Week 2 of the Division III college football season will provide interesting tests for John Carroll and Mount Union quarterback Mikey Maloney.
First, the Blue Streaks head east to Baltimore to face No. 3-ranked Johns Hopkins for what’s shaping up as one of the nation’s top D-III matchups of the day.
JCU started its season with a dominant 48-14 win over host Waynesburg for the program’s first win in Week 1 since 2019.
Coach Jeff Behrman’s team rose five spots this week in the D3football.com Top 25 — from No. 25 to 20. With a win against Johns Hopkins, the Blue Streaks would certainly shoot up the poll, and possibly into the Top 10.
First things first. JCU must keep mistakes to a minimum on the road in what is the first-ever meeting between the programs.
At Mount Union, Riverside grad and two-time Fisher Award winner Maloney was outstanding in his first start at QB for the No. 2-ranked Purple Raiders.
Mike Maloney – shown in a preseason practice – threw five touchdown passes in his first-ever start for Mount Union Sept. 6 in a 37-29 win over Wheaton. (Alex DeVito – Mount Union Athletics)
Maloney threw for more than 300 yards and five touchdown passes in a 37-29 win over visiting Wheaton.
Like JCU, Mount takes to the road to play against a ranked opponent in No. 15 Grove City, which opened its season with an impressive win at Cortland, 31-14. Cortland was 25-2 the last two seasons, and won the D-III national championship in 2023.
Maloney will need to be careful with the football as the Grove City secondary gave Cortland fits all day with six interceptions, including a pick-6.
Maloney and Mount will surely head to Pennsylvania a confident group, especially after the win over Wheaton.
“It was fun,” said Maloney on Mount’s social media account. “Surrounded by great guys, great coaching staff. It made my job easy. I just had to go out there and get them the ball. I think (the Wheaton win) sets our expectations for ourselves and our program.”
There is no doubt Maloney is off to a fast start but don’t forget about the QBs set to face off in Baltimore.
JHU’s Bay Harvey and JCU’s Nick Semptimphelter combined to go 41 of 44 passing in their respective wins. Semptimphelter’s 25 of 26 game set a NCAA Division III single-game percentage mark of 96.2.
“I’m much more comfortable having that year under my belt,” said Semptimphelter, now in Year 2 as JCU’s starter.
Similar to the Blue Streaks, JHU was also on the road in Week 1 and easily defeated Ithaca, 42-14.
Harvey hails from Lenk, Switzerland, but has ties to Northeast Ohio as he was a member of the Cleveland Heights’ football team in high school. Last week against Ithaca, he was 16 of 18 for 161 yards and a TD pass in his return from missing most of last season with an injury.
“He’s tremendous,” said Behrman about Harvey. “He’s a field general. He can run it, he can throw it. He’s got a really quick release. He makes the right decisions.”
For JCU, a win at Johns Hopkins won’t be easy. Dating to 2010, the Blue Jays are 52-5 in September and 23-2 at home.
Behrman hopes a bolstered preseason helps ready his Blue Streaks for the test in Baltimore. JCU added a second scrimmage/practice opponent by traveling to Westminster (Pa.). A year ago, the Blue Streaks struggled in a 34-7 in their season opener at Wisconsin-Whitewater. Also, having a game in the books can only help JCU’s hopes going for a big out-of-conference victory.
With JHU ranked one spot below Mount Union in this week’s D3football.com Top 25 poll, Behrman said the programs are comparable.
“They’ve have a solid program for a very long time,” said Behrman about Hopkins. “… You always knew of Johns Hopkins and what (the late and former coach) Jim Margraff was creating. A lot of respect for he did and what the program continues to be.”
Sept. 13 schedule
• JCU at Johns Hopkins, noon
• Mount Union at Grove City, 1 p.m.
• Case Western Reserve at Wabash, 1 p.m.
• Wheeling at Lake Erie, 4 p.m.