Two teams combine for 128 points, another team scores 90, and someone passes for over 600 yards — and loses. All this and more after the jump.
Mid-States:
#3 St. Xavier 55, at Malone 16
#8 St. Francis (IN) 33, at Trinity International 6
at #12 William Penn 41, St. Ambrose 35
Taylor 21, at #13 Walsh 17
#19 McKendree 54, at Waldorf 7
Iowa Wesleyan 62, at Quincy 50
at Marian 42, Olivet Nazarene 16
at St. Francis (IL) 61, Haskell 16 (non-conference)
Grand View idle
Iowa Wesleyan erupted for 35 second quarter points behind 435 passing yards from Kevin McConnell, and they needed most of them to get past Quincy, who are somehow capable of racking up 523 yards of offense but incapable of winning a football game. Sterling Ross rushed for 251 yards in a losing effort for Quincy. … Walsh led 17-7 at the half, but Taylor’s defense held them scoreless while the offense staged the comeback. …
Saturday:
Absolutely nothing’s getting settled this week.
#3 St. Xavier (8-0, 5-0) at Iowa Wesleyan (3-5, 3-2) (crossover)
Missouri S&T (2-5, D-II) at #7 St. Francis (IN) (6-0, 4-0) (non-conference)
#11 William Penn (7-0, 4-0) at #16 McKendree (5-2, 3-1)
#14 Marian (5-2, 2-2) at Notre Dame (OH) (2-5) (non-conference)
Malone (1-5, 0-3) at #19 Walsh (5-2, 1-2)
Taylor (4-3, 2-1) at Trinity International (3-5, 1-3)
St. Francis (IL) (4-3, 3-1) at Olivet Nazarene (0-7, 0-4) (crossover)
Grand View (3-3, 2-2) at Bacone (2-5) (non-conference)
Quincy (0-7. 0-3) at St. Ambrose (3-4, 1-3)
Waldorf (1-6, 0-4) at Haskell (1-6) (non-conference)
Heart of America:
#5 MidAmerica Nazarene 29, at William Jewell 7
at #6 Lindenwood 90, Culver-Stockton 19
#10 Missouri Valley 31, at Evangel 17
Baker 20, at #20 Benedictine 14
Avila 27, at Graceland 21
Central Methodist idle
Baker forced a stop on their own 12 to halt Benedictine’s final drive in the final two minutes. … Graceland lost five fumbles, and suffered an offensive pass interference penalty to shut down its final drive as Avila held on for the win. … Lindenwood set school records for points and margin of victory in their brutal destruction of Culver-Stockton. The Lions started scoring only 34 seconds into the game, and only failed to score on three possessions: two fumbles, and the final gun. They piled up 721 yards of offense, and only had one drive last longer than three minutes. … MANU picked off William Jewell’s first pass of the game and ran it back to the house, setting the tone for the afternoon.
Saturday:
Nothing’s getting solved this week here, either, although time is running out for Lindenwood. Missouri Valley at least has a crack at MANU.
Evangel (2-4, 2-4) at #4 MidAmerica Nazarene (7-0, 7-0)
Central Methodist (2-4, 2-4) at #9 Missouri Valley (6-1, 6-1)
Benedictine (4-3, 4-3) at Culver-Stockton (0-7, 0-6)
Graceland (1-6, 1-5) at Baker (3-4, 3-3)
William Jewell (2-5, 2-4) at Avila (2-4, 2-4)
#5 Lindenwood (6-1, 6-1) idle
Realignment:
Last week I mentioned William Jewell moving to D-II; I neglected to also mention Lindenwood, who’ll be joining the MIAA.
Great Plains:
at #1 Sioux Falls 28, #4 Morningside 3
#17 Northwestern (IA) 48, at Dordt 3
at Midland Lutheran 48, Doane 10
at Dakota Wesleyan 34, Hastings 21
at Concordia (NE) 30, Briar Cliff 26
Nebraska Wesleyan idle
Sioux Falls won their 50th straight conference game, and their 36th straight overall. … Midland held Doane to 49 rushing yards, and only 156 in the air. … Josh Endres ran for 316 yards and three scores in Dakota Wesleyan’s win over Hastings. …
Saturday:
It’s not mathematic yet, but it’s basically all over, and really is for all intents and purposes if Sioux Falls wins this week to eliminate DWU. Morningside is now effectively two games back of Sioux Falls with three to play, and any plan which depends on winless Dordt knocking off SXF in the season finale is simply unworkable.
Dakota Wesleyan (4-2, 4-2) at #1 Sioux Falls (7-0, 7-0)
Concordia (NE) (3-4, 2-4) at #8 Morningside (6-1, 6-1)
#15 Northwestern (IA) (4-2, 4-2) at Doane (2-4, 2-4)
Dordt (0-7, 0-7) at Midland Lutheran (5-2, 4-2)
Briar Cliff (2-5, 1-5) at Nebraska Wesleyan (2-4, 2-4)
Hastings (3-4, 3-4) idle
Kansas:
at #7 McPherson 56, #14 Kansas Wesleyan 42
at #25 Friends 38, Peru State 18 (non-conference)
at Bethany (KS) 41, Southwestern (KS) 35 (OT)
Sterling 33, at Tabor 14
at St. Mary 42, Bethel (KS) 26
#11 Ottawa idle
Darby House threw for 361 yards and six TDs, including the winner in OT, to lead Bethany over Southwestern. … Shane Mascarenas lobbed 4 TDs and threw for 498 yards as McPherson outgunned Kansas Wesleyan to take control of the KCAC race. His counterpart, Doug Webster, also threw 4 TDs and had 358 yards passing (plus an additional 125 yards on the ground) in a losing effort.
Saturday:
It’s still a race, although McPherson has wins over each of the three closest challengers (indeed, all three teams have only lost to McPherson all season). The problem, for them, is that they all still have to play one another, while McPherson still has games left against Tabor and Bethel, who are a combined 1-11. A win this week would basically end it, although it’ll still be a week or two before it becomes official.
#6 McPherson (6-0, 5-0) at Southwestern (1-5, 1-4) (http://www.livestream.com/kcacsports)
St. Mary (1-5, 1-4) at #10 Ottawa (5-1, 4-1)
Sterling (3-3, 2-3) at #18 Kansas Wesleyan (5-1, 4-1)
Bethany (4-2, 3-2) at #22 Friends (5-1, 4-1)
Tabor (1-5, 1-4) at Bethel (0-6, 0-5)
Dakota:
Black Hills State 19, at #9 Dickinson State 13
#15 South Dakota Mines 10, Minot State 6
at Jamestown 44, Mayville State 7
at Valley City State 54, Dakota State 10
Black Hills fell behind 10-0 in the battle of unbeatens, but surged back in the fourth quarter to claim the victory. … SD Mines didn’t generate much offense, but thanks to the defense holding Minot to -4 yards rushing, they didn’t need it. The key play was a Minot fumble at their own two yard line, which was followed two plays later by the only TD of the day. … Despite only 167 yards passing, Trent Kosel threw six TDs in Valley City’s win. … Mayville’s only score was a 99-yard punt return by Dominique Bradley.
Saturday:
It’s still up in the air, although last week provided some separation. The top four teams could very easily all be tied again come Sunday morning. Note that in two weeks, all eight teams converge on the FargoDome for the Dacotah Bank DAC Bowl, for which pairings have not yet been set, and those games count in the conference standings.
#13 Dickinson (6-1, 4-1) at #12 SD Mines (6-1, 5-0)
Minot (4-3, 4-1) at #20 Black Hills (6-1, 5-0)
Jamestown (2-5, 1-4) at Dakota State (0-7, 0-5)
Valley City (2-5, 1-4) at Mayville (1-6, 0-5)
Realignment:
Last week, I mentioned Minot’s move to D-II; Black Hills and SD Mines are doing so as well, with either the Northern Sun or Rocky Mountain as likely conference destinations. Dickinson has officially applied to join the Frontier Conference, while Jamestown, Mayville, and Valley City have applied to join the GPAC. Dakota State has announced it will compete as an independent, although they could also look for a conference. In other words, the DAC is dead, Fred.
Frontier:
#2 Carroll (MT) 42, at Rocky Mountain 37
at Eastern Oregon 31, #21 Montana Tech 28
at Montana State-Northern 36, Montana Western 33
EOU’s Ked Starr scored on a 68-punt return with under two minutes remaining, and Max Hannah intercepted a Matt Komac pass with 16 seconds left to seal the homecoming upset for the Mountaineers. … Before Saturday, only one team had hung within a TD of Carroll all season. Saturday, that very same team did it again, as Rocky Mountain pushed the Saints to the final possession.
Saturday:
Still four conference games to play, so Carroll’s not quite there yet. A win this week would eliminate Eastern Oregon, barring a complete Carroll collapse and a three-way tie at 7-3. Since Carroll plays Montana Western next week, that’s not too likely.
Eastern Oregon (4-3, 4-2) at #2 Carroll (6-0, 6-0)
Montana State-Northern (2-4, 2-4) at Montana Tech (4-3, 4-2)
Rocky Mountain (2-5, 2-4) at Montana Western (0-7, 0-6)
Realignment:
In addition to the possible addition of the Dakota schools, the Frontier expressed interest in extending invitations to Southern Oregon, Menlo, and Azusa Pacific (all independents). SOU has reciprocated that interest, while Azusa declined; Menlo has not as yet been heard from. (Note that neither SOU nor the Frontier have officially announced anything; they’ve merely acknowledged a mutual interest.)
Mid-South:
at Faulkner 20, #16 Cumberland (TN) 17 (OT)
at Georgetown (KY) 70, Pikeville 58
at Cumberlands (KY) 34, Campbellsville 28
Shorter 25, at Belhaven 24
Union (KY) 44, at Lindsey Wilson 14
at West Virginia Tech 62, Kentucky Christian 37
Bethel (TN) and Virginia-Wise idle
Raquil Ward picked off two passes, including one in the end zone during overtime, to help Faulkner upset #16 Cumberland. … Pikeville’s Trevor Hoskins threw for a ridiculous 607 yards with six TDs in a losing effort at Georgetown. Kaelin Ammons threw for 480 yards for Georgetown in the shootout. … Shorter never led Belhaven until Ben Williams busted a 35-yard TD run with less than two minutes to go. A game-winning FG attempt went wide right, allowing Shorter to hang on.
Saturday:
Both divisions are till completely up in the air.
#25 Cumberland (5-2, 1-1) at Bethel (2-4, 1-2)
Georgetown (4-2, 3-0) at WVU Tech (2-5, 1-1)
Cumberlands (4-2, 2-0) at Shorter (4-3, 2-1)
UVA-Wise (2-5, 2-0) at Pikeville (0-7, 0-3)
Faulkner (3-3, 2-1) at Campbellsville (4-4, 3-1)
Lindsey Wilson (2-5, 1-1) at Kentucky Christian (0-7, 0-4)
Belhaven (3-4, 0-3) at Union (4-3, 1-1)
Central States:
at #23 Langston 41, Southwestern Assemblies of God 27
at Northwestern Oklahoma State 51, Bacone 14
at Panhandle State 23, Texas College 14 (non-conference, technically)
Southern Nazarene idle
Saturday:
NW Oklahoma will clinch yet another conference title if they win this week.
#23 NW Oklahoma (4-2, 3-0) at #21 Langston (4-2, 2-0)
Southern Nazarene (4-3, 1-1) at Texas College (0-6, 0-1)
Grand View (3-3) at Bacone (2-5, 1-2) (non-conference)
SW Assemblies (1-5, 0-3) at Panhandle (3-3) (non-conference, technically)
Independents:
#21 Webber International 45, at Edward Waters 6
at St. Francis (IL) 61, Haskell 16
Pacific Lutheran (D-III) 28, at Menlo 10
at #25 Friends 38, Peru State 18
at Wesley (#3 D-III) 52, Southern Virginia 3
Mary Hardin-Baylor (#4 D-III) 31, Southern Oregon 10
Wisconsin-Oshkosh (D-III) 35, Lambuth 22
#24 Azusa Pacific idle
Notre Dame (OH) idle
Thursday:
Lambuth (2-4) at Tennessee-Martin (4-4, FCS)
(Tennessee-Martin 52, Lambuth 21)
Saturday:
Huntingdon (3-4, D-III) at #17 Webber (5-2)
#24 Azusa Pacific (4-2) at Western Oregon (4-3, D-II)
Menlo (3-4) at Willamette (4-2, D-III)
Newport News Apprentice (1-5) at Southern Virginia (3-5)
#14 Marian (5-2) at Notre Dame (OH) (2-5)
Lincoln (MO) (1-6, D-II) at Peru State (2-5)
Waldorf (1-6) at Haskell (1-6)
Edward Waters (1-6) at North Greenville (5-3, D-II)
Southern Oregon (2-5) idle