By Eric Sieger
Alma SID

Last week's key games

John Carrroll 26, Catholic 21 -- The Blue Streaks found a way to win, as senior tailback Bobby Kraft scored on the opening kickoff on an 89-yard return, followed by senior Tom Rini's score on a 30-yard fumble return. More on this game in Around the Mid-Atlantic.

The Cardinals rallied to take the lead early in the fourth quarter, but the Blue Streak defense came up big again, intercepting a pass on third-and-goal. JCU scored on the next play, securing a win in head coach Regis Scafe's debut.

Defiance 35, Adrian 28 -- In the lone conference game in the area, the Yellow Jackets pulled an upset of Adrian 35-28 at Defiance, thanks in large part to Mike Groll's MIAA-record 18 receptions for 153 yards and three scores. Sophomore quarterback Kevin Kelly was better than solid, going 31 of 46 for 277 yards and three scores against no interceptions.

Adrian's combo of Joe Davis to Ryan Speiser was just as deadly, as Speiser hauled in 14 catches (a school-record) for 270 yards and two TD's, while Davis was 20 of 38 for 323 yards, two scores and one interception in his debut as a starter. The loss certanly puts Adrian's title hopes in major jeopardy, as they most likely will need to run the table the rest of the way with Albion, Hope and Alma remaining on the schedule - a tough task indeed.

Butler 27, Albion 20 (OT) -- The Britons suffered a nightmare in the game's final seconds, as they fumbled the ball away on their own three-yard line with 13 seconds left after it appeared they had held Division I-AA Butler out of the end zone to secure the win. Butler recovered the fumble and scored on a fade pattern, sending the game into overtime. In the extra session, the Bulldogs received the ball first and scored on a DeWayne Ewing one-yard plunge. Albion was unable to score on their possession, and lost their season opener. Four turnovers were the major undoing of the defending MIAA champs, three by fumbles. The offense also sputtered a bit, gaining just 251 yards. The big question this week will be how this loss affects the Britons' confidence heading into their showdown with Mount Union.

This Week's Key Matchups

Albion (0-1) at Mount Union (0-0), 1:30 p.m.
The Purple Raiders open defense of their national championship the same way they did last year -- against the Britons. Albion came the closest to dethroning Larry Kehres' gang in the second meeting between the two teams, as they missed a chip-shot field goal in the waning seconds that would have given Albion the win in the first round of the playoffs.

The Britons are coming off a tough loss to Butler, and are not quite at the same level they were a year ago. But if Albion can find a running game and the wide receivers can start catching quarterback Jason Whalen's bullets, this could be a dogfight. The best matchup should be when Mount Union has the ball, as Gary Smeck and Co. face off against Albion's vaunted defense.

Augustana (0-0) at Hope (0-0), 1:30
A great interregional matchup between two powerhouse programs. Hope will look to get back on track after ending last season with two consecutive losses to Albion and Defiance.

Augustana, meanwhile, must cope with the temporary loss of head coach Tom Schmulbach, who is out recovering from surgery. Defensive coordinator Larry Johnson takes the reins while Schmulbach recovers. This will most likely be a study in contrasts, as Hope gained twice as many yards through the air than on the ground last year, while the Vikings ranked seventh in the nation with 303 yards rushing per game. Last season, the Vikings ground out a 20-6 win in Rock Island, dominating the ball for 41 of the 60 minutes.

An interesting side note has former Hope defensive coordinator Mike Ricketts facing off against the Flying Dutchmen as the Viking offensive coordinator. Ricketts is a former All-American linebacker for the Vikings, as he played on three of their national championship teams.

Ohio Northern (0-0) at Wabash (0-0), 2:30
The Little Giants and the Polar Bears lock up in a key cross-conference rivalry. Many prognosticators believe that the OAC will be one of the few conference to receive more than one playoff berth. If this is true, than this is a paramount game for the Polar Bears. It may not be as important for the Little Giants, as they will be the frontrunners for the bid out of the Heartland Conference before they make the jump to the North Coast Conference next season.

Ohio Northern will be led by Steve Vagedes, who hauled in 55 receptions for 1,220 yards last season while also earning All-America honors as a punter. Junior Shane Franzer returns as quarterback as the undisputed starter after splitting time last season.

Baldwin-Wallace at Wittenberg, 7:00
Two of the best that DIII has to offer will clash under the lights when Baldwin-Wallace and Wittenberg meet Saturday night at Edwards-Maurer Field in Springfield, Ohio. The game will be a rematch of the 1978 Stagg Bowl when the Yellow Jackets defeated Wittenberg, then a member of the OAC, in the national title game 24 10.

Last year, the rivlary was rekindled at The George Finnie Stadium in Berea when the Tigers prevailed 17-16 to deadlock this series at 20-20-1 overall. B-W and Wittenberg are two of the winningest football programs in Division III. Wittenberg is first all-time with a 572 316-32 record and a .639 winning percentage. The Yellow Jackets enter the 1999 season with an all-time mark of 472-271-30 and a .630 winning percentage.

This year's edition may be more important to B-W than Wittenberg for the same reasoning that Ohio Northern must beat Wabash. It is doubtful that the NCAC would receive two playoff bids, so Wittenberg can use this game as a tune-up. If B-W drops the game, they face the prospect of defeating Ohio Northern and Mount Union on the road, as well as John Carroll at home, to run the table in the OAC and receive the AQ. (Special thanks to B-W SID Kevin Ruple.)