Young football teams sometimes make careless mistakes.
That's exactly what happened to Seton Hill University on Saturday afternoon in the Griffins' first-ever home game.
McDaniel College of Westminster, Md., ranked No. 24 in the D3football.com poll, took advantage of 12 Seton Hill penalties and a fumble for a touchdown to defeat the Griffins, 28-9, before more than 3,000 enthusiastic fans at Greensburg's Offutt Field.
The costliest penalty occurred in the second quarter with the visiting Green Terror leading, 7-3. Seton Hill lined up in punt formation, but only six players lined up on the line of scrimmage, resulting in an illegal-formation penalty which nullified a Seton Hill fumble recovery.
McDaniel took the ball at Seton Hill's 43 after a re-kick. On the next play, McDaniel running back Brod Maybank, who rushed for 157 yards on 20 carries, raced around left end for a touchdown and a 14-3 lead.
In the third quarter, McDaniel defensive back Bobby Waugh also returned a Seton Hill fumble 11 yards for a touchdown to extend the lead to 21-3.
"That was a young mistake," Seton Hill coach Chris Snyder said of the penalty. "(The penalized player) got nervous when no one covered him on the outside. So he came in to block and didn't line up on the line. That was a huge play, because we had a little bit of momentum.
"It was a huge turning point in the game. And we turned the ball over after that, we completed pass and they scooped and scored. That's 14 points right there."
Seton Hill, a first-year program, hurt itself with 12 penalties for 91 yards, a stat which disappointed Snyder the most.
"If you're an experienced team, you can't win a game with 12 penalties," Snyder said. "When you're playing with a bunch of 18-year-olds, for the most part, 12 penalties are insurmountable. They were all in critical situations. They were little fundamental things, and we have to correct them."
The Griffins' offense finally found a gear on their next possession when quarterback Jordan Thomas (Jeannette) tossed a 65-yard touchdown pass to Bobby Nelson.
Thomas, who completed 8 of 25 passes for 129 yards, was under heavy pressure all game. He also rushed for 35 yards.
"He's a great athlete," McDaniel coach Tim Keating said. "He'd play for me. We had to keep him contained. When he broke contain, he made big plays for them."
Seton Hill's leading rusher was Jeremy Brown, who gained 47 yards on 17 carries.
The Griffins' rushing game and special teams showed improvement from last week's opener, rushing for 100 yards yesterday. Kicker Ray Wilkins, who had two field goal attempts blocked last week at Urbana University, made a 41-yard field goal in the second quarter. The field goal attempt was set up by linebacker C.K. Mayo's 39-yard interception return.
McDaniel running back Meikos Parker finished the scoring with a 4-yard run early in the fourth quarter.
All in all, Snyder said he was pleased with his team's effort.
"We're suspect to the big play on defense," Snyder said. "It's going to be a growing process.
"We just don't have the physical strength to get done what we need to get done. You can't coach that, it's going to come when the players get older. We have to keep working and working and try to get better at the little things."
McDaniel, which rushed for 244 yards, outgained Seton Hill, 393-229.
Seton Hill returns to Offutt Field on Saturday to play Ohio Dominican. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.
"We have to go back to the drawing board, keep working and have faith," Snyder said. "That's what I told them after the game. Good things are going to happen for them as long as they continue to play with the effort and play hard. They're going to be successful."
