WHEATON AND RENSSELAER BOTH TUMBLE IN AFCA DIVISION III COACHES’ POLL

WACO, TEXAS— Wheaton fell 10 positions after its loss to Carthage while Rensselaer dropped 11 spots after its loss Rochester, causing a reshuffling of teams in the AFCA Division III Coaches’ Top 25 Poll.

No. 1 Mount Union is still pitching shutouts, this time downing John Carroll, 53-0. St. John’s (Minn.) was idle and still claims the No. 2 position as it awaits a Top 25 match-up with No. 16 Bethel. No. 3 Wisconsin-Whitewater downed Wisconsin-Stout, 26-10, and claimed its third consecutive Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title. No. 4 Central (Iowa) was idle, but moved up one spot in the poll, as did No. 5 Washington & Jefferson, who beat Thomas More, 42-0, and clinched the Presidents’ Athletic Conference title.

No. 6 Mary Hardin-Baylor won the American Southwest Conference championship with a 72-7 win over East Texas Baptist, while No. 7 Wabash claimed the North Coast Athletic Conference with its 42-0 shutout of Denison. No. 8 Wesley and No. 9 St. John Fisher were both idle this past week. St. Norbert and Muhlenberg both come in ranked at No. 10 this week. The Green Knights had to rally for a 31-24 win over Illinois College while Muhlenberg beat Ursinus, 31-7, to clinch its first outright Centennial Conference title.

Wartburg beat Cornell, 35-7, and jumped two spots to No. 12, as did Salisbury, who moved from No. 15 to No. 13 despite being idle. Wheaton sits in the 14th position after its loss to Carthage, 35-27. No. 15 Trinity (Texas) didn’t need a miracle finish to win this week, as they beat Centre, 34-6.

Bethel (Minn.) moved up another notch this week to No. 16 after handing Augsburg a 44-35 loss. College of New Jersey also moved up one spot to No. 17 as the Lions extended its winning streak to eight games with a 27-14 win over Buffalo State. No. 18 Case Western Reserve clinched its first outright University Athletic Association championship after the Spartans beat Washington (Mo.), 35-27. No. 19 Capital edged past Muskingum, 19-13, while No. 20 Mount St. Joseph shutout Bluffton, 28-0.

No. 21 Franklin beat Defiance, 55-22, and clinched its first playoff berth since 1972. Curry is one of three newcomers to the Coaches’ Poll this week. The Colonels are No. 22 and 10-0 this season after a 40-25 win over Massachusetts-Dartmouth. Occidental also jumps into the poll at No. 23 after beating Chapman, 21-15, in overtime. Rensselaer fell 11 spots to No. 24 after its 25-21 loss to Rochester. Whitworth makes its appearance in the poll at No. 25 after its upset win over then-No. 19 Linfield, 10-6.

Conference Breakdown: Ohio (Mount Union, Capital), Wisconsin (Wisconsin-Whitewater), Atlantic Central (Salisbury, Wesley), Heartland (Mount St. Joseph, Franklin), Iowa (Central {Iowa}, Wartburg), Minnesota (St. John’s, Bethel), America Southwest (Mary Hardin-Baylor), Centennial (Muhlenberg), Empire 8 (St. John Fisher), Illinois-Wisconsin (Wheaton), Liberty (Rensselaer), Midwest (St. Norbert), New England (Curry), New Jersey (College of New Jersey), North Coast (Wabash), Northwest (Whitworth), Presidents (Washington & Jefferson), Southern California (Occidental), Southern Collegiate (Trinity), UAA (Case Western Reserve).

Head-to-Head
Two games featuring teams ranked in the AFCA Division III Coaches’ Top 25 highlight this weekend’s action.
The first match-up is for the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship as No. 2 St. John’s (Minn.) visits No. 16 Bethel (Minn.). The Johnnies lead the all-time series with a 25-3 mark, but Bethel took last year’s contest, 28-13.

The second Top 25 match-up also has conference title implications as No. 12 Wartburg plays host to No. 4 Central (Iowa), with the winner taking home the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship. The Dutch own the all-time series lead at 39-16 and have won the last two meetings.

Poll Points
Mount Union blanked John Carroll, 53-0, marking the Raiders’ fifth consecutive and sixth overall shutout this season to tie the Division III record for shutouts in a season (6) set by Mount Union in 2003. The Purple Raiders have now gone 22 quarters without being scored on ... Whitworth’s Phil Entel tied a school record by picking off three passes, including one he returned 32 yards for a touchdown, in a 10-6 win over Linfield ... With its 31-24 win over Illinois College, St. Norbert extended its Midwest Conference winning streak to 25 games and claimed its second straight undefeated regular season ... Case Western Reserve is 9-0 for the first time since 1984 after its win over Washington (Mo.), 35-27 ... Franklin set a new school record for points scored in a season at 399.