TOP FIVE UNCHANGED IN AFCA DIVISION III COACHES’ POLL

WACO, TEX.— The Mount Union Purple Raiders still own the top spot in the AFCA Division III Coaches’ Poll. Mount Union received 39 of 40 first place votes and are 3-0 on the season after a 62-0 shutout of Muskingum.

Mary Hardin-Baylor still sits in the second position and received the remaining first place vote after the Crusaders moved their record to 3-0 with a 48-0 win over Texas Lutheran. No. 3 St. John’s (Minn.) beat Concordia-Moorhead, 52-21, and moves its record to 4-0. Wisconsin-La Crosse was idle this past week and holds down the fourth position. No. 5 St. John Fisher extended its record to 4-0 after a 37-16 victory over Ithaca.

Wheaton is still No. 6 this week after the Thunder beat Hope, 42-7. Capital moved into the seventh position after the Crusaders blocked three punts in its 42-10 win over Heidelberg. No. 8 Wisconsin-Whitewater prepared for its Top 10 clash with conference rival Wisconsin-La Crosse with a 27-0 blanking of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. No. 9 Central (Iowa) is now 4-0 on the season after edging past Loras, 17-14. Baldwin-Wallace blanked Wilmington, 34-0, and became the third Ohio Athletic Conference team in the Top 10.

Ohio Northern is a fourth OAC team on the cusp of the Top 10. The Polar Bears moved into the 11th spot after a 23-13 win over John Carroll, upping its record 3-0 on the season. No. 12 Washington & Jefferson kept its record unblemished at 3-0 after a 56-26 victory over Oberlin. No. 13 Linfield moved up one spot this week despite being idle. The Wildcats will face Willamette on Sept. 29. No. 14 Trinity (Texas) defeated Colorado College, 38-13, while No. 15 Bridgewater (Va.) handed La Grange a 39-14 loss.

No. 16 Wartburg beat Luther 25-8, moving its record to 3-0. Montclair State made the biggest move in the Coaches’ Poll this week. The Red Hawks upset then-No. 7 Wesley, 27-26, ending the Wolverines 23-game home winning streak, and moved from No. 24 to No. 17. Salisbury handed Delaware Valley a 36-16 loss and stayed in the 18th spot. St. Olaf moved its record to 4-0 after a 70-31 victory over Augsburg, and jumped two positions to No. 19. Wabash remained No. 20 this week despite a 15-0 shutout over Ohio Wesleyan.

Wesley dropped 14 spots to No. 21 after its loss to then-No. 24 Montclair State. Rowan blanked Widener, 41-0, and stays in the 22nd position. Occidental is still No. 23 this week after being idle. The Tigers will play Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Saturday. Mount St. Joseph was also idle, but the Lions moved up one spot to No. 24 as they prepare to face Anderson. Wisconsin-Oshkosh jumps into the poll at No. 25. The Titans are 2-0 so far this season and host Wisconsin-Eau Claire on Sept. 29.

Conference Breakdown: Ohio (Mount Union, Capital, Baldwin-Wallace, Ohio Northern), Wisconsin (Wisconsin-Whitewater, Wisconsin-La Crosse, Wisconsin-Oshkosh), Atlantic Central (Wesley, Salisbury), Iowa (Central {Iowa}, Wartburg), Minnesota (St. John’s, St. Olaf), New Jersey (Rowan, Montclair St.), America Southwest (Mary Hardin-Baylor), Empire 8 (St. John Fisher), Heartland (Mount St. Joseph), Illinois-Wisconsin (Wheaton), North Coast (Wabash), Old Dominion (Bridgewater), Northwest (Linfield), Presidents (Washington & Jefferson), Southern California (Occidental), Southern Collegiate (Trinity).

Head-to-Head
There is only one game featuring teams ranked in the AFCA Division III Coaches’ Poll which highlight this weekend’s action, and it is a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tilt as No. 4 Wisconsin-La Crosse hosts No. 8 Wisconsin-Whitewater. The Warhawks have won the last two meetings, including a 45-10 decision in Whitewater last season. Wisconsin-La Crosse owns the all-time series lead at 31-23.

Poll Points
Capital held Heidelberg to minus-28 yards rushing and 68 yards of total offense in the Crusaders’ 42-10 win ... Montclair State sophomore Jeff Bliss returned the second half kickoff 89 yards for what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown in the Redhawks 27-26 victory over Wesley ... Mary Hardin-Baylor runningback Jarvis Thrasher was named American Southwest Conference Co-Offensive Player of the Week after he ran for a career-high 209 yards and tied a school record with three rushing touchdowns in the Cru’s 48-0 victory over Texas Lutheran ... The 52 points scored by St. John’s in their 52-21 win over Concordia-Moorhead is the most-ever in the 74 meetings versus Concordia (the previous record was a 49-0 win on Oct. 16, 1976) ... St. John Fisher quarterback Rob Kramer was named Empire 8 Offensive Player of the Week by helping the Cardinals’ to a 37-16 win over Ithaca. The victory was a first for St. John Fisher at Butterfield Stadium. Kramer completed a career-high 20 passes on 27 attempts for 242 yards and two touchdowns.

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