Week Six Review

What is going on? Am I out of touch? Football's Finest went 4-0 in their picks this week, and I went 3-1. Do they have some crystal ball that I should steal from them? Congrats to the Westminster Blue Jays on proving me wrong and taking down the MacMurray Highlanders! Let's take a closer look at what went down last week.

Iowa Wesleyan 6, Martin Luther 51 - Oofda. I don't think there was way to avoid this outcome. The best team in the UMAC versus arguably the worst. The Knights held the Tigers to 93 total yards of offense, while racking up 493 of their own, led by Joshuah Kren's 147 receiving yards on 3 catches and 2 TDs. Knight RB Elliot Butler ran for 86 yards and 2 TDs, and QB Ethan Aguilar threw for 207 yards and 2 TDs while rushing for 81 yards and a score as well. DB David Campos led the Tigers defense with 14 tackles and 2 blocked passes, while DL Jacob Schmidt tallied 2 sacks for Martin Luther. The Knights continue to roll, and may not be stopped by another UMAC opponent this year.

Minnesota Morris 18, Crown 28 - The Storm defense came up big once again, holding the Cougar offense to -10 rushing yards and 124 total yards. Several players came up big, including LB Junior Doe (7 tackles, 2 TFL, 1.5 sacks, 1 FF, 1 FR, 1 QBH) and DB Cody Ricketts (3 tackles, 2 interceptions). Storm QB Jared Gilmore brought the heat on the offensive side, throwing for 186 yards and 4 TDs. Three of those TDs went to WR Cole Mistrietta, who caught 6 balls for 72 yards. Storm kicker Corey Huard took home another UMAC Player of the Week award by nailing all four of his PATs. Here's something I don't really get though: Morris LB Drew Shipley racked up 11 tackles, but he also threw for 98 yards and a TD offensively. Enlighten me Cougar people; is Morris just that short on QB bodies, or what? Either way, you don't see guys playing both ways in college, so that's a pretty cool little tidbit. Also, Cougar DT Adam Farag had a great game with 14 tackles, 4 TFL, 2.5 sacks, and a pass deflection that earned him a spot on the D3football.com Team of the Week. Crown continues their solid play, and take it on the road to MacMurray next week.

MacMurray 30, Westminster 33 - When the Highlanders scored two minutes into the first quarter, I thought, "Oh boy, here we go". But the Blue Jays fought and clawed their way to a victory by coming back from a 13-point deficit in the third quarter. Westminster QB Wyatt Ellis took the team on his shoulders, throwing for 157 yards and a TD while also rushing for 114 yards and 3 TDs, and for his effort was awarded an upset and a UMAC Player of the Week award. Blue Jay DL Justin Scales paved the way defensively with 5 tackles and 2.5 sacks. MacMurray QB Bobby Tedesco put forth his best effort, throwing for 300 yards and 3 TDs, with WR Demetrius Curry catching 9 passes for 114 yards and a score, but it wasn't enough, as the Highlanders fell in the final minutes to Westminster.

St. Scholastica 26, Northwestern 16 - The Saints scored first and never looked back in this one, even if it wasn't their typical air attack kind of game. Northwestern bent but didn't break, but unfortunately, they just kept bending, and they weren't able to come back from it. The Eagle defense held Saint QB Zach Edwards to 178 yards and zero TDs, although he did catch a 41-yard TD pass from WR Reese Jansen on a trick play. St. Scholastica RB Dominic Klaas led the offense with 104 rushing yards and a TD, while also catching 3 passes for 59 yards. Defensively, Saint CB Jake Kukowski played a heck of a game, tallying 8 tackles, 1 TFL, and 2 pass breakups, while also setting up two CSS scores with interceptions. For his efforts, he earned a place on the D3football.com Team of the Week and also took home a UMAC Player of the Week award. RB Payton Bowdry muscled the load for the Eagles offensively, rushing for 94 yards and a score, while LB Bradly Kulinski shined bright on the defensive side, earning 5 tackles, a sack, and running a fumble recovery back 95 yards for a score. Ultimately, the Eagles couldn't get much offense going, and weren't able to keep up with the Saints.

I missed the Westminster victory this past week, but mark my words...it won't happen again. I'm coming for you, Football's Finest. 4-0 in Week Seven or bust. Stay tuned for my Week Seven Preview to come out later this week, and congrats to the Westminster Blue Jays on their comeback upset!