We've talked for years about how the GLIAC often is a logjam, and this is the point of the year where things tend to be the most crowded. The last month of the season typically provides the bulk of the "sorting out" each year...and the coming month will be charged with doing a TON of sorting.

Atop the South Division and Overall standings, Ashland, Hillsdale and Wayne are all knotted up...and all three of them can't forget a surprising Findlay bunch that is only a game back and actually controls its own GLIAC destiny as they conclude their season by facing those other three teams in succession to close out the year. The North Division is, well, a mess as Ferris, Indy and Saginaw sit atop the division, with Grand Valley and Tech only a game back. It appears to be a longer shot to get a North Division club into an overall champ slot, but just about any way this next month gets sliced/diced it appears there will almost certainly be some sharing of titles going on (overall and divisions). Should be wild either way...

As for this weekend's results, the three "marquis" games we had heading into the weekend lived up to their billing. Hillsdale won another tight one at Tech...and who would have thought that Tech would have three losses at this point, let alone two of them in a row at home? Ashland found a way to claw back late and knock of Wayne, sending the GLIAC's final unbeaten to a defeat...and UIndy used its defense to put away Saginaw Valley and draw into a tie for the North Division lead.


Hillsdale 13, Michigan Tech 7

After essentially giving one away a week ago, the Chargers rebounded by doing something they hadn't done in in 15 years...knocking of Tech in Houghton. While Joe Glendening did post 100+ on the ground again (and we can't overlook QB Anthon Mifsud's 98 rushing yards) the story was the Hillsdale defense that found a way to keep Tyler Scarlett and Company in check to the tune of only 167 total yards. It took more than 52 minutes of play for the Huskies to find the scoreboard, but a comeback like last week against Saginaw wasn't in the cards as MTU fumbled away their final possession in Hillsdale's end with less than three minutes to go.


Northwood 20, Tiffin 10

Tiffin had (perhaps) its best chance at a win run away from it...literally. Despite a relatively solid performance from Dan Pitts in his first start at quarterback for the Dragons, Aaron Shaver's return to running The Woodbone proved too much as Northwood amassed 335 rushing yards and held TU to only 18. Cameron Jackson did most of the damage for NU with 213 yards and a pair of scores.


Ashland 20, Wayne State 17

It was a defensive struggle in Ashland, as both teams combined to collect less than 500 yards of total offense. While that fact is certainly of note, the story was Ashland's resilience as the Eagles over came a 17-3 fourth quarter deficit to storm back and notch the win. After tying the game at 17, Ashland's defense came up big with an interception of Micky Mohner (Eric Schwieterman's second of the game) as Wayne was driving to try and post the winning score. Instead, despite only having time for a play or two the Eagles got a 30-yard run from Anthony Taylor on a draw play, and Gregg Berkshire connected from 43 yards out at the gun to stun the Warriors and saddle them with their first loss of the season.


Ferris State 35, Northern Michigan 6

We've been on Northern Michigan about their ground game most of the season. They fixed that this week as Prince Young notched 149 yards on 25 carries. While that was great, they saw no balance as Tom Schneider proved the more proficient of the two starting quarterbacks yesterday in leading Ferris to the easy win. Schneider threw for 202 yards and a TD, and ran for 77 yards and another score in outshining is counterpart Carter Kopach who completed less than 50% of his passes on the day and was held completely in check throughout.


Findlay 27, Ohio Dominican 24

Clay Belton was healthy enough to start after getting banged up last week, and Monterae Williams had more than 100 yards rushing yet again. There's your story in a Findlay win, right? Well, not exactly as Jeremy Fudge and Mike Noffsinger both went over 100 yards on the ground for Ohio Dominican and the Panthers out-gained UF by more than 140 yards. The story was a Findlay defense that notched a pair of well-timed second half turnovers, as well as an 84-yard interception return for a score by D.J. Williams late in the second quarter. The Panthers played well against a solid opponent for the second straight week, but it was turnovers that did THEM in this time around.


Indianapolis 29, Saginaw Valley 20

For the second straight week the Indianapolis defense notched three interceptions. This week, they returned two of them for scores as the 'Hounds beat Saginaw at Key Stadium for the first time since 1988. UIndy needed those scores as they were out-gained by the Cardinals, and had several drives deep into Saginaw territory stall and result in field goals. Nevertheless, they made the plays when they needed them as Jonathon Jennings' 307 yards and two scores via the air were overshadowed by those three picks. Nick Gallina was Jennings' favorite target, hauling in eight ball for 155 yards and a score, while Ryan Forney led the UIndy offense with eight catches for 112 yards.


Grand Valley 61, Lake Erie 31

The script repeated a bit for the Lakers against Lake Erie College. Last year, GV had a 27-23 lead at recess before blowing things open in the second half. This time around, The Storm hung in there a bit longer as they trailed by a mere deuce heading in to the final stanza, but Grand Valley's depth once again proved too much as the Lakers exploded for 28 fourth quarter points to net the final result. Sean Bedevelsky finally looked like himself posting 346 yards of total offense, but he was overshadowed by his own defense that yielded 340 yards on the ground to the visitors. Norman Shuford led the GV ground charge with 167 yards and two TD's, and added 118 yards and a TD receiving. Hersey Jackson also got in on the act for the Lakers with 112 yards and a TD on the ground. While those performances were impressive, perhaps the most exciting player for Grand Valley was safety Erik Thompson who opened the Grand Valley scoring with a 100-yard kickoff return for a TD, and closed it by returning an interception 49 yards for another.