Football Recap (Week 10) - Around the SCAC

Football Recap (Week 10) - Around the SCAC

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.

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