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STERLING, Va. -- There is plenty of complaining for me
to do in this column and I’ll do it later on but it wouldn’t
be fair to start this column any other way than praising the Millsaps
Majors.
With a 34-12 win over Trinity on Saturday the Majors ended a 31-year
playoff drought and captured their first SCAC crown of any kind
since 1996. They are no doubt the surprise story of the season.
Less than two months after dropping to 0-3 with a 35-34 loss to
Huntingdon, the Majors were swarmed by fans and serenaded by Queen
on their home field in Jackson, Miss.
They did it
by winning seven straight games, six of which came in-conference.
The capper,
Saturday’s historic win, halted
(however briefly) 13 years of dominance from the Trinity Tigers.
Millsaps is
the SCAC champion because they have an explosive offense led
by a dynamic
sophomore quarterback in Juan Joseph, who had
18 completions for 142 yards and two touchdowns against the nation’s
top pass defense.
Millsaps is
the SCAC champion because over the last seven weeks, few teams
have played
better defense than they have. In Weeks 1
through 3 they allowed 128 points. Since then they have given up
76 points total. In the Trinity game they picked off four passes
and Ronnie Wheat returned one 73 yards for a score. It was Wheat’s
second return for a score in as many weeks and the four picks gave
the Majors a SCAC-leading 18 for the season.
Saturday’s championship victory was also highlighted by
some unreal special teams play. Chris Jackson, a senior transfer,
had 225 yards of total offense and returned two punts for touchdowns.
The first came was from 67 yards out and put the Majors on top
13-0. On Jackson’s first touch of the second quarter he bolted
51 yards for another score and a 27-0 lead.
Trinity got
a terrific effort from quarterback Jacob Cannon in the loss.
Cannon was
33-58 for 313 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
No one knows how Trinity will respond to this setback and I for
one am not ready to write the Tigers off as the class of the SCAC.
But they haven’t won a playoff game since losing in the Stagg
Bowl in 2002 and now they are going to miss the post season for
the first time since 1996. These are not happy times in the locker
room.
By the time Jackson crossed the goal line on his second punt return,
it was all about preparing for the postgame celebration, which
was described to me by one Millsaps player.
It really was the best feeling any of us have felt as the fireworks
went off and the fans rushed the field and tore down the goalposts.
It was really special for the seniors because they have been through
so much and never gave up. It was really an incredible sight to
see, but we are not done.
He’s right -- they might not be done. Now the Majors play
Carnegie Mellon and if they win they’ll travel to Delaware
to play Wesley (barring a Dickinson upset). If you’ll remember
(and UMHB fans do) the Wesley Wolverines were an upstart team that
dealt out a few upsets en route to the national semifinals last
season.
Regardless, the Millsaps Majors are the SCAC champs and are going
to play a playoff game for the first time since 1975, three years
before I was born. And, as I wrote before, they are the champs
for a lot of reasons. And all those reasons lead to one undeniable
fact that was best summed up by Freddie Mercury himself.
They are the champions.
Individual Performances:
Millsaps swept the SCAC conference honors for the second time as
receiver Chris Jackson won Offensive Player of the Week and Ronnie
Wheat was deemed Defensive Player of the Week.
Jackson had 150 punt return yards, one kick return
for 49 yards and five catches for 26 yards to total 225 yards
of total offense.
For the season, Jackson led the SCAC in receptions (56), receiving
yards (661), receiving touchdowns (nine), all-purpose yards (156.4
per game) and kick returns (22.7 yards per game). If it wasn’t
for the guy throwing him the ball he might be the conference player
of the year.
Millsaps will travel to No. 24 Carnegie Mellon University
in the opening-round of the Division III playoffs. Game time is
slated for 12 p.m. ET.
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