OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
John Harrison, Franklin & Marshall
Senior, Quarterback, Flourtown, PA / La Salle College HS
Harrison completed 23-of-33 passes for 302 yards and three touchdowns against Division III's top pass defense in the Diplomats' 28-23 loss at Johns Hopkins. The Jays entered the game allowing just 106 yards through the air per game and four touchdowns.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Julian Rosen, Dickinson
Senior, Linebacker, Brecksville, OH / University School
Rosen had nine tackles, assisted on a sack and picked off a pass to set up the game-tying touchdown in the Red Devils' 21-20 win at Gettysburg.
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Jalon Scott, Susquehanna
Junior, Kick Returner, Albany, NY / Albany HS
Scott's 76-yard fourth-quarter punt return to the 1-yard line changed momentum and led to the Crusaders' go-ahead touchdown in their 29-14 win over McDaniel.
FIVE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW …
• Johns Hopkins, who had already clinched at least a share of its seventh Centennial Conference championship, secured its third outright title with its 28-23 win vs. F&M. The Blue Jays are tied with McDaniel with seven championships and trail only Dickinson (9) and Muhlenberg (9).
• Johns Hopkins' 14-game win streak is the third-longest active streak in the country, trailing only two-time NCAA Division III defending champ Wisconsin-Whitewater (39) and Stanford (17).
• Ursinus lost its first fumble of the season in the first quarter vs. Muhlenberg. However, the last time a Bear running back lost a fumble was on Nov. 21, 2009 against Kean. – a streak of 752 carries without a turnover.
• Construction on McDaniel's improvements to Scott S. Bair Stadium will begin after the conclusion of this weekend's game against Johns Hopkins. Plans include a new, fully equipped facility to replace the outdated grandstands, including home and visitor locker rooms, field lighting and visitors stands.
• Four of the five games on Saturday are rivalry games that began in 1900 or earlier – F&M-Gettysburg (1890), Johns Hopkins-McDaniel (1894), Dickinson-Ursinus (1894) and Moravian-Muhlenberg (1900). The Susquehanna-Juniata series began in 1923. The five contests are also among the most-contested rivalries in the Conference – F&M-Gettysburg (97th meeting), Johns Hopkins-McDaniel (90th), Dickinson-Ursinus (83rd), Susquehanna-Juniata (74th) and Moravian-Muhlenberg (60th).
Around the Conference
Dickinson blocked a potential game-tying PAT with 46 seconds remaining to win back the Little Brown Bucket at Gettysburg, 21-20. Senior DL Corwyn Gordon (Hanover, PA / South Western) got a piece of the kick to preserve the victory. Senior RB Mike Shimkin (Solebury, PA / Princeton Day School) carried 18 times for 139 yards, while sophomore FB Kyle Smith (Easton, PA / Easton Area) picked up 115 yards on 17 attempts. Freshman QB Cole Ahnell (Rockville, MD / Walter Johnson) ran for one score and threw for another, while senior WR Cam Di Fede (Miami, FL / Palmer Trinity) reached the 50-reception mark for the season (50-544). Coach Darwin Breaux improved to 15-3-1 all-time against Gettysburg with the win. The Devils need a win at home against Ursinus in the season finale to avoid a second straight losing season for the first time since 1985 and 1986.
Franklin & Marshall registered 430 total yards and 23 points against one of the nation's top defenses but fell short at Johns Hopkins, 28-23. Senior QB John Harrison (Flourtown, PA / La Salle College HS) completed 23-of-33 passes for 302 yards and three TDs, including a 77-yarder to freshman Jordan Zackery (York, PA / William Penn). Senior RB John Kaschak (Lake Hopatcong, NJ / Jefferson Twp.) has 2,354 rushing yards and needs three more in the season finale to move into second place on the all-time F&M chart. He is just the third Diplomat to register 600 rushes in his career (600). The Diplomats held the ball for 40 minutes against JHU.
Gettysburg suffered a heart-breaking 21-20 loss to Dickinson on a blocked PAT with 46 seconds remaining. Junior QB Kody Smith (Medford, NJ / Shawnee) had scored on a 2-yard touchdown run to pull the Bullets to within one point. Senior WB John Pesce (Massapequa, NY / Massapequa) scored a pair of touchdowns - one rushing and one receiving - and caught a career high six passes for 73 yards. Gettysburg broke its 58-year-old single-season TD pass record on the 30-yard aerial from QB Kyle Whitmoyer (Arendtsville, PA / Biglerville) to Pesce. It was the 21st scoring toss of the season. Sophomore WR Aden Twer (Jenkintown, PA / Jenkintown) became just the second player in program history to surpass 1,000 receiving yards in a season (1,070). A win at F&M would give the Bullets back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 1986-87.
Johns Hopkins clinched the outright Centennial championship with a 28-23 win over Franklin & Marshall. It is the Blue Jays' 14th consecutive win, the third-longest streak in the nation and a mark that ties Dickinson (1987-88) for the longest streak by a Centennial team since the league was formed in 1983. Hopkins can get its first undefeated, untied season when it visits McDaniel. The Blue Jay seniors have 35 victories in four seasons. Sophomore WR Dan Wodicka (West Lafayette, IN / West Lafayette) caught a 47-yard TD pass and had a school-record 72-yard punt return. Senior QB Hewitt Tomlin (Jackson, TN / Trinity Christian) is 32 yards shy of 10,000 in career total offense and 227 yards away from 10,000 career passing yards. Senior WR Sam Wernick (Dallas, TX / Dallas Jesuit) is 87 receiving yards away from becoming the third Centennial receiver tor each 3,000 in his career. Head coach Jim Margraff became the first Conference coach to win 100 Centennial games.
Juniata freshman Nicholas Stubbs (Hagerstown, MD / South Hagerstown) completed a season triple crown on touchdown returns in the Eagles' loss at Moravian. Stubbs, who already posted a punt and kickoff return for touchdowns this season, picked off a Greyhound pass and returned it 30 yards for JC's lone score. Moravian held Juniata to its lowest offensive output (142 yards) since being held to 53 yards by nationally-ranked Johns Hopkins on Oct. 1. Freshman QB Ward Udinski (Doylestown, PA / Central Bucks West) has accounted for 342 of the Eagles' 540 plays this season (63%) for 1,107 yards (74%).
McDaniel fell to 2-7 overall with a 29-14 loss at Susquehanna. For the fourth time this season, the Green Terror could not hold onto a fourth-quarter lead, taking a 14-13 advantage into the final period on a 4-yard scoring run by freshman QB Nick Valori (Sewell, NJ / Washington Twp.). Valori recorded his fifth 200-yard passing game (209) of the season and has 1,520 yards for the season. He needs 294 vs. Susquehanna to set the school rookie mark. Sophomore RB Joe Rollins (Temple Hills, MD / Surrattsville) was held to a season-low 56 yards on 21 carries. The Terror finished winless on the road (0-4) for the first time since 2007
Moravian scored three touchdowns in the final 25 minutes to rally from a 7-0 deficit and defeat Juniata, 28-7. Junior QB Matt Johnson (Macungie, PA / Emmaus) was 9-of-10 passing in the second half for 122 yards and a touchdown. Senior TE Mike Zanoni (Bethlehem, PA / Freedom) caught a career-high seven passes for 78 yards and a score. Senior LB Douglas DiMattia (Cedar Grove, NJ / Cedar Grove) capped the scoring with a 50-yard interception return for a score. The 28 points was the most scored by Moravian in a game this season. Senior LB Evan Bauer (Bethlehem, PA / Liberty) had two sacks and forced a fumble to lead the defense.
Muhlenberg moved into sole possession of second place in the Conference with a 24-21 win at Ursinus. DB Andrew Onimus (Drexel Hill, PA / Cardinal O'Hara) blocked a potential game-tying field goal to preserve the victory. It was the fifth blocked kick for the Mules this fall - tied for the most since 2003. Junior QB Dan Deighan (Wanaque, NJ / Lakeland Regional) ran for a 40-yard touchdown and threw scoring passes of 30 and 21 yards, accounting for 212 total yards. He moved into eighth place on the school's career passing list with 3,486 yards. Senior PK Gregg Mercogliano (Haddonfield, NJ / Haddonfield Memorial) booted his eighth FG of the season, a 38-yarder, with 1:43 remaining for the margin of difference.
Susquehanna guaranteed just its second winning season since 2001 with a 29-14 win over McDaniel. Senior RB Greg Tellish (Mount Airy, MD / South Carroll) set a school record with a 91-yard touchdown run to cap a 172-yard afternoon. He went over the 2,000-yard mark for his career and now has 2,166 yards. Senior QB Rich Palazzi (Newfoundland, PA / Wallenpaupack) threw for two scores and ran for another. Junior Jalon Scott (Albany, NY / Albany) made the game's big play, returning a punt 76 yards to the Terror 1-yard line to set up the go-ahead touchdown. The Crusaders have outscored their opponents, 92-40, in the fourth quarter.
Ursinus spotted Muhlenberg a 21-0 lead and had a chance to tie at the final gun but a potential game-tying field goal was blocked to give the Mules a 24-21 victory. Sophomore QB Chris Curran (Oceanview, NJ / Ocean City) threw for 361 yards and two TDs, including an 85-yarder to senior WR Al Desiderio (Philadelphia, PA / Roman Catholic). Desiderio had seven catches for 185 yards and had 253 all-purpose yards on the day. He is 12th on the all-time Centennial list with 4,591 all-purpose yards and needs 288 to break the school record held by Bill Sedgwick '94. Junior DB Chris Rountree (Lawnside, NJ / Haddon Heights) picked off the 17th pass of his career. A Bear win against Ursinus would give UC three straight winning seasons for the first time since 1999-2000-2001. Once again, an Ursinus running back did not lose a fumble, extending the Bears' streak to 752 rushes dating to a Nov. 14, 2009 game with Dickinson.