Scots Stunned With Last Play in OT Against Hope on Homecoming
ALMA, Mich. - It was not to be, victory for the Scots against rival Hope at Bahlke Field on Homecoming. The setting was perfect, the weather warm for an October afternoon. The alumni had returned to cheer on their Scots and the finest quarterback to ever play for the Maroon and Cream. And the Scots had it, owned it with a 30-10 lead at halftime. But 33 second half points from the Flying Dutchmen, countered by just 13 second half points from the Scots, forced overtime for the Scots, the second time this season. And this time, it was not to be.
It seemed as though the Scots were given every opportunity to win. The final touchdown by Hope in overtime was an 11-yard rush by the day's hero, David Booko, but the PAT was blocked to give the Scots all the chance they needed to wrap it up in overtime.
So the Scots took over from the 25 yard line as the sun fell lower in the afternoon sky at Bahlke Field, with the Flying Dutchmen leading 49-43, Josh Brehm (Ithaca) came out with two incompletions. But on third down, Brehm found favored receiver Joe Cline (Ithaca) - who had already made some of the most spectacular catches in Scot football lore - with a 20 yard pass to the Hope five yard line, but it was called back as Brehm had narrowly crossed the line of scrimmage. An Alma timeout brought the Maroon and Cream back on to the field with MIAA title implications - yes, this early in the season - on the line. And he found Cline again, 19 yards down the sideline for an Alma College first down.
With four more chances, Brehm found Nate Jervey (Harbor Springs) for a seven yard gain to the Hope College four yard line. A Kyle Ryan (Reese) rush took the Scots to the three yard line. On fourth down, a pass intended for Jervey was incomplete, but the pass interference call seemed inevitable with flags thrown from all around, but the nearest official indicated the ball had been tipped, negating any pass interference call.
And that ended the game.
However, that is not where the story ends. Josh Brehm threw for 393 yards and rushed for 62 more en route to crossing the 10,000 yards of total offense in a career mark, making him one of just 15 men in NCAA Division III history to accomplish such a feat and the first in MIAA history. With 233 pass attempts this season without an interception, he shattered the NCAA record held since 1997 by Mount Union's Bill Borchert with 221. Brehm has a completion percentage of 65.2 and a pass efficiency rating of 152.43 for the year.
Brehm's five passing TDs ties his career-high and is the most he has passed for since 2004 against Aurora. His 37 pass completions today ranks fourth in that category and is the most completions in a game since Bill Nietzke's 43 in 1996.
And Cline, it was his day too. He set a new school record for receptions in a game with 17 for 186 yards and three TDs, breaking Mark Boehms' record of 16 against Kalamazoo in 2002. That yardage mark is a career-best for the junior and is the best single-game performance since Cole Thelen's 191 yards in 2004 against Wisconsin Lutheran. Cline moves into the top 10 for career receiving yards with 1,721 and is currently ninth on the list.
The 62 passes attempted in this game ranks sixth on the all-time list and is the most passes thrown in a game since 1996 when the school record was set with 74 against - oddly enough - Hope College.
Defensively, the Scots had three interceptions against the league's most-intercepted quarterback who entered the game with nine on the season. Adam Korson (Gaylord/St. Mary's), Kyle Percival (Lansing/Waverly) and Brian Lenneman (Portland/St. Pats) each had an INT. Mike Lovely (Essexville/Garber) led the Scots with 11 tackles while Korson, Matt Stempki (St. Ignace/LaSalle) and Alex Catlin (Alma) each had 10 tackles.
The Scots hit the road to face Wisconsin Lutheran next weekend in Milwaukee, Wis.
Posted: Sat, October 7th, 2006 at 5:58PM
