Maryville assistant coach dies in crash
Maryville's secondary coach was killed Monday night, Nov. 19, in a car accident on campus, according to the Knoxville (Tenn.) News Sentinel. Cody Bowers, a 2005 graduate of Maryville, was driving his pickup truck in the crash, which also left two people critically injured. Maryville police chief Tony Crisp told the newspaper that the police believed speed to be involved. A three-year starter and letterman for Maryvile, Bowers was a defensive back and returned punts and kick-offs. Cody had seven career interceptions. | ||
| Permalink | Nov 20, 2007 | ||
Intimidation is not an option By Adam Samrov D3football.com TROY, N.Y. – The College of New Jersey kicker Matt Dalessio had kicked two game-winning field goals already this season – against Rowan and La Salle. So when the opportunity to kick another one presented itself against RPI with less than 15 seconds left in their first round NCAA playoff game at ’86 Field on Saturday, Dalessio was as confident as a kicker can be in such a tight spot – especially one who had already missed two on the day. “I would be lying if I said there was no pressure, but I knew I had it,” Dalessio said on the field after the game. “I have confidence in my holder and snapper. It’s on me, and I did what I had to do. I had the confidence ... (I’m) not going to say that I had it made, but I had the confidence.” The senior’s 27-yard kick in a swirling light breeze gave the Lions a 17-14 win over the Engineers and a date against the No. 1 seed in the East (Mount Union) bracket, the Purple Raiders. “I thought we could win, I’ll be honest with you,” New Jersey head coach Eric Hamilton said right after the game. “It was the best chance for a field goal all day out of all the kicks we had. It was the best angle, (the) closest one, everyone was confident if we had (a chance), he was confident he could hit it.” On second-and-10 from the two in the fourth quarter, RPI junior quarterback Jimmy Robertson threw deep down the seam to senior Brendan McGowan, who made the catch around the 40, split two defenders and was off to the races. Two Lions’ tacklers saved a touchdown, but it went as an 83-yard play all the way down to the TCNJ 16. Two plays later, on third-and-8, RPI’s Mike Fil caught an 8-yard pass, and on fourth-and-1 at the 7, RPI coach Joe King decided to go for the first down. Freshman running back Nick Costa took the inside handoff, but was stuffed for a 3-yard loss with just over seven minutes left. “He’s been consistent with that all year long, it’s kind of the MO,” said Hamilton about RPI’s King. I don’t know why, nine out of 10 times he’d go for it, nine out of ten times they would make it. If they didn’t go for it, I would have been surprised.” On the ensuing drive, James converted a third-and-4 in Lions territory to keep a drive alive, and had a 16- and 22-yard passes to keep moving down the field, the last one to put TCNJ in a first-and-goal at the three. On the next play, they tied it on a three-yard run by Chase Misiura. On the kickoff, RPI fumbled the kickoff, their fourth turnover of the day, and freshman Michael Yetka recovered for TCNJ. RPI held after a short drive, and Hamilton elected to send Dalessio out for a 47-yard field goal that missed short. “I hit it well, it went straight, but it died because I didn’t have great footing on the grass,” Dalessio said. When RPI got the ball back on the missed field goal, TCNJ’s Joe King sacked Robertson for a 17-yard loss on the first play from scrimmage, and RPI had to punt the ball away after a three-and-out. “I knew when we got the ball back, we were winning,” Dalessio said. Now the Lions get to make the trip out to Alliance, Ohio, to take on Mount Union, the No. 1 seed in the tournament and the top seed in the East region. “I’ve never been there ... Obviously when you have a program like that, the accolades are just unbelievable,” Hamilton said only a few minutes after the final gun. “I’ve known Coach (Kehres) for a long time, what they’ve done speaks for itself. We get a chance to go out and get the Mount Union experience, I guess.” Mount Union coach Larry Kehres said that TCNJ has one of the top two or three defenses in all of Division III, and that they are good at every position on the field “It’s important to have quickness on the defensive line, and they have that,” said Kehres on a conference call Tuesday morning. “It’s important to have good strong linebackers and good cover men, and they have that as well. They also have good experience – it’s a veteran group.” That veteran group, after losing to Muhlenberg – being shut out, in fact – ran off eight consecutive wins before falling to Kean in the regular season finale. Despite the good season, and the team’s first NJAC title in a decade, Hamilton said he realizes what his Lions are up against. “We know there’s a mountain you have to climb,” Hamilton said on the conference call. “Our mantra has been to get into a field position battle and capitalize on it. It’s very hard to accomplish, though.” After the game Saturday, Hamilton admitted that the Lions have to be realistic in their goals, and he reiterated his point Tuesday. “We know what we’re up against. We’ll be the underdog, that’s for sure,” Hamilton said. “We’re going to go out there and do what we can do. It’ll be a good experience for the school and team ... I mean, everyone wants to face the best. We want to bring something back from this.” Hamilton said that he does want to do some things out of the ordinary to try and confuse the Purple Raiders, but even though they are a big underdog, they don’t want to completely go away from what got them into and through the first round of the playoffs in the first place. “We need to pick and choose to do things when the opportunities present themselves,” Hamilton said. “We’ll take chances when we need to.” TCNJ does have some favorable matchups in facing the Mount Union juggernaut. One of the main concerns for Kehres and his offense is the presence of Lions’ defensive tackle Joe King. King has led the TCNJ defense this season – accumulating 14 sacks and 27 tackles for loss in the Lions’ 11 games so far. “He’s good at rushing the passer, and when you can do that, you produce those kind of stats,” Kehres said. “That really stands out.” On the defensive side of the ball, Kehres said they’ll have to really work to stop quarterback Chris James. “He’s a real playmaker. He’s good on the move and he’s shown the ability to get away, and that can be dangerous,” Kehres said. Kehres said the New Jersey Athletic Conference is one of the better leagues in the country, but said he can’t compare TCNJ to any of the schools in the Ohio Athletic Conference. “You have to be really tough to get through and to the top of the NJAC,” Kehres said. “They have a different approach on defense than many of the OAC schools. Their scheme can confuse opponents and the way they move on and align, I can’t really compare it.” Despite the staggering statistics Mount Union can boast, like only giving up 135 rushing yards (0.4 per carry) all season, and outscoring their opponents 444-15 in the first half, and the five straight shutouts, Hamilton said his team won’t be intimidated. “Once we get past the initial part (of the game), we’ll be fine, but we don’t want to be too far down before that happens,” Hamilton said. “We just need to buckle it up and get going.” “What can we say, they are a great team,” Dalessio said Saturday after the win over RPI. “We’ve been playing our whole lives, and we have to go up there, punch our way out, and do what we have to do to come away with the football game. We can’t put anybody as gods; we put on pads just like they do.” | ||
| Permalink | Nov 20, 2007 | ||
Lions have no jitters TCNJ didn't flinch when it came to a last-minute field goal at RPI but knows it has the challenge of a lifetime coming up at Mount Union. Can TCNJ get it done? Adam Samrov finds out in a Road to Salem feature. For Wabash to be clicking on defense isn't much of a surprise -- after all, Adi Pynenberg, an All-American, returned to a veteran unit at linebacker this season. But it’s the way the leadership of the unit works, both on the field and off, that impresses the senior. Matt Florjancic has more in a Road to Salem feature. It was the offense that was in question after the Little Giants lost their starting quarterback in Week 1, and with Matt Hudson under center things turned around, writes Clyde Hughes. Plus, Curry is riding its quarterback as far as it can. Ryan Van De Giesen has already helped the Colonels reach the second round of the playoffs for the first time in school history but that's not all he's capable of, according to coach Skip Bandini. Tom Haley has more in a Road to Salem feature.
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| Permalink | Nov 20, 2007 | ||
Pynenberg in right place
By Matt Florjancic D3football.com There are impact players on defense and then there is Adrian Pynenberg. The senior linebacker serves as the anchor for the Wabash Little Giants defense. Whether it is a quarterback trying to avoid a sack, a running back looking for a hole to run through or a wide receiver going over the middle for a touchdown catch, all opposing players have been in the crosshairs of Pynenberg. The Montgomery, Ill., native has been an impact player during his years in the Wabash program. The two-year captain has 150 tackles and counting, one short of the school record of 151 set in 1983 by Jim Kilbane. He also holds the career records for tackles with 433 stops and tackles for loss with 70. “It’s really a combination of two things,” Pynenberg said of his success. “The scheme is roughly designed for the linebackers to make the plays. That’s just a byproduct of the scheme itself and just doing my job and being in the right place according to what the scheme says. Our d-line is awesome. When I’m not blocked, it’s real easy to be all over the field because they have to double team or use the fullback on the d-line as opposed to getting up onto the second level and getting in front me and the other linebackers. “The whole defense is really close as a unit,” he added. “We’re all getting to be upperclassmen, so we’ve been together for a couple years. It’s to the point now on the field we know what each other’s going to do. That makes things really fun to be able to enjoy the success we’ve had with people you enjoy being around.” In addition to practicing and offseason conditioning, Pynenberg, an All-American a season ago, does a lot of work becoming familiar with the opposition. “For me, it’s different because I’m a senior now,” said Pynenberg. “This year, our senior class has taken on a totally different aspect. I think everybody has taken on a leadership role in the class, whether it’s being vocal or doing your job every day as hard as you can. It’s taken a lot of pressure off of me because I don’t feel like I have to do everything all the time or say everything all the time because there are 16 or 17 other guys already stepping up before I even have to think about it. “The coaches break down a lot of film and they do a great job getting us the information we need,” he added. “The other linebacker and I, we usually go in a couple times a week so we can get a sense of how the other team operates. You just feel more comfortable out on the field. It’s not as surprising and you’re able to think better on your feet when you have all that film stuff behind you.” Pynenberg’s ability to make plays at the right times is one of the many reasons why Wabash has been successful after losing starting quarterback Dustin Huff at the beginning of the season. Currently, the Little Giants sit at 10-1 overall after completing a 7-0 North Coast Athletic Conference schedule. In the final week of the regular season, Wabash fell to in-state rival DePauw 24-21 on a last-second field goal. However, the Little Giants rebounded with a 31-21 victory over visiting Mount St. Joseph in the first round of the playoffs last week. Saturday afternoon, they will be on the road for a battle with Case Western Reserve. “It means a lot, but at the same time, we also know that our goals are bigger than just the conference this year,” said Pynenberg. “We wouldn’t be able to do the things we want to do without it. We have some good teams in our conference and it wasn’t the easiest thing to do by any stretch. We need to be able to play past the conference portion of our season. “They’re a great team,” Pynenberg said of Case Western Reserve. “Their offense has done some amazing things. They did a great job to come back last week and overcome all the adversity with turnovers. From what I’ve seen, they have some definite playmakers on the team and it’s going to be up to us to just do our job and not let ourselves get caught up in the moment and get everything taken care of that we need to.” One moment Pynenberg and his teammates relished came in the summer months of 2006. The team flew to Panama for what they thought would be a game and a few days of work. The trip turned into a bonding experience for the men wearing Wabash uniforms. “The trip to Panama was an awesome highlight,” Pynenberg said. “It wasn’t even the football game and the stuff that impressed me so much. It was all of the other things we did as a team. “We worked on farms for impoverished areas that didn’t have the proper man-power,” he added. “We put on a youth football clinic. We visited a school. We just gave out some T-shirts and talked to some of the kids there. There were two or three days in a row where we went out and worked on farms, just local farm areas there and just helped them out. Interacting with the people in those situations was the most impacting.” Though it was a nice experience in Panama, Pynenberg is hoping the journey he started four years ago does not come to an end Saturday afternoon. When he heads into the huddle at Case Field, the aspiring high school teacher and football coach will have ten teammates looking for him to be the difference between another week of practice and more time to study for finals. | ||
| Permalink | Nov 20, 2007 | ||
Wabash made right pick By Clyde Hughes D3football.com When Mount St. Joseph picked off Wabash quarterback Matt Hudson returned it for the game’s opening touchdown in last week’s first round playoff game, Little Giants coach Craig Creighton said it didn’t faze his team one bit. He said he turned to his players and reminded them about the program's long-term slogan that has gotten them through the entire year: “Wabash always fights.” Indeed, it’s been one of those seasons for Wabash. Yes, the Little Giants are 10-1 and nationally ranked nearly the entire season. Creighton said, though, it has come with its up and downs and plenty of character-building tests along the way. Wabash marched right back down the field after the interception to tie Mount St. Joseph and went on to win 31-21. A bigger challenge awaits them in the second around against undefeated Case Western Reserve in Cleveland. “You fight regardless whether you’re winning or losing,” Creighton said this week. “If momentum changes, we expect somebody to step up. We’ve really had to fight, scratch and claw to find ways to win games and do it together with defense and special teams. We really had to be at our best every week. It’s made it more challenging and more exciting and probably a little more gratifying.” Creighton admits the season hasn’t gone exactly the way Wabash expected it to go, particularly at quarterback. Dustin Huff, a returning senior and All-American candidate, looked poised to lead the Little Giants. Huff passed for 477 yards in an early season game against Franklin, but suffered a season-ending injury on the last play of the game, sent out to cover an onside kick. Without its leader. Hudson, a sophomore, eventually became the new starter and guided Wabash to a North Coast Athletic Conference title. “(Hudson) was going take this sophomore year and become more familiar with offense,” Creighton said. “Having a fifth-year senior that led the country in passing efficiency a year ago, he wasn’t expected to play. I’m so proud of him. When his number was called his confidence and poise were there. Every week he has learned and has been so coachable and eager to learn.” Under Hudson, Wabash is averaging more than 30 points a game and he has completed 68.5 percent of his passes (174 of 254). He has thrown for 2,295 yards this season with 19 touchdowns against eight interceptions. Evan Sobecki and C.P. Porter carries the rushing load for Wabash, averaging nearly 100 yards a game between the two. Mike Russell, with 55 catches for 716 yards, has proven to be Hudson’s favorite target, followed by Brock Graham and Bart Banach. “We’re known pretty much for our passing game right now, but we try to keep it balanced.” Creighton said. Defensively, the Little Giants are led by linebacker Adrian Pynenberg, who has registered 150 tackles this season, followed by Chad Peterman’s 83 stops. Wabash face a Case Western Reserve offense with its own sophomore quarterback Dan Whalen who has led the Spartans to a 35-point average on offense this season in winning the University Athletic Association crown. “(Whalen) is a really special player,” Creighton said. “Anytime you have a special kid at quarterback, you have a chance to do what they are doing this season.” Creighton said even though they are working on a game plan for Case on Saturday, he said it is also important for Wabash to do what it does best as well. “You really can’t get outside of yourself,” Creighton said. “You have to know the strengths and weaknesses of your opponent but you want to keep getting better at what you do.” Creighton said the regular season finale loss to rival DePauw was disappointing and cost Wabash and undefeated season. He said though, just like when the team off Huff, he had a feeling the Little Giants would respond well in the face of adversity. “The DePauw was most disappointing because we pride ourselves in being motivated and wanting something more badly. To DePauw’s credit I think played harder. It’s hard for me to say but it’s the truth and on that day they got us. Immediately after the game, I felt our team would respond and it did against Mount St. Joseph.” He said he hopes that effort extends to the second round of the playoffs and beyond. | ||
| Permalink | Nov 20, 2007 | ||
Vote for Gagliardi finalists The 10 finalists for the Gagliardi Trophy have been named, and for the first time, fans can cast a ballot that will help determine who wins the award given to Division III football's top student-athlete. The ballot includes the following: • Justin Beaver, RB, UW-Whitewater • Derek Blanchard, G, Mount Union • Jason Boltus, QB, Hartwick • Tom Brew, LB, Case Western Reserve • Eric Dube, LB, Dickinson • Paul Keeley, QB, Alfred • Alex Kofoed, QB, St. John's • Adrian Pynenberg, LB, Wabash • Drew Smith, WR, Hampden-Sydney • P.J. Thiesen, WR, St. Thomas The field will be cut to four finalists, one from each region, in advance of the award ceremony Dec. 13 in Salem. The combined fan vote will be represented on one ballot, along with votes from the national committee, to determine the winner. The Gagliardi Trophy, which has been awarded since 1993, recognizes excellence in athletics, academics and community service. Fans can cast their ballot through Dec. 4. | ||
| Permalink | Nov 20, 2007 | ||
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