Every region saw a mild upset in the first round, with three fives and a six advancing. Invitations have gone out for the three D-II bowl games, and the final D-II regular season game of the year awaits. Quickest of notes on last week’s action and upcoming games follows; detailed recaps will be in the Playoff Update later this week.
Done for the year:
Abilene Christian
Albany State
Concord
Elizabeth City State
Minot State
Missouri Western
Saginaw Valley State
Southern Nazarene
West Alabama
CENTRAL:
#5 California (PA) 44, #4 ELIZABETH CITY STATE 0
20 minutes into the game, ECSU only trailed 7-0. Three touchdowns and a safety within the next 10 minutes sealed their fate.
California now visits the other CIAA team in the field, #1 seed Winston-Salem State. One more CIAA team has had its season extended; Johnson C. Smith will travel to Columbus GA in two weeks to face Miles, from the SIAC, in the Pioneer Bowl.
GREAT AMERICAN:
Incoming member Southern Nazarene fell to MidAmerica Nazarene in the first round of the NAIA playoffs, and with that the Great American conference books come to a close for the year.
GREAT LAKES IAC:
#4 Minnesota-Duluth 30, #5 SAGINAW VALLEY STATE 24 (OT)
Saginaw Valley recovered from a 17-7 halftime deficit to force overtime on a 21-yard Scott Stanford field goal with three seconds remaining, but could not get into the end zone in overtime (a score was called back on a holding penalty) and fell when Duluth did so.
#6 WAYNE STATE (MI) 48, #3 Saint Cloud State 38
Toney Davis ran for a school record 326 yards and scored five times in a heavy snowstorm to lead the Warriors to an upset win on the road. Wayne State had to recover from an early 21-6 deficit before (literally) running away with the game in the second quarter. The key moment, however, was a 76-yard Raleigh Ross interception return midway through the third which gave Wayne a 10-point cushion.
Wayne State advances to play #2 seed Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday, in Kearney.
GREAT LAKES FOOTBALL:
Season complete.
GREAT NORTHWEST:
Incoming member Azusa Pacific blasted Ottawa in the first round of the NAIA playoffs. This week, they travel to Helena to face the defending champions, Carroll (MT).
GULF SOUTH:
#5 NORTH ALABAMA 43, #4 WEST ALABAMA 27
(West Alabama SID recap)
The Lions avenged their regular season loss to the Tigers, scoring on all five first half possessions and adding a punt return TD by Janoris Jenkins, taking a 36-17 lead into the half. Lee Chapple shredded the Tiger defense, going 27-33 for 320 yards and two touchdowns. The touchdowns broke a tie between Chapple and Will Hall for career TD passes by a North Alabama quarterback; Hall, of course, is the current head coach at West Alabama, so got to see his record broken in person.
For the second week in a row, a Gulf South team will certainly end their season; UNA visits #1 seed Delta State for their second-round battle.
LONE STAR:
#3 Washburn 52, #6 ABILENE CHRISTIAN 49
Abilene Christian rolled up 688 yards of offense, and recovered from a 45-21 deficit with 22 unanswered points, before ultimately falling short on a failed onside-kick attempt in the closing minute.
That leaves Midwestern State, the #1 seed, who will host #5 seed Northwest Missouri State on Saturday. On Sunday, West Texas A&M goes to Topeka KS to face Central Missouri in the Kanza Bowl.
MID-AMERICA:
#3 WASHBURN 52, #6 Abilene Christian 49
The Ichabods jumped out to a 45-21 lead, then had to hang on for dear life as Abilene mounted a furious comeback. The game wasn’t in hand until Washburn recovered an onside kick with :37 left on the clock.
#5 NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE 35, #4 MISSOURI WESTERN 28
(Missouri Western recap; includes embedded video with highlights)
Northwest allowed their archrivals to score 16 points in the first four minutes, and trailed by 15 at the half, before storming back to claim the victory. It was the second year in a row that the Bearcats had come back from a double-digit deficit in a playoff match against the Griffons.
Northwest Missouri heads to Wichita Falls TX to square off against regional #1 seed Midwestern State, while Washburn visits #2 Pittsburg State. Central Missouri plays West Texas A&M in the Kanza Bowl in Topeka. Finally, incoming member Northeastern State has been selected to play in the Mineral Water Bowl in Excelsior Springs in two weeks; they’ll be paired with Minnesota State-Mankato of the NSIC.
NORTHEAST TEN:
#2 seed New Haven, idle on Saturday, will host #3 seed Kutztown this week.
NORTHERN SUN:
#6 Wayne State (MI) 48, #3 SAINT CLOUD STATE 38
In sub-freezing temperatures and a constant heavy snowfall, the Huskies jumped out to a 21-6 lead early, but were undone when Wayne State’s running game provided 21 straight second-quarter points and gave the Warriors a lead they would never relinquish.
#4 MINNESOTA-DULUTH 30, #5 Saginaw Valley State 24 (OT)
Duluth had a 17-7 halftime lead, but a field goal with three seconds left completed Saginaw’s comeback to force overtime. After holding the Cardinals to a field goal on their possession, Duluth immediately struck with a 23-yard completion from Chase Volger to Aaron Roth; on the next play Vogler ran the sneak into the end zone to seal the win.
Duluth now travels to #1 seed Colorado State-Pueblo for their second-round contest. Minnesota State-Mankato received an invitation to play Northeastern State (independent, but joining the MIAA next season) next week in Excelsior Springs at the Mineral Water Bowl.
PENNSYLVANIA:
#3 KUTZTOWN 17, #6 Concord 14
Kutztown forced five Concord turnovers, but still had to recover an onside kick with under a minute to play to secure their first-ever playoff win.
#5 CALIFORNIA (PA) 44, #4 Elizabeth City State 0
Peter Lalich threw for 357 yards and three TDs (all to Thomas Mayo), and Lamont Smith ran for 87 yards and three scores, as the Vulcans used a 23-point outburst over the final eight minutes of the second quarter to bury the Vikings.
California advances to face the #1 seed, Winston-Salem State, in North Carolina. Kutztown travels to New Haven, the #2 seed.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN:
Both playoff-bound RMAC teams had byes this week. Second-seeded Nebraska-Kearney will now host Wayne State (MI) on Saturday, while top seed Colorado State-Pueblo hosts Minnesota-Duluth.
SOUTH ATLANTIC:
Mars Hill, the #2 seed, returns to action at home against third-seeded North Greenville on Saturday.
SOUTHERN IAC:
#3 North Greenville 63, #6 ALBANY STATE 13
It wasn’t even a contest, this one; Albany coach Mike White summed it up when he said “I would be lost for words to find what we did right. We didn’t play well.” Of course, playing without their two leading rushers — Adrian Alexander due to a sudden illness, and Luther Edwards to an injury — surely didn’t help matters. The loss was the third-worst defeat in Albany State’s entire history.
Albany State is done, but Thanksgiving day sees Tuskegee finish their regular season with their annual Turkey Day game at Alabama State. Miles has also received an extra game as a reward for their SIAC championship; they’ll face Johnson C. Smith of the CIAA in the annual Pioneer Bowl game in Columbus GA on December 3.
WEST VIRGINIA:
#3 Kutztown 17, #6 CONCORD 14
Five turnovers doomed the Mountain Lions, who still managed to close to within three with just under a minute to go.
With Concord’s loss, the WVIAC season is now officially complete.
INDEPENDENTS:
#3 NORTH GREENVILE 63, #6 Albany State 13
The Crusaders just steamrolled Albany, jumping to a 35-0 lead, and 42-7 at the half.
North Greenville now heads to #2 seed Mars Hill to try and continue their post-season run. McMurry, in that netherworld between D-III and D-II, continues their D-III playoff run after an entertaining win at Trinity; they’ll travel to Mary Hardin-Baylor, where they lost by a point earlier in the year.