MIAC Football Preview - Week 11

http://miac-online.org/news/2011/11/10/FOOTBALL_1110115620.aspx

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The final week of the 2011 football season is here in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC), and an exciting slate of games will cap off a memorable season.

In an interesting schedule twist for the second year in a row, the conference championship has been decided and the victor sits idle in the final week. Last Saturday, third-ranked St. Thomas put the finishing touches on its second-straight MIAC Championship with a 56-0 win over Carleton. In the process, the Tommies made history, becoming just the first team in the MIAC's storied tradition to record a 10-0 regular-season record in back-to-back seasons. Now, the champs will rest and wait to see how their bracket shakes out in the Division III Playoffs.

The big question is whether the Tommies are going dancing alone, or if they'll take one of the friends from the MIAC along to the postseason. That picture got cloudier last week when St. Olaf - then ranked No. 19 - lost a 27-24 heartbreaker to Saint John's in the final seconds. That puts both the Oles and No. 21-ranked Bethel at two losses. Since St. Olaf won the head-to-head with the Royals, they appear to be in slightly better position heading into the final week if both win, hoping the strength of the MIAC will send two teams into the playoffs.

However, neither team is guaranteed of an 8-2 finish. Both have tough tests this week to highlight the MIAC's Week 11 schedule. St. Olaf hosts Concordia and Bethel will take on Augsburg in the Metrodome, in a pair of matchups that pit 7-2 teams vs. 6-3 teams. Clearly both games will have huge implications on the how the final standings shake out, and whether or not the league sends another team to the tournament. Two games featuring four teams all assured of winning records is quite the way to close the season.

The other two matchups should be interesting as well. Gustavus and Carleton are tied in the league standings at 1-6, though both have performed better than their records at times this season, so Saturday's finale' will be a great chance for both teams to end on a high note and take a taste of success into the offseason. The final game features the Johnnies - fresh off their unusual role as spoiler - taking on winless Hamline, which scored first and led Bethel a week ago before fading. It's clear the Johnnies will want to continue their late-season surge and hope it carries over into 2012, while Hamline will try to celebrate on its home field once in 2011 before turning the page.

Regardless of Saturday's outcome, the 2011 season has been one to remember in the MIAC with a number of last-second wins, thrilling comebacks, heart-breaking defeats and - other than St. Thomas - a great deal of parity throughout the league's other elite teams. Congratulations on great careers to all the seniors who will suit up for the final time on Saturday, and thanks to all the teams for offering another season-long reminder of what makes small-college athletics so special.

Below is a game-by-game look at all four MIAC contests this weekend, followed by other important news, notes and numbers from around the conference this week.

Concordia (6-3. 4-3) at (RV) St. Olaf (7-2, 5-2) - Northfield, Minn. - 1 p.m. 

On the air: | Radio: KDHL 920 AM | Web cast | Live stats |

The Oles are surely still smarting after last week's last-second loss to Saint John's, that knocked them from the Top 25 and damaged their playoff hopes. However, St. Olaf will have to move on and refocus as a good, physical Concordia team stands between them and a second-place finish and a potential trip to the postseason. The Oles will want to recapture what got them off to such a fast start a week ago (St. Olaf led 17-0) which will largely include a heavy dose of RB Leon Clark, good decisions by QB Dan Dobson and another all-star performance from LB Wes Lynch.

Meanwhile, the Cobbers have been one of the best teams in the league in the second half after the schedule-makers gave them Saint John's and St. Thomas to open the MIAC season. QB Michael Dunham has been solid in his senior season, and a power running game led by Brett Baune has combined with an aggressive, physical defense to keep Concordia in the mix to finish as high as second in the MIAC standings.

No. 21 Bethel (7-2, 5-2) at Augsburg (6-3, 4-3) - Minneapolis, Minn. (Metrodome) - 1 p.m.

On the air: | Web cast | Live stats |

The other big game in the MIAC Saturday features two of the league's best signal callers in their final regular-season game, although Bethel's Josh Aakre and Augsburg's Marcus Brumm aren't too similar in their styles. Aakre is the league's best dual-threat QB, accounting for four scores in each of his last two games, while Brumm may be the conference' s best pure passer.

However, both teams can grind it out on the ground as well. Bethel is loaded at RB, as Jesse Phenow looks to continue his strong play of late, and freshman RB Brandon Maquardt will try to bounce back after a string of below-average performances. Meanwhile, Augsburg has a pair of solid freshmen in the backfield as well in Tyler Maxwell - the league's leading rusher and new Auggie record-holder for single-season rushing touchdowns - and Jerise Washington, who broke out for three scores and 90 yards in last week's win over Gustavus. Whichever defense stops the run best will likely come out on top, and Bethel's unit has long answered that call, while Augsburg has showcased an improved unit all season.

Gustavus (1-8, 1-6) at Carleton (2-7, 1-6) - Northfield, Minn. - 1 p.m.

On the air: | CAR Radio: KQCL 95.9 FM | Web cast | Live stats | | Radio: KNUJ 860 AM (New Ulm) |

With these two teams tied at 1-6, Saturday's contest between Gustavus at Carleton offers both teams a great opportunity to put a positive ending on the 2011 season. The Gusties have played tough against a number of good opponents this year, but haven't quite figured out how to win. Saturday could be their chance to break through behind QB Logan Becker and RB Jeffrey Dubose.

Carleton's lone out of conference win was a career day for RB Jon Lien, and expect to see a big dose of him again against the Gusties. Also, LB Mark Skoglund continues to lead the Knights' defense, which will try to stifle the Gustavus offense Saturday. The two teams appear pretty even on paper, so Saturday's final game will come down to execution and heart, which seems appropriate for a good final-day matchup.

Saint John's (5-4, 4-3) at Hamline (0-9, 0-7) - St. Paul, Minn. - 1 p.m.

On the air: | Hamline Web cast | SJU Radio: WBHR 660 AM (St. Cloud); KOWZ 1170 AM (Owatonna); WLOL 1330 AM (Twin Cities) | Audio Web cast |
The Johnnies finally scored a signature win in 2011 when they used a last-second Jimmie Mattson field goal to upset St. Olaf a week ago, and it looks like the SJU youngsters are starting to adapt to the college game. Another win against Hamline Saturday would give Saint John's a three-game winning streak to end the season, and after a rocky stretch in October, legendary coach John Gagliardi and his staff would take a lot of momentum into the offseason as they look to reload in 2012.

Meanwhile, Hamline will host its final game of 2011 looking for any positives it can find heading into the offseason. The Pipers actually started strong a week ago, using a defensive touchdown to take a 6-0 lead against a ranked Bethel team, but Hamline's offensive struggles continued in the eventual loss. If they can move the ball and eat some clock against Saint John's, anything is possible, and first-year coach John Pate would love to take some positive vibes into his first full offseason in St. Paul.

| 2011 MIAC Football Standings |

MIAC IN THE POLLS
The MIAC is back to two teams in the rankings following St. Olaf's upset at the hands of Saint John's a week ago - though the Oles did remain in the "Others receiving votes" section of both the AFCA and the D3Football.com polls. St. Thomas - the only 10-0 team in the nation since its bye is this week - remains at No. 3 in both polls, while Bethel used its win to bump up to No. 21 in the AFCA poll and No. 22 in the D3Football.com poll.

| AFCA Division III Coaches' Poll | D3football.com Top 25 |

ATHLETES-OF-THE-WEEK
The three MIAC Football Athletes-of-the-Week all played in the same, thrilling game Saturday: Saint John's 27-24 win over No. 19 St. Olaf. Johnnie running back Stephen Johnson received MIAC Football Athlete-of-the-Week honors after rushing for 196 yards and two second-half touchdowns, and teammate Jimmie Mattson was honored with the Special Teams Player-of-the-Week award for kicking three PATs and two field goals, including the game-winner with just five seconds left. St. Olaf linebacker Wes Lynch made 18 tackles - 12 solo - with 1.5 tackles-for-a-loss to earn Defensive Player-of-the-Week honors in the loss.

| MIAC Athletes-of-the-Week |

IN THE TRENCHES

Each week, the MIAC Football preview takes a minute to honor the guys who don't receive enough love and credit in the stats and highlights: the offensive and defensive lineman. "In the trenches" honors a unit on each side of the ball for doing the dirty work and serving as the front line for their team's success.

St. Thomas has been featured in this spot before, but it's impossible to ignore the Tommie line this week after it bulldozed its way to a regular-season ending win over Carleton that locked up the outright MIAC title and another 10-0 record for UST. In the win, St. Thomas ran for 386 yards on 47 carries for six rushing TDs and a jaw-dropping average of 8.2 yards per carry. Both Colin Tobin and Aaron Terrell-Byrd went for more than 140 yards behind the huge holes opened by the guys up front, and the Tommie line allowed just one sack on 21 drop backs in the win. The starters for St. Thomas along the offensive line were: center Curtis James, guards T.J. Woodrow and Jason Flesher and tackles Dan Chapman and Chad Vandergriff.

Defensively, Gustavus did a good job up front against Augsburg's vaunted rushing attack, holding the Auggies to 100 yards even on 39 carries for a 2.6 average. Gustavus also racked up three sacks in the passing game and one other tackle-for-a-loss to keep things close as the Gusties tried to mount a comeback. The Auggies' rushing game managed 40 yards less than its average and more than a yard-and-a-half less per carry. The starters up front for Gustavus were: tackles Tom Einberger and Donte Green and ends Dane Mellgren and Todd Kremmin.

BY THE NUMBERS

Here are some of the most important numbers from around the league after one week of action.

10-0 x 2 - St. Thomas wrapped up its second-straight 10-0 regular season last week, making the Tommies the first team in MIAC history to have back-to-back perfect runs through the regular season.

8 - Touchdowns accounted for by Bethel QB Josh Aakre in the last two weeks. Last week he had three rushing TDs and one passing vs. Hamline, and the week before he ran for two and threw for two to help the Royals beat Concordia.

2 - Consecutive games with more than 100 receiving yards for Augsburg TE Adam Carl. His most recent stat line included 11 catches for 115 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Gustavus.

291, 4 - Combined rushing yardage and touchdowns by St. Thomas RBs Aaron Terrell-Byrd and Colin Tobin. Terrell-Byrd had 142 and 3 TDs while Tobin added 149 and a TD vs. Carleton.

18 - Tackles by St. Olaf's Wes Lynch in a loss to Saint John's to help him earn MIAC Defensive Player-of-the-Week honors.

| 2011 MIAC Football Statistics |

Courtesy of MIAC