Top 25 battles fizzle, but three others lose
| Pete Fitzsimmons became St.
Thomas' primary passing target after Dan Noehring went out with a
second-quarter injury. Photo by Ryan Coleman, d3photography.com More photos from this game. |
Javicz Jones returned a blocked field goal 95 yards for a touchdown to end the first half and No. 2 Mary Hardin-Baylor never looked back as the Cru rolled past No. 21 Louisiana College 30-3 on Saturday afternoon.
UMHB scored on the first offensive play of the second half as well, as LiDarral Bailey hit Geoff Myles for a 64-yard touchdown to make it 13-3 and Louisiana College never got within 30 yards of the end zone the rest of the way.
No. 4 St. Thomas held No. 9 Bethel without a first down the entire first half and allowed just 19 net yards in rolling out to a 24-0 lead. The Tommies went on to win 37-0.
No. 19 UW-Oshkosh improved to 6-0 for the first time, one week in advance of a showdown with UW-Whitewater, with a 34-13 win over No. 13 UW-Platteville. Quarterback Nate Wara threw touchdown passes of 6, 30 and 65 yards before halftime, going 15 of 21 for 236 yards and no interceptions. The Titans defense kept the Pioneers from scoring on their first possession for the first time this season. The fifth-ranked Warhawks, meanwhile, limited UW-Stout to 120 yards, and just 6 rushing. They had eight tackles for loss on a wet day in Menomonie, Wis. Desmin Ward rushed for 120 yards.
No. 25 Heidelberg won the battle of 25s, as the Student Princes blanked No. 25 Otterbein 21-0. Cartel Brooks ran 22 times for 109 yards and a touchdown in the win.
Those four top-25 teams lost to other ranked teams, and at least three more were upset by unranked squads.
Trinity (Texas) handed No. 16 Birmingham-Southern its second loss in as many weeks defeating the Panthers 30-21. The Tigers never trailed, but put the finishing touches on it with a 75-yard drive that ended with Mason Blaschke's touchdown with 3:08 left.
Alfred knocked off No. 11 St. John Fisher 26-13 to make the Empire 8 race a little more interesting. Chuck Beckwith, the star of the Saxons' ground game over the past few weeks, ran for two touchdowns and 148 yards, while the defensive picked up five Cardinals turnovers. And Elmhurst defeated No. 20 Wheaton (Ill.) 35-30 behind 214 yards from the Williams brothers. Scottie, the starter, ran for 184, while Josh Williams, who started camp at UW-Whitewater but left before the season started to transfer, added 30.
Wesley again trailed early but led late, as the No. 6 Wolverines defeated a Virginia-Lynchburg team featuring several transfers from scholarship schools by the score of 24-7. Justin Sottilare completed 20 of 35 for 235 yards but Wesley ran for just 42.
Top-ranked Mount Union's string of shutouts continued, as the Purple Raiders rolled to a 62-0 win against Capital (photo gallery). The Crusaders managed just 107 yards of total offense in the defeat, or the same amount Roman Namdar, Mount Union's backup quarterback, passed for.
No. 7 Salisbury outrushed Hartwick, 299-50, and had 22 first downs to the Hawks' six in a 37-7 home victory. Senior Joe Benedetti rushed for 158 yards and a touchdown and senior quarterback Dan Griffin ran for 72 and two scores while throwing for 91 yards and a touchdown.
No. 10 North Central averaged more than nine yards per carry, and rushed for 474 yards in a 58-17 victory over North Park. Jordan Tassio rushed for 112 yards, Ryan Kent 103 and Nick Kukuc 97. Tyrell Bolden returned a punt 77 yards and ran 71 yards for a touchdown and No. 14 Illinois Wesleyan took advantage of three Carthage fumbles in improving to 6-0 with a 45-7 win. No. 3 Linfield scored the first 54 points and cruised to a 54-14 win against Whitworth, clinching its 57th consecutive winning season.
Quarterback Chase Belton ran for two touchdowns of 56 yards or longer despite playing less than two quarters for No. 15 Wabash, which beat Washington U., 34-14. Senior Jonathan Rigaud rushed for 130 yards and tied a school record with four rushing touchdowns as 18th-ranked Johns Hopkins rolled past host Dickinson, 49-0.
