Skipping The Sidelines by Bill Albright

Don Hansen's Football Gazette
Covering...
NCAA 1-AA - 1-AA Mid-Major - Division II - Division III - NAIA - NCCAA

"Skipping The Sidelines"
By Bill Albright

Archives: 09/09/2006   09/16/2006   09/23/2006   09/30/2006
10/07/2006   10/14/2006   10/21/2006   10/28/2006
11/04/2006   11/11/2006   11/18/2006

Other Feature Articles by Bill : Persistence Pays Off For Tim Devanney

Small College Football
Week Ending Capsule for November 25, 2006

It was not a good day in the NCAA playoffs for teams from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, the Middle Atlantic Conference and President's Athletic Conference as the four teams went a collective 1-3 for the day.

The only conference that was guaranteed a survivor into the Elite Eight was the PSAC where Bloomsburg and West Chester met head on, the Huskies hanging tight for a 21-20 squeaker over the Rams.

While representing the MAC, the Wilkes Colonels were defeated 21-14 by the Rowan Profs, while the PAC rep, Washington & Jefferson, simply ran out of time as they fell 30-27 to Mary-Hardin Baylor.

Here is a closer look at those games:

PSAC

Bloomsburg 21, West Chester 20: Quarterback Dan Latorre threw for 190 yards and all three touchdowns and defensive back Jesse Cooper partially blocked the potential game-winning field goal with a minute left to play as the Huskies advanced to the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Division II playoffs. Bloomsburg will meet Shepherd Saturday for the regional championship. "This was a great spectator game," said Bloomsburg head coach Danny Hale. "It was hard fought and a game in which you didn't want to give up the ball." Cooper's block came after the Rams drove the length of the field from their own 4-yard line. Just prior to the Ram drive, the West Chester defensive unit had "stuffed" the Huskies on their 5-yard line. West Chester had leads of 7-0 and 14-7, but the big play in the game other than Cooper's blocked kick was the failure of the Rams to successfully convert following their third touchdown. Neither team seriously threatened in the second half other than when the Ram place-kicker Alex Walsh's 37-yard field goal attempt was wide to the left, keeping the score at its final of 21-20. "I have no regrets for going for the touchdown late in the game," said Hale after his team was held out of the end zone in the final minutes. "It was going to be either 7 points or make them drive the field. Fortunately, we held on for the win." Latorre finished the day with 12-of-18 for his 190 yards and the three scores, while Jamar Brittingham racked up 132 yards on the ground after seeing very limited action in the final six games of the regular season. For West Chester, Brent Steinmetz led all rushers with 148 yards and one score, while quarterback Bill Zwaan completed 13 of 25 attempts for 204 yards and one touchdown. Zwaan suffered one interception.

PAC

Mary Hardin-Baylor 30, Washington & Jefferson 27: Fifth-ranked Mary Hardin-Baylor rushed for 382 yards, including 239 in the first half, as they downed the Presidents 30-27 to advance to the NCAA Division III quarterfinals. The Crusaders (10-2) broke out to a 13-0 lead before W&J cut the MH-B lead to 13-7 when Corey Walsh picked off an option pitch and raced 58 yards for the score. The Crusaders extended their lead to as much as 27-7 before the Presidents closed the gap to 27-20 early in the fourth period. Mary Hardin-Baylor made it 30-20 on a Zach Newcomb 25-yard field goal before Ryan Mendel scored on a 1-yard run for his 20th TD of the season with five seconds left. W&J tried an onside kick, but it went out of bounds, sealing the victory for the Crusaders. Quarterback Bobby Swallow completed 20-of-33 passes for 230 yards and one touchdown for the Presidents, while Peter Briggs led the receivers with seven catches for 85 yards. Senior free safety concluded his W&J career with his best effort of his playing days as a President with 16 stops. Leading the crunching Crusader running attack were Jarvis Thrasher with 157 yards on 24 lugs, while Thrasher's teammate, Freddie Rollins, also eclipsing the century mark with 128 yards. Mary Hardin-Baylor only completed three passes for the entire game.

MAC

Rowan 21, Wilkes 14: With his team trailing 14-7 and time running out, Rowan quarterback Mike Orihel sneaked over for a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs to lift the Profs to their win. With the win, Rowan improves to 9-1, while the loss was the first of the season for Wilkes, ending the Colonels season at 11-1. Rowan managed to rack up 280 yards total offense for the game, while the Colonels held a slight edge in that department with their total of 312. For Rowan, Davon Edwards accumulated 52 of the Profs 62 rushing yards against the stingy Wilkes defense, while Orihel completed his busy afternoon by completing 17 of 31 attempts for 214 yards. He was intercepted three times. For Wilkes, running back Tom Andreopoulos led the way with 70 yards on 21 tries, while quarterback Al Karaffa was 18-of-34 for 211 yards with no interceptions. Jim Jordan finished with six catches for 92 yards, Matt Pizarro hauling in four balls for another 37 yards. Andrew Yezzi led the Colonels with nine stops, Anthony Serafin chipping in with eight tackles, three for loss, and a sack.

Others

Wesley 37, Carnegie Mellon 0: The Tartans ran into a real buzz saw as they fell for the first time this season after posting 11 straight wins out the chute. Wesley, which continues their path to a possible appearance in the Stagg Bowl, got on top early for a 21-0 lead and they never looked back. The best scoring threats for the Tartans came at the end of the first half when a field goal was blocked, and later in the third period when they drove deep into Wesley territory only to have a pass intercepted inside the Wesley 10-yard line. Quarterback Chris Warrick and wideout Michael Clarke were the two biggest thorns in the side of the Tartans as the duo combined for much of the 502 yards of total offense as Warrick threw for 299 yards, while Clarke caught a pair of touchdown passes en route to his 178-yard receiving day. On the ground, Alpha Koroma finished with 128 yards rushing and one score, while Aaron Jackson chipped in with 61 yards overland and one touchdown. "We lost to a real talented team today," said CMU head coach Rich Lackner. "They're quick, they're athletic, and they come at you from different angles. However, we had a fantastic season and I'm going to miss coaching this group of kids."