Another week of exhilarating UMAC football has come and gone, and the season is nearly at the halfway point. This weeks games taught us a few things, which I will go over after we talk about the games. But first, lets get a quick recap of the week four excitement:
Westminster 7, Northwestern 10 - I was right in predicting that this would be a defensive battle. There was less than 500 yards (448) and only 28 first downs between the two teams, which if I'm not wrong is the first time that has happened between UMAC opponents this year. Northwestern recovered 3 fumbles and intercepted 2 of Westminster QB Trent White's passes on their way to their 2nd victory of the season. Oddly enough, White was the only individual player that had over 100 yards offensively, finishing with 174 passing yards and a TD. Even though they were able to hold on for the win, Northwestern's offensive woes continue this year, as they finished the game with 201 total yards and remain next-to-last in the conference in offensive yardage, only surpassing Minnesota Morris. They will need to improve greatly if they hope to remain in the conversation for conference champs, and they'll have to do it fast if they want to remain competitive against St. Scholastica next week.
Greenville 20, Martin Luther 34 - Martin Luther beat Greenville for the first time in program history, as they came into the game 0-7 against them, losing every contest dating back to 2010. I picked Greenville to win in a close one, but I did warn everyone that weird things happen in New Ulm. Martin Luther is now 3-1 and 3rd in the conference. Who'da thunk that would be the case before the season started? The Knights QB/WR combo in Zachary Bloomquist and Josh Arndt connected for 5/138/3 TDs, and RBs Josh Wong and Nate Stein ran for 93 and 86 yards respectively. MLC's offense is rolling, and they hope to ride it until it won't go no more. The Knights defense has been respectable as well, leading the UMAC in interceptions (6) and sacks (14), so it will be interesting to see how they match up against other UMAC opponents, starting with Westminster next week. It seems that Greenville's victory against Northwestern in week three could have been a fluke, but we'll need a bit bigger of a sample size to know for sure. They take on MacMurray at home next week. With this loss, Greenville is basically out of the running for the UMAC crown, and will need to fight to stay out of the bottom few teams. Martin Luther still has to prove themselves against a worthy opponent or two, but this was a great start.
Crown 20, Eureka 44 - While Crown didn't get dominated outright like the score suggests until the third quarter, they didn't do themselves any favors by being unable to finish a drive that ended at Eureka's 9-yard line in the second quarter and only converting 12 first downs in the game. Crown QB Taylor Watkins connected with WR David McIntosh for 6 catches, 137 yards, and 2 TDs, but it wasn't enough, as the defense gave up 131 yards and 3 TDs to Eureka RB LeAnthony Reasnover. Eureka QB Nick Holman finished the game with 183 passing yards and 2 TDs as Eureka rolled to their second victory of the year. Crown did have some bright spots though, as LB Jeremiah Jones racked up 14 tackles, and now is the second leading tackler in the UMAC with 45 through 4 games, 29 of them solo (which leads the conference), along with McIntosh who leads the UMAC with 6 receiving TDs. Eureka's defense held strong, and is still giving up the least amount of yards (253.8 ypg) and the second-least amount of points in the conference (21.8 ppg). Reasnover is second in the conference in rushing yards (573) and TDs (6) only to MacMurray's Chazz Middlebrook. Eureka is trying hard to prove they belong at the top of the UMAC, but will need to be solid and probably win out to get there.
Iowa Wesleyan 14, MacMurray 32 - This was not a blowout as I predicted, as MacMurray let Iowa Wesleyan hang around until after halftime. MacMurray RB Chazz Middlebrook had a paltry 161 yards and only one touchdown, and subsequently MacMurray's offense didn't put on a scoring clinic like the last few weeks. Middlebrook really needs to get his ish together; while he still leads the UMAC with 895 yards through 4 games, this disappointing game may have put his DIII rushing lead in jeopardy. MacMurray still won handily, as QB Nathan Randall passed for 238 yards and 3 TDs and WR Davonta Preston caught 8 balls for 97 yards and a TD. DL Javon Muhammad had a fantastic game for MacMurray, with 11 tackles, 2 sacks, 4.5 TFL, and 2 pass breakups. On the other side, IW WR Tanner Holder caught 2 TDs and RB Damincio White ran for 93 yards. MacMurray only got the ball to Chazz 24 times, the lowest total all year, and other team members ran the ball 30 times. If you ask me, there's something wrong there; in the two games he has rushed for over 200 yards, he got 39 carries (288 yards) and 34 carries (275 yards). If I'm coaching, I'll give Randall the 7 carries he got, but the other 23 are going to Chazz. Who knows, he may have gotten over 300 yards if he had 47 carries. Regardless, MacMurray is 4-0 to start the season for the first time in the UMAC era, and for the first time since 2002. They will take on Greenville next week, and will need to take them seriously; they can't afford an upset like Greenville did to Northwestern.
Minnesota Morris 3, St. Scholastica 37 - The only thing that was surprising about this game was that CSS let the Cougars stay in the game for as long as they did. How do you stay in the game when you only have 3 points, you ask? It only takes one play to change the score. Welp, Morris never got that one play, as they remain at the bottom of the UMAC with a poor offensive performance (181 total yards) that solidified them as the worst offense in the conference in both scoring (9.3 ppg) and yardage (177.3 ypg). CSS QB Zach Edwards had another nice game, passing for 266 yards and 4 TDs, and now leads the UMAC with 10 passing TDs on the year. WR Aaron Olson went 4/102/2 TDs, while counterpart Hunter Thompson also caught a score to remain 2nd in the UMAC with 5 receiving TDs so far this year. While the Saints took it to the Cougs, they didn't show as much dominance as I was expecting, with UMM being the potential worst team in the conference and all. It's obvious that CSS is still the team to beat at this point, but with all the changeups that we've been thrown so far this year, I don't think that's out of the realm of possibility. They will take on Northwestern next week in what I think will prove to be the game of the week, and will definitely give us a better idea of how good St. Scholastica actually is.
So, after all that, there are a few things that stuck out to me about this week:
1. Northwestern's defense is still legit - After the Greenville loss, I was questioning whether that Northwestern team had lost all their magic from a year ago, when they had a stellar D that took them to the DIII playoffs. It was apparent from game one that they weren't as good as last years unit, but hey - the win vs. Westminster put them back on the map. They forced 5 turnovers and held Westminster, a historically decent offensive team, to under 250 total yards and only one touchdown in the final quarter of the game. Now, the question will be if they can muster up enough offense to take down St. Scholastica next week.
2. Martin Luther is no longer 0-10 - The Knights are 3-1. If you told me this would happen before the season, I would have chuckled. I guess I'm not chuckling now. The Knights are for real, but they have to face a few tough teams before the season's end, so it remains to be seen if they can keep up this hot streak throughout the year. Either way, they are a much improved team and seem to be on the up-and-up. Kudos to them.
3. St. Scholastica is the still the best UMAC team...for now - While they beat Minnesota Morris badly, they haven't had a contest with any of last years contenders as of yet. That will change next week when they face Northwestern in St. Paul, a game that will chiesel out the UMAC picture a bit further. All this will come down to the final game of the year, where CSS could potentially be playing MacMurray for the conference championship.
Well, the excitement from one of the worst conferences in DIII football never ceases to entertain me. Until next week!
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