back Jamal Gardner, who has posted consecutive 100-yard plus games, and salted away Saturday’s victory win with a 70-yard scoring burst. Junior quarterback Justin Ridgeway has matured into a leader and fired five touchdown passes in their opening win, while rushing for another.
Defensively, the Hawks may have some work to do after allowing over 500 yards in their opener, but they did hold Faulkner below 300 yards on Saturday.
The Hawks have this Saturday off before opening their SLIAC schedule on against MacMurray on Sept. 27. According to Turk, “School spirit is at an all-time high.”
After six years, the program, which has already had established traditions by singing the fight song with the band after victories and a spirit walk from the dorms to W. James Samford Stadium before home games, has added another. It’s the victory tree, which students have strung with toilet paper after each of the Hawks two victories.
So far, SCAC holding serve
At least early on in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, the preseason favorites are off to fast starts. Trinity, DePauw and Millsaps are a combined 5-0 and have averaged a margin of victory of over 28 points. DePauw and Millsaps both open up conference play this week against teams that they defeated by more than 30 points last year. The Tigers will travel to Centre, while the Majors host Austin. Trinity is idle until traveling to Colorado College on Sept. 27.
Air Crusaders
As Pat and Keith mention in the Around the Nation podcast this week, there was a lot to be impressed with in Mary Hardin-Baylor’s 30-7 victory over ranked NAIA opponent Southern Nazarene last Friday night. They mentioned an offense which lost all but three starters and most of the offensive line and the fact that the Crusaders did it against a team that was playing its third game. But when I looked at the stats here’s what jumped out at me -- Kyle Noack’s passing numbers. The sophomore, who started while senior Josh Saenz served a suspension, went 16-of-23 for 191 yards. The Crusaders are known for the machine-like precision of their running game, but on Friday they only ran for 205 yards. Okay, Noack did throw two interceptions, which could give coach Pete Fredenburg pause, but more balance in the defending South region champs’ offense? Scary!
Cowboys up
While we are talking about the American Southwest Conference, Hardin-Simmons appears to be back in the chase after impressive back-to-back non conference victories over traditional powers UW-La Crosse and Linfield. The Cowboys don’t have time to pat themselves on the back as they travel to Louisiana College this weekend. The Wildcats are also 2-0 after surviving a swampy field and Ike for a 14-3 win over Rhodes. Kendale Rayford returned an interception 78 yards for a score to salt it away for LC.
Choc full of tough games
Mississippi College will look to get its season back on the right track as it hosts McMurry in their home and ASC opener. After an 8-2 finish last season, the Choctaws have had a tough road the first couple of weeks allowing 40-plus points to both Millsaps and NAIA No. 20-ranked University of the Cumberlands. McMurry has also dropped its first two contests, including last week’s heartbreaking overtime loss to Austin. If either team hopes to turn their season around, this game is a must win. The loser could be facing an 0-4 record as McMurry hosts UMHB and the Choctaws travel to Hardin-Simmons.
A little about me
I have been involved in some way with small college football for about 21 years now as either a player, coach or media member. Granted, that has been mostly on the east coast, but I been fortunate over the past couple of years to travel to members of each of the conferences (DePauw, UMHB and Huntingdon) that this column covers while doing Wesley Internet and then radio broadcasts over the past five seasons. I look forward to doing the best I can while following your conferences from Dover, Del. Please contact me if you have any feature ideas and facts that would be helpful. I can be reached at jcbowen@lf.k12.de.us.