Sewanee, TN -- After dropping two consecutive conference games, the Millsaps Majors were met with cruel disappointment for a third straight weekend this Saturday as they dropped a 17-7 contest to SCAC rival Sewanee.
Tigers' senior quarterback Kirk Holtgrewe ran for a first quarter touchdown, and senior Ben Tuck kicked a fourth quarter field goal to pace Sewanee, while Millsaps was led offensively by quarterback Brandon Morris, who rushed for a game-high 59 yards and managed the Majors' lone score.
In a game that saw the Majors hold a distinct statistical advantage over their conference counterparts, Millsaps could not overcome five costly turnovers (3 interceptions, 1 blocked punt, 1 fumble).
Millsaps out tallied Sewanee in first downs (17-9), rushing yards (116-77), passing yards (167-123), total offense (283-200), and time of possession (35:33 to 24:27), but an early first quarter fumble and a late blocked punt by Sewanee upended the Majors' productivity.
The Tigers drew first blood after the Majors' Chandler Malone fumbled a fair catch attempt off a Sewanee punt early in the first quarter. Upon recovering the loose ball, the Tigers marched 40 yards in five plays, capped when Holtgrew scampered to a score from 7 yards out. Tuck's PAT put Sewanee up 7-0 with 6:35 to go in the first quarter.
The Majors responded immediately with a 12 play, 75 yard drive , capped when Morris charted a 7-yard touchdown run. Robert Ezelle's extra point knotted the game at 7 with just 28 ticks left in the 1st quarter.
Tuck's 26-yard field goal with 13:26 to go in the game put Sewanee on top 10-7, but the Tigers' big break came eight minutes later when Thaddeus Jackson blocked a Nick Fowler punt to slash all hopes of a Millsaps comeback attempt.
The Tigers' Phillip Suggs bulled his way for a 4-yard touchdown on the next play to give the Tigers' a comfortable cushion. Tuck added his second extra point of the afternoon to make the score 17-7.
With the win, Sewanee improves to 5-4 overall and 4-1 in the SCAC. Sewanee travels to No.4 Trinity (8-0, 4-0) next Saturday, and a win would give the Tigers a share of first place in the SCAC.
Millsaps falls to 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the SCAC. The Majors will travel to Rhodes College on Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. kickoff.
Of note from Millsaps vs. Sewanee:
LEADING TACKLER: Millsaps' Matt O'Bryant lead both teams with 9 stops, seven solo tackles and two assisted tackles.
LEADING RUSHER: Millsaps' Brandon Morris led all rushers with 59 yards on 18 carries.
TURNOVERS: Sewanee caused five turnovers as Deon Carter had two interceptions, Nate Murphy had 1 pick and Thaddeus Jackson had one blocked punt and a fumble recovery.
Sewanee had one turnover, an interception by Millsaps' Jahreese Jones off a Jeremy Hodges pass in the third quarter. Hodges replaced Holtgrewe for one play after Holtgrewe was shaken up after a quarterback sack early in the third quarter.
JUST WIDE: Millsaps had a chance to take the lead at 5:40 of the third quarter and the game tied at 7-7 as Nick Fowler's 41 yard field goal attempt was wide left.
ALMOST: Millsaps reached the Sewanee 14 yard line with 52 seconds remaining in the game, but lost the ball on a turnover as Sewanee's Nate Murphy intercepted a Garner Wetzel pass.
SCAC SCENARIO: If Sewanee beats Trinity Sat. Nov. 9 and Trinity, DePauw and Sewanee all finish at 5-1 in the conference (Trinity beating Millsaps on 11/16 and DePauw beating Rose-Hulman on 11/9), then Trinity would win the three-way tie breaker and the conference automatic bid to the NCAA tournament since Trinity would have a better overall record (9-1). DePauw can finish no better than 8-2 and Sewanee no better than 6-4. Earlier in the season, Trinity beat DePauw and DePauw defeated Sewanee.
