TOP THREE UNCHANGED IN AFCA DIVISION III COACHES’ POLL

WACO, TEXAS— Mount Union, Mary Hardin-Baylor and St. John’s (Minn.) posted victories against big conference rivals this weekend to remain the top three teams in the AFCA Division III Coaches’ Poll this week.

Mount Union passed its first major test of 2007 with a convincing 44-0 win over then-No. 8 Ohio Northern on Saturday. Mary Hardin-Baylor handed American Southwest Conference arch-rival Hardin-Simmons a 47-14 loss while No. 3 St. John’s rallied from a 26-17 second-half deficit to defeat then-No. 14 St. Olaf. Wisconsin-Whitewater moves up one spot to No. 4 after a 38-12 win over Wisconsin-River Falls. Wheaton slips to No. 5 despite a 28-24 win over North Central.

Capital remains at No. 6 after a 37-13 win over John Carroll. No. 7 Central (Iowa) improves to 6-0 after a 28-21 win over Simpson. Washington & Jefferson is up one spot to No. 8 following a 28-12 win over Thiel. Salisbury is up four spots to No. 9 after defeating Geneva, 20-7. Wabash is up five spots to No. 10 after the Little Giants defeated Allegheny, 28-20.

St. John Fisher climbs seven spots to No. 11 after a convincing 45-7 win over Brockport State. Wesley jumps up four spots after rolling past Frostburg State, 45-0. No. 13 Occidental improves to 4-0 after a 28-21 win over Redlands. Mount St. Joseph is up six spots to No. 14 after a 56-21 win over Hanover. Ohio Northern tumbles to No. 15 following its loss to Mount Union.

No. 16 Alfred climbed six spots this week after the Saxons defeated Hartwick, 46-26. St. Olaf falls three spots to No. 17 after nearly upsetting No. 3 St. John’s on the Johnnies’ home field. Rensselaer is up five spots to No. 18 after taking down St. Lawrence, 28-10. No. 19 St. Norbert also made a five-spot jump after the Green Knights defeated Monmouth (Ill.), 42-28. Wisconsin-Eau Claire vaults into the national rankings for the first time this season after a 31-29 win over then-No. 12 Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Wartburg falls 11 spots to No. 21 after dropping a 14-13 non-conference decision to Augsburg. Wisconsin-Stevens Point enters the Top 25 this week at No. 22 after a 34-31 win over Wisconsin-Platteville. The Pointers are now 5-0 on the season. Idle Bridgewater (Va.) moves up two spots to No. 23 and will return to action this week against Guilford. Trinity (Texas) falls 13 spots to No. 24 after a 27-13 upset loss at Rhodes. Muhlenberg is the third newcomer to this week’s poll, checking in at No. 25 after rolling past Juniata, 44-3.

Conference Breakdown: Ohio (Mount Union, Capital, Ohio Northern), Wisconsin (Wisconsin-Whitewater, Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Wisconsin-Stevens Point), Atlantic Central (Wesley, Salisbury), Iowa (Central {Iowa}, Wartburg), Minnesota (St. John’s, St. Olaf), America Southwest (Mary Hardin-Baylor), Centennial (Muhlenberg), Empire 8 (St. John Fisher, Alfred), Heartland (Mount St. Joseph), Illinois-Wisconsin (Wheaton), Liberty (Rensselaer), Midwest (St. Norbert), North Coast (Wabash), Old Dominion (Bridgewater), Presidents (Washington & Jefferson), Southern California (Occidental), Southern Collegiate (Trinity).

Head-to-Head
No. 6 Capital hosts No. 15 Ohio Northern in the lone Top 25 match-up this week.

The 15th-ranked Polar Bears are looking to rebound from their 44-0 loss to top-ranked Mount Union while Capital will be trying to remain tied with Mount Union atop the Ohio Athletic Conference standings.

Poll Points
Mount Union has averaged 60.8 points per game through five games this season ... Mary Hardin-Baylor linebacker Eric Henri recorded 11 tackles and a safety in UMHB’s 47-14 win over Hardin-Simmons ... St. John’s (Minn.) quarterback Alex Kofoed tied a school record with the eighth 300-yard passing game of his career in the Johnnies’ win over St. Olaf ... Wisconsin-Whitewater’s Justin Beaver posted his school record seventh 200-yard rushing game in the Warhawks win over Wisconsin-River Falls ... Wheaton quarterback Sean Norris completed 13 of 14 passes for 204 yards and three touchdowns as the Thunder rallied to beat North Central ... Capital has given up just 23 points in five games this season, an average of 4.6 points per game ... Central’s defense forced two goal line turnovers against Simpson in the Dutch’s 28-21 win ... Wabash’s Adrian Pynenberg had 14 tackles in the Little Giants’ win over Allegheny ... Rob Kramer threw for a career-high 312 yards and three touchdowns in St. John Fisher’s win over Brockport State ... Occidental’s 28-21 win over Redlands was the 150th of head coach Dale Widolff’s career.