Wesley 55, N.C. Wesleyan 23

NCAA Division III Football Championships

First Round

Boxscore

DOVER, Del. - Quarterback Shane McSweeny (Bensalem, Pa./Bensalem) accounted for six touchdowns as Wesley College defeated North Carolina Wesleyan 55-23 in the NCAA Division III Football Championships First Round.

The junior quarterback threw for 299 yards and five touchdowns and rushed for 103 more yards and another score.

On the Wolverines (11-0) second possession of the afternoon, freshman Brandon Wright (Clayton, N.J./Clayton) rushed off tackle for 20 yards to give Wesley a 7-0 lead. 

The Battling Bishops (8-3), however, answered right back.  Quarterback Bo Jordan hit the dangerous Orlando Webb, who used a wall of blockers to run down the sideline on a 67-yard touchdown.

At the start of the first quarter, Wesley took over at its own 20 yardline.  McSweeny rushed for 28 yards, then hit Gene Knight (Baltimore, Md./Overlea) with a short pass that turned into a 38-yard gain that moved the ball down to the three yardline.  Two plays later, Sean McAndrew (Lanoka Harbor, N.J./Lacey Twp.) hauled in a three-yard score.  Joel Creef busted in to block the extra point, however, and the Wolverines led 13-7.

Later in the quarter, Wesley forced North Carolina Wesleyan to punt, but fumbled the return, setting up the Battling Bishops at the Wesley 31.  Jordan went to Webb two more times, once for 24 yards and the next for a seven yard strike and a 14-13 lead after the extra point with 6:35 to go in the half.

Another turnover on the Wolverines' next series gave North Carolina Wesleyan possession at Wesley's 30.  The Battling Bishops eventually moved down to the Wesley four after a 12 yard run by Teron Bush.  But after a penalty and a fumbled snap, the drive stalled and NCWC had to settle for a 28-yard field goal and a 17-13 lead with 1:13 to go in the half.

As has been the case several times this season, the Wesley offense ran the hurry up to perfection.  McSweeny threw a perfect pass downfield to Ellis Krout (Dallas, Texas/Roosevelt), who made the catch between a pair of defenders for a 46-yard gain.  After a pair of incompletions, Wesley converted the third down with a pass to Leonard Stevenson (Nanjemoy, Md./Lackey).  On the next play, McSweeny hit Knight in the middle of the end zone for the 11 yard score and a 20-17 lead at the half.

Wesley opened the second half with another scoring drive.  The Wolverines went 59 yards in six plays, capped by a seven-yard touchdown from McSweeny to Krout for the 27-17 lead.

Two more touchdowns late in the period put the game away.  Wesley put together a 51 yard drive, all on the ground, scoring on an 11-yard run by McSweeny for a 34-17 lead.  Justin Strickland (Baltimore, Md./Calvert Hall) blocked a punt on the next possession and the Wolverines took over at the Battling Bishop 11.  After an incomplete pass, Barry Garrard () rushed 11 yards to paydirt for a 41-17 lead after the third quarter.  

The third period ended and the fourth quarter began with North Carolina Wesleyan on the move.  On the second play of the quarter, Jordan got into the end zone with a one yard run as Battling Bishops tried to mount a comeback, trailing 41-23 after Mike Ward (Norwich, Conn./Norwich Free Academy) blocked the extra point.

The Wolverines needed just four plays to answer.  McSweeny hit Krout for 67 yards and a touchdown and Wesley jumped ahead 48-23 with 12:23 left in the game.

After the Battling Bishops forced four turnovers in the first half, Wesley got in on the action with an interception by Aaron Benson (Swarthmore, Pa./Strath Haven) in the end zone to prevent a potential NCWC touchdown.  After the 21-yard return, the Wolverines kept the ball on the ground, running seven times in the next eight plays.  Then on second and goal at the Battling Bishop nine, McSweeny was forced from the pocket and hit by several defenders as he tried to throw the ball away.  The ball went high into the air and came down into the waiting arms of McAndrew in the back corner of the end zone to cap the scoring.

Ward, Jeff Morgan (Vineland, N.J./Vineland) and Dakevis Howard (Wilmington, Del./Concord) tied for the team lead with six tackles.  Ward added two tackles for loss, a sack, knocked down two passes and blocked an extra point.  Chris Mayes (Walforf, Md./Westlake) had three tackles for loss and two sacks.

The defense shutdown the North Carolina Wesleyan rush attack, limiting it to just 44 yards on 25 carries.

McSweeny completed 15-of-28 passes, rebounding from a 1-of-6 start in the first quarter to hit on 14-of-22 the rest of the way.  In addition to his five touchdowns, he was intercepted twice.

Both Krout and McAndrew caught a pair of touchdowns.  Krout had four receptions for 130 yards, while McAndrew had four catches for 42 yards.  Knight had the other touchdown reception as one of his team-high five grabs, covering 87 yards.

Jordan completed 25-of-46 passes for the Battling Bishops for 333 yards and two scores.  Webb caught of those completions for 167 yards and two touchdowns, while three other players had four catches apiece. 

Creef had a game-high seven tackles for NCWC.  Antonio Harris also filled up the stat sheet with 1.5 tackles for loss, a fumble return for 37 yards and a pass breakup.

With the win, Wesley will host Mississippi College in the second round on November 28 at noon at the Scott D. Miller Stadium.

Notes:

• With his two touchdown receptions in the game, Krout set a new Wesley record with 17 on the season.
• The 100-yard rushing game was the second straight for McSweeny.
• McSweeny's five touchdown passes were one short of his career-high.
• Krout's 130 receiving yards were the most for a Wolverine this season.
• With two touchdown catches in the game, McAndrew has seven in the last four games.
• Jordan posted the first 300-yard passing game against the Wolverines this season.
• Wesley's 11-0 start is the second in school history since moving to Division III.
• It marked Wesley's fifth straight first round win.
• With three tackles for loss in the game, Mayes tied Bryan Robinson's school record of 28.5 in a season, set in 2006.
• McSweeny now has 49 career touchdown passes, one short of 50 for his career.
• Webb's 167 yards receiving were the most for a Wesley opponent this season.
• Jordan topped the 3,000-yard passing mark on the season.
• Webb surpassed 1,000 yards receiving on the year.
• Wesley's 55 points were the second most the team scored this season.

Quotes:

• North Carolina Wesleyan Head Coach Mark Henninger
  • "They took advantage of our mistakes.  Against a team of the caliber of Wesley, you can't make errors.  They jumped right on them when we did."
  • (In the second half) "We had some big breakdowns defensively.  But Wesley made plays and we can't take anything away from how they played.
  • (About the first half) "We were playing well and went toe-to-toe with them.  We felt we should have been ahead going into halftime."
  • (About the end of the first half) "We had to settle for a field goal, then they hit the long ball.  We had two guys there, but he (Krout) came down with it.  We could have been up 10 points at halftime.  You can't leave points on the field."
• North Carolina Wesleyan Quarterback Bo Jordan
  • (On his role in the offense) "I'm a distributor.  I'm not out there to make big plays.  I just try to get the ball to the people who make things happen."
  • (On his relationship with Orlando Webb) "It's something that's developed over four years.  We know what the other one is thinking.  He might see something at the line and give me some kind of tap.  Even if it's something that's not designed in the play."
  • (On his experience from the 2007 playoffs) "It was good to be able to come in, not starting, and just enjoy the experience.  But it paid off because I knew what needed to be done this year."
  • (On the Wesley defense)
    • "Wesley's by far the fastest team we played this season.  They're defense did a good job to get them the ball with a short field."
    • "They made it tough to run the ball.  You have to be able to run to set up the pass and pass to set up the run, but we had trouble with that."
• Wesley Head Coach Mike Drass
  • (On what he said at halftime) "I told the team that we can't turn the ball over and we can't have penalties.  We had it on both sides of the ball."
  • (On the turnover battle) "We put ourselves in a negative position with the fumbles and interceptions.  Usually when it's minus-three, the other team wins.  It didn't work out that way today, but that's what happens the majority of the time."
  • (On North Carolina Wesleyan)
    • "I really think this was our toughest first round game.  It was a big challenge"
    • "They played inspired football.  They're fast.  You don't see a lot of teams in Division III with their kind of speed."
• Wesley College Quarterback Shane McSweeny
  • (On his second touchdown pass to Sean McAndrew on a busted play) "It was like last year (with a Hail Mary pass against Muhlenberg in the first round).  We have that Irish connection.  I was trying to throw it out of bounds or to him."
  • (On the first quarter) "I came out slow.  There were guys open, but I was behind."
  • (On the drive to take the lead at the end of the half)
    • "It's something we've been doing all year.  We've scored in the last minute a couple times.  I threw it up and Ellis (Krout) came down with it.  He made a great catch."
    • "Last week we were down 28-17.  We stayed calm.  It was just the first half this time.  I saw Ellis (Krout) had good matchup and he came down with it."
• Wesley College Defensive End Chris Mayes
  • (On the team's defensive adjustments) "We came out in the third quarter after a rough first half. You can't make fundamental errors.  We just kept it basic."
• Wesley College Wide Receiver Ellis Krout
  • (On his relationship with Shane McSweeny) "We've got a good connection.  We stepped up to the plate today.  It's been there all year, though, and we just want to keep progressing."

Lebanon Valley 37, Salisbury 21

ECAC Southwest Bowl

Boxscore

ANNVILLE, Pa. - Senior defensive back Brandon Hudson (Delmar, Md.) placed his name atop the single-season interception list for Salisbury when he picked off his ninth pass of the season and returned it 72 yards for a touchdown, but it was not enough as the Salisbury University football team dropped a 37-21 decision to Lebanon Valley College in the 2009 Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Southwest Bowl at Arnold Field on Saturday afternoon. Regardless of the loss, Salisbury still holds a 3-2 record all-time in ECAC bowls. The loss was the sixth of the year for SU on the road.

In the first ever meeting between the two schools, SU clung to a 21-20 lead after three quarters of play. The Dutchmen, who capitalized on two big Sea Gull mistakes, posted 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to race away with the ECAC Southwest Bowl championship in their first ever postseason home game.

Salisbury (5-6), the defending ECAC Southwest Bowl champions, netted 184 yards of total offense on the day with 134 of those yards being derived from the ground. Junior quarterback Sean Kelly (Fallston, Md.) raced for a team-high 50 yards while senior slotback William Midgette (Salisbury, Md.) ran for 29 and one score.  Sophomore slotback Randal Smedley (Frederick, Md.) notched 27 yards on five carries and one touchdown. The receiving corps was led by senior slotback Valdase Morris (Salisbury, Md.), who caught one pass for 35 yards.

Lebanon Valley (9-2) opened up the scoring in the game when Ben Guiles ran in from 41-yards out to give LVC a 6-0 lead at the 11:29 mark. Salisbury would immediately fire back with a score of its own as Smedley capped a 10 play, 66 yard drive with a 4-yard touchdown run. The 7-6 lead would hold up for four minutes before LVC would tack on another touchdown to close out the games first frame.

SU proved to be resilient once again as on the ensuing drive, Midgette rushed in for SU's second 4-yard touchdown scamper of the day.  Midgette's score marked the 30th rushing touchdown of the year for SU. The lead lasted for just five minutes thanks in part to a 5-yard touchdown strike from Colt Zarilla to Joe Brennan. They were the final points of the half for either team as the Dutchmen led by six points, 20-13, heading into the halftime.

In what has been a consistent trend for Salisbury this season, the defense came up big late in the game. The unit found itself deep in its own territory as the Dutchmen used eight plays and two big third down conversions to land on the Salisbury 35-yard line. SU did not break; on the next play, Hudson posted his fifth interception in the past five games and raced it back for the score. The 72 yards collected by Hudson after the catch brought his yards after an interception total to 158 this season. The total yardage is the most gained by a SU player in the past four seasons.

Hudson's score gave SU its final lead of the day as LVC collected the game's final three scores to run away with its ninth victory of the season.

The Sea Gull defense was spearheaded by Hudson, who ended his collegiate career with the big interception return and seven tackles. Junior linebacker Justin Chura (Lothian, Md.)notched a team-high nine tackles while freshman linebacker Matt McMurdo (Chalfont, Pa.) had eight. Chura led SU on the day with seven solo tackles. Senior punter Andrew Geisert (White Plains, Md.) played a vital role for SU as he connected on four punts for a total of 142 yards. Of the four punts that Geisert booted, two were placed inside the 20-yard line.

The Dutchmen were led by Ben Guiles, who picked up 113 yards rushing and one touchdown on 11 carries. Caleb Fick was 9-for-17 through the air for 174 yards and had two scores. Sean Donovan caught six passes for 105 yards while Alex Gilchrist posted a game-high 10 tackles.

The contest was the final one of the season for Salisbury. SU will take a streak of 75 consecutive games in which the Sea Gulls have scored at least one point in a game into the 2010 campaign. The current record started at the beginning of the 2003 season.