Wesley Wins in NCAA First Round 45-17

DOVER, Del. - Wesley limited the nation's ninth-ranked offense to 150 yards and three touchdowns under its season averages as the Wolverines caputured a 45-17 win over Hampden-Sydney College in the first round of the NCAA Division III Football Championships.

Larry Beavers returned a kick for a touchdown, ran for a score and threw a touchdown pass.

Mike Pennewell turned in his ninth straight 100-yard game with 159 yards to lead the offense and Michael Clarke set the school record for receiving yardage in the win. 

Wesley tried to jump on the Tigers early when defensive end Gabe Tranchetti intercepted Corey Sedlar on the second play of the game to set the offense up at the visitor's 25 yard line.  A 15-yard run by Pennewell put Wesley inside the 10, but the drive stalled and Collin Blugis missed wide right.  The high-powered Hampden-Sydney offense marched 63 yards on 13 plays to set up a T.C. Stevens' 34-yard field goal to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead that lasted until the second quarter. 

The Wolverines, however, would go on to score 38 straight points, beginning with a six-yard run by Pennewell with 7:44 left in the half.  Blair Newman set up Wesley with a short field to start the drive, returning a 41-yard punt by Stevens 29 yards to the HSC 15.  Wesley quickly made it 10-3 a minute and 20 seconds later.  Sean Matthews forced Josh Simpson to fumble on the first play of the next drive and Carlos James recovered at the 28.  Four plays later, Blugis redeemed himself from 26 yards to extend the lead.

Wesley used a pair of scores to set up its final touchdown of the first half.  After Chet Turner deflected a pass on fourth and five at the Wesley 20 to get the offense the ball back, Jason Schatz hit Gene Knight for a short pass that turned into a 46-yard gain.  The next play, he hit Jon Lanouette on the sidelines for 30 more yards.  Schatz finished the drive from the one two plays later on a bootleg to his right and the Wolverines entered the half ahead 17-3.

The second half opened with a bang as Larry Beavers ran back the opening kick 78 yards for a score.  It was the third of his four touchdown returns this season that opened the third quarter. 

Beavers was involved in Wesley's next two touchdowns, as well, which put Wesley ahead 38-3 with 4:42 left in the third.  The wide receiver and Schatz switched places for a play and Beaver hit Schatz for a 28-yard touchdown pass.  Another Simpson fumble, recovered by Tim Stewart, gave Wesley the ball at the 28 to start the possession and the Wolverines scored on the first play for the 31-3 advantage with 8:58 left.

After the Wolverines took over after a Hampden-Sydney punt, Schatz and Clarke connected on a 41-yard strike to move to the Hampden-Sydney 10.  After a nine-yard run by Pennewell, Beavers ran it in from the one to give Wesley a 35-point lead.

Hampden-Sydney battled back for a pair of scores before the start of the fourth, however.  Sedlar led the Tigers on a seven-play, 66-yard drive, going 3-of-4 passing for 59 yards, the ran the final yard himself for the score.  As time expired in the period, he hit Connor Oliver for an eight-yard score on third and goal.

Neither team got on the scoreboad in the fourth quarter until Wesley's final score with 5:23 left in the game.  Pennewell rushed for 37 yards on the 10-play drive, and Aaron Jackson had 14 before Schatz hit Lanouette for the 10-yard touchdown. 

The Wesley defense held Simpson, who had rushed for over 1,000 yards in just seven games this season, to only 28 yards on 22 attempts.  The Wolverines held the Tigers to just five rushing yards on the day. 

The defense also consistently got pressure in the face of Sedlar, although quick drops held the Wolverines to a single sack.  Wesley, however, intercepted him four times and had 17 pass breakups, including eight by the defensive line.  While Sedlar through for 308 yards, he attempted 47 passes and completed just 23.  He was also intercepted four times. 

Chet Turner paced the Wolverines with seven tackles and five pass breakups.  He also forced a fumble.  Eddie Donisi had seven stops and an interception. 

Despite having just four tackles, defensive end Bryan Robinson had a big day.  He knocked down six passes at the line of scrimmage, had two tackles for loss, forced a fumble and was credited with a sack. Jeremiah Santiago and Bobby Maguire also had interceptions.

Clarke finished the day with 2,300 yards exactly, eclipsing Duane Martin's 10 year old career mark of 2,248.  He tied Lanouette for the team-high with four receptions.  Schatz went 14-of-28 passing for 250 yards and two scores.  He was intercepted once. 

Wesley held the Tigers to just 2-of-15 on third down, while converting 7-of-16 themselves.  The also outgained Hampden-Sydney 558-313.

With the win, Wesley will face Muhlenberg in the second round at the newly renamed Miller Stadium on November 24.  The Mules knocked off the Wolverines' Atlantic Central Football Conference rival, Salisbury by a final of 31-21. 

Another 2007 Wesley opponent, North Carolina Wesleyan - who the Wolverines handled 27-24 on opening day - pulled off the biggest upset of the first round.  The eight seeded Battling Bishops downed the top seed in the South, Washington & Jefferson in double overtime.  N.C. Wesleyan outlasted the Presidents 35-34.  The win makes second-seeded Wesley the top remaining team in the region, meaning the Wolverines would have home field advantage through the regional final.

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Salisbury fumbles chances against Muhlenberg

ALLENTOWN, Pa. - The No. 12 Salisbury University football team had its chances in the first round of the NCAA Division III championship against No. 9 Muhlenberg College but the Sea Gulls were unable to capitalize as the Mules advanced to the second round with a 31-21 win on a chilly overcast Saturday afternoon at Scotty Wood Stadium before a packed crowd of 4,312.

The Sea Gulls (9-2) lost three fumbles including two on consecutive offensive plays late in the fourth quarter that resulted in 10 points for Muhlenberg. This was the sixth NCAA appearance for the Sea Gulls, first since 2004, as Salisbury has not won a NCAA playoff game since 1986.

Muhlenberg (11-0) set a school record with its 11th win in a season and will advance to the NCAA second round for the first time since 2002 where the Mules will face No. 6 Wesley (10-1) next Saturday in Dover, Del.

"I give all the credit in the world to Muhlenberg because they came up with big plays," said SU coach Sherman Wood, who is 0-3 in NCAA playoff games at his Alma Mater. "I am very proud of our guys because they played hard and it could have gone a different way if we did not have those two turnovers [at the end of the game]."

The Mules jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead just nine minutes into the first quarter as John DeLuca ran for a pair of scores. The first came on an 18-yard run to cap an eight-play, 68-yard drive on Muhlenberg's first possession and the second capped a seven-play, 67-yard drive as DeLuca ran in from 29 yards out.

DeLuca ran for 89 of his game-high 186 yards in the first quarter and finished the contest with three rushing touchdowns, all in the first 16 minutes of the game.

The Sea Gulls answered the second Muhlenberg score as sophomore Valdase Morris scampered 54 yards to pull SU within one possession at 14-6. The snap on the extra points was dropped and sophomore Keith Polizois' rush attempted was stopped.

Muhlenberg led 21-6 after DeLuca found the end zone from 1-yard out early in the second quarter. The Mules had an opportunity to go up three scores on their next possession but their fake field goal attempt was stopped on the 1-yard line. Holder Jim Jeffers hit placekicker Jordon Grube who was stood up by a host of Sea Gulls to turn the ball over to the offense.

The maroon and gold capitalized on the defensive stand as the offense marched 99 yards on 12 plays capped by a 1-yard touchdown run from senior Jamar Garner to make the score 21-13 with 4:54 to play in the half.

The Mules' eight-point advantage held true through halftime.

Salisbury managed only 182 yards of total offense in the first half to Muhlenberg's 259 yards. The Mule quarterback Eric Santagato was 10-of-12 for 115 yards in the first half and finished the game 15-of-23 for 193 yards and one touchdown.

"At halftime we really thought we could compete against those guys. We thought they opened up the playbook in the first half," said Wood.

"We didn't make any drastic adjustments. We changed up the coverage a little bit, got a little more physical and understood what they were doing."

The SU defense that allowed 142 yards rushing in the first half stood its ground in the second half as it held the Mules to 28 yards on the ground.

SU was led by junior Jarrell Chandler who had a team-high nine tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and one pass breakup. Junior Matt Barnes and sophomore Antione Cuff each recorded eight tackles.

            SU's offense was held to a season-low 154 yards on the ground but threw for a season-high 210 yards to finish the game with 364 yards of offense. Muhlenberg outgained Salisbury by one yard, 365-364.

The Sea Gulls had an opportunity to pull within five points of Muhlenberg in the third quarter but senior kicker Brendan Kincaid had his 33-yard field goal attempt blocked. 

The maroon and gold seemed to seize the momentum of the game midway

through the fourth quarter when junior Ronnie Curley hooked up with junior Kevin Tillage on a 77-yard scoring strike. Garner rumbled in from two yards out for the two-point conversion to tie the score at 21 with 7:33 to play in the game.

"It floated a little bit so I had to slow down to catch it," said Tillage of the his touchdown grab. "Once I caught it I just ran it in."

The Salisbury defense held the Mules' offense to a three and out but Muhlenberg's defense forced a Curley fumble on SU's first play after the punt at the 6:16 mark. The turnover set up a Jordan Grube 38-yard field goal that proved to be the game-winner.

The Sea Gulls lost the ball on their next offensive play as Morris had the ball jarred loose as the Mules recovered near midfield with less than five minutes in the game. Santagato found Edward DeRisi for a 31-yard touchdown pass to cap the scoring and give the Mules the 10-point win.

Morris finished the game with a team-high 59 yards rushing and 84 yards receiving and Curley was 8-of-15 for 210 yards and one touchdown.

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