Game Day: Almost halfway home

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It’s Week 5 out of 11 in the Division III football regular season and make or break for several teams, even some who are just starting their conference schedule.

One Division III football player’s Facebook status refers to the weekend games as “heading to the office,” and that’s a lot of what this part of the season is about. Get your work done, take care of business, and wait for what else happens around you. Few teams are completely and totally eliminated from the playoffs (though many are realistically eliminated) so all you can do is plow ahead and get your own W’s.

Great games today which we’ve detailed in the Triple Take and on the front page. Let’s plow ahead, and fill everyone in on what you’re seeing or hearing elsewhere in our comments section.

54 thoughts on “Game Day: Almost halfway home”

  1. Gorgeous day in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

    Betzler Field looks great with the new turf, which may be the brightest shade of green I’ve seen on a football field. The trees are also just starting to turn here in northeastern PA on a pleasantly cool early autumn afternoon.

    I’ll try to drop updates from King’s-Del Val as the Aggies are back to the unfamiliar role of being a nationally ranked team. It hasn’t been that long since Del Val was in the Top 25 (2006), but it’s a mostly new experience for this group of players. King’s always plays them very tough here so we’ll see what happens.

  7. He can certainly help at receiver. He had a great year for wesley when beavers was ineligible two years ago

  8. wesley still having problems with penalties. helping frostburg move down the field and two interceptions wiped out.

  9. Delaware Valley leads 14-6 at half on two touchdown passes for Mike Isgro.

    Sophomore quarterback Olayinka Soda looks pretty good for King’s, though the Monarchs have just 16 yards on the ground.

  10. wesley holds frostburg first and goal from the one. mc sweeney hits beavers on the next play to the 47 and schatz to the 11 . two plays 90 yrds

  11. I managed to forget the score after walking 20 feet but FDU leads Albright (9-7?) in the first half.

  16. Pat or whoever-
    I heard on the AU briadcast that Norwich is leaving the E8 after this year and joining a new 6 team conference, which will drop the membership in the E8 to just six schools.. Do you guys have any more info on that?

  19. Saxons, yes, came out about a year ago. They are joining the NAC. E8 will have a two-year grace period to find another football team and keep its automatic bid for 2011.

  20. I’m at St. Olaf today, where Carleton has opened up a 21-0 lead on its crosstown rival late in the first half. However, Carleton led 21-7 last year and lost 85-28.

  29. Second half opens at St. Olaf with a kickoff bouncing between two Carleton return men and skipping back to the 1-yard line. Carleton converts on a third-and-7, however, to get some breathing room and St. Olaf defensive back Derek Bauer, who had an interception earlier today, has to be helped off the field.

  38. Forgot I was watching a bunch of 2 o’clock games (Millsaps, Wabash, Wheaton). Tuned in to Hartwick-SJF just in time to see it go off air.

    Is that 31-28 score right?

    All the other top 10 teams are kicking butt. Millsaps’ broadcast is cool because you can rewind in real time. Wabash has the slickest production. Wheaton has the calmest broadcasters I’ve ever heard. 🙂

  39. So much for those WIAC games being any good. Or any game today being any good.

    Cept Hartwick-SJF. So is Hartwick that good, is Ithaca that bad? Oh wait, they already played and we have a three-way tie. Um, Alfred, Springfield, a lil help?

  40. Glad to hear Schatz is getting on the field. Has to have been a tough September for him.

    Was thinking the same thing not too long ago, that we already know he can play WR, but to have a second QB with that much starting experience … were they going to risk getting him hurt. I think it’s cool not to play scared too and let him get some burn.

  45. Augsburg comes from behind to defeat Hamline 24-21. Hamline had a chance in the final seconds with a FG attempt from the Augsburg 16 but missed wide left.

    Augsburg is looking much better this year, definitely fulfilling their consideration for the Top25 (receiving votes in all five ballots so far this season).

    Photos to come.

  46. Three points against Hamline though? A win is a win?

    Carleton with a big win.

    That help I mentioned to sort out the E8? Won’t come from Springfield, which lost to Utica.

    Lycoming wins again.

    Bridgewater plays H-SC tough but loses 37-34. W&L beats R-MC, so I guess they’re the H-SC challenger right now.

    It’s really real at Ohio Northern, the problems are. Lost to Muskingum today.

    Bethel over St. john’s.

    Does Hardin-Simmons improve in some people’s minds by losing 20-18 to No. 3 UMHB?

    Mount Union, Whitewater and UWEC look pretty seriously good.

    Just some observations.

  47. Glad to be back for another season….I was mbnashvegas, but got a new log in…

    Anyways..onto some football…

    Man, I am glad for UMHB that they got the win, but that almost upset is so unfair 🙂 For the underdog team, that’s got to be like when you were a kid..and your Mom put dessert on the table but told you to stay out of it…you can see it and you smell it…but you just can’t touch it….great to see them play UMHB so tough though…

    Since I follow the OAC mostly….can’t believe the score I just saw for Muskingum and Ohio Northern…unfortunately, it’s like wheels are coming off the 08 wagon for ONU…not that the Muskies didn’t deserve the win…kudos to them for their effort….

    Interested to see how Heidelberg plays Otterbein tonight….Otterbein and Cap both seem strong so far this year….

    Saw that St John Fisher picked up another L….thought they would be a stronger team this year…

    As for the Purple Raiders….well, I’d say they have looked mighty good thus far…wins against SJF and Ohio Northern….offense and defense look to be firing on all cylinders….but I’d say next week should tell us a lot about what this MUC is capable of…Otterbein is still to come as well…Capital is a OAC rival who would love to hand the Raiders a loss…Micheli and Kmic both look like they want to make this a year to remember….and Cecil Shorts has answered the call at WR….he’s looked very good….and the D is still very strong…played up to their potential to date I think…its hard not see the men of Alliance very deep in the playoffs again…and I’m excited…

    As one who remembers some hotly contested games not too far back in the day with B-dub, both reg. season and playoffs….I can’t say it doesn’t feel a little good to see us give them a good drubbing….

    UWW…they’ve looked good too…what do you all out there think of them?

    Proud to be a Purple Raider
    muc01nashvegas

  48. This is not the Augsburg of the past, I guess. In a conference that is upside down and backwards this season.

    I can’t say if the conference is that much tougher (which would validate the near-top 25 ranking) or the strong teams are just failing to fill the shoes of expectation, but Augsburg *looked* better than St. John’s, better than Hamline. The MIAC is going through some sort of change and while three conference games don’t mean much in the 9-game conference season it is making things interesting.

    Royce Winford looked strong, taking a ‘oops’ shovel pass on Hamline’s second PAT back 95 yards for a conversion – which was the difference in this matchup. They aren’t a one-man offense, either: Jason Potts pushed the ball with 117 yards of total offense.

    That said, do I think they can win the MIAC? No. Where will they stand? Third, at best.

    I went to see if they were for real, I have seen Augsburg field nothing better in the five years I’ve been in the field; I guess that’s all.

    And I said consideration for, not entry into, the top 25.

  49. Other thoughts…

    It was tough to read UW-Stevens Point’s three wins in non-conference, non-Divisional play. The Pointers’ loss to River Falls and the dominating performances by Whitewater and Eau Claire make me feel comfortable that they are the top tier in that conference. It doesn’t mean neither could lose a game, but it would be an upset, even if it happens on the road.

    Great start for Mike Clark at Lycoming. Lebanon Valley has also quietly gone 3-1 with a big game at Del Val next week. FDU-Florham quarterback Bill Winters has played well, despite the team’s 2-2 record.

    With just two Pool B bids this year, Rhodes’ win over Wash U has playoff implications. The Bears have to run the table to set up a de facto playoff game in the season finale with UAA rival Case Western. Huntingdon’s game with Hampden-Sydney also looms large.

    Wes and Salisbury fans, remember that you can get in the playoffs without a Pool B bid. After the two bids are dealt out, all remaining Pool B teams drop into the Pool C mix. A one-loss team could still have a decent resume, though the relative lack of Division III opponents hurts.

    The MWC is certainly top heavy. Monmouth, Ripon and St. Norbert are a combined 12-0 but, more tellingly, they have won their games by a combined tally of 546-100 or an average of 46-8. Monmouth and St. Norbert face off next weekend.

  50. great call on the W&J upset… all swallow did was throw for over 300 yards again.

    yes they did lose last yr in the first round but year in and year out they should be mentioned as an elite team in the EAST.

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