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Beast
Lives... Profs Hold On 27-21
DOYLESTOWN, Pa —
Rowan University scored 27 unanswered points in the second half
and then held off a late Delaware Valley College rally as the
visiting Profs won the NCAA Division III East Region title and
advanced to the national semifinals with a 27-21 victory.
Rowan, the third
seed in the region improved to 11-1 on the season and will now
play in the Final Four for the 10th time in its storied history.
The Profs will travel to Mount Union College next Saturday. The
Aggies, who were 2-8 in 2002, finished another year to remember
with a 12-1 record, a second Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC)
championship and a second trip to the NCAA quarterfinals. Last
year's run also ended against Rowan with a 56-7 loss.
This year's game
came down to the final moments as Delaware Valley took over on
the Prof 36 -yard line down 27-21 with 3:01 remaining after an
Aaron McCord got caught in the wind and went just eight yards.
Three plays later, the Aggies faced fourth-and-four from the 30,
but quarterback Adam Knoblauch hit tailback Jake Sheffield for
an 11-yard pass play and a first down at the 19.
A draw play to Steve
Cook lost a yard and Knoblauch was sacked by Ed Kunder for a loss
of three on second down. Knoblauch's third down pass just missed
wideout Don Marshall, setting up a fourth-and-14 situation from
the Rowan 23 with 39 seconds remaining. Knoblauch's pass into
the end zone for Joel Foreman was knocked away by Eric Bailey
and the Profs had to kneel down just one time for the win.
Delaware Valley
took a 14-0 lead into the intermission with two touchdowns in
the last 2:51 of the half. Knoblauch completed a six-play, 52-yard
scoring drive with a 22-yard scamper into the end zone. Bill Miller's
extra-point made it 7-0.
Rowan went three-and-out
and the Aggies took over on their own 44-yard line with 1:29 left
in the half and they moved it to the Prof 22-yard line with eight
ticks to go. On third-and-five, Knoblauch hit David Carmon inside
the 10 and he leaped into the end zone for the touchdown with
three seconds to go. It was Knoblauch's 100th career scoring pass
making the senior just the 10th player in Division III history
to reach the milestone. Bill Miller added the point after for
a 14-0 lead.
However, the second
half saw the Rowan defense force three turnovers on Delaware Valley's
first three possession of the second half. The Profs converted
two of those miscues into touchdowns for a 14-14 ballgame.
On the first drive,
Randy Tosh sacked Knoblauch and forced the ball lose. Kunder recovered
at the Aggie 38 and Rowan drove down to the eight-yard line. However,
Delaware Valley held on fourth-and-seven as Joe Rankin hit Sakeen
Wright for a five-yard pass.
Delaware Valley
reached the 26-yard line and tried a reverse, but Marshall fumbled
the ball, picked it up and fumbled it again as Tosh hit him. Keith
Heimerl recovered the ball at the 12 for Rowan. The Aggies forced
a fourth-and-five at the seven, but Rankin hit Brad Stys for the
touchdown. Matias Spahn's point-after made it 14-7 with 8:42 remaining
in the third.
On the ensuing possession,
Knoblauch's third down pass was intercepted by Heimerl and he
returned it 12 yards to the Delaware Valley 33. Seven plays later,
Rankin and Stys connected again, this time from 13 yards out.
Spahn's extra-point tied the game at 14-14 with 4:56 left in the
third.
Delaware Valley
was stopped on its next possession and, following a 13-yard punt
into the wind, Rowan took over on its own 38. On third-and-eight,
Rankin found a wide open Joe D'Imperio for a 60-yard touchdown.
Spahn's extra-point missed wide right, but Rowan had a 20-14 advantage
with 53 seconds left in the third.
"We've been
working on that play," said D'Imperio in the Gloucester
County Times. "The safeties were flying out trying to
cover two big guys outside. The safety came over top, it was an
out and up from the inside and there was no one there. I was ready
to take it all the way back to Glassboro."
Midway through the
fourth quarter, the Profs added to their lead as Rankin ended
a nine-play, 57-yard scoring drive with a six-yard touchdown pass
to Brian Jenkins. Spahn's point-after made it 27-14 with 6:29
remaining.
However, Delaware
Valley, known for its late-game heroics over the last two years,
made it a one-possession game as, on fourth-and-10, Knoblauch
hit a wide-open Foreman for a 36-yard touchdown. Miller's extra-point
put the Aggies to within six, 27-21, with 4:44 remaining. Delaware
Valley's defense forced a three-and-out, setting the stage for
a final drive that came up short.
"We were the
better team," said Aggie head coach G.A. Mangus in the Gloucester
County Times. "We outgained them, out-time-of-possesioned
them. We should have won the game. We throw a pick at the goal
line or we're up 21-0 at the half. We fumble on Red Snoopy, our
quarterback sneak, on third-and-inches on a play we've made every
time the last four years.
"Last year,
we play them 10 times, we'd be lucky to win once. This year, we'd
win the majority. That's very irritating. But that's why they're
the champs, that's why they've been the champs. We didn't throw
the knockout punch."
After managing just
78 yards of total offense in the first half, Rowan notched 229
yards in the final 30 minutes. Meanwhile the Prof defense limited
the Aggies to 127 total yards and only 4 yards rushing in the
second half, after a 239-yard in the first stanza.
After a 5-for-17,
36-yard first half, Rankin completed 10 of 18 passes for 131 yards
and four touchdowns in the second stanza. Sakeen Wright finished
with six catches for 50 yards while Stys added five receptions
for 43 yards and two scores. Todd Trout and Zach Garren had 11
tackle apiece while Tosh finished with 10 tackles, two forced
fumbles and two sacks.
Delaware
Valley press release
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