Wednesday, November 05, 2003

By Phil Axelrod, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

It wasn't scripted this way. It just happened. Allegheny coach Mark Matlak didn't make any lineup changes or fiery motivational speeches. There wasn't a cathartic team meeting behind closed doors.

That Allegheny turned its season around from 0-3 to 5-3 has caught everybody by surprise.

"I didn't see this coming," Matlak said. "We weren't a bad football team, even though we were 0-3. I didn't give up on the players, and, more importantly, they didn't give up on themselves. We didn't panic."

Then, with a laugh, he continued, "You can't make any trades, and there are no free agents."

Allegheny, picked to finish fourth in the North Coast Athletic Conference in preseason voting by the coaches and media, is in first place at 5-0 and in good position to reach the NCAA Division III playoffs for the first time since 1997. The league champion receives an automatic playoff bid.

Allegheny will complete the regular season against two of the weakest teams in the conference -- Saturday at Earlham Saturday and at home Nov. 15 against Ohio Wesleyan. Allegheny's eight NCAC championships since the league began competition in 1984 is the most of any school.

The Gators won the 1990 national championship under Ken O'Keefe and participated in the playoffs seven times from 1990-97.

"The kids have heard it all, but none of them were part of it," Matlak said. "They're all learning how to get back into the middle of things. We've been down the past couple years and haven't had the teams they'd been in the 1990s."

They returned a host of starters on offense and defense from a 2002 team that was 5-5 in Matlak's inaugural season.

"I thought we'd be better," he said. "I just didn't know how much better."

The Gators got off to a rocky start with road losses to perennial playoff teams Baldwin-Wallace, 45-26, and Washington and Jefferson, 28-23. Then, they lost to Westminster in overtime, 3-0, in a steady downpour that turned Robertson Field into a quagmire.

The turnaround started with a 7-6 victory against Wabash, the preseason choice to win the conference.

"It was like starting all over because we divide our season into two segments -- non-league and league," Matlak said. "The kids just stuck with it. We just followed the plan. I'm a positive guy by nature. You can't dwell on the past, you have to move on."

Allegheny moved into the top spot in the standings with a 27-21 victory against then-No. 21 Wittenberg. Senior quarterback Bubba Smith threw three touchdown passes and caught one. Smith, named the NCAC offensive player of the week, holds most of the school's passing records. His favorite receiver, Jon Turner, is the all-time leader in receptions, yardage and touchdowns.

Smith has completed 60 percent of his passes for 1,548 yards and 15 touchdowns this season, and Turner has 48 catches for 511 yards and four touchdowns. The Gators balance their passing attack with the running of Jamie Sye, who has 726 yards and six touchdowns.

PSAC

IUP has won 16 games in a row against Shippensburg, and Slippery Rock has beaten Lock Haven 15 consecutive times. ... Edinboro, in its 56-3 victory against Kutztown, scored its most points in a game since 1994. It was Kutztown's most lopsided defeat since 1982. ... IUP's Josh Talenko tied a school record with four field goals in an 18-7 victory against Shippensburg.

PAC

Washington and Jefferson has won 17 consecutive regular-season games at home. ... Grove City's Sam Mowrey has thrown 14 touchdown passes, one shy of the school record set by Mike Zeigler in 1966.

The rankings

Duquesne (5-3) fell four spots to No. 6 and Robert Morris (6-2) moved up a notch to No. 8 in the Sports Network NCAA Division I-AA mid-major poll. ... No. 7 IUP (8-1) and No. 22 Edinboro (7-2) each climbed a position in the American Football Coaches Association NCAA Division II poll. ... No. 18 Washington and Jefferson (7-1) climbed six places in the AFCA Division III poll.

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