SAA 2023 Football Report – Week 3

9/18/2023 5:00:56 PM

Atlanta, Ga. – A triple-overtime thriller, another one-score game and a pair of statement wins highlighted the first week of Southern Athletic Association football action. Centre outlasted Rhodes after a successful conversion in the third overtime while Sewanee held off a late charge by Millsaps to defend home turf. Trinity posted a 35-point win at Birmingham-Southern and the Hendrix offense went wild in a home victory over Southwestern.
 
Hendrix ranks third in the country with 416 yards through the air a game while Berry leads the nation on the ground, rushing for 342 yards a game. The Vikings, who were idle last week, top Division III with 67 points a game. Trinity ranks 10th in the nation in completion percentage, hitting 74 percent of its passes.
 
Hendrix quarterback Jacob Buniff is third in the country with 1,249 yards (416.3 per game) through the air and third with 13 passing touchdowns. Favorite target Christian Gadison is 18th nationally in both yards (318) and receiving touchdowns (4). Berry running back Josh Rogers is averaging a nation’s best 194 yards a game. Keegan Glaze of Sewanee is 10th in the nation with 12.3 total tackles while teammate Quinn Johnson is eighth nationally with 1.5 sacks a game. Berry’s Brock Skinner and Kristopher Thomas are second in Division III in forced fumbles. Centre’ kicker Cam Tegge is fifth in country with 1.67 made field goals a game and Birmingham-Southern’s Cole Porch is sixth with 43.9 punting yards a night.
 
Trinity checked in at No. 6 in the latest D3football.com poll, the highest ranked one-loss team in the country. Berry received 32 votes.
 
Around the League:
SAA Football Standings
SAA Football Stats
 
Athletes of the Week:
OFFENSIVE: Jacob Buniff | Hendrix | Sophomore | Carrollton, Texas | The SAA passing leader opened conference play in a big way, leading Hendrix to a 51-38 win over Southwestern. The sophomore threw for 395 yards on 25-of-37 passing while tossing five touchdowns. His 1,295 yards and 13 passing TD’s through three games ranks third in Division III.  
 
DEFENSIVE: Nathan Hahn | Hendrix | Senior | Yukon, Okla. | Hahn came up big for the Warriors defense in their 51-38 win over Southwestern. The senior recorded eight solo tackles and assisted on another, and also contributed to the scoreboard with a nine-yard scoop-and-score.
 
SPECIAL TEAMS: Cam Tegge | Centre | Junior | Prospect, Ky. | Tegge nailed a clutch 43-yard field goal in overtime to extend the game and lead to an eventual 28-26 triple OT win for Centre. The junior also hit from 22-yards out in the second quarter and was 2-for-2 on extra points in the tight contest.
 
Notable Performances:
  • Jacorin Thomas (Sewanee) – Rushed 26 times for a career-high 204 yards and two touchdowns in just three quarters of action, helping Sewanee snap a 23-game SAA skid. The freshman’s day was highlighted with a 58-yard touchdown run and six rushes of more than 10-yards.
  • Ryan Merrifield (Trinity) – Caught seven passes for a career-high 127 yards in the sixth-ranked Tigers romp over Birmingham-Southern. Seven of the fifth-year’s catches were for first downs, including three receptions of 20 or more yards.
  • Gray Jennings (Millsaps) – In his first collegiate start, completed 22-of-45 for 345 yards and a touchdown against one interception. Jennings’ longest pass was 46 yards and he added two rushing scores, keeping the Majors alive in a narrow 27-21 defeat.
  • Jack Gohmann (Centre) – Connected on 19-of-33 passes for 257 yards and three touchdowns in his first career start under center. Gohmann delivered a strike to Joey Deshler on a two-point attempt to walk it off for Centre in a 28-26 victory at Rhodes in triple overtime.
  • Evan Elder (Centre) – Led all players with 10 tackles for the Centre defense that held on for a triple overtime win at Rhodes.
  • Quinn Johnson (Sewanee) – Totaled seven tackles; five solo and two assisted, in the Tigers win over Millsaps. He also forced a fumble and recorded two quarterback hurries.
  • Tyler Huettel (Trinity) – Drilled a 50-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to give the Tigers a 24-0 lead at the break, becoming just the second Trinity player to hit from 50 or more yards out. Huettel was also 5-of-5 on PAT’s to stay perfect on the year.
  • Cole Porch (Birmingham-Southern) – Totaled four punts for 180 yards including a long of 49 yards against Trinity.
  • Jack Satterfield (Sewanee) – Booted five punts for 224 yards with a long of 51 in the Tigers win over Millsaps. Also recorded 180 yards and a touchback on five kickoffs.
 
Looking Forward:
SAA Football Schedule