Week Seven Review

Well, dang. Another pretty exciting week in the UMAC, featuring a double overtime showdown and a game in which six field goals were attempted -- by the same team. I'm not sure if that's a UMAC record, but it's rare that a team attempts more than two, and most games go by without any FG attempts (let alone successful tries). Crown put up a great effort against the UMAC leader (tied with MLC), but couldn't get it done in the second overtime despite a missed XP after the Highlanders touchdown. They did, however, show that they still have some life, which may benefit them yet this season. Lets take a peek at this weekend's results.

Westminster 12, Martin Luther 28 - The conference leaders kept up the pace with a relatively uneventful win over the Blue Jays. Exciting Knight QB Zach Bloomquist led the charge with 132 yards and a touchdown passing, while also grinding out 48 yards and 2 scores rushing. Martin Luther didn't have a 100-yard rusher despite ending the game with 255 yards on the ground, but RBs Austin DeNoyer and Joshuah Kren finished with 79 and 76 yards rushing respectively. QB Trent White once again spearheaded the Blue Jay offense, tossing 247 yards and a TD to two 100-yard receivers in Matt Quarles (10-123) and Lucas Robinson (9-108-1). Defensively for the Knights, Dan Gensmer had a day with 10 tackles, 5 for loss, and 1.5 sacks, and Keith Brassow tallied 6 tackles, 4 for loss, and 2 sacks. Martin Luther starts to prepare for a slightly tougher matchup in Northwestern next week, while Westminster hosts Minnesota Morris.

MacMurray 27, Crown 21 - The overtime madness had to end at some point, and unfortunately for Crown, it ended in heartbreak, as MacMurray's Jacquese Goins intercepted Storm QB Devin Westbrook in the second overtime period to end the game. Crown played the conference leaders tough, and WRs Anthony Laureno (9-117-1) and Dom Guy (10-94) led the way for the Storm, but a tough break for the team that still remains winless for two years exactly today. On the other side of it, the Highlanders slipped by and remain undefeated in the conference thanks to the efforts of Asa Donaldson, who broke out with 137 yards and a TD rushing; Marquez Ellison, who scored two rushing TDs including the game tying score with three seconds left in the game; and Javon Muhammad, who had a monster game with 6 tackles, 5 of them for loss, and 3 sacks. Anytime you get an exhilarating overtime finish, you know emotions are high, and both teams hope to carry that emotion into their next games; with Crown road tripping to Greenville, and MacMurray hosting Iowa Wesleyan.

Minnesota Morris 17, Northwestern 20 - Guys...didn't I tell you that this was actually gonna be a close one? And boy was it, as the Cougars left some points on the table with three missed field goal opportunities; two of them being blocked in the fourth quarter! Morris was actually semi-competent on offense, led by QB Justin Masloski, who threw for 212 yards and a TD and also tacked on 48 yards rushing. Defensively, the Cougars forced 5 fumbles and picked off Eagle QB Taylor Lindahl once, and recovering two of those fumbles was Marcos Luna, who also tacked on 8 tackles and a sack. For Northwestern, RB Payton Bowdry stole the show with 125 yards and 2 TDs on the ground, one of them being a 99-yard TD scamper in the first quarter to put the Eagles on the board. Northwestern escapes with a win and begins to prepare for a showdown with the high-rolling Martin Luther Knights, while Morris treks to Missouri to take on the Westminster Blue Jays.

Greenville 13, St. Scholastica 47 - The Saints showed that they still have something left in the tank, rolling over the Panthers with ease, as QB Zach Edwards had a career day, throwing for 386 yards and 7 TDs. Four of those touchdowns went to WR Aaron Olson, who caught 7 passes for 135 yards, and another two touchdowns went to WR Eddie Lee, who caught 11 passes for 129 yards. Woah. That's a lotta yards. Since the Saints were so busy breaking passing records, they kind of forgot about their running game; but the Panthers made up for that, with Greeville RB Courtney Mitchell busting out of the gate with 161 yards and a touchdown rushing. Unfortunately for the Panthers, that was pretty much the only production they got, and fell hard to the Saints. St. Scholastica will start to gear up for a mid-season non-conference showdown with DIII independent Thomas More, who is 5-2 and defeated #16 ranked Wisconsin-Plateville on September 15th (yikes), while the Panthers lick their wounds and try to bounce back against Crown next weekend.

Wow, we keep having exciting games week after week, and the fate of the UMAC continues to become more and more intriguing. We have all nine UMAC teams playing next weekend, and will continue to hope for some exhilarating gameplay from our teams! Stay tuned for the Week Eight Preview!