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| Kenyon athletics photo |
Kenyon snapped a 26-game losing streak, Kalamazoo won on just a field goal, and both Germinerios who play quarterback in Division III had great days as the Division III football season got into full swing.
Ithaca started off the 2019 season in impressive fashion, as the Bombers took down St. Vincent 66-28 on the road on Saturday. Joe Germinerio, making his first start at quarterback for the Bombers since transferring from Brockport, tied the school record with six touchdown passes on 27-of-37 attempts, throwing for 303 yards.
Union's William Bellamy and John Germinerio, brother of Joe, combined to complete all 22 passses they threw for the Dutchmen against Westfield State, setting the NCAA Division III record for most consecutive completed passes in a game by two quarterbacks. Each of them finished 11-for-11, while Bellamy threw for 192 yards and four touchdowns in the win.
Kenyon snapped a 26-game losing streak in dramatic fashion, as the Lords won at Catholic 32-31 in double overtime. In the second extra session, Jimmy Andrews scored on a touchdown run to cut the Cardinals lead to one, and Kenyon converted to two-point attempt to make the long trip back to Ohio with a win. Catholic was 1-9 last season.
Denison's first game without Canaan Gebele was hardly a challenge, although it was definitely a surprise, as Drew Dawkins threw four touchdown passes and the Big Red chewed up Ohio Northern to the tune of a 42-13 win. Christiaan Williams, an All-America candidate, returned after missing 2018 with a foot injury for ONU and had 59 yards on 18 carries. It was not the only win by a North Coast Athletic Conference team over an Ohio Athletic Conference team, as Ohio Wesleyan defeated Otterbein 22-10.
Anthony Caserta threw for 522 yards and seven touchdowns and FDU-Florham needed every one of them to outlast Merchant Marine, 56-48. Damarquis Price caught 10 balls for 283 yards and three scores for FDU. The teams combined for 1,281 yards.
MIT scored first, but Carnegie Mellon scored second, third, fourth and fifth as the Tartans won 24-7 at MIT. MIT outgained Carnegie Mellon 289-275, but he Tartans defense forced three turnovers while the Engineers managed to force one. The Tartans defense was led by senior Long Tran seven tackles, four solo, while also recording a sack.
Kalamazoo presumably tied the Division III record for fewest points scored by a winning team, defeating Oberlin 3-0. Greg Kearns' 23-yard field goal with 14:05 left in the fourth quarter proved to be the game-winner while the Hornet defense recorded its first shutout since 1998. There is no record listed for fewest points scored in a win in the NCAA Division III record book. Points were also at a premium in Wayne, N.J. where Western Connecticut topped William Paterson in overtime 12-9. The Pioneers got the ball first in overtime, went nowhere but took the lead 9-6 on William Oertel's field goal. Western Connecticut responded with a touchdown pass from David James to Will Daniels for the win.
Montclair State rolled up 469 yards and converted 47 percent of its third down attempts, but the Redhawks turned the ball over four times and lost to Southern Virginia, 34-21. Davis Pinkston threw three touchdowns for the Knights, who lost 24-3 to Montclair last season.
Michael Lambert passed for 336 yards and six touchdowns, three of them to Otis Porter, in Huntingdon's 69-43 win vs. Guilford in the teams' season opener. The squads played under hot and sunny conditions with temperatures nearing 100 degrees.
While most rivalries are played in Week 11, some are played in Week 1. Saturday saw Western New England take the Pynchon SAW back from Springfield as Alec Coleman completed 28 of 36 pass attempts for 305 yards and one touchdown in the win. And Eureka won the Lincoln Bowl game from Knox once again, as James Douglas III caught three touchdown passes among his seven receptions for 197 yards in a 42-28 win. Drew Barth finished 18-for-25 passing for 357 yards and five scores.