By Greg Chandler
D3sports.com 

Hope hasn't won an outright Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football championship since 1987, but the Flying Dutchmen could be on their way this season.

On Saturday, Hope battled from behind, scoring 21 points in the fourth quarter to defeat Alma 35-25, taking over sole possession of first place in the MIAA. After a season-opening loss to Division I-AA Valparaiso, the Flying Dutchmen have won five in a row, their longest winning streak in 13 years.

The lead changed hands six times before tailback Adam Magers gave Hope the lead for good on his third touchdown of the day, an 18-yard run, with just over 11 minutes remaining. Magers finished the day with 118 yards rushing, while teammate J.D. Graves accounted for 259 yards of total offense (185 passing, 74 rushing) and scored Hope's other two touchdowns.

The Flying Dutchmen (2-0, 5-1) now own a one-game lead over preseason favorites Alma (1-1, 4-3) and Albion (1-1, 5-2). If Hope passes road tests against Adrian and Olivet the next two weeks, the Dutchmen will have a shot at an outright championship and a Pool B bid to the playoffs when they host Albion on Nov. 11 in Holland.

In the Presidents' Athletic Conference, Westminster's defense spoiled the party for Grove City and star fullback R.J. Bowers on Saturday. The Titans broke Bowers' NCAA record streak of 100-yard rushing games at 32, holding him to 61 yards on 23 carries in a 23-0 whitewash of Grove City. It was the first time in 39 games the Wolverines had been shut out.

Bowers now needs 89 yards this Saturday against Bethany to surpass Emporia State's Brian Shay as the all-time rushing leader in NCAA history for all divisions. Westminster's entire starting defense was named to the Team of the Week.

Meanwhile, Washington and Jefferson can nail down its 14th PAC title in 15 years on Saturday with a win against Thiel. Last weekend, the Presidents throttled Waynesburg 51-6. Quarterback Brian Dawson, the nation's leader in passing efficiency, threw three more touchdown passes before leaving with a bruised leg. His 25 TD passes for the season have tied a school record. Running back Joey Nichols added 139 yards rushing and two touchdowns to W&J's passing attack, which had 419 yards on the day.

The top powers in the Ohio Athletic Conference and North Coast Athletic Conference continued to hold serve. No. 1 Mount Union (7-0) had little trouble last Saturday with Capital, 58-17, while No. 5 Wittenberg (8-0) made short work of Ohio Wesleyan, 37-7.

Mount Union tailback Chuck Moore had his 12th consecutive 100-yard rushing performance, running for 125 yards on just 12 carries. Moore also scored twice to give him 17 touchdowns for the season, extending his Division III record consecutive-game streak with at least one TD to 23 games.

Meanwhile, Purple Raiders' quarterback Gary Smeck threw for 319 yards and four touchdowns, and wideout Adam Marino became Mount Union's all-time leader in pass receptions (179) and receiving TDs (35) with a nine-catch, 113-yard day.

Mount Union has now won 55 straight OAC games and 61 consecutive regular season contests. Wittenberg, on the other hand, extended its NCAC and regular season win streaks to 20 and 29, respectively, as Casey Donaldson rushed for 147 yards and two touchdowns, giving him 64 for his career, and oft-injured fullback Gary Henson added 105 yards.

Ohio Northern (5-2) kept its postseason hopes alive with a wild 38-35 win over John Carroll (4-3) in a game that saw 1,047 yards of total offense and 61 first downs. But a big play on special teams that preserved the win -- Jeremy Agozzino, who had earlier caught a touchdown pass for ONU, blocked a 32-yard field goal try with eight seconds remaining.

Ohio Northern quarterback Shane Franzer accounted for 345 yards total offense and all five Polar Bears touchdowns - completing 21 of 43 passes for 239 yards and three scores through the air, and adding 106 yards rushing on 11 carries and two more TDs. His counterpart, John Carroll's Tom Arth, set school single-game records for most attempts (62), completions (42), passing yards (453) and total offensive yards (466). JCU wideout Larry Holmes caught 13 passes for 98 yards and two touchdowns, as he became the first Blue Streaks' receiver to catch 20 TD passes for a career, and Jeff Lerner had 12 more receptions for 213 yards.

More peak performances
Wabash quarterback Jake Knott set an NCAC record for most touchdown passes in a game, throwing six TD passes, three to Ryan Short, as the Little Giants whipped Hiram, 49-19. Albion's Travis Rundle threw for four touchdown passes as the Britons crushed Adrian 56-10. Bethany's Brandon Isbell rushed for a career-high 219 yards on 21 carries and scored two touchdowns as the Bison snapped a three-game losing skid with a 42-13 romp against Thiel.

Wilmington's Adam Ryan bounced back from his team's thumping at the hands of Mount Union, completing 26 of 46 passes for 438 yards and five touchdowns in the Quakers' 48-38 win over Heidelberg. Ryan's favorite target, Jonathan Cain, had 254 yards on 11 receptions, the most yards receiving by an OAC receiver this year.

Denison's Greg Neuendorf set another NCAC record for most passing yards in a game, but his 34-for-59, 503-yard effort wasn't enough as the Big Red fell to Earlham, 44-36. Neuendorf completed a Hail Mary pass to Ryan Hite on the game's final play, but Hite was tackled 1 yard short of the goal line.

Neuendorf's record-setting day was offset by the running of Earlham's running back tandem of Darrian Story (123 yards) and Jermel Hurt (121 yards).

Defensive studs
Kenyon's Matt Lane had 11 tackles, including five for losses and three sacks, and forced two fumbles in the Lords' 12-0 blanking of Oberlin. Meanwhile, in that same game, Yeomen linebacker Sam Hobi had 23 tackles, including three for losses and two sacks.

Earlham's Nick Johnson had four quarterback sacks and forced two fumbles against Denison. Alma defensive Justin Harris had three sacks against Hope. Otterbein defensive back Michael Moss made 18 tackles against Marietta.

Wooster came up short in a 31-7 loss to Ursinus, but two of the Fighting Scots's defensive standouts -- linebacker Seth Duerr and safety Seth Mastrine -- made school history. Duerr made 12 tackles, including five for losses, to become the school's all-time leader in stops with 390, while Mastrine broke another school mark with his 15th career interception.