HCAC Final Football Weekend Features Rivalry Match Ups
November 13, 2008
FRANKLIN , IN - The final weekend of the regular season means rivalry weekend across the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference. Franklin College (8-1, 6-0 HCAC) and Hanover College (2-6, 2-4 HCAC) will meet for the 78th time on Saturday, marking the 52nd time the two schools have met for the Victory Bell.
The Hanover/Franklin rivalry dates back to 1898, with Hanover holding the lead in the overall series 42-32-3. Hanover had claimed 11 straight meetings with Franklin until the past three years. The Grizzlies won their third straight over the Panthers with a 55-14 win at Hanover last year.
Hanover leads the Victory Bell series 35-16 since the game came about in 1938. The idea for the trophy was presented by Hanover 's Bat Club, a non-athletic group of males that wanted to improve school spirit.
Franklin (No. 20 D3football.com poll, No. 22 AFCA Coaches' Poll) secured their second straight outright conference championship last weekend. The Grizzlies sealed the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs with a 31-20 win over Manchester . Senior quarterback Chad Rupp (Evansville , Ind. /Memorial) completed 24 passes for 320 yards and two touchdowns to lead the offensive unit. The senior added 29 yards and a touchdown via the ground against the Spartans. Neil Craig (Bedford , Ind. / North Lawrence ) was Rupp's favorite target last weekend, catching five passes for 97 yards and two scores.
Hanover will look to conclude its 2008 season with an upset win over their rival. The Panthers have won two of their last three games, including a 42-19 win over Bluffton last week. Sophomore running back Josh Juett (Owenton, Ky./Owen Co.) rushed for a career-high 161 yards and three touchdowns in the win over Bluffton.
The HCAC's top two quarterbacks will be featured at Faught Stadium Saturday afternoon. Rupp of Franklin and Nick Sharp (Indianapolis , Ind. /Franklin Central) of Hanover rank No. 1 and No. 2 in passing yards per game in the HCAC and rank in the top ten nationally. Rupp leads the conference in completion percentage (64.2%) and touchdowns (28), while Sharp paces the Heartland with 309.2 passing yards per game.
Kickoff from Faught Stadium is set for 1:30 PM.
In other conference action .
Anderson (5-4, 4-2 HCAC) and Manchester (4-5, 2-4 HCAC) will meet Saturday afternoon at Macholtz Stadium for the annual Bronze Ball game. The Spartans will look to snap a three game conference losing streak heading into the season finale, while Anderson has been playing good football winning their last two games. The Ravens lead the overall series with Manchester , holding a 45-16-1 advantage. AU has claimed the past nine contests in the series with the black and gold. In Anderson 's 35-31 win over Rose-Hulman last weekend, sophomore running back Darryl Stott (Union City , Ind. /H.S.) stole the show with 253 yards rushing and all five Anderson touchdowns. His rushing total was the second most yards in a single game in Anderson history, trailing only Denny Kimmel's 283 yards back in 2005. With his effort, Stott took over the rushing lead in the HCAC, averaging 111.9 rushing yards per game. Stott needs 105 yards against the Spartans to tally 1,000 on the season. Manchester let an early lead get away and fell to conference champion Franklin 31-20 last weekend. The Spartans led 10-0 at the end of the first quarter before the Franklin offense caught fire. Manchester 's defense surrendered 422 yards to the league's top offense, but managed to gain over 400 yards themselves. Quarterback Caleb Grimes (South Haven, Mich./H.S.) completed 26 passes for 298 yards and a touchdown and added 54 yards on the ground to pace the offense. Last year when these schools met, Anderson walked away with a 19-14 road win.
Bluffton (1-8, 0-6 HCAC) and Defiance (3-6, 3-3 HCAC) will meet for the 84 th time Saturday at Salzman Stadium. Defiance holds a slight advantage over the Beavers in the all-time series 42-39-2, but dropped a 22-21 decision at home to Bluffton last fall. The Jackets enter the rivalry game riding a three game win streak, while Bluffton continues to try and notch their first conference victory of 2008. Defiance earned their first win over Mount St. Joseph since 2001, posting a 21-14 win over the Lions last Saturday. Quarterback Rick Powell (Rochester , Mich. /Cousino) connected on a 34 yard touchdown strike with just over four minutes to play, giving the Jackets the lead for good. Powell finished 12 of 23 for 105 yards against the tough Mount defense. Senior running back Lewis Caralla (Tampa , Fla. / East Lake ) paced the rushing game with 60 yards and a touchdown. Bluffton was defeated by Hanover 42-19 last weekend. The Beavers turned the ball over six times in the loss and managed only 244 yards against a struggling Hanover defense. Antwane Miller (Canton , Ohio /Timken) scampered 77 yards for a Beavers touchdown for BU's offensive highlight. Bluffton and Defiance rank at the bottom of the HCAC in scoring, averaging 15.4 (DC) and 10.0 (BU) points per game respectfully. Defiance has won four of the last six meetings between the two schools.
Mount St. Joseph (5-4, 3-4 HCAC) will step out of conference play for its annual rivalry game with Thomas More (7-2, 6-0 PAC). The Lions have alternated wins and losses in their last eight games and will hope that trend continues against their local rival. Saturday will mark the 13 th meeting between MSJ and Thomas More on the football field, with the Saints holding a 9-3 advantage over the Mount in the Bridge Bowl game. After Mount's 35-14 win over TMC last season, the Lions have won three of the last four meetings. Thomas More entered last week's game with Geneva ranked in the D3football.com poll, but fell 17-13 to the Golden Tornadoes. Last weekend, MSJ closed out the HCAC schedule with a 21-14 loss to Defiance . The Lions posted their first losing conference record since 2001 with the loss to the Jackets. The Mount's offense struggled against DC, managing only eight first downs and 182 yards of offense. Jake Davis (Cincinnati , Ohio / Anderson ) scored a touchdown on the ground for the Lions, finishing with 35 yards on 14 carries.
Nov. 15 Schedule
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Hanover at Franklin (Victory Bell ) |
1:30 PM |
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Manchester at Anderson (Bronze Ball) |
1:30 PM |
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Defiance at Bluffton |
1:30 PM |
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Mount St. Joseph at Thomas More (Bridge Bowl) |
1:30 PM |