College Football: St. Francis cruises to victory
October 13, 2012 10:42PM
Quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase suffered an apparent concussion after getting sandwiched on this play in the second quarter. | Carlos Osorio~AP
Updated: November 15, 2012 6:55AM
JOLIET — With 426 yards of total offense and six takeaways, No. 20 University of St. Francis controlled the game on both sides of the ball en route to a 48-17 win over Mid-States Football Association Midwest Division rival Trinity International University on Saturday afternoon at ATI Field.
Junior quarterback E.J. White rushed for a career-high 169 yards and three touchdowns and junior running back Anthony Hubert ran for 128 yards and a score as the Saints (5-3 overall, 3-1 MSFA Midwest) amassed 348 yards on the ground.
Among USF’s six takeaways were a pair of interceptions each from senior cornerback Charlmers Oscar and senior linebacker Willie McCalebb. The four picks resulted in 24 Saints points, including McCalebb’s 45-yard TD return late in the game.
The first half was closely contested as Trinity International (3-5, 0-3) led 14-8 after one quarter. TIU opened the scoring midway through the first period when Brian Deighton blocked a USF punt and fell on the ball in the end zone for a touchdown.
USF answered quickly on a 17-yard White scamper 1:01 later, but TIU went up 14-8 when quarterback Steve Anderson and wideout Cris Robinson hooked up on a 19-yard scoring play at the 2:59 mark of the opening stanza.
Anderson completed 9-of-18 passes for 129 yards before leaving the game with an injury on the Trojans’ final possession of the first half.
St. Francis tied the game at 14 on a 11-yard run by Hubert with under two minutes to go in the first half.
TIU took a 17-14 halftime lead on a Noah Moore 25-yard field goal as time expired in the second quarter.
The second half was all St. Francis. Interceptions by Oscar on the Trojans’ first two possessions of the third quarter set up USF scores — an 11-yard White run at the 13:13 mark and a career-long 44-yard field goal by sophomore Sean Murray.
White scored his third TD of the game on a 35-yard run late in the third quarter to give the Saints a 32-17 lead.
USF scored early in the fourth quarter on Murray’s second field goal of the day, this one from 27 yards away.
A 1-yard run by sophomore Malik Norman with 2:26 remaining and McCalebb’s 45-yard interception return less than a minute later capped the scoring.
Several USF defenders turned in solid performances as the Saints held Trinity International to 214 yards of total offense. Senior linebacker Drew Tondini led the team with 13 tackles, including three for loss.
No. 7 Notre Dame 20
No. 17 Stanford 13 (OT)
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — TJ Jones made a reaching 7-yard touchdown catch in overtime and Notre Dame stopped Stanford inches from the goal line to beat the Cardinal.
After Jones and Tommy Rees gave the Fighting Irish (6-0) a seven-point lead in OT, Stanford (4-2) drove to a first-and-goal at the 4.
Stepfan Taylor ran for one yard on first down, two yards on second down and inches on third down. That left one play from inside the 1 and the Notre Dame defense, led by Carlos Calabrese, stood up Taylor and pushed him back.
Taylor kept reaching and turning and ended up reaching the ball across the goal line, but the officials ruled it was too late. The play had been stopped.
The celebration had to wait for a replay review. It was close, but the call stood. The fans stormed the field, and Notre Dame’s national title hopes remained alive.
No. 25 Michigan 45, Illinois 0
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Denard Robinson overcame his mysterious first-quarter injury and then brushed aside the Illini almost as easily.
Robinson threw two touchdown passes and ran for two scores, leading Michigan over the Fighting Illini.
The Wolverines (4-2, 2-0 Big Ten) got a scare when Robinson left the game with an undisclosed injury late in the first quarter. He missed just one-plus possessions, though, and returned to score on a 6-yard run — his second of four touchdowns — to put Michigan up 17-0 late in the first half.
The Fighting Illini (2-5, 0-3) had their starting quarterback, Nathan Scheelhaase, knocked out of the game because of a concussion in the second quarter.
Northwestern 21, Minnesota 13
MINNEAPOLIS — Venric Mark rushed for 182 yards and two touchdowns to carry Northwestern.
Mark wasn’t touched on scoring runs of 26 and 48 yards and the Wildcats (6-1, 2-1 Big Ten) overcame 11 penalties to become bowl eligible.
The Golden Gophers fell to 4-2, 0-2.
Jerry Kill’s seizure problems returned Saturday, hospitalizing the Minnesota coach shortly after he gave his postgame news conference.
Kill met with the media and answered questions for about 10 minutes after the game, looking healthy and strong. But moments after returning to the locker room, school officials said he had another seizure.
Team medical staff attended to him immediately. Kill was taken to a hospital, where he was alert and resting comfortably, according to a news release issued by the school about two hours after the game.
Northern Illinois 45, Buffalo 3
DeKALB — Jordan Lynch ran for a pair of first-half touchdowns and threw two scoring passes in the second half as Northern Illinois rolled over Buffalo.
Northern Illinois (6-1, 3-0 Mid-American) got 129 yards on the ground from Lynch, and he completed 13-of-20 passes for 232 yards. Martel Moore caught eight passes for 133 yards and a TD.
Buffalo (1-5, 0-3) was pressured by the Northern Illinois defense most of the day. Northern Illinois intercepted Alex Zordich on two occasions and sacked him twice.
Contributing: AP
