SUWANEE, Ga. - Trinity University capped off a perfect 10-0 regular season with a 7-6 win at Austin College. The win gave the Tigers the outright SCAC championship. Elsewhere, Centre beat Rhodes 41-28 to help propel the Colonels to an NCAA Division III playoff at-large bid.
AROUND THE SCAC
Austin College nearly upset 11th-ranked Trinity as the Kangaroos fell 7-6 in a low scoring contest at Apple Stadium. After the Tigers scored a touchdown, Austin College cut the lead to 7-6 on two Mitch Anderson field goals. However, it was not enough as Trinity held on for the win. The loss ends the Kangaroos' season at 0-10 overall and 0-6 in the SCAC.
Birmingham-Southern wrapped up the season at home with a come-from-behind victory over Millsaps, 35-21, on Homecoming and Senior Day. After falling behind 14-0 in the first quarter, the Panthers proceeded to score 35 straight points to defeat the Majors. Junior tailback Shawn Morris had a record-setting day, shattering the school and conference record for single-game rushing yards with 332. He now owns BSC's top three rushing games, all from this season. Morris also scored three touchdowns in the game. He entered the game as the league's leading rusher and scorer, and ends the season with 1,449 yards and 17 touchdowns. With the win, BSC finished the season 7-2 overall, the most wins since reinstating football in 2007. The win was the Panthers' first-ever over the Majors, who now lead the series 4-1. Junior cornerback Jeffery Steele led BSC with 12 total tackles and added an interception. The BSC defense held Millsaps to just 97 yards rushing on the day.
No. 25 Centre raced out to a 34-0 lead before allowing Rhodes to score en-route to a 41-28 win over the visiting Lynx. With the win, the Colonels finished the regular season 8-1 overall and 5-1 in the SCAC. Centre out-gained Rhodes 507-423 in total offensive yards. The 507 yards are the highest single-game total for the Colonels this season. Two player finished the day with 100+ yard rushing including senior running back Jonathan Pinque and senior quarterback Tyler Osterman. Osterman also connected with brother Jason for three touchdown passes. With the win, Centre finished second to Trinity in the league and received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The appearance will be the first in school history for the Colonels, who will host Hampden-Sydney in the first round.
Millsaps dropped its final game of the year on Saturday to the Birmingham-Southern Panthers, 35-21 thanks in part to a career day from BSC running back Shawn Morris and a 28 points fourth quarter. The Majors got things started early on as they struck first since to an 11 play, 80 yard drive ending a touchdown pass from junior quarterback Garrett Pinciotti to freshman Byron Johnson to put the Majors ahead 7-0. Millsaps responded on their next drive in the first quarter as Pinciotti found junior Jason O'Rear from 10 yards out to increase the lead to 14-0. The Panthers responded in the second quarter with a long run form SCAC leading rusher Shawn Morris to cut the deficit in half. The teams went into half with Millsaps leading 14-7. No team could find any points in the third quarter. Birmingham-Southern started the fourth quarter with a touchdown run as that started a 28 point fourth quarter for the Panthers. Millsaps added a touchdown in the last minute as Pinciotti found Theriot from 16 yards out, but it was too little too late as the Panthers defeated the Majors 35-21. The loss drops Millsaps to 4-6, their first losing season since 2005.
Rhodes closed the 2011 season with a 41-28 loss to Centre on Saturday, November, 12th. Senior quarterback Brett Stoots ended his career with a 424 yard, 4 touchdown performance. Stoots completed 40 of 65 passes and threw 1 interception. Junior wide receiver Jack Lartigue caught a career best 15 passes for a career high 4 touchdowns and 158 yards in the loss. Senior Buddy Legens also hauled in 11 passes. Lartigue and Legens finished the season with 75 receptions, tied for first in the SCAC in receptions. Lartigue led the SCAC in receiving yards per game, averaging 104.7 yards a contest. Legens was 2nd in the SCAC in receiving yards per game, averaging 91.8 per contest. Stoots finished the season as the SCAC leader in passing yards per game. Stoots threw for 2048 yards, 14 touchdowns and averaged 256 yards per contest. Rhodes finished the season 3-6 overall and 1-5 in the SCAC, finishing 6th overall.
In front of a massive Homecoming crowd, Sewanee closed out its 2011 season with a 27-13 win over SCAC member Austin College, at McGee Field at Harris Stadium on November 5. With their victory, first-year head coach Tommy Laurendine - and the Tigers - wrap up the season with a 5-5 overall record. Sewanee's five wins are the most since 2005. Sewanee outrushed Austin by a 216-187 margin. Surprisingly, Sewanee gained more yards through the air than the Kangaroos. Led, by sophomore Lee Schurlknight, Chad Morehead and Curtis Johnson, the Tigers passed for 167 yards. Austin quarterback Noah Jesko, finished the game with 141 yards. Individually, junior slot back Jase Brooks had a career day. Brooks had a game-high 93 rushing yards, to go along with 39 receiving yards. As a defense, the Tigers forced three interceptions, which gave Sewanee a total of 13 picks this fall. Last season, Sewanee finished the year with nine interceptions Individually, juniors J.D. Crabtree and J.P. Boudreaux, led the Tigers with 5.5 tackles, while senior Zac Atkins added five stops.
No. 11 Trinity finished off its first undefeated regular season since 2005 with a 7-6 win over Austin College on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers also clinched the outright SCAC Championship with the win, having already secured the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Playoffs. Trinity will also be hosting a playoff game for the first time since 2005, and will face off against McMurry University at noon on Saturday, November 19. Trinity is 12-11 all-time in the playoffs, but the team has not won a postseason game since the semifinals in 2002. Trinity and McMurry will meet for the first time since 2009, which was a 31-26 win by the Tigers. Trinity has won five straight games in the series, and holds a 23-13-1 record against the Warhawks.
For the complete SCAC Gridiron Weekly for Week 11, click here.
