October 7th, 2023 8:00pm
Headlines, news and notes from week six
By Chuck Bitner, national columnist
Pictured: Barton QB Jaquan Lynch completed 77% of his passes, with four touchdowns in a 34-17 win over Newberry
The theme for week six was survival. We had a handful of teams that were facing their first significant tests of the year, notably Delta State, Benedict, Valdosta State and Lenoir-Rhyne, and a few others that were pushed to the brink by underdogs. Winning, surviving and moving on to the next game would be all that mattered as we wound down week six. And whether you were in Michigan or Nebraska, it was a good day to be a Wayne State supporter. Here is a look at some of the headlines…
No. 6 Delta State runs away from No. 25 Valdosta State
We know Delta State is an elite team, but we hadn’t seen them against a similarly matched opponent yet. On Saturday, the No. 6 Statesmen visited No. 25 Valdosta State for a classic GSC showdown of undefeated teams. Delta State wore down the Blazers’ defense, ending the day with 417 rush yards in the 49-25 road win. Kelvin Smith ran for 181 yards and 3 TD while teammate Christian Malloy added 115 yards and a score. For their part, Valdosta State made some good things happen in this game. They moved the ball well at times and got two INTs from Delta State’s Patrick Shegog. But they could not stop the run and were unable to take advantage of a few opportunities. Delta State’s defense made some stops in crucial situations and that allowed them to build separation. The Statesmen go to 6-0 and remain atop the GSC standings. Valdosta State is still in the running at 5-1 overall and 2-1 in the GSC.
Wayne State (Ne) knocks off unbeaten No. 21 Minnesota Duluth
Wayne State scored to go ahead of No. 21 Minnesota Duluth 7-3 early in the second quarter and led for the remainder of the game. The Wildcats took an 11 point lead into the fourth quarter. A crucial turnover midway through the final period would allow Wayne State to maintain the lead and they would later run out the clock with a drive that consumed the final 7:46 on the clock. Both teams are now 5-1.
No. 12 Benedict scores late to defeat Miles
Through five weeks, no one had even come close to putting a scare into Benedict. That changed on Saturday when Miles scored twice as many points as Benedict had allowed all year. It started off looking like a normal day with Benedict building a 21-3 lead by halftime, but Miles responded with three unanswered touchdowns. Facing adversity for the first time all year, the Tigers collected themselves, shook off a few turnovers and went on a 12 play, 87-yard drive to get the game winning touchdown with 2:25 remaining. Nicholas Sowell had a standout day, grabbing nine receptions for 174 yards and a 73-yard touchdown. Benedict moves to 6-0 but now faces a short turnaround to a Thursday night meeting with Fort Valley State.
TV ALERT: Benedict (6-0) hosts Fort Valley State (5-1) Thursday night on ESPN2. Game time is 7:30, eastern.
No. 13 Lenoir-Rhyne pulls through in OT at Limestone
It wasn’t pretty and it sure wasn’t easy, but the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears came out on top in a tense, early kickoff at Limestone. The Bears were outgained in total offense by a significant margin, 516 to 292. LR had numerous breakdowns in coverage and struggled to tackle Limestone’s elite running back Tre Stewart. Limestone had opportunities to build a lead but hurt themselves with mistakes all day. The defining moment in this affair was a blocked field goal returned 84 yards for a touchdown by LR inside of five minutes to play. That play would extend the game to overtime where the Bears won with a short field goal in the bottom half of the first OT period. Stewart rushed for 217 yards on just 14 carries before exiting the game with an upper leg injury in the third quarter.
No. 5 Minnesota State survives a scare from Minnesota Morehead
Minnesota State needed a game saving drive in the final minutes to fend off an inspired Minnesota Morehead team, 24-21. Morehead had -30 rushing yards in the game, but that’s mostly from lack of trying. Seriously, the Dragons don’t run the ball. They ran 72 total snaps and threw 66 passes. Quarterback Jack Strand had five of the team’s six recorded rush attempts and they were not designed runs. The Dragons do that because it's what works for them and it was almost enough to pull off a shocking upset. Not having a dependable kicking game played a part as the Dragons passed on a 27 yard field goal attempt with three minutes left to attempt a conversion on 4th and five. They did that because on the previous two drives, they missed from 27 and had a 34 yard attempt blocked. Those missed opportunities ended up being the difference. The Mavericks survived to extend their record to 6-0. Up next is a rare treat: an out of conference game with Western Oregon coming to Mankato.
No. 20 Truman State wins in OT
Visiting Quincy stunned Truman State by building a 20-0 lead in the first quarter. The Bulldogs would recover and score 24 unanswered to take the lead late in the third quarter. Quincy reclaimed the lead with 10 minutes to play and held it until 0:08 remained in the game. A 31 yard field goal by Truman’s Grant Ross tied the game and sent it to OT. Quarterback Nolan Hair won it with a 20 yard touchdown run after Jake Closser stopped Quincy’s possession with an interception in the end zone.
Truman State remains undefeated and will host Indianapolis next Saturday in what will be the biggest game of the year in the GLVC. The Bulldogs and Greyhounds are both undefeated.
Virginia State dominant in win at Bowie State
Virginia State ruined homecoming afternoon at Bowie State with a 44-16 win. The score was close at the half, but Virginia State outscored their hosts 21-0 in the second half. The Trojans rushed for 445 yards, averaging 8.7 yards per carry as a team, while also holding Bowie State to just 57 rush yards. Kimo Clarke was the top performer, posting 244 yards on 21 carries, with four touchdowns. Virginia State is 6-0 and should be in the Top 25 this week.
Quick hits...
No. 8 Ouachita Baptist was never in danger, but did have to work for their 31-14 win over East Central. The Tigers’ rival and fellow unbeaten No. 9 Harding laid waste to Northwestern Oklahoma, 62-0.
In a very crowded SAC Piedmont division, don’t sleep on Barton. The Bulldogs are 5-1 overall after beating two-time defending SAC champs Newberry 34-17. Jaquan Lynch attempted just 13 passes, but completed 10 and four of them were touchdowns.
Lincoln (Pa) won for the third time this year and second week in a row. The Lions won a 52-44 shootout at Bluefield State. Since re-launching football in 2008, Lincoln has yet to win more than three games in a season. The 2023 Lions are currently 3-3.
I’ve been saying for a couple of weeks that Slippery Rock is the best team in the super region one. Scoring 75 on Saturday did nothing to dissuade me of that, but California made it known they’re not ready to concede the PSAC West. The Vulcans won at IUP by a final of 30-20 in the game known as the Coal Bowl. The defense held IUP to just 209 total yards. Cal hosts Seton Hill next week and will travel to Slippery Rock on Oct. 21.
Northwest Missouri State snapped a three game conference losing streak with a 34-21 over Central Oklahoma.
Wayne State (Mi) got their first GLIAC win of the season and first ever under head coach Tyrone Wheatley. The Warriors posted just 268 total yards, but when the offense did move the ball, they made the most of it. The difference in the 23-21 margin was special teams. Michigan Tech was 0-3 on field goal attempts, Wayne State was 3-3.
No.16 Western Colorado used a run of 30 unanswered points to pull away from a good South Dakota Mines team on the road, 43-20. The Mountaineers snagged four interceptions from Hardrocker quarterbacks.
After the midseason firing of head coach Willie Slater, Clark Atlanta had one of their more competitive outings, but remain winless after a 35-27 loss to Allen.
Notre Dame is back in the MEC race after a 31-24 win over West Virginia State, who entered the day unbeaten in conference play. The next challenge is a visit to Charleston who is also unbeaten in MEC action.
Tiffin is the only team unbeaten overall and in GMAC play. The Dragons made it to 6-0 with a 35-21 win over Hillsdale.
We haven’t talked much about the Northeast 10 recently, but New Haven and Assumption keep winning in conference and appear to be on a collision course for their Oct. 28 meeting. Both are 4-1 overall and unbeaten in conference games.
That’s a look at week six. Remember to watch Inside D2Football for the weekend recap on Sunday night at 8pm, eastern.
Questions, suggestions, comments, complaints? Email me at [email protected] and follow me on Twitter @D2Chuck