SUWANEE, Ga. - Behind quarterback Spud Dick's 306 passing yards, the DePauw University Tigers wrapped up the SCAC automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Championship with a 34-23 win over the visiting Austin College Kangaroos.
DePauw split the SCAC championship with Millsaps, but because the Tigers defeated the Majors earlier in the season, DePauw earned the conference's AQ.
AROUND THE SCAC
Austin College fell
34-23 to DePauw on Saturday, bringing their overall record to 4-4
on the year. The 'Roos led 17-14 early in the third quarter, but 14
straight points for DePauw and another late score by the Tigers put
the game out of reach for Austin College. After falling behind 7-0
early in the second quarter, Andy Braly found Ross Hasten for a 24
yard touchdown score and the 'Roos would take their first lead of
the day with 5:12 left in the half when Hasten got loose for a 36
yard touchdown run. The Tigers would come back to tie things up
headed into halftime, but Austin College grabbed a 17-14 lead five
minutes into the third quarter on a 27 yard field goal by John
Reisig. However, that would be the last time the 'Roos would lead
all day despite another touchdown run by Hasten in the fourth
quarter. Braly completed 11-of-22 passes for 126 yards and added 83
yards on 14 carries while Hasten carried the ball 10 times for 53
yards. Phillip Gonzales caught five passes for 59 yards and Matt
Finke had 13 tackles, including 11 solo stops, in the loss.
Birmingham-Southern played its last home game of
2009 this week, taking a break from conference action to face
Huntingdon College, the only other Division school in the state of
Alabama, for Homecoming 2009. It was also the inaugural Wesley Cup
Game, in which the two Methodist institutions faced off in what
will become an annual game for the Wesley Cup. The Hawks defeated
the Panthers, 59-28, behind 693 total offensive yards. Junior
tailback Walter Arrington, who recently earned First-Team CoSIDA
Academic All-District honors, led the team with 116 rushing yards
and two touchdowns on 21 carries. Freshman halfback Shawn Morris
and sophomore wide receiver Chris Mauck scored the Panthers' other
two touchdowns. Junior quarterback Joe Thigpen was 8-of-19 for 117
yards, and freshman Cole Rudder led the BSC defense with nine
tackles (4 solo, 5 assisted). The Panthers are on the road this
weekend for the last game of the season, traveling to face
Millsaps, Saturday, at 1 p.m.
Needing a win to clinch a share of the SCAC Championship,
Centre fell 27-17 on the road to Trinity Saturday
to finish the regular season 7-2 overall and 4-2 in league action.
The Colonels fell behind 10-0 in the first half but rallied to tie
the game at 17 apiece early in the fourth quarter. Trinity then
scored 10 unanswered points to end the game with the win. Centre
was out-gained 382-339 in total offensive yards throwing for 134
more yards (256-122) than the Tigers, but being out-rushed 288-122
on the ground. The Colonels finished the regular season with at
least seven wins in consecutive seasons for the first time since
1989-1990.
DePauw clinched a share of its third SCAC title
and, by virtue of a head-to-head tiebreaker with Millsaps, earned
the conference's automatic qualification into the NCAA Division III
Championship. The appearance will be the Tigers' first. The Tigers
trailed Austin, 17-14, early in the third, but scored touchdowns on
their next three possessions to take the win. Spud Dick completed
31-of-40 passes for 306 yards with a pair of touchdown passes. Alex
Koors led the Tigers with 12 catches for 111 yards, while Bryan
Mulligan had eight catches for 75 yards. Ryan Preuss, Ben
Brandstatter and Kyle Sherer each had eight tackles, while Steve
Valdiserri broke up three passes. In the opening quarter Mulligan
broke DePauw's career receptions record of 195 held by Jay True
(1977-80) and in the third Koors broke the single-season receiving
yardage mark of 991 held by John Stephens (2001). DePauw hosts No.
15 Wabash in the 116th meeting between the two schools with the
all-time series tied 53-53-9. The Tigers have a 37-34-6 lead in
games played for the Monon Bell which entered the series in 1932.
Saturday's game will be televised live on HDNet.
Millsaps (6-3, 5-1
SCAC) had the weekend off. The Majors return to the field Nov. 14
when they host Birmingham-Southern at Harper Davis Field for Senior
Day. Millsaps will finish the regular season as Co-SCAC champions
but loses the conference’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA
Division III playoffs via its head-to-head loss at DePauw earlier
this season. With a win over Birmingham-Southern, the Majors will
reach the seven win mark for the fourth consecutive season.
Rhodes had the weekend off. The Lynx prepare to
square off against SCAC rival Sewanee: The University of the South
on Saturday, November 14 in the team’s season finale. Rhodes
looks for its first league win of the season in the annual Orgill
Cup Game. Last season the Lynx shutout the Tigers, 17-0, in Sewanee
behind a total of 274 rushing yards. Rhodes’ Charles Hoggard
and Josh McMurray combined for 272 of those yards. The Lynx limited
Sewanee to just 187 total yards and only 89 on the ground. Sewanee
leads the all-time series, 41-33-3 but the series is tied 27-27-1
in games played for the Orgill Cup.
Sewanee travels to Memphis, Tenn. to face Rhodes
in the annual Orgill Cup Game. The Tigers, looking for their first
win in 2009, lead the all-time series with the Lynx by a 41-33-3
margin. Last year, Rhodes topped Sewanee, 17-0. Sewanee’s
last win against Rhodes came Nov. 12, 2005 when the Tigers earned a
25-22 win over the Lynx.
Trinity won its final regular season home game on
Saturday, defeating Centre College 27-17 at E.M. Stevens Stadium.
The Tigers led 10-0 early in the second quarter, but Centre was
eventually able to come back to tie the game 17-17 after a 97-yard
touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter. Trinity answered just
two plays later, though, as Chris Baer broke off a 64-yard run to
give his team the lead for good. Baer finished the game with 209
yards on 19 carries, posting two runs of 60 yards or more. Ben
Robinson led the Trinity defense, tallying eight tackles total, 3.0
tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks for a total of 24 yards lost.
Trinity will travel to Austin College this week, finishing off the
2009 regular season on the road. The Tigers and ‘Roos have
met 73 times previously, dating back to the 1904 season. Trinity
leads the series with a 38-29-6 record.
For the complete SCAC Gridiron Weekly for Week 10, click here.