GREENCASTLE,
Ind. -- A week removed from nursing an injury
and watching backup quarterback Burt Pereira guide Millsaps
to
a 42-0 conference win over Rhodes at home, starting quarterback
Juan Joseph returned to the starting lineup in impressive fashion,
completing 32 of 56 passes for 475 yards and five touchdowns
to lead the Majors to a 35-17 road win over DePauw to move
into first place in the SCAC.
The nation's ninth-ranked passer (500 ranked) at 290.0
yards/game, Joseph hit 11 different receivers en route to a
career day, breaking Beau Pollard's career completion record
of 365 from 1995-98 on a fourth quarter, 62-yard touchdown
strike to Eric McCarty. It was Joseph's 26th completion of
the game and fourth TD pass.
After a scoreless first quarter produced seven punts and a
pair of turnovers, DePauw (3-1, 2-1 SCAC) lit up the scoreboard
first behind Joseph's second interception
of the season.
The Tigers capped off a 12-play, 57-yard drive
over
6:02 with
a
36-yard
field
goal from Brendan Smith for what turned out to be their only
lead of the game. The score also ended a streak
of 29 scoreless possessions
by the Millsaps defense dating back to their shutout win over
Rhodes last week.
Following the Tigers' score, Millsaps (4-1, 3-0 SCAC) threatened
to reach the end zone, driving all the way down to DePauw's
20 before a 36-yard field goal
attempt from William Lawrimore was blocked by Alex Fitch.
On the Majors' ensuing possession, Joseph shook off a
rough 4 of 14 start by completing 4 of 6 passes
on the drive, including
a 7-yard strike to senior Louis Conley that put Millsaps up
for good 7-3 and jumpstarted a stretch of 28 unanswered points.
Neither team scored the remainder of the quarter and the
score read 7-3 in favor of Millsaps at the half.
The Majors extended the lead to 14-3 on their third
possession of the third quarter, driving 56-yards in seven
plays over 2:15, capped
off
by a
30-yard
connection from
Joseph to Pereira.
Millsaps put the contest away in the opening three minutes
of the fourth as Joseph tossed a 22-yard score to Conley and
a 62-yarder to McCarty to break the career completion record
and give the visitors a 28-3 edge.
DePauw fought
back as Spud Dick connected with Alex Koors for a 3-yard pass
with 10:46 left before the Majors capped a
13-play drive on Joseph’s 17-yard pass to Josh Maharrey
with 3:46 remaining. Dick scored on a 3-yard run with 45 seconds
left to cap the scoring.
Reigning SCAC Defensive Player of the Week and D3football.com
Team of the Week selection Casey Younger led the Majors defense
with seven tackles (five solo), two sacks and a quarterback hurry
while Ronnie Wheat tallied six solo tackles, a
sack and a 20-yard interception return and Shawn Gillenwater
picked up six tackles.
The offense racked up 528 total yards and set new team
records in completions (32) and attempts (56) as Joseph threw
for 475 yards and Kenny Metzger rushed for a team-high 35 off
nine carries.
Conley led the receiving core with 74 yards
and a pair of touchdowns on six catches whereas Raymece Savage
(6-67), McCarty (5-146-TD), Pereira (3-68-TD), Tye Menist (3-23),
Guy Smith (2-42) and Donnie Epps (2-25) each caught multiple
balls.
DePauw totaled 306 yards of offense including 248 through the
air with Dick completing 24 of 45 passes and connecting with
Bryan Mulligan nine times for 128 yards.
Ryan McElwain had 10 tackles for DePauw and a fumble recovery
to lead the defense while Marc Hoeppner had eight tackles and
three breakups.
Winners of
four-straight, Millsaps will host Centre College (2-2, 1-1
SCAC) next Saturday at 1 p.m. at Harper Davis Field while the
Tigers travel to SCAC provisional member Birmingham-Southern
(0-2).
Game Notes:
The Majors' defense is ranked 4th in the country
in turnovers gained (16)
The Majors' pass defense is ranked 6th in the country
out of 232 teams
The Millsaps defense had a stretch of 29-straight
scoreless possessions snapped
The Majors have won their last five regular season, SCAC
road games by an average of
18.2 pts
The Majors are off to their best start through five games
since the 1996 SCAC championship season
