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| Hobart needed another late comeback to keep pace behind St. Lawrence in the Liberty League. Hobart athletics photo |
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| Monmouth has allowed more than 14 points just once this season. Monmouth athletics file photo |
Monmouth and St. Norbert set up a showdown of Midwest Conference unbeatens, the SAA race got only slightly more clear and Wartburg essentially eliminated Dubuque from playoff contention on Saturday, perhaps paving the way for a two-loss team to get on the board in the West Region postseason discussion.
Monmouth and St. Norbert each go into next week's showdown for the Midwest Conference automatic bid coming off big wins, as the Scots rolled past Beloit 52-9 and the Green Knights defeated Illinois College 56-20. The defenses came up big for both: Monmouth scored on a fumble return and an interception return, while St. Norbert built up a 21-0 first-quarter lead thanks in part to two interceptions and two blocked punts.
Dubuque picked up its second loss, one that will surely knock the Spartans from the playoff picture, as Wartburg defeated the Spartans 43-35. Conor Feckley threw the last of his three touchdowns with 3:35 left to go, cutting Wartburg's lead to eight, but the Knights ran out the clock for the win. Matt Sacia threw for 184 yards and three touchdowns as Wartburg played turnover-free ball in the win.
Hobart and WPI traded touchdowns in the final two minutes but Hobart had 22 seconds and two timeouts left to work with and made the most of it. After a short kickoff, Shane Sweeney hit Jack Pfohl to get into Engineer territory with 13 seconds left, then found Joseph Barrocas with a pass to the 18 with seven seconds left. Sweeney found Pohl again in the end zone with three seconds left for the 35-31 win. The teams combined for five touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
Salve Regina and Western New England each won to set up a showdown as well. The Seahawks improved to 7-0, 5-0 in the NEFC with a 41-20 win vs. Endicott and Western New England handled Maine Maritime 48-25 to move to 8-0, 5-0. The two unbeatens square off next week in Rhode Island.
Rhodes knocked Hendrix out of a potential four-way tie at the top of the Southern Athletic Association as the Lynx scored 28 second-quarter points and P.J. Settles outdueled Seth Peters in a 55-54 win. Settles threw for 425 yards and five touchdowns, then ran for two more scores, including the winning points. The Lynx got their biggest defensive stop of the game when Elliott Tostrud forced Peters to fumble and teammate Pat West recovered it at the Rhodes 1-yard line with 1:48 left. West then forced Peters to fumble on the final play of the game as well, a second down at the Rhodes 23.
Berry remained in the three-way tie by edging Millsaps at home, 22-19 in overtime. The Vikings tied the game when Mamadou Soumahoro blocked an extra point and Jordan Arnett returned it 98 yards for two points, then won it on Obie Brannon's 43-yard field goal in overtime. Berry improved to 7-1, while Millsaps fell to 2-6. Centre remained in the SAA deadlock as well, defeating Birmingham-Southern 45-30. The Colonels defense racked up nine tackles for loss in the win. Wash U. remains 5-1 in the SAA as well after a non-conference loss to Case Western Reserve this week.
Meanwhile, Blake Moser threw for an SAA-record 558 yards and led Chicago back from a 17-0 game-opening deficit to win 49-30 at Sewanee. He was 26-for-42 passing with seven touchdowns, five of them 46 yards or longer.
Frostburg State scored the last 12 points of the game to remain in the first-place tie in the NJAC, defeating Rowan 24-14. Wesley scored the last 31 points of the game to defeat Montclair State 37-14 and improve to 6-2, 6-1 NJAC. No. 19 Salisbury won to remain tied as well, and Wesley and Salisbury meet next week.
Three field goals and a safety were enough for Randolph-Macon, with a touchdown thrown in for good measure, and the Yellow Jackets moved into a three-way tie for the lead in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, knocking off former leader Washington & Lee 18-10. R-MC, W&L and Shenandoah are each 4-1 in conference play. Tre Frederick ran for 212 yards on 33 carries for Randolph-Macon, which is 7-1 overall. Shenandoah won 45-34 at Catholic, clinching its first-ever winning season in ODAC play.
Tarek Yaeggi returned at quarterback but UW-La Crosse's tailspin continued as Kyle Larson threw five touchdown passes for UW-Stevens Point in a 38-22 win. Larson spread the ball to seven receivers, while three Pointers defenders picked off passes in the win. It's the Eagles' third consecutive defeat after a 5-0 start.
Trinity (Conn.) rolled over Middlebury 49-13 in a battle of the NESCAC's last two undefeated teams. The Bantams intercepted the Panthers five times and Max Chipouras ran for 186 yards and three touchdowns. Meanwhile, Chance Brady rushed for 136 yards and two touchdowns while quarterback Ryan McDonald added 104 yards on the ground and a score as Tufts picked up a 27-10 win at Amherst. It's the first win for the Jumbos vs. Amherst since 2007.
Albion finally got its first win of the season, but had to step out of the conference to do it. The Britons rolled Rockford 63-20. The MIAA and NACC have a scheduling agreement. Sam Blanzy threw three touchdown passes (a 20-yard strike to Connor Carbary, 25 yards to Tyler Sykes, and 48 yards to Marlon Martin) and Collin Poore ran in from 3 yards out as Albion led 28-0 after the first quarter and cruised to improve to 1-7.