Skipping the Sidelines By Bill Albright
November 17, 2007
It was not a good weekend for the teams from the PSAC, PAC and MAC conferences as teams from those three leagues went a collective 1-4 in NCAA and ECAC first-round playoff games.
The only winner in the three leagues was Indiana University of Pennsylvania as the Crimson Hawks advanced to the second round of the Division II playoffs with a 45-35 conquest of conference rival West Chester.
In other games, Washington & Jefferson suffered a tough 35-34 overtime loss to North Carolina Wesleyan, Waynesburg came up short in a 16-10 loss to Dickinson in an ECAC Bowl Game, and Widener suffered a tough 21-20 setback to Case Western Reserve University in the opening round of the NCAA Division III tournament.
Here is a closer look at how those games unfolded:
IUP 45, West Chester 35: For IUP it was its first NCAA Division II postseason game victory since 2002. Trailing the Rams by a 35-27 margin with less than 11 minutes left, the Crimson Hawks rallied for 18 unanswered points in the final 10:37 to seal the deal. The Crimson Hawks (9-2) advance to play Shepherd next Saturday at noon in Sheperdstown, WV. The Rams (9-1) had a first round bye. West Chester ends its season at 9-3. Poohbear McNeal carried 19 times for 80 yards, and two touchdowns, including a 1-yard run with 2:35 remaining in the game to cap a 72-yard drive, and give IUP the lead for the first time at 42-35. West Chester quarterback Bill Zwaan fumbled on the first play of the ensuing drive when he was sacked by Rob Plowman, and Matt Scott recovered at the Golden Rams' 18-yard line. IUP capitalized on the West Chester miscue when Matt McNelis kicked a 33-yard field goal with 2:00 minutes remaining to seal the victory for the Hawks. Andrew Krewatch completed 16-of-31 passes for 241 yards and two touchdowns, while also adding a rushing touchdown for a second straight week. Krewatch hit Ken Witter on a 23-yard touchdown pass in the opening minute of the second quarter, and then scored himself from 11 yards out with 8:49 left before halftime, as IUP wiped out an early 14-0 West Chester lead. The third quarter was a see-saw affair as both teams took turns scoring. The Golden Rams scored on a 45-yard pass from Zwaan to Steve Miller, and a 31-yard run by Osagie Osunde, his second score of the game. IUP countered with a 79-yard kickoff return by Anthony Rodriguez, and a 2-yard run by McNeal. However, McNelis was wide right on the extra point following the McNeal touchdown, leaving the Crimson Hawks behind 28-27 entering the final quarter. Prior to that attempt, McNelis had not missed a kick in 23 extra points, and 8 field goal tries this season. Zwaan completed 14-of-27 passes for 230 yards, but was intercepted three times, and sacked four times by an IUP defense that forced six turnovers in the game. Witter finished with 10 receptions for 135 yards marking his second straight game with 10 catches, the first time an IUP receiver had accomplished that feat since Carmelo Ocasio did so against Millersville and Saginaw Valley State in 2001. After the Zwaan fumble, and ensuing McNelis field goal gave IUP a 45-35 lead, Terrence Jackson made the third IUP interception of the game with 1:35 left to finish off the Golden Rams. Jackson had a game-high 15 tackles, and was joined in the interception column by Corey Sample, and James Carson. Rob Plowman had two sacks, while Matt Scott and Corey Davis also had sacks. Osunde led West Chester with 117 rushing yards, and Washington caught 5 passes for 87 yards, and PSAC East Defensive Player of the Year Lateef Ferguson had 10 tackles.
North Carolina Wesleyan 35, Washington & Jefferson 34 (OT): This game was a case of the lowest seed in the bracket taking care of business agains the top seed.The Bishops (9-2), the bracket's No. 8 seed, advance to next Saturday's second round game at fourth-seeded Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton, Texas. The Presidents (10-1) had a chance to win the game in the extra session, but a fake extra-point attempt rush by sophomore placekicker Chuck Grabner (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Pickerington) was stopped by NC Wesleyan senior strong safety Jezreel Davis (Hampton, Va.). The two teams took turns trading scores in this one until the two teams were deadlocked at 28-all after four quarters of regulation. For W&J, it was its eight NCAA playoff appearance in the past nine years.The score remained tied until the 14:26 mark of the third quarter when W&J junior running back Kevin Mathews (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) bolted nine yards through the middle of the NCWC defense for a 28-21 lead. The Bishops answered quickly once again as Haywood's 35-yard kickoff return helped set up his own 3-yard touchdown rush with 11:25 remaining in the game. On their next possession, the Presidents' drive stalled at the NCWC 46-yard line, but junior Zack Zebrasky's (Canonsburg, Pa./Washington) punt was fumbled at the 27-yard line and recovered by W& J freshman Craig Sedunov (Herminie, Pa./Yough). W&J drove to the NCW 2-yard line, but had to settle for a 22-yard, Grabner field-goal attempt which was blocked by junior Davon Collins (Virginia Beach, Va.) with 4:35 left to play. Much like the Presidents, the Bishops had a chance to win the game in regulation, but a 29-yard field goal failed and the two teams headed for overtime. North Carolina Wesleyan had the first possession and Townsend scored on the fourth play of the drive from three yards out. Vaughn's extra-point put the Bishops in front 35-28. Swallow fired his fourth touchdown pass of the game on the Presidents' fourth play, hitting Ravida on a 3-yard strike. W&J's fake extra-point rush attempt was stopped and the Bishops earned their first-ever NCAA playoff victory. Townsend completed 19-of-29 passes for 221 yards and one touchdown, while also rushing for 97 yards on 23 attempts. Sophomore running back Teron Bush (Newport News, Va.) added 85 yards on 13 carries, while Haywood added 21 yards on the ground. Bush led the NCW receivers with six receptions for 36 yards. The Bishop defense was led by senior linebacker Justin Augustin's (Midway Park, N.C.) 11 tackles and two pass breakups. Swallow finished with 265 passing yards (25-of-39 attempts) and four scores to finish the season with 46 touchdown passes. Mathews gained 103 yards on 24 carries, while McCafferty closed his career with a nine-catch, 147-yard receiving day. He finished his career fourth on the school's career reception list. Ravida also hauled in nine passes for 61 yards. Senior cornerback Doug Melton (Cleveland, Ohio/Midpark) led the Presidents' defense with 13 tackles and three pass breakups. The Bishops outgained W&J by a 474-360 margin, including 253 yards on the ground. NC Wesleyan converted 12-of-17 third-down situations. Washington & Jefferson concludes its season as the 15th team in school history to win 10 games in a year. W&J also made its 19th appearance in the NCAA playoffs.
Dickinson 16, Waynesburg 10 (OT): This game was a defensive battle between the two teams until Dickinson prevailed in overtime. The overtime loss marks the second for Waynesburg in the last three weeks, while the post-season appearance is the third in the last five years for the program. The Yellow Jackets failed to convert on a 27-yard field goal on their overtime possession, allowing the Red Devils to need only a field goal or touchdown for the win. Sophomore fullback Tim Wells scored the game-winning five-yard touchdown following a 20-yard reception by Chris McInerney near the sideline. Waynesburg had an opportunity to win the game in regulation, but a costly interception at the 12-yard line halted the drive and forced the game into overtime. Freshman running back Robert Heller finished the game with 157 yards on 39 attempts against the Red Devils' defense. With his performance, he set an NCAA all-division freshman record with 2,176 yards this season, surpassing the previous total of 2,065 set by Joique Bell of Division-II Wayne State last season. Heller's rushing yards this year ranks as the ninth-highest single-season total in Division III history. Defensively, Waynesburg was led by seniors Mike Czerwien and Brendon Steele with 11 tackles each. Czerwien registered a sack in the contest to finish the year with a single-season school record 23.0 sacks, just one shy of the NCAA all-division record. The Yellow Jackets finish the season with an 8-3 overall record and eight wins is tied for the third-most in a season in school history (1932, 1967). Coming up with key plays to keep drives alive hurt the Yellow Jackets as they only made good on three of 16 third-down attempts as well as only one of four fourth-down tries.
Case Western 21, Widener 20: Case Western needed all 60 minutes to keep its perfect season alive. For CW, the appearance in the NCAA playoffs was the school's first. With the Spartans trailing by five points with 1:27 left in the game, quarterback Dan Whalen led his club to the end zone by hitting senior wide receiver Jeff Mayer (Vermillion, OH) with two seconds left on the clock for the game-winning touchdown. Whalen converted on three fourth downs on the final drive.
"We've been in this type of situation before and I think it's a situation that Dan [Whalen] really responds well to," said Case Western Reserve Head Coach Greg Debeljak. "I knew we definitely had a chance as long as the line held up and they did a great job."
With the win, the Spartans improve to 11-0 on the year and will host Wabash College next weekend at Case Field at 12:00 p.m. in the second round of the playoffs. Wabash defeated the College of Mount St. Joseph 31-21 in its first round game in Crawfordsville, Indiana. The Spartans trailed by 11 points in the fourth quarter, but like they had done many times during the regular season behind Whalen and a stiff defense, they rallied back to win.
"We knew there was enough time with two timeouts left and we could take it in chunks," Whalen said. "After we got the first fourth down and we started to get downfield I was pretty confident we could score and Jeff [Mayer] made a great catch at the end to win it."
Whalen led the Spartans on a 14-play, 72-yard drive to put the score at 14-9, and on the next drive, Whalen hit freshman wide receiver Shaun Nicely (Willoughby, OH) on a 97-yard bomb to put them ahead, 15-14 - their first lead of the game. The 97-yard touchdown pass is the longest play from scrimmage in Case Western Reserve football history.
The Pride would answer back, as southpaw quarterback Matt Campbell led Widener down the field 50 yards, capping it off with an Ian Decker one-yard touchdown run to put his team up 20-15 with 1:27 remaining to set up the frantic finish. Whalen finished with a game-high 306 yards through the air on 26-of-47 passing, throwing two touchdowns and one interception on the afternoon. Mayer and Nicely combined for 14 catches, 222 yards and two touchdowns in the victory. Mayer's game-winning touchdown grab was his first touchdown as a Spartan. The Spartans turned the ball over three times on the afternoon, while the Pride turned it over twice, including a Mike Tuertscher (Cincinnati, OH) interception in the second quarter. Tuertscher finished the game with a team-high eight tackles in the victory. The Spartans totaled over 400 yards of total offense for the seventh time this season, as they totaled 440 yards on the afternoon, while holding Widener to 262 yards.
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