All but five of the Division III automatic bids have now been secured, as 14 schools earned their way into the playoffs this Saturday, and a 15th stumbled backward into the field. This week, the remainder of the field will be settled, and next week: playoffs! All the scoop after the jump.
Automatic bids claimed:
Mary Hardin-Baylor (American Southwest Conference)
Muhlenberg (Centennial Conference)
North Central (College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin)
Alfred (Empire 8 Conference)
Wartburg (Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference)
St. Lawrence (Liberty League)
Delaware Valley (Middle Atlantic Conference)
St. Norbert (Midwest Conference)
St. Thomas (MN) (Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference)
Benedictine (IL) (Northern Athletic Conference)
Linfield (Northwest Conference)
Mount Union (Ohio Athletic Conference)
Washington & Lee (Old Dominion Athletic Conference)
Thomas More (Presidents’ Athletic Conference)
California Lutheran (Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference)
DePauw (Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference)
Wisconsin-Whitewater (Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference)
An administrative note: this week, I actually got most of these posts prepped and ready to go by dinner time on Sunday, only holding things until I could get the new poll results and collect tidbits from conference releases. If there isn’t at least some nugget of information for a given conference beyond the game scores this week… it’s because it’s now Thursday, and the conference still hasn’t gotten around to its weekly release. Make of that what you will.
NESCAC:
at Trinity (CT) 28, Amherst 13
at Williams 45, Wesleyan 7
Colby 42, at Tufts 41
Middlebury 30, at Hamilton 26
at Bowdoin 21, Bates 20
In addition to rushing for 81 yards, Colby’s Nick Kmetz threw for 392 yards and three TDs, including a one-yard toss to Spencer Merwin with no time left on the clock to knock off Tufts. … Amherst QB Alex Vetras ended his streak of 221 passes without an interception in the Lord Jeff’s loss to Trinity. The Bantams won the game by dominating TOP, holding the ball for nearly 43 minutes. … Wesleyan’s Shea Dwyer recorded his sixth 100-yard game of the season, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the rout at the hands of Williams. It was the first time a Cardinal running back had gained 100 yards against Williams since 1999 (which, not coincidentally, was the last time Wesleyan defeated the Ephs).
Saturday:
Williams will claim the conference title outright with a win next week. Should Amherst win, they’ll share the crown, and should Trinity also win, it’s a three-way split. The NESCAC has no tiebreakers.
Williams (7-0) at Amherst (6-1)
Trinity (CT) (6-1) at Wesleyan (4-3)
Bowdoin (2-5) at Colby (4-3)
Tufts (1-6) at Middlebury (3-4)
Hamilton (1-6) at Bates (1-6)
Empire 8:
at Alfred 31, Ithaca 17
Springfield 55, at #25 St. John Fisher 49
at Hartwick 24, Utica 21
Saturday:
Alfred claimed the conference title outright (their first ever outright title) and the automatic bid with their win over Ithaca. St. John Fisher had been in line for a Pool C bid had they won, but their season probably just ended.
This week features several of D-III’s most storied rivalries; the Cortaca Cup between Cortland and Ithaca is definitely among that number.
Alfred (7-2, 4-0) at Utica (5-4, 0-4)
Ithaca (6-3, 3-2) at Cortland State (8-1) (non-conference)
Union (NY) (2-6) at Springfield (7-2, 3-2) (non-conference)
Mount Ida (6-3) at Hartwick (3-5, 1-4) (non-conference)
St. John Fisher (8-2, 3-2) idle
CCIW:
#6 North Central 28, at #12 Wheaton (IL) 6
at Illinois Wesleyan 49, Carthage 42
at Elmhurst 35, Augustana (IL) 21
Millikin 16, at North Park 7
Elmhurst beat Augustana for the first time since 1979, and only the fourth time ever (51-4-1). Excluding those series in which North Park is the whipping boy, it’s the most lopsided series in the CCIW, so it was a definite upset. In the loss, Augustana QB David Lee threw for 272 yards, pushing his season total to 2,282 yards and breaking the school season record previously held by Ken Anderson (yes, the same Ken Anderson who led the Bengals to the Super Bowl in 1982).
Saturday:
The battle of unbeatens for the conference title wasn’t particularly close, as North Central snagged the CCIW’s auto-bid. Wheaton is probably still in position for an at-large, but does need to get past Millikin Saturday.
North Park (2-7, 0-6) at #6 North Central (9-0, 6-0)
#19 Wheaton (IL) (8-1, 5-1) at Millikin (4-5, 1-5)
Illinois Wesleyan (7-2, 4-2) at Augustana (IL) (5-4, 3-3)
Carthage (5-4, 2-4) at Elmhurst (6-3, 3-3)
Wisconsin:
#1 Whitewater 48, at Oshkosh 21
Stevens Point 58, at River Falls 13
Stout 28, at Platteville 23
at La Crosse 49, Eau Claire 14
Saturday:
Whitewater claims the auto-bid and the outright conference championship.
La Crosse (3-6, 3-3) at #1 Whitewater (9-0, 6-0)
Platteville (5-4, 3-3) at Stevens Point (6-3, 4-2)
Oshkosh (4-5, 3-3) at Stout (5-4, 3-3)
River Falls (0-9, 0-6) at Eau Claire (4-5, 2-4)
American Southwest:
#4 Mary Hardin-Baylor 76, at Sul Ross State 12
Louisiana College 35, at McMurry 32
at Texas Lutheran 42, Mississippi College 23
East Texas Baptist 24, at Howard Payne 0
#10 Hardin-Simmons idle
UMHB curbstomped Sul Ross, forcing five turnovers and scoring 76 points despite only holding the ball for 19:21. It was a school record for points scored. Terrance Young “only” threw for 224 yards and Quincy Daniels “only” rushed for 118 yards… and that was just in the first 21 minutes, at which point the starters took a seat. … An interception in the end zone with five ticks to go saved the win for Louisiana College over McMurry (who, in case you didn’t know, is coached by Hal Mumme). … ETBU recorded their first shutout since 2003.
Saturday:
Mary Hardin-Baylor secured the conference title and auto-bid. Hardin-Simmons still has a shot at an at-large if they can get past Louisiana.
Texas Lutheran (4-5, 3-4) at #4 Mary Hardin-Baylor (9-0, 7-0)
#10 Hardin-Simmons (8-1, 6-1) at Louisiana College (6-3, 6-1)
McMurry (5-4, 3-4) at Mississippi College (4-5, 2-5)
Sul Ross State (2-7, 1-6) at East Texas Baptist (4-5, 3-4)
Howard Payne (2-8, 1-7) idle
Northwest:
at #15 Linfield 42, Whitworth 17
Pacific Lutheran 50, at Pacific (OR) 23
at Willamette 65, Lewis & Clark 24
Puget Sound idle
Lewis & Clark and Willamette were tied at 21 at the half. In a span of 10 minutes in the third quarter and first minute of the fourth, Scott Schoettgen hauled in four TD passes from Brian Widing, and Willamette was off to the races. It was Schoettgen’s second career four-TD game. … Pacific hung in there, but Pac Lutheran reeled off 19 points in the fourth to ice their contest. … Linfield had to work to secure the playoff spot, trailing Whitworth by a field goal at the half. Three third-quarter touchdowns solved the problem.
Saturday:
Linfield is assured of at least a tie for the conference title, and has clinched the NWC auto-bid.
#14 Linfield (7-1, 5-0) at Lewis & Clark (4-4, 2-3)
Willamette (7-2, 4-1) at #25 Pacific Lutheran (7-1, 4-1)
Puget Sound (2-6, 1-4) at Whitworth (4-5, 2-3)
Pacific (OR) (0-8, 0-6) at Menlo (3-7, NAIA) (non-conference)
Minnesota:
at #5 St. Thomas (MN) 38, Carleton 7
#19 Bethel (MN) 52, at Hamline 0
St. John’s (MN) 42, at St. Olaf 17
at Augsburg 17, Gustavus Adolphus 14
Concordia-Moorhead idle
Bethel outgained Hamline 584-18, and held Hamline to -19 yards rushing and only two first downs on the afternoon. … After some serious concern as to whether they’d accomplish the feat, St. John’s finally did secure their 24th straight winning season, picking up coach John Gagliardi’s 477th career win. St. John’s has, by far, the largest combined experience between their football and men’s basketball coaches; Gagliardi is in his 62nd year (58th with SJU), and Jim Smith begins his 47th season on the Johnnies’ sideline when the basketball team offically begins play next week. … St. Thomas concluded a perfect regular season and won their first outright MIAC title since 1983.
Saturday:
St. Thomas had won the conference title last week. This week, they secured the unbeaten regular season.
Augsburg (4-5, 2-5) at #16 Bethel (MN) (8-1, 6-1)
Hamline (1-8, 0-7) at St. John’s (MN) (6-3, 5-2)
St. Olaf (6-3, 4-3) at Concordia-Moorhead (4-5, 3-4)
Carleton (3-6, 2-5) at Gustavus Adolphus (3-6, 2-5)
#5 St. Thomas (MN) (10-0, 8-0) idle
Ohio:
#2 Mount Union 41, at Baldwin-Wallace 13
at #13t Ohio Northern 44, Wilmington 6
at Heidelberg 37, John Carroll 35
Otterbein 21, at Marietta 14
Capital 27, at Muskingum 24
Saturday:
Mount Union earned the automatic bid and a share of their 19th straight conference championship this week, and would win the conference title outright with a win next week or an Ohio Northern loss.
Muskingum (3-6, 2-6) at #1 Mount Union (9-0, 8-0)
Heidelberg (5-4, 4-4) at #13 Ohio Northern (8-1, 7-1)
Baldwin-Wallace (7-2, 6-2) at John Carroll (4-5, 4-4)
Otterbein (5-4, 4-4) at Wilmington (0-9, 0-8)
Marietta (2-7, 1-7) at Capital (4-5, 4-4)
Middle Atlantic:
#11 Delaware Valley 42, at Albright 17
at Widener 41, Wilkes 21
Lebanon Valley 28, at Lycoming 14
at Kings 45, FDU-Florham 14
Delaware Valley had a good weekend. They won their fifth conference title in the last seven years, secured a playoff berth, and someone gave them thirty million dollars. (It’s a general contribution, not an athletic one, but a one-shot donation like that is still a huge windfall for a small college.) … The MAC and the NJAC announced today that in 2012 and 2013 the two conferences will compete in the MAC-NJAC Challenge. Each team in each league will face a team from the other league in non-conference play in 2012, then play the same team again in 2013 at the opposite site. The games will take place the first Saturday of September, with the exception of the New Jersey/FDU-Florham tilts, which continue an already-established rivalry which takes place on the second Saturday. Other pairings include Brockport-Lycoming, Morrisville State-Wilkes, William Paterson-Kings, Montclair State-Lebanon Valley, Rowan-Delaware Valley, Kean-Albright, and Western Connecticut-Widener.
Saturday:
DelVal secured the outright conference title by beating Albright, combined with Widener’s win over Wilkes. All that was necessary for the auto-bid, however, was their win.
Widener (4-5, 3-3) at #11 Delaware Valley (8-1, 6-0)
Kings (1-8, 1-5) at Wilkes (5-4, 4-2)
Albright (5-4, 3-3) at Lebanon Valley (5-4, 4-2)
Lycoming (5-4, 3-3) at FDU-Florham (3-6, 0-6)
Atlantic Central:
at Frostburg State 25, Newport News Apprentice 21
#3 Wesley and Salisbury idle
Anthony Young hauled in 15 passes for 248 yards, including the go-ahead score with 3:15 left, as Frostburg took down the Builders.
Saturday:
Wesley’s already won the conference title, and they’re awaiting the almost certain Pool B bid.
Kean (5-4) at #3 Wesley (8-0, 3-0) (non-conference)
Salisbury (6-2, 1-1) at Frostburg State (2-7, 1-1)
Webber International (6-4, NAIA) at Newport News Apprentice (2-7, 0-3) (non-conference)
Southern California:
at #20 Cal Lutheran 27, Chapman 6 (non-conference)
Redlands 26, at Whittier 14
Claremont-M-S 33, at Occidental 17
Pomona-Pitzer 28, at La Verne 26 (3OT)
Saturday:
Occidental’s loss ensured that Cal Lutheran would clinch the conference title with a win, and they got the job done.
Occidental (4-4, 3-2) at #17 Cal Lutheran (7-1, 5-0)
Chapman (4-4) at Redlands (7-1, 5-1) (non-conference)
La Verne (0-8, 0-5) at Whittier (2-6, 1-4)
Claremont-M-S (5-3, 2-3) at Pomona-Pitzer (1-7, 1-4)
Centennial:
at Muhlenberg 27, Ursinus 20
Johns Hopkins 24, at Franklin & Marshall 9
at McDaniel 36, Gettysburg 30 (2OT)
Dickinson 41, at Juniata 14
Susquehanna 14, at Worcester Tech 7 (non-conference)
Moravian idle
McDaniel’s Joe Rollins ran for 294 yards in the Green Terror’s triple-overtime win over Gettysburg. … Muhlenberg QB Dan Deighan threw two TD passes, and ran for two more scores, lifting the Mules past Ursinus and into the playoffs. The Bears were held to 33 yards rushing on 32 attempts. … Winless Juniata trailed only 10-7 at the half, but Dickinson turned on the jets in the second half and cruised to victory. … Johns Hopkins played the school’s 1000th football game Saturday.
Saturday:
Two weeks ago, Ursinus was in good shape. Now their season’s over, and Muhlenberg is going to the playoffs.
Dickinson (3-6, 3-5) at Ursinus (7-2, 6-2)
Muhlenberg (7-2, 7-1) at Moravian (5-4, 5-3)
McDaniel (5-4, 4-4) at Johns Hopkins (6-3, 6-2)
Franklin & Marshall (6-3, 5-3) at Gettysburg (5-4, 4-4)
Washington & Lee (7-2) at Juniata (0-9, 0-9) (non-conference)
Susquehanna (2-8, 1-8) idle
New Jersey:
at #22 Cortland State 38, William Paterson 7
at #24 Montclair State 27, Brockport State 22
at Rowan 57, Western Connecticut State 0
New Jersey 7, at Kean 0
at Buffalo State 45, Morrisville State 21
Saturday:
Whoo-boy. First, Cortland’s game against Ithaca is completely irrelevant to the conference title and auto-bid, even though the impact of that game does have an effect on the tiebreaker in the event of a three-way tie. That’s because no matter what happens, Cortland would win the sixth tiebreaker in the NJAC’s tiebreaking sequence (opponent’s opponent’s winning percentage).
So: Cortland wins the auto-bid unless Rowan wins and Montclair loses, in which case Rowan gets it. Montclair cannot claim the auto-bid. All three teams are still alive for possible Pool C consideration should they fail to get the Pool A nod. Important factor for Cortland, however: they’re going to have to play to win this week, as the Cortaca Jug game kicks off earlier than the other two contests, and Cortland’s going to need a win to stay alive in Pool C in the event Rowan steals the automatic bid from them.
Ithaca (6-3) at #20 Cortland State (8-1, 8-1) (non-conference)
#22 Montclair State (8-1, 7-1) at William Paterson (4-5, 3-5)
#23 Rowan (8-1, 7-1) at New Jersey (5-4, 5-3)
Kean (5-4, 5-4) at Wesley (8-0) (non-conference)
Buffalo State (3-6, 3-5) at Brockport State (2-7, 2-6)
Western Connecticut State (0-9, 0-8) at Morrisville State (1-8, 1-7)
Iowa:
#13t Wartburg 20, at #16 Central (IA) 17
at #18 Coe 44, Buena Vista 14
at Luther 30, Dubuque 23
at Loras 37, Cornell (IA) 12
Simpson idle
Saturday:
Wartburg claimed the auto-bid and at least a share of the conference title by knocking off Central. The loss probably costs Central a playoff spot; Coe is still very much alive for a Pool C invitation.
#12 Wartburg (9-0, 7-0) at Simpson (2-7, 2-5)
#15 Coe (8-1, 6-1) at Cornell (IA) (0-9, 0-7)
Luther (5-4, 4-3) at Loras (4-5, 3-4)
Buena Vista (3-6, 2-5) at Dubuque (3-6, 2-5)
#24 Central (IA) (8-2, 6-2) idle
Southern:
at #21 DePauw 30, Austin 20
at Centre 26, Trinity (TX) 7
Birmingham-Southern 41, at Rhodes 19 (not a conference game yet)
Millsaps and Sewanee idle
Surprisingly, this is the first time DePauw has ever been 9-0.
Saturday:
DePauw had already won the conference title and auto-bid last week. They’ve shared SCAC titles before, but this is their first outright championship. This week, it’s something more important than the playoffs: the Monon Bell game against arch-rival Wabash. Wabash leads the long-running series 54-53-9.
#18 DePauw (9-0, 6-0) at Wabash (7-2) (non-conference)
Millsaps (6-3, 5-1) at Birmingham-Southern (6-3, n/a) (not a conference game yet)
LaGrange (3-6) at Centre (5-4, 3-3) (non-conference)
Austin (4-4, 2-3) at Trinity (TX) (3-6, 1-4)
Rhodes (3-6, 2-3) at Sewanee (1-8, 0-5)
University:
Chicago 61, at Carnegie-Mellon 22
Washington (MO) 14, at Case Western 13
Dee Brizzolara was responsible for over half of Chicago’s scoring output on the day, with an 83-yard kickoff return, an 86-yard punt return, and three TD receptions including one for 87 yards. Maroons QB Marshall Oium threw for 410 yards, a good chunk of them to Brizzolara. … Case’s senior class has amassed the most wins in school history, with 38. A win over Carnegie-Mellon would also give them the highest winning percentage (a loss would drop them below the class of 1986).
Saturday:
Washington vs. Chicago for the outright conference title next week. The “let’s eat each other’s brains” of the conference season, however, may cost the conference a playoff representative, as they have no automatic bid.
Washington (MO) (7-2, 2-0) at Chicago (7-2, 2-0)
Carnegie-Mellon (4-5, 0-2) at Case Western (7-2, 0-2)
Old Dominion:
at Washington & Lee 38, #17 Hampden-Sydney 27
Bridgewater 31, at Randolph-Macon 26
Catholic 23, at Guilford 22
Emory & Henry idle
The winning score for Catholic came on a 94-yard Andrew Ouellette kickoff return with just over four minutes to play after the Cardinals had traded field goals with Guilford.
Saturday:
Washington & Lee captured the auto-bid by knocking off previously undefeated Hampden-Sydney.
Randolph-Macon (7-2, 3-2) at Hampden-Sydney (8-1, 4-1)
Washington & Lee (7-2, 6-0) at Juniata (0-9) (non-conference)
Bridgewater (7-2, 3-2) at Catholic (4-5, 2-3)
Guilford (0-9, 0-5) at Emory & Henry (4-5, 0-5)
Liberty League:
at Rochester 34, St. Lawrence 14
at Rensselaer 24, Hobart 21
Merchant Marine 28, at Union (NY) 21
Susquehanna 14, at Worcester Tech 7 (non-conference)
Peter Nilson punched through a 34-yard field goal as time expired to win the game for RPI. … A pair of 200-yard runners were the stars of the Merchant Marine-Union contest. Mariner RB John-Leon Gosselin ran for 201 yards and three scores, while his counterpart Chris Coney had 232 yards and a score for Union.
Saturday:
What an absolutely ridiculous ending. St. Lawrence, who is now in danger of finishing under .500, backed into the automatic bid despite losing when RPI knocked off Hobart.
Worcester Tech (3-6, 1-4) at St. Lawrence (4-5, 4-1)
Rensselaer (5-3, 3-2) at Merchant Marine (4-5, 3-2)
Rochester (3-5, 2-3) at Hobart (5-3, 3-2)
Union (NY) (2-6, 2-4) at Springfield (7-2) (non-conference)
Presidents’:
#9 Thomas More 14, at Waynesburg 10
Washington & Jefferson 47, at Thiel 14
at Grove City 21, Bethany (WV) 7
St. Vincent 21, at Westminster (PA) 14
Geneva idle
Waynesburg kept Thomas More on the ropes, carrying a 10-7 lead into the closing minute of the game before Robert Kues hit Mercier Doucette for a four-yard TD pass with 49 seconds left to give TMC the victory, a share of the conference title, and the automatic bid.
Saturday:
All five games involving conference teams are named rivalry games:
Mount St. Joseph (5-4) at #9 Thomas More (9-0, 7-0) (non-conference, the “Bridge Bowl”)
Washington & Jefferson (7-2, 5-1) at Waynesburg (6-3, 4-2) (“Backyard Brawl”)
Saint Vincent (3-6, 2-4) at Bethany (WV) (4-5, 3-3) (the “Green Game”)
Thiel (0-9, 0-6) at Grove City (4-5, 2-4) (“Mercer County Cup”)
Westminster (PA) (2-7, 1-6) at Geneva (4-5) (not a conference game yet, “The Game”)
Heartland:
at #23 Franklin 60, Earlham 0
at Hanover 25, Mount St. Joseph 15
Defiance 10, at Manchester 7
at Rose-Hulman 48, Anderson 14
Bluffton idle
Defiance sealed their win over Manchester courtesy of a Kyle Longsdorf interception in the end zone which ended Manchester’s final drive with 18 ticks left.
Saturday:
Okay. If Hanover and Defiance were to win, the HCAC tiebreaker would fall to opponent’s winning percentage. In that event, Hanover has an insurmountable edge. As such, the winner of the Victory Bell game between Hanover and Franklin wins the automatic bid.
Hanover (7-2, 6-1) at #21 Franklin (8-1, 7-0)
Defiance (6-3, 6-1) at Bluffton (3-6, 2-5)
Earlham (0-9, 0-7) at Rose-Hulman (5-4, 4-3)
Mount St. Joseph (5-4, 4-4) at Thomas More (9-0) (non-conference)
Manchester (2-7, 1-6) at Anderson (2-7, 2-5)
Michigan:
#8 Trine 59, at Kalamazoo 17
at Adrian 33, Hope 7
Alma 35, at Olivet 21
Albion idle
Jared Edwards rushed for 248 yards and two scores to help lead Adrian past Hope.
Saturday:
Trine has clinched a share of the conference title, and would win the automatic bid with a victoy Saturday. Should Albion win, they go to the playoffs, the two teams share the title, and Trine waits to see if they grab a Pool C bid.
Albion (5-4, 4-1) at #8 Trine (9-0, 5-0)
Olivet (0-9, 0-5) at Hope (2-7, 2-3)
Adrian (4-5, 3-2) at Alma (3-6, 2-3)
Kalamazoo (3-7, 2-4) idle
North Coast:
at #7 Wittenberg 34, Wabash 17
at Wooster 31, Kenyon 6
Allegheny 43, at Hiram 21
at Oberlin 16, Ohio Wesleyan 12
Denison idle
Oberlin won consecutive games for the first time in four years by knocking off Ohio Wesleyan.
Saturday:
Clear-cut: Wittenberg gets the outright conference title and secures the auto-bid with a win over Wooster. If Wooster wins, it’s a three-way tie and Wabash earns the automatic bid based on a tiebreaker involving the highest preseason power ranking (which is used to determine the NCAC conference schedule, and is thus a proxy for SOS). I’s mentioned this previously as something I was unsure of, but I have verified this is actually the case now.
#7 Wittenberg (9-0, 5-0) at Wooster (5-4, 4-1)
DePauw (9-0) at Wabash (7-2, 5-1) (non-conference)
Allegheny (6-3, 4-2) at Oberlin (4-5, 3-3) (not a conference game)
Denison (3-6, 1-4) at Kenyon (0-9, 0-5)
Hiram (1-8, 1-4) at Ohio Wesleyan (1-8, 1-4)
USA South:
Christopher Newport 42, at Maryville (TN) 10
North Carolina Wesleyan 38, at Shenandoah 0
Ferrum 34, at Averett 13
Greensboro 22, at Methodist 19
Saturday:
Newport gets the auto-bid with a win or a NC Wesleyan loss. Ferrum could join them in a three-way tie at 4-2, but lost to both.
Saturday’s game against Maryville will be the final game of Ferrum head coach Dave Davis’s career. Davis has been in charge at Ferrum since 1993, and was an assistant at the school for 10 years prior to taking over the top spot. In that time, he’s put together an 87-78 record, and took Ferrum to the 2005 D-III playoffs. He had announced his retirement prior to the season.
Methodist (2-7, 1-5) at Christopher Newport (5-4, 5-1)
Averett (5-4, 3-3) at North Carolina Wesleyan (6-3, 5-1)
Maryville (TN) (3-6, 2-4) at Ferrum (4-5, 4-2)
Shenandoah (3-6, 3-3) at Greensboro (2-7, 1-5)
Midwest:
at St. Norbert 28, Lake Forest 0
Ripon 63, at Lawrence 7
at Carroll (WI) 40, Grinnell 7
at Beloit 42, Illinois College 27
Monmouth 42, at Knox 6
Chris Casper flung six TD passes to lead Carroll over Grinnell. … Dan Sjoquist was all over the place in St. Norbert’s conference-clinching win over Lake Forest. He had two sacks, a red zone interception, and a blocked punt. … The Bronze Turkey went back to Monmouth for the 12th consecutive year as the Scots handled Knox.
Final Regular Season Standings:
St. Norbert 7-3 7-2 Ripon 7-3 6-3 Carroll (WI) 7-3 6-3 Monmouth 6-4 6-3 Grinnell 6-4 5-4 Illinois College 5-5 5-4 Beloit 5-5 5-4 Lawrence 2-8 2-7 Lake Forest 2-8 2-7 Knox 1-9 1-8
New England FC:
Boyd Division
at Endicott 38, MIT 7
at Western New England 37, Mass-Dartmouth 14
Curry 24, at Plymouth State 21 (OT)
at Salve Regina 6, Nichols 0
Bogan Division
Maine Maritime 63, at Coast Guard 45
at Framingham State 42, Worcester State 21
at Mass Maritime 23, Bridgewater State 7
at Westfield State 17, Fitchburg State 14
Kevin McCarthy made a game-saving tackle on fourth-and-goal at the one to halt Plymouth in overtime and save a win for Curry. … Jim Bower ran for 218 yards in Maine Maritime’s win over Coast Guard.
Saturday:
I got something wrong, or I just mistyped. Maine Maritime won the Bogan, not Framingham State. Next week, the automatic bid will be determined.
NEFC Championship Game: Endicott (8-2, 6-1) at Maine Maritime (8-1, 6-1)
Final Regular Season Standings:
Bogan Division Maine Maritime 8-1 6-1 Framingham State 8-2 6-1 Massachusetts Maritime 5-5 4-3 Westfield State 5-5 4-3 Worcester State 6-4 3-4 Bridgewater State 5-5 3-4 Coast Guard 2-7 1-6 Fitchburg State 1-9 1-6 Boyd Division Endicott 8-2 6-1 Western New England 8-2 6-1 Salve Regina 6-4 5-2 Plymouth State 6-4 4-3 Curry 6-4 4-3 Massachusetts-Dartmouth 3-7 2-5 Nichols 1-9 1-6 MIT 1-8 0-7
Eastern CFC:
SUNY-Maritime 21, at Gallaudet 14
at Norwich 50, Castleton State 41
at Mount Ida 69, Anna Maria 18
at Becker 27, Husson 23
Following the season-ending loss, Husson fired coach Niles Nelson after a 5-14 record in two seasons. … Castleton’s Shane Brozowski threw for 405 yards (surpassing 400 for the fifth time this season), but the Spartans were still unable to hold off Norwich. … You want stories? SUNY-Maritime head coach Clayton Kendrick-Holmes, a Naval Academy graduate and Naval Reservist, has been called up to duty for a deployment in Afghanistan. He’ll be able to coach the Mariners in their expected first-round playoff game, but after that all bets are off. So we’ll take this opportunity to salute Lt. Commander Holmes, on one of the most appropriate possible days to do so.
Saturday:
SUNY-Maritime had already clinched the conference title last week. Now, they await what is an almost certain Pool B bid.
Mount Ida (6-3, 5-2) at Hartwick (3-5) (non-conference)
SUNY-Maritime (10-0, 6-0) idle
Norwich (8-2, 5-2) idle
Castleton State (5-4, 5-2) idle
Gallaudet (5-5, 3-4) idle
Becker (2-8, 2-5) idle
Husson (1-9, 1-6) idle
Anna Maria (0-10, 0-7) idle
Northern:
at Benedictine (IL) 38, Rockford 0
Concordia (IL) 49, at Concordia (WI) 17
at Aurora 24, Wisconsin Lutheran 21
Lakeland 42, at Maranatha Baptist 0
Wisconsin Lutheran committed two turnovers in the final five minutes, the second leading to a last-second Aurora field goal to break the tie. Ouch.
Saturday:
Benedictine clinched a tie for the conference title, and hold all the tiebreakers, so they’re going to the playoffs.
Benedictine (IL) (7-2, 6-0) at Wisconsin Lutheran (6-3, 4-2)
Aurora (7-2, 5-1) at Concordia (IL) (7-2, 5-1)
Concordia (WI) (2-7, 2-4) at Lakeland (3-6, 2-4)
Maranatha Baptist (0-9, 0-6) at Rockford (0-9, 0-6)
Upper Midwest:
at Minnesota-Morris 59, Trinity Bible 13 (Thursday, non-conference)
at Greenville 62, Eureka 27
MacAlester 28, at Martin Luther 21 (non-conference)
at St. Scholastica 10, Northwestern (MN) 7
Westminster (MO) 39, at MacMurray 7
Crown idle
Saturday:
Greenville claimed the conference title with their win. The UMAC does not get an automatic bid, and Greenville’s probably not getting an at-large.
Minnesota-Morris (5-4, 4-2) at Crown (6-3, 4-2)
Martin Luther (5-4, 4-2) at Northwestern (MN) (1-8, 1-5)
St. Scholastica (6-3, 4-2) at Westminster (MO) (5-4, 3-3)
MacMurray (0-9, 0-6) at Eureka (1-8, 1-5)
Greenville (7-3, 6-0) idle
Independents:
Macalester 28, at Martin Luther 21
at Cal Lutheran 27, Chapman 6
Huntingdon 35, at LaGrange 28
Saturday:
Chapman (4-4) at Redlands (7-1)
LaGrange (3-6) at Centre (5-4)
Macalester (6-3) idle
Huntingdon (6-4) idle