Full recaps of the first-round action in the Mount Union bracket, plus previews and predictions for the second round games, after the jump. For team capsules, see the first round precap.
1 Mount Union 47, 8 Benedictine (IL) 7
at Mount Union Stadium, Alliance OH; attendance 1823
Mount Union had no trouble whatsoever dispatching their first round foe, punching in six rushing touchdowns from inside the Benedictine 3 and adding a special teams score.
The Purple Raiders forced Benedictine to punt on their first two possessions, and Benedictine forced a punt in between. UMU’s second possession, however, started at the Benedictine 38, and seven plays later Jeremy Murray plowed in from two yards out to give Union the lead. The next two pairs of possessions were similar; a punt, then a drive ending in another Murray run, this time from the three, another punt, and after the quarter change, another scoring drive, this one capped with a two-yard Blair Skilliter run, after which the kick failed.
Benedictine did not punt on the next drive; a 52-yard run by John Borsellino got them into the Raiders’ red zone. They reached the 15 before going for it on 4th-and-5; Union’s defense said “LOL, no sir” and sacked Matt Brown for a loss of 9. The Raiders marched to midfield before being forced to punt; Benedictine ran six plays before Brown was intercepted by Arthur Smith, who ran the ball back 44 yards for a score with :37 left in the half, giving Mount Union a 27-0 lead.
UMU took the ball to start the second half, but on their second play from scrimmage Murray fumbled, and Andrew Taylor recovered for the Eagles at midfield. Ten plays later, Benedictine was on the board thanks to a three-yard toss from Brown to Brandin Austin. The Raiders turned right around and marched, eating four minutes before Murray plunged in again from the two, which would have restored the 27-point lead if not for a second missed PAT. The Eagles were then forced three-and-out, and Mount Union embarked on an 11-play 88-yard drive spanning the quarter break; Skilliter went in from the two for his second score of the game, and the Mount was up 40-7.
After another three-and-out for the Eagles, UMU again drove; this time, it was Jake Simon diving in from a yard out to make it 47-7. Benedictine drove to the Raiders’ 27 before Brown fumbled again, recovered by Chad Teague; with 3:46 to go, Mount Union killed the clock as Benedictine conceded by foregoing timeouts.
I haven’t even mentioned Matt Piloto, because he didn’t throw any touchdown passes or interceptions. He did go 18-23 for 206 yards, and threw several key passes for big yardage in the middle of all those drives. Skilliter had 67 yards on 9 carries to go with his two scores; Murray, who scored three touchdowns, had 64 yards on 17 carries. Chris Denton led Raider receivers with 5 catches for 80 yards. Mount Union stifled the Benedictine offense; Brown was 8-20 with a TD and a pick, and John Borsellino had 15 carries for 79 yards, which means 14 for 27 if you subtract his one breakout run in the second quarter. He was also responsible for the Eagles’ second biggest play from scrimmage, a 24-yard reception.
My pregame prediction: Mount Union 48, Benedictine 0. Close enough for government work.
2 Wabash 38, 7 Illinois College 20
at Hollett Little Giant Stadium, Crawfordsville IN; attendance 1359
Wabash reeled off 31 straight points in the second and third quarters to pull away from the Blueboys.
Each team went three-and-out on their first possessions, leaving Wabash to start at their own 14. They ground out a 14-play drive which chewed up nearly six minutes before Tyler Holmes rushed for a 4-yard score. Illinois College responded by giving their defense a chance to recover from that hellish drive; marching 83 yards on 12 plays. Michael Bates hit Adam Fricke from 2 yards out as the first quarter wound down; the PAT was blocked.
It was the following three possessions that doomed the Blueboys. Wabash again ground down the clock, spending nearly five minutes on a 10-play drive which resulted in a Chase Belton keeper from the three. Illinois College went three-and-out, only taking up 50 seconds; the Little Giants again drove, culminating in another Holmes run, this time from 4 yards out. At this point, the Blueboy defense was gassed. On the following drive, desperate to get the defense some more rest, IC went for it on 4th and 4 from the Wabash 42, but the pass fell incomplete; Wabash then punished the IC defense for another five minutes before Belton found Jonathan Horn for a 14-yard touchdown strike. It was 28-6 at the half, and Wabash had burned over 20 minutes of the clock on offense.
Illinois College started the second half with a three-and-out; Wabash responded with a short drive ending in a 24-yard Ian MacDougall field goal. That was followed by three straight punts, then Wabash made the only mistake they’d make all game as Holmes fumbled on the IC 29. The Blueboys were unable to capitalize, losing three yards before punting; two plays later Belton hit Wes Chamblee from 16, and a minute and a half later IC was lining up to punt when the quarter ended with Wabash leading 38-6.
The fourth quarter was all Blueboys, as Wabash replaced their starters. Wabash’s first drive of the fourth stalled at the IC 4, and MacDougall missed a 21-yard kick short, of all things. After a trade of punts, Bates led the Blueboys downfield until a Cecil Brimmage 3-yard run got them back on the board again. They recovered the onside kick afterward, and Bates then hit Brock Thompson from 19 yards out to close the gap to 38-20. Another short kick play failed, and Wabash took over on their own 48 with 4:51 to go; they never relinquished possession, driving all the way to the Blueboy 3 yard line before time expired.
Belton was 11-19 for 135 yards and two scores plus a rushing TD. Tyler Holmes ran for 97 yards on 21 carries and two TDs; Vann Hunt added 90 on 20. Wes Chamblee led Wabash receivers with 95 yards on 5 catches and a TD. For Illinois College, Bates was 20-34 for 193 yards and two scores. The team only managed 29 rushing yards on the day. Bates was -10 on five carries, while Brimmage had 39 yards and a score on 14 touches. Brock Thompson led the receivers with six catches for 57 yards.
My pregame prediction: Wabash 38, Illinois College 26. “The problem here for Illinois College is going to be getting their running game untracked.” Uh-huh. Exactly.
3 North Central 59, 6 Dubuque 13
at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium, Naperville IL; attendance 1576
North Central didn’t contain Dubuque’s passing attack much outside the red zone, but eight sacks created enough of a disturbance, and 411 rushing yards kept Dubuque’s offense off the field.
The teams traded punts on their first possessions, then North Central ran down the field in eight plays, taking the lead on a 4 yard keeper by Tyler Dicken. Dubuque responded, surprisingly chewing up 6:21 before Wyatt Hanus found Mike Zweifel for a 21-yard TD catch to tie the game with six seconds remaining in the quarter.
Dubuque then forced a three-and-out in only 30 seconds, and things were looking rosy for the Spartans. But five minutes later, they were still at their own 38 and forced to punt. The Cardinals took over at their own 35, and moved downfield without a single pass. A 13 yard run by Jordan Tassio ended with a face mask call on Zweifel, putting the ball on the Spartans’ six; Tassio then ran it in for the go-ahead score. Dubuque had to punt again, and North Central took possession at their own 34. Runs of 11 and 21 yards by Nick Kucuc were followed by a 34 yard Tassio scamper, and things were starting to get out of hand. After another Spartan punt, the Cardinals extended the lead on a 41-yard Nick Dace field goal as time expired in the half, putting North Central up 24-7.
Dubuque went three-and-out to open the third, then the Cardinals drove again before Kucuc scored on a 7-yard run. The next Spartan drive ended with a sack of Hanus at the 15, followed by a bad snap on the punt, giving North Central the ball on the 3; Kukuc ran it in again. Dubuque had its best drive of the game after that, actually gaining yardage on the ground before Hanus hit Miles Hookstead from 11 yards out to make the score 38-13; the two point conversion failed, and the quarter ended with North Central on their own 40.
It was all Cardinals in the fourth, as the grind took its toll on the Spartan defense. The fourth quarter’s opening drive, including the 1:13 at the end of the third, lasted almost six minutes before Dicken found Kyle Fiedorowicz for a four-yard TD completion. Dubuque turned the ball over on downs at their own 39 on the next possession; Ryne Rezac scored from 34 yards out four plays later. Then Hanus was intercepted by Jordan Dean at the North Central 22; two plays later Brad Crackel burst free of the line and ran 73 yards for the Cardinals’ final score. Dubuque drove to the Cardinal 16, but ran out of time, and couldn’t score 46 points on one play anyway.
Dicken only attempted seven passes the entire game, completing three for one score; he also scored one on the ground. Kukuc had 131 yards on 13 carries; Tassio had 121 on 14, and both had two scores. Brad Crackel added 78 yards on 2 carries, including his 73-yard scamper. For Dubuque, Hanus was 26-42 for 261 yards, 2 TD and an INT. Justin Spaulding carried 21 times for 80 yards, but 31 negative yards from Hanus and Steve Jones limited the overall rushing offense to only 49. Zweifel, the NCAA’s all-division career receptions leader, ended his career with a 13-catch 135 yard effort, and a TD; he was also the Spartans’ leading tackler with seven stops on the day.
My pregame prediction: North Central 36, Dubuque 23. I had expected the Spartans to be able to pass; they were. I was worried they wouldn’t be able to run; they weren’t. I had some faith in their defense, but when NCC got ahead and Dubuque was forced into short offensive possessions, it was all over as the Spartan defense was just gassed.
4 Centre 51, 5 Hampden-Sydney 41
at Farris Stadium, Danville KY; attendance 1312
Centre’s defense forced the Tigers to punt into the wind through the first quarter and used the resulting good field position to jump out to an early 20-0 lead, and then a thrill ride began as the Colonels fended off Hampden-Sydney’s advances.
The Tigers took the opening kickoff, but went three-and-out. Centre took over at the HSC 47, and used a possession passing game to work their way to the 23 before Tyler Osterman found Rob Melillo for a 23-yard TD pass. Again forced three-and-out, another short wind-hampered punt left Centre at the enemy 44. Six plays later, Osterman hit Jason Osterman with a 33-yard score. The Tigers’ next possession ended in almost the exact same fashion, with Centre taking control at the 42. This time, Centre kept mostly to the ground before Monte Scotton ran in from the eight. A try for two failed, leaving Centre up 20-0. As the quarter expired, Hampden-Sydney had finally mounted a drive into Centre territory.
On the first play of the second quarter, Travis Lane connected with Kyle Vance for a 21-yard score to get the Tigers on the board. This time, they forced Centre into a three-and-out, and were able to take possession at midfield. But eight plays later, on 4th and 8 at the 17, Lane’s pass to Sean Cavanaugh fell incomplete. Another three-and-out resulted in the Tigers starting at their own 47, and this time they capitalized when Lane found Cavanaugh open eight plays later for a 26-yard score to close to within six. Centre struck back, however. Scotton broke free for a 41-yard run on the first play after the kickoff, and five plays later Osterman hit Greyson Janeway from 23. The Tigers retaliated with a 30-yard Lane pass to Cavanaugh, but again Centre fired right back, scoring with :26 to go in the half on a 62-yard Scotton burst to go up 34-20. With 19 seconds to go, Lane was picked off by Jared Ferguson, and Centre took a knee to end the half.
Centre extended the lead to 21 on the opening drive of the third quarter when Osterman tossed a six-yard score to John Coomer. The Tigers responded with a 12-play 60-yard drive, ending with a 1-yard Kirk Rohle run. Centre was forced to punt on the ensuing possession, and the Tigers took over on their own 41; 10 plays later Rohle again bulled into the end zone from two yards out to get back within seven. The teams traded punts to end the third.
Centre went three-and-out to start the fourth quarter, but the Tigers were also forced to punt; this time, the wind caught Lane’s kick and it actually fell eight yards short of the line of scrimmage. Starting from the Tiger 32, Centre immediately drove the knife in, Osterman to Osterman, and were up by 14. Lane marched the Tigers downfield again, hitting Vance for another score from the eight. Centre drove right back, this time settling for a 36-yard Jordan Gay field goal with only 1:19 left to go up 51-41. Lane tried to get the Tigers downfield, but a desperate toss from the Centre 36 with 30 seconds to go, intended to score and have time to get the ball back and score again, was picked off at the 3 yard line by Thomas Kent.
Tyler Osterman was 13-21 for 161 yards and five TDs with no interceptions, along with 60 yards on the ground. Scotton had 142 yards on 11 carries and two scores; Jonathan Pinque added 100 yards on 21 rushes. Jason Osterman led Centre receivers with four catches for 79 yards and two scores. For Hampden-Sydney, Lane was 32-60 for 404 yards and four scores, with two picks. Rohle had 55 yards and two TDs on 21 carries. Cavanaugh hauled in 8 passes for 158 yards; Vance had 10 catches for 103, and both had two touchdowns.
My pregame prediction: Centre 39, Hampden-Sydney 28. Margin was almost right, but I underestimated the offensive output.
Next up:
3 North Central (10-1) at 2 Wabash (11-0)
Hollett Little Giant Stadium, Crawfordsville IN, 12pm ET
Video available via Hometown Sports Indiana. Audio available via WONC. Live Stats available via Sidearm.
Series: Wabash leads 2-0 (last: 1915)
Jon’s Prediction:
North Central 34, Wabash 17. This will be an upset, although one might argue that the teams were mis-seeded to begin with based solely on North Central’s season-opening loss. Both teams actually look very even statistically, but that always presents an issue when the relative strengths of the teams’ conferences are widely disparate, as they are here.
4 Centre (10-1) at 1 Mount Union (11-0)
Mount Union Stadium, Alliance OH, 12pm
No video internet feed; game will be available on SportsTime Ohio on tape delay at 5am Sunday and noon Monday. Audio available via WDPN on Stretch Internet and WRMU on Radiotime. Live Stats available via PrestoSports.
Series: first meeting.
Jon’s Prediction:
Mount Union 35, Centre 21. The Colonels have a lot of firepower, but Mount Union’s brutal defensively, allowing only 172.7 yards per game. Centre’s going to beat that, but not by enough to matter, as their own defense isn’t going to limit the Mount.