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| Dylan Hyatt makes a leaping stab and picks off a pass from Denison quarterback Drew Dawkins in DePauw's 27-10 win. DePauw athletics photo by Linda Striggio |
Springfield made quick work of Merchant Marine, DePauw is one step away from securing an automatic bid and a junior had a great Senior Day in Saturday's Division III football action.
Merchant Marine's unbeaten run came to an end at the hands of fellow option offense Springfield, as the Pride dispatched the Mariners 28-23 in a speedy 2 hours, 19 minutes. The Mariners (7-1) cut their deficit to just five points with more than 21 minutes left in the game but could get no closer as Springfield (5-3) came away with the NEWMAC victory. The Pride's Billy Carr forced a fumble from Mariner quarterback Ian Blankenship on the next possession, Merchant Marine was forced to punt midway through the fourth and the Mariners came up empty on fourth down from the Springfield 16 with 1:46 to go. Tim Callahan ran for 137 yards and a touchdown and Patrick Ladas went for 108 yards and two scores in the win, while Blankenship ran for 178 yards and threw for 135 on 12-for-23 passing.
Monmouth has a loss in the Midwest Conference standings for the first time since 2014, as Lake Forest came to town and left with a 24-10 win. The Foresters (8-0, 7-0 MWC) led 24-3 until Monmouth scored with 44 seconds to play. The Scots held A.J. Jackson without a touchdown, but his 50-yard punt return early in the third quarter set Lake Forest up on the 5-yard line and Foresters quarterback Tre Stewart was in the end zone three plays later on a 1-yard run to make the lead 17-3. Dante Esposito added a pick-six later in the third as Lake Forest scored four times with no scoring drive of longer than 28 yards.
It was a fun Senior Day for Lycoming, perhaps no more so for junior linebacker Cole Senior, who forced a fumble that was returned for a touchdown and had 12 tackles in Lyco's 30-27 win against Wilkes. The loss is Wilkes' second in three games after the Colonels started the season 5-0. Senior quarterback Elijah Shemory was 10-for-20 passing for 195 yards and two touchdowns, tying Jason Marraccini for fifth in program history with 41 passing touchdowns and moving into fourth in program history with 5,595 passing yards. Wilkes cut the lead from 30-14 to 30-27 with two fourth-quarter touchdowns but was unable to recover an onside kick with 1:37 left.
DePauw remained on top in the North Coast Athletic Conference, as the Tigers jumped out to a 17-0 lead and went on to defeat Denison 27-10. DePauw is 7-0 in the conference and leads four teams by two games apiece. A win against Oberlin or Wabash in the final two games would secure the conference automatic bid for DePauw, as would a number of other scenarios.
Albion remained alive for the MIAA title as the Britons remained within a game of Hope with a 31-24 win against Trine. Jack Bush, who is back in as the starter at quarterback for Albion (7-1, 3-1), completed 17 of his 30 passes for 264 yards and two scores in the victory. The loss was Trine's first in conference play and the two sit one game each behind Hope, which faces Albion on Nov. 6 and Trine on Nov. 13. Hope took care of Alma on Saturday, 27-3.
Four teams remain within half a game of each other for first place in the Commonwealth Coast Conference. Salve Regina beat Curry 47-14, Endicott edged University of New England 19-17, Husson beat Nichols 14-12 and Western New England was idle, meaning Salve and Endicott are 4-1 in league play and Husson and WNE are 3-1 apiece. Salve finishes its regular season at Husson next week, while Western New England hosts Husson in Week 11.
Aurora and Benedictine combined for more than 1,000 yards of total offense and it was Aurora that came away with the 63-41 win. Aurora (6-2, 6-0 NACC) scored on three straight possessions in the second quarter to open a 34-7 edge. The Spartans are one game ahead of both Benedictine and Lakeland at the top of the NACC and Aurora can clinch the automatic bid with a win at Lakeland next week. Gavin Zimbelman went 31-for-43 passing for 432 yards and seven touchdowns.
Otterbein scored twice in the final four minutes and came from behind to defeat crosstown rival Capital 38-33 and come away with The Oars, a resurrected rivalry trophy between the two schools in the Columbus, Ohio, area. After Otterbein cut its deficit to 26-24, Aralius Walters ripped off a 92-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to extend the lead back out to 33-24 with 11:37 to play. But that was the last time the Comets would hit the scoreboard. Bryce Hall led the offense 85 yards in 86 seconds, including two huge passes to Cayden Dougherty over the middle, before Siraj Muhammad got loose for a 15-yard TD run. The Cardinals got a third-down sack and forced a punt before Hall threw a 26-yard strike to freshman Jakobi Alvin for what proved to be the game-winning score.
Illinois Wesleyan ran for 429 yards, its most since 1965, and rolled past North Park 56-6, denying the Vikings (2-6, 2-5 CCIW) a shot at a three-game winning streak. Anthony Marre ran for 243 yards on just 16 carries, including a 91-yard touchdown run, one of his three scores in the win. The Titans (3-5, 3-4) harrassed Matt Eck into completing just 15 of his 39 passes for 205 yards.