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| It didn't take long for Eastern to pick up its first-ever win. Eastern athletics photo |
Eastern is tied for first in the Middle Atlantic Conference, Coast Guard rolled up an historic number of points, Rockford won on a wild two-point conversion play and much more on a day in which thunderstorms made play in the Mid-Atlantic crawl to a halt.
- Week 2 scoreboard
- Week 2 Top 25 wrapup
- Week 2 wrapup
- Willamette coach out after opener
- Even more game stories
The Eagles of Eastern played the first game in program history last week, and this week, they have a win to show for it. Eastern scored two touchdowns in the final six minutes of the game, as Sabor Stevens hit Justin Nikolopoulos for a 60-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 23, and Arise Ceide capped off a 74-yard drive with a touchdown from 4 yards out to give his team the lead. Up seven with 2:17 on the clock, Vaughn Highland and Perry Parker sacked Alvernia quarterback Colin Payne on first down, but Payne completed a 36-yard pass on 4th-and-15 to give the visitors hope. A 30-yard throw on third-and-5 with a minute to play put the Golden Wolves on the doorstep. Ronald Jones came up with a first-down sack and the Eagles were able to seal the win with a Zaire McLaurin interception in the end zone.
Coast Guard rolled up 754 yards of total offense and scored its last touchdown with 3:15 to play as the Bears defeated Anna Maria 93-24. Coast Guard scored the first 35 points, led 56-10 at halftime, and 70-24 at the end of the third quarter, thanks in part to eight turnovers, including six interceptions of Anna Maria passes.
Anna Maria had defeated Westfield State 51-26 in Week 1.
James Wheeler IV ran for 134 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries, while Harrison Hensley added three scores and 103 yards on seven carries. Logan Morris had two of the six interceptions for the Bears.
Rockford used a reverse jump pass to the quarterback to come up with the game-winning two-point conversion and the Regents got past St. Scholastica 38-37. Jaelen Ray handed it off to Jack Carey, who then gave a reverse pitch to Maurice Williams. Williams jumped up and shoved the ball on a forward pass to Ray who was all alone in the end zone to give Rockford that one-point lead with 45 seconds remaining. St. Scholastica had led 20-7. Ray finished with 443 yards and three touchdowns on the afternoon.
Here's how it looked:
Here it is, the game-winning 2-pt play with 45 seconds left! @d3football @espn @SportsCenter @NACC_sports
— Rockford Athletics (@RockfordRegents) September 9, 2023
Rockford 38 St. Scholastica 37 pic.twitter.com/YyS1Pm05nD
Melik Frost rushed for 103 yards and one touchdown, quarterback Carter Sido passed for 151 yards and two touchdowns, and wide receiver Mason Cunningham had a game-high 103 yards receiving and one touchdown, to lead Hampden-Sydney to a weather-delayed 31-17 non-conference win against Brevard. The contest was delayed for one-hour and 46-minutes at 13:37 of the first quarter due to lightning in the area, before resuming uninterrupted thereafter with only a five-minute break taken at halftime.
And it was hardly the only game affected by electrical storms. Merchant Marine defeated Gallaudet 30-13 in a game that was shortened to just over two quarters. Lebanon Valley rallied to defeat Stevenson in a game that was halted in the fourth quarter. Montclair State defeated Gettysburg after a long delay as well.
Michael Priami was an efficient 30-for-34 passing for 292 yards and three touchdowns for UW-Platteville in a 35-19 win across the river at Dubuque. The win also included two rushing touchdowns by Pioneers defensive lineman Justin Blazek.
Berry continued its early-season run of routs, as the Vikings destroyed LaGrange 70-3. Nine players got carries and eight caught passes for the Vikings, who improved to 2-0. Brock Skinner had three tackles for loss and a sack for Berry, although Berry also received 22 tackles and four tackles for loss assigned to "Team," so these stats may be updated later.
Trine was called for unnecessary roughness on its own incomplete pass in the closing seconds, and the penalty pushed Trine back to the Rose-Hulman 33. That resulted in the final field goal being attempted from 49 yards, instead of 34. That kick was blocked, and RHIT held on to defeat Trine 30-28. Trine had rallied from 24-7 down to get in position to win the game. Miguel Robertson completed 21 of 27 passes for 290 yards and three touchdowns for the Fightin' Engineers in the win.
Wooster's Tate Journell broke up a game-tying two-point conversion try inside the final minute, and Brock Sivon covered up an onside kick attempt to clinch the Fighting Scots' 24-22 victory over Olivet. Olivet (1-1) rallied to make it a game, outscoring Wooster (1-1) 22-3 in the second half. The Comets took over on their 40-yard line with 3:29 remaining down eight and were in the end zone seven plays later when Dontal Wright cut in from a yard out. On the two-point try, Evan Ormsby took to the air, looking for go-to target SirQuarius Ball, only to see Journell knock the ball safely to the ground. The breakup was the second magnificent defensive play by Journell in the fourth quarter. Earlier, he leaped in front of Dawson John for an interception just outside the red zone.
Under a new head coach in the second weeek of the season, Willamette saw a close game turn into a fourth-quarter rout as Lewis & Clark rolled past the Bearcats 38-7. No reason was given for Isaac Parker's departure. In the final stanza, Lewis & Clark outgained the Bearcats 174-19 and the defense forced their first turnover of the season. It's L&C's sixth consecutive win against Willamette.
Hartwick rallied from a 21-7 halftime deficit as the Hawks went on to defeat Keystone 31-21. Dennis Riordan connected with Nate Rath for two touchdown catches, while Carlvin McDonald added two rushing touchdowns for the Hawks.