HCAC Football Schedule Heads to Conference Play this Weekend
October 2, 2008
TERRE HAUTE , IN - This Saturday will mark the true beginning of the 2008 conference football season as action gets in full swing. One conference game was played last week, when Rose-Hulman surprised Mount St. Joseph , 27-21 in Cincinnati . This Saturday, all eight teams will take part in HCAC conference tilts.
Rose-Hulman (3-1, 1-0 HCAC) will look to stay unbeaten in conference play, as the Engineers welcome Manchester (2-1, 0-0 HCAC) to Cook Stadium for Homecoming festivities. Rose heads into Saturday's contest following a 27-21 win at Mount St. Joseph , while the Spartans enjoyed an off week last weekend. Manchester has rebounded nicely after a 41-13 loss to Trine (IN) in their season opener, posting decisive wins over Earlham and Kalamazoo leading up to conference play.The Spartans have not started a season 3-1 since 1997, but will have their hands full with the Engineers Saturday. Manchester running back Brandon Wells (Woodburn, Ind./Woodlan) ranks second in the HCAC with 68.0 rushing yards per game this season and has found the end zone four times. As a team, the black and gold lead the conference in rushing offense (217.7 ypg) and total yards per game (437.7). Quarterback Caleb Grimes (South Haven, Mich./H.S.) has completed 59.5% of his pass attempts for 648 yards and five touchdowns in the season's first three games.
Rose will look to ride the momentum created after their first ever win against Mount St. Joseph last weekend. Junior running back Calvin Bueltel (Huntingburg , Ind. /Southridge) was named HCAC Offensive Player of the Week after rushing for a career-high 168 yards and two touchdowns in the win. The HCAC leading rusher (95.2 ypg) will have a tough test Saturday as the Spartans field the league's best rush defense, surrendering only 96.0 rushing yards per game.
Defensively for the Engineers, senior lineman Paul Spreen (Williams, Ind./Bedford N. Lawrence) ranks first in the HCAC with 10.5 tackles for loss this season and earned the HCAC Defensive Player of the Week award after his performance against Mount St. Joseph .
In last year's meeting, Rose pulled out a 31-28 home win, posting their sixth straight win over the Spartans. Rose QB Derek Eitel (Marshall , Ill. /H.S.) tossed two touchdowns and completed 19 of his 28 pass attempts for 332 yards in the victory. RHIT leads the all-time series over Manchester 11-7.
Kickoff from Cook Stadium is set for 2:00 PM.
In other conference action .
Bluffton (1-2, 0-0 HCAC) will open conference action on Homecoming against in-state rival Mount St. Joseph (2-1, 0-1 HCAC) Saturday afternoon. The Beavers are coming off a 23-15 win at home against Kalamazoo , while the Lions will look to get back on track after a 27-21 setback at home to Rose-Hulman in the league opener. BU's offense must duplicate its effort against Kalamazoo in order to move the football against a tough Mount defense. Bluffton totaled 376 yards in their victory, receiving a 100 yard effort from running back Jason Johnson (Cleveland , Ohio /Collinwood) and 155 yards passing by quarterback Brock Miller (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) . MSJ's defense struggled in the loss to Rose-Hulman, allowing a season-high 405 yards to the Engineer offense. Despite the difficulties last weekend, the Lions lead the nation in passing efficiency defense (64.9) and rank 19 th nationally in scoring defense (11.3 ppg). Sophomore running back Jake Davis (Cincinnati , Ohio / Anderson ) led the Mount's offense against Rose with 101 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. Bluffton and Mount St. Joseph will meet for the 18 th time in the history of the two schools Saturday afternoon. MSJ holds an 11-6 advantage in the series which dates back to 1991 and has won the last six meetings. Last year, Mount St. Joseph posted a 28-0 shutout against Bluffton at Salzman Stadium.
Franklin College (2-1, 0-0 HCAC) will look to bounce back after a disappointing loss to Trine (IN) last weekend. The Grizzlies remain on the road to face Defiance (0-3, 0-0 HCAC) as both schools open conference play. The Grizzlies disappeared from the D3football.com poll after last week's loss, but will try and regain some momentum as the conference schedule gets underway. The Yellow Jackets last defeat was to Trine as well back on September 20 and will be looking for their first win of the season. Franklin and Defiance have been polar opposites when it comes to offense this season. The Grizzlies lead the HCAC in scoring, averaging 33.3 points per game while the Jackets rank last (8.0 ppg). Franklin 's Achilles heal this season has been hanging onto the football. The Grizzlies have turned over the football a conference-high nine times this season and it proved costly in the loss to Trine. Senior quarterback Chad Rupp (Evansville , Ind./Memorial) ranks fifth nationally, averaging 335.0 yards per game this season and ranks among the national leaders in passing efficiency (154.0). Senior running back Lewis Caralla (Tampa , Fla. / East Lake ) has led the Defiance offense this season with 184 yards rushing. Last season, Franklin dominated Defiance 55-22 as the Grizzlies rolled up 672 yards of offense. Rupp completed 27 of his 38 passes for 437 yards and six touchdowns in the win. Franklin holds the advantage in the series 5-3.
Hanover (0-2, 0-0 HCAC) finally returns to the gridiron after two weeks off as the Panthers travel to Anderson (1-2, 0-0 HCAC). The Panthers' contest with Butler on September 20 was cancelled due to wind damage to the Hanover campus and HC had a scheduled off week last weekend. Anderson had last weekend off as well, but will look to carry over their play from a 47-14 win against Earlham in week 3. Quarterback Chase Thurston (Yorktown , Ind. /H.S.) completed 23 of his 37 passes for 296 yards and three touchdowns in the win over the Quakers as the AU offense totaled 432 yards on the day. Anderson leads the HCAC with 12 turnovers forced this season and will look to continue that trend against Hanover Saturday. The Panthers defense has surrendered a league-high 40.0 points per game this season in non-conference play. Hanover senior wide receiver Tyler Thiems (Indianapolis , Ind. /North Central) has been solid during the first two games. Thiems leads the nation with 13.5 receptions per game and ranks 14 th with a 127.0 receiving yards per game average. Last year, Anderson knocked off Hanover 37-27, snapping a five game losing streak to the Panthers. Hanover leads the all-time series 38-21.
Oct. 4 Schedule
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Oct. 4 |
Hanover at Anderson |
1:30 PM |
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Mount St. Joseph at Bluffton |
1:30 PM |
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Franklin at Defiance |
1:30 PM |
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Manchester at Rose-Hulman |
2:00 PM |