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| Grove City celebrates its overtime win against Carnegie Mellon, handing the Tartans their first loss of the season. Grove City athletics photo by Brad Isles |
Case Western Reserve separated itself from the pack in the PAC, while Alfred and Cortland got big wins in their Empire 8 openers on Saturday in Week 5 Division III football action.
Case Western Reserve scored 14 points in the fourth quarter to knock off Westminster (Pa.) and remain unbeaten. The Spartans (4-0, 3-0 PAC) scored to take the lead with a little over 11 minutes left, but were stopped on the 1-yard line with 2:12 left. However, Westminster (4-1, 3-1) could not pick up a first down, and Case was able to punch it in from the 4 with a minute and a half left for the 21-13 win. The win ruined a fine receiving day for Connor Cox, who had seven catches for 172 yards and two touchdowns for the Titans.
Carnegie Mellon picked up its first loss of the season as Wesley Schools ran for 176 yards for Grove City, but it was Josh Ehst's 1-yard run in the second overtime which sealed the win for the Wolverines (3-2, 2-2 PAC).
In the first overtime, Grove City had the ball first and Nick Morrow kicked a 29-yard field to give the Wolverines a 23-20 lead. Carnegie Mellon then tied the score with a 42-yard field goal by junior Josh Lyons, his first of his career, to send the game to a second overtime. In the second extra session, Lyons connected on a 23-yard field goal to make the score 26-23 Carnegie Mellon. Grove City then needed five plays for the game winning score, which was Ehst's keeper for the 29-26 win. Ehst threw for 216 yards, but was just 11-for-31 on the day.
Washington & Jefferson kept pace in the PAC, rolling up a season-high 620 yards and a season-best 38 first downs to claim its sixth straight win over Bethany, this one by a 69-21 score. Jacob Adams tossed four touchdowns, which included three scoring strikes to junior receiver Josh Burns.
Cortland gained 576 yards in total offense, including three touchdown passes of more than 45 yards, as the Red Dragons (4-0, 1-0) opened Empire 8 play with a 44-12 win over visiting Utica. Brett Segala completed 16 of 25 passes for 278 yards and four touchdowns. Two Red Dragon receivers surpassed the 100-yard mark – Cole Burgess caught eight passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns and Angelo Foster made three catches for 110 yards and two scores. Burgess' TD catches covered 47 and 13 yards and Foster had scoring grabs of 55 and 51 yards. Utica (2-2, 0-1 Empire 8) finished with 328 passing yards but was held to 47 net rushing yards on 25 attempts.
Alfred got a crucial fourth-down stop and held on in a wild 28-21 victory vs. Morrisville State in the teams' Empire 8 opener. The game looked to be over early as Alfred scored on each of its first three drives, but the Mustangs rallied to get within seven. The Saxons held firm on the final drive, however, with two sacks on the final drive, one on fourth down on the Alfred 20 with 2.4 seconds left, touching off the Homecoming celebration.
Central used diverse looks and multiple contributors to rack up 547 yards in a soggy 45-14 victory at Luther. It was the third time in four games that the Dutch have topped the 500-yard mark. They're averaging 526.3 yards for the season. Wide receiver Erik Knaack had three touchdowns and 135 yards from scrimmage for the Dutch (4-0, 2-0 ARC). "Erik had a really good game," coach Jeff McMartin said. "He ran the ball well after the catch and he made some great catches. Those two touchdown passes were awesome. They were well-thrown passes and great catches. It was nice to see."
Gavin Zimbelman outdueled Drew Barth as he threw seven touchdowns to Barth's five and Aurora defeated Eureka 62-35. Zimbelman threw for 342 yards, although he completed just 18 of 40 passes in the win as Aurora improved to 3-1. Connor Olson caught four passes for 105 yards and three touchdowns, while Jacolby Maxwell had a line of 5-140-2. Zimbelman has 25 touchdowns and just two interceptions in four games.
Facing a pair of two-touchdown deficits on the road against a long-time conference rival on their homecoming, Franklin pulled off the comeback, stunning the Engineers (2-2, 1-1 HCAC) in the final minute to win 29-28. With under a minute to go, Braden Smith unleashed a 17-yard scoring pass to Cole Daab, who out-worked a Rose-Hulman defender to haul in the pass and cut the deficit to one. Not content to play for the tie and overtime, coach Mike Leonard gambled and went for the go-ahead two-point conversion. Smith came through big for the Grizzlies (2-3, 1-1), using his legs to push the ball over the goal line and give Franklin their first lead of the day.
Misericordia knocked King's out of the unbeaten ranks with a 22-16 come-from-behind win at home. Trailing 16-14 with less than five minutes left, the Cougars put together a 90-yard drive capped by Brady Williams' 6-yard touchdown pass to Sam Gillison.
Springfield rushed for 404 yards and had the ball on offense for more than 45 minutes as it delivered a 21-17 NEWMAC victory over Norwich, handing the Cadets their first loss. Springfield improved to 2-3, 1-1 in the NEWMAC. The story of the game was Springfield's offensive line, which allowed the Pride to possess the ball for 45:09 and run 85 offensive plays, including 82 rushing attempts. Chad Shade racked up 169 yards and a score on 31 carries, while Tim Callahan ran hard at the fullback spot en route to 140 yards and a score on 27 attempts.
FDU-Florham outscored Albright 23-8 in the fourth quarter and the Devils held off the Lions 50-45. The teams combined for 62 first downs and 1,064 yards. FDU-Florham quarterback Anthony Caserta threw for 431 yards and three touchdowns and Alnazir Blackman ran for 180 yards and three more scores. Zack Miller had three touchdown receptions for Albright.