MVC VIKINGS TIE NAIA RECORD – As hyped here yesterday the 11th-ranked Missouri Valley College Vikings had a chance to tie the NAIA record for total football victories at 560 and, as luck would have it, were playing against the team that had a 1-win edge over them: the William Jewell Cardinals! As this “What are the chances?” game unfolded, the Vikings actually trailed at half-time 13-10 but went on to win by a score of 40-23. Congratulations to MVC and it will be interesting to watch the Vikings and Cardinals jockey to see who gets to hold the new record week by week.
Hurlin’ Hewitt Enters The Record Books – In a game played Friday night, Johns Hopkins Blue Jays QB Hurlin’ Hewitt Tomlin became the all-time wins leader for Blue Jays quarterbacks as JHU crushed the Dickinson Red Devils 44-10. Tomlin also had a personal best 4 td passes in the game and threw for 271 yards. Next week the Blue Jays take it on the road against the 5-0 Ursinus Bears, who currently sit at the top of the Centennial Conference standings.
Top 25 Upsets – NAIA – Thursday night the unranked Georgetown (KY) Tigers pulled off an upset over the 25th-ranked Campbellsville Tigers 52-21 … In a minor upset the #9 St Francis (IN) Cougars defeated the 8th-ranked Walsh Cavaliers 20-14 … The 12th-ranked McKendree Bearcats were also upset, losing to the unranked St Francis (IL) Fighting Saints 28-24 in the final seconds, with last-second upsets being a Fighting Saints specialty of late … Both the other teams tied for 25th lost to unranked opponents: the Hastings Broncos fell to the Midland Lutheran Warriors 35-23, Midland’s 2nd straight win over a ranked team and the Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves upset the Dakota Wesleyan Tigers for the Tigers’ 2nd straight loss to an unranked foe.
Top 25 Upsets – NCAA Division 3 – The #17 Eau Claire Blugolds got pummeled on the road by the unranked Platteville Pioneers 35-14 … The 19th-ranked Wabash Little Giants (Am I the only one who thinks they should be called the Wabash Cannonballs instead?) also lost on the road, to the Washington (MO) Bears 24-20 … Completing our Trifecta of ranked teams losing on the road to unranked foes are the St John’s Johnnies, who fell to the Bethel (MN) Royals in a 17-14 Instant Classic.
Top 25 Upsets – NCAA Division 2 – The 22nd ranked Winston-Salem State Rams, in their 1st year back in D2 after moving down from Division 1, suffered their 1st loss of the year to the St Augustine’s Falcons 40-35 … The #23 Tusculum Pioneers also fell at home to the Newberry Wolves in a 63-56 Mega-Shootout … As proof that “Rock beats Fighting Scots”, the 24th-ranked Edinboro Fighting Scots lost at The Rock of Slippery Rock 28-14 and the #25 CSU-Pueblo Thunderwolves fell to the Colorado Mines Orediggers by a score of 19-16.
Webber International and Concordia (AL) Rule The World – Two NAIA teams logged wins over Division 2 opponents yesterday. The Webber International Warriors, 1 week after handing the Azusa Pacific Cougars their 1st loss of the year, brought down the UNC-Pembroke Braves, who were ranked #17 in the D2 Poll, by a score of 26-13. Meanwhile, the Concordia (AL) Hornets won on the road against D2’s Stillman (Yawn) Tigers in an 18-17 Instant Classic. Congratulations to the Warriors and the Hornets and here’s wishing that half the college teams called Tigers would be required to change their names to something less over-used.
“At Least Put A Color In Front Of Tigers” Dept – D2’s 18th-ranked Tuskegee Golden Tigers were road warriors yesterday, traveling to take on the 20th-ranked Morehouse Maroon Tigers and pulling off a 31-15 win.
It’s A Cliche, But Someone’s “0” Will Go – The NAIA’s Top-Ranked Sioux Falls Cougars (raise your hand if you’re sick of me mentioning that they’re trying to Threepeat as National Champs) won handily yesterday, mauling the Briar Cliff Chargers 66-21. Meanwhile, 1 of the few teams to play USF tough in recent years, the 4th-ranked Morningside Mustangs, obliterated the Dordt Defenders by a score of 71-0. This means both teams go in to next week’s meeting at USF with 6-0 records, adding even extra spice to the matchup in what is sure to be a memorable Victory Sports Network Game Of The Week. “Getcher popcorn ready” as a certain locker-room wrecking wide receiver once said.
We Went To A Football Game And A Baseball Game Broke Out- This week’s entry for this category would be the game between the Shenandoah Hornets and the Maryville Scots, both from D3. The Hornets won 7-6 in a game where Bud Selig for once didn’t have to worry about bad umpiring.
Lindsey Wilson College Wins Again – Like the Notre Dame College Falcons, the Lindsey Wilson College Blue Raiders are in their 1st year of intercollegiate football. Yesterday the Blue Raiders got their 2nd win by defeating the Pikeville Bears in an offensive supernova, 59-52.
Bearcats Tie Their Own Record – The Northwest Missouri Bearcats, ranked #6 in the D2 Polls, tied their own record for consecutive conference wins at 41 by defeating the Missouri Southern Lions 49-21. Coach Tjeerdsma’s boys try to set a new record next week against the Emporia State Hornets.
“Our Division Can Beat Up Your Division” Dept – In this week’s round in the rivalry between the NAIA and NCAA Division 3 things ended in a stalemate. The NAIA’s Southern Virginia Knights kicked around D3’s Guilford Quakers 36-21 but then the Lewis And Clark Pioneers from D3 evened things up by defeating the NAIA’s Menlo Oaks 31-10.
How Long, Oh Lord, How Long? – The Marathon Game Of The Week Award goes to the matchup between the Methodist Monarchs and the Ferrum Panthers. The game wound up as a 51-45 win for the Panthers in Triple Overtime.
Generals Exterminate The Wasps – Insert your own Dalek joke here following that title. The Washington and Lee Generals defeated 1 of the teams that has given them the most trouble over the years, the Emory and Henry Wasps, 45-24. The Generals had 2 backs run for over 100 yds, Luke “The Lambaster” Heinsohn (130 yds; 1 TD) and “Bullet” Brett Murray (121 yds; 2 TD) and a 3rd, Harrison Hudson, “The Hawk” himself, had 95 yds. QB Charlie Westfal, Official Balladeer’s Blog nickname, “The New Canaan Nuke”, was 6 of 9 for 66 yds and 2 TD and added 65 yds and another TD with his legs. (His kidneys had just 11 yds rushing) Washington and Lee is 2-0 in conference play and still hoping to win their 1st Old Dominion Athletic Conference title since 2006. The Generals get to try exterminating another insect team next week as they face the Randolph–Macon Yellow Jackets.
We Went To A Football Game And A Basketball Game Broke Out – With Midnight Madness just around the corner, this category doesn’t seem as unusual as in past weeks. This week’s entry is the 84-55 win the Union Bulldogs had over the Bethel (TN) Wildcats.
There’s no mistaking the hostile gleam in the eye of one of the most-wanted creatures from bad 1950’s 
