SUWANEE, Ga. - Millsaps hosted Trinity on Saturday, the first time the two teams met since the famous "Mississippi Miracle" game in 2007. The Majors made sure there was no miracle as they handled Trinity 24-6 in winning their 10 straight conference game.
Elsewhere around the league, in a rain-soaked game, DePauw allowed a mere 30 total yards of offense against Sewanee in a 3-0 win. The 3-0 game was the first such Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference/College Athletic Conference game since October 27, 1984 when Earlham topped Rhodes. It was the lowest scoring win for DePauw since the Tigers won 3-0 at Indiana on October 6, 1923.
AROUND THE SCAC
Austin College built
a 20-6 lead in the first half against Centre but was unable to hold
on against the Colonels, falling 34-27 on the road on Saturday
night. The ‘Roos are now 2-2 overall this season and 0-2 in
SCAC play after a pair of tough losses. Ross Hasten scored twice
and Brogan Funderburg also got a rushing touchdown in the first
half as the ‘Roos raced out to their early 14 point lead, but
after Centre scored to close the first half the Colonels scored
twice in the final six minutes of the third quarter to take a 27-20
lead over the ‘Roos. Austin College tied things up when Andy
Braly found Greg Harrell for a 30 yard touchdown, but shortly after
that the Colonels took the lead for good on their way to handing
the ‘Roos the seven point defeat. Funderburg rushed 11 times
for 79 yards while Hasten was limited to just 19 yards on the
ground. Braly threw for 167 yards and rushed for 27 more, and Josh
Willis led all Austin College tacklers with nine stops. Matt Finke
and Greg Millerick each had an interception in the game for the
‘Roos, who next host Monterrey Tech (Mexico) on Saturday.
Birmingham-Southern returned to action this
weekend at home against Rhodes and picked up a big 51-17 win
against the Lynx in a rain-soaked Panther Stadium. Junior tailback
Walter Arrington led the team with a single-game record 165 yards
rushing and three touchdowns, followed by freshman tailback Shawn
Morris with 146 yards and two touchdowns. Junior wide receiver
David Langston also had 76 yards rushing and a touchdown. Overall,
the Panthers recorded a single-game record 395 rushing yards.
Junior quarterback Joe Thigpen was 3-10-1 with 70 yards. On the
defensive end, sophomore linebacker Dustin Massey led with 11
tackles and an interception, which he returned for 19 yards. Junior
defensive back Trae Strain also recorded an interception and
returned it 58 yards for a touchdown, breaking the single-game
interception return yards record. The Panthers travel to face
Trinity University this Saturday at 12:30 p.m. CT.
Centre sophomore running back Jonathan Pinque
rushed for a career-high 181 yards and scored a career-high three
times as remained undefeated by beating Austin 34-27 Saturday in
Danville, Ky. With the win, the Colonels improved to 4-0 overall
for the first time since 2005 and upped their SCAC record to 2-0.
Centre finished with 484 total offensive yards to only 309 from
Austin, including a 261-142 advantage in rushing yards. Pinque's
181 yards eclipsed his 152-yard performance against Rhodes last
season. The Centre defense came up with two more turnovers to
extend its streak to 47 games with at least one forced turnover.
The last time Centre started the season 4-0, they fell in their
fifth game to the same team they play next week, Sewanee.
DePauw limited Sewanee to 30 yards of total
offense in a 3-0 SCAC road win. The 30 total yards are the third
fewest yards allowed since 2000. The Tigers also became the first
SCAC team since Rhodes in 2007, to hold a team to under 100 yards
of total offense. DePauw was able to tally 261 yards of offense but
could not find the end zone. The winning score came off the foot of
DePauw’s Ethan Schweir, who connected from 28-yards out with
1:06 remaining in the first quarter. The Tigers did not allow a
Sewanee first-down until Sewanee’s first drive in the third
quarter. Running backs Jon Ellis and Derrick Karazsia combined for
144 yards on 49 carries. Mike Engle, who started at quarterback in
place of the injured Spud Dick, completed 6-of15 passes for 135
yards. The 3-0 game was the lowest scoring win for DePauw since
October 6, 1923 when the Tigers beat Indiana on the road, 3-0. Last
week’s game was also the lowest combined scoring game since
DePauw battled Oberlin to a 0-0 tie back on September 25, 1943. The
last Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference/College Athletic
Conference game to end with a 3-0 score was October 27, 1984 when
Earlham topped Rhodes.
Millsaps (3-1, 2-0
SCAC) won its 10th consecutive conference game with a 24-6 victory
over rival and 18th-ranked Trinity University in a game totally
dominated by the Majors. Millsaps racked up a season-high 514 total
yards, backed by sophomore Shane Bowser’s second 100-yard
rushing performance in three weeks, and had three touchdowns called
back on penalties or it could’ve been much more lopsided.
Junior safety Kevin Peters tied a single-game record with three
interceptions, and added seven solo tackles to pace the
Majors’ defense, while as a unit gave up a season-best 186
total yards to the Tigers. An 87-yard kick return from Caleb Urban
was all TU could muster up to get on the scoreboard, spoiling a
Millsaps shutout. The Majors will hit the road the next two weeks,
traveling to DePauw University Oct. 3 and Huntingdon College Oct.
10.
Three Rhodes first half turnovers led to 14
Birmingham Southern points; as Birmingham Southern jumped out to a
34-3 halftime lead and held on to beat Rhodes 51-17 on the campus
of Birmingham Southern, on Saturday, September 26th. Lynx junior
linebacker Andrew Meier leads the SCAC in tackles. Meier is
averaging 10.5 tackles a game. Meier also is 2nd in the SCAC in
sacks (4.5) and tackles for loss (6.5). Sophomore wide receiver
Jake Jackson is 4th in the SCAC in All-Purpose yardage, averaging
135.5 yards a game. The Lynx will travel to St. Louis, MO this
weekend to play Washington University in their final non-conference
game of the 2009 schedule. Last year Rhodes defeated the Bears
28-10 in a homecoming win for the Lynx.
Sewanee hosted SCAC foe DePauw in its 2009 league
opener and Ethan Schweir's field goal late in the first quarter for
DePauw was the only score in a muddy, rain soaked, defensive
contest that ended up 3-0 in favor of Visiting DePauw. Geoff
Marolda punted 10 times for Sewanee and averaged an impressive 40.1
yards per punt. Defensively, Alfonza Knight had a game-high 13
tackles for Sewanee. Zac Atkins had eight tackles, while Jeremy
Character, Trey Reliford and Karl Rogers had seven each. Brient
Hobbs sacked DePauw quarterback Michael Engle for a loss of 12
yards. Sewanee is still looking for its first win and will play at
Centre next weekend. DePauw is now 2-1.
Trinity lost a 24-6 game at Millsaps on Saturday
afternoon, suffering the team’s first defeat of the 2009
season. Caleb Urban scored the only points of the game for Trinity,
taking a kickoff back 87 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth
quarter. Urban’s kick return is tied for the seventh-longest
in school history, tying a pair of former Tiger players. Ernest
Camehl had an 87-yard return against UT-El Paso in 1959, and Kolby
Brailsford did the same against Millsaps in 2003. Urban’s 153
yards in kickoff returns is also a new Trinity record, breaking the
previous mark by just one yard. Rickey McKinley set the record of
152 kickoff return yards in a game against Millsaps in 1983, while
Jock Craig also tied the record against Centre in 1990. Trinity
will play its first home game of the year on Saturday, hosting
Birmingham-Southern College at 12:30 p.m. (the game time was
recently changed). The Tigers have won both meetings since BSC
started its football program and joined the SCAC. Last year in
Birmingham, Ala., Trinity won 48-20 behind 169 total yards and
three touchdowns by running back Chris Baer.
For the complete SCAC Gridiron Weekly for Week 4, click here.