Full recaps of the first-round action in Super Regions One and Two, plus a look at my picks from last week and previews and predictions for the second round games, after the jump. For team capsules, see the first round precaps for Super Region One and Super Region Two.
SUPER REGION ONE:
#3 Kutztown 17, #6 Concord 14
at University Field, Kutztown PA; attendance 3614
Turnovers were the key ingredient in Kutztown’s first-ever playoff win, as they forced five of them to hold off the Concord Mountain Lions.
The first key, although not actually a turnover, was on Concord’s second drive when Zack Grossi was forced to check down to Ryan Stewart, and the pass play only gained one yard on fourth-and-six at the Kutztown 30. The Golden Bears failed to capitalize, and after trading possessions a couple of times, Brian Kennedy scored from 16 yards out to give Concord a 7-0 lead on the next-to-last play of the first quarter.
Concord’s first drive of the second frame ended with a blocked field goal attempt from 32 yards; two plays later Robbie Frey dashed 52 yards to even the score. After another trade of empty possessions, Concord’s DJ Holmes fumbled; again, Kutztown was unable to capitalize on the recovery, going three-and-out. Concord again drove into Kutztown territory, but the half was running out on them; forced to settle for a 43-yard field goal attempt, Brad Cox missed wide right and the game went to half tied at seven.
On the opening drive of the third quarter, Grossi was sacked by Brett Moss and fumbled; Colin Henny recovered for Kutztown at the Concord 35. They were able to move to the Concord 5 before the drive stalled, but at least this time they capitalized on the Concord turnover; Jack Ruggieri kicked a 22-yard field goal to put the Golden Bears up 10-7. The teams then traded punts until Kutztown took possession at midfield with 3:22 go go in the half. That drive ended with a 21-yard TD pass from Marshall Vogel to Josh Smith, and a 17-7 Kutztown lead.
Grossi was intercepted twice in the Kutztown red zone, both times by Alex DiNolfi, as the fourth quarter proceeded. Finally, in the closing minutes, Concord drove; Grossi scored on a keeper with 55 seconds left to bring the Mountain Lions within a field goal. The onside kick was recovered by Kutztown, however, and they were able to run out the final minute.
Kutztown starting QB Kevin Morton was only 3-11 for 14 yards, and suffered three sacks, before leaving the game with a knee sprain. Marshall Vogel was 6-15 for 88 yards and a TD in relief. Robbie Frey had 157 yards on 25 carries, including his 52-yard TD run.
Grossi was 33-52 for 338 yards, but no TDs and two picks. Kennedy carried the ball 31 times for 104 yards and a TD. Ryan Stewart led the Concord receiving corps with 111 yards on 8 catches, while Tim Picard had 9 receptions for 73 yards. Concord outgained Kutztown 440-267, but the turnovers did them in.
My pre-game prediction: Kutztown 30, Concord 14. Had Kutztown capitalized on Concord turnovers, that would have been just about right.
Next up:
3 Kutztown (11-1) at 2 New Haven (10-1)
DellaCamera Stadium, West Haven CT, 12pm ET
Video available via New Haven. Audio available via WNHU. Live Stats available via Sidearm.
Series: New Haven leads 2-0 (last: 1995, 28-19)
Jon’s Prediction:
New Haven 34, Kutztown 24. Kutztown’s going to be hurt by Morton’s injury, and New Haven’s adept at stopping the run which will hamper Frey’s impact. Worse, Kutztown is not that effective against the pass, yet that’s New Haven’s strength.
#5 California (PA) 44, #4 Elizabeth City State 0
at Adamson Stadium, California PA; attendance 2127
A reminder; despite the seed, this game was played at California due to facility concerns.
The key sequence of the game occurred after California took a 14-0 lead eight minutes into the second quarter. At this point, the game wasn’t out of hand. The Vikings then went 6 plays for 16 yards before being forced to punt, pinning the Vulcans on their own nine yard line. On Cal’s ensuing drive, Peter Lalich completed passes of 25 and 60 yards, and the Vulcans extended their lead to 21 on a five-play 91-yard drive. ECSU’s next possession ended in a three-and-out, followed by a bad snap on the punt which resulted in a safety. Cal took possession of the free kick and Lalich immediately hit Mario Washington for a 41-yard completion; it took five plays and 1:08 to stretch the lead to 30-0. After that, California basically just chewed the clock, controlling the ball for 19:22 of the remaining 30:06.
The Vikings were completely overwhelmed by California on both sides of the ball, giving up 497 yards of offense while only gaining 197. ECSU’s ability to gain takeaways and win the turnover battle failed them as they lost two fumbles and both starting QB Creven Powell and backup Domonic Strand were picked off once. Daronte McNeill ran 20 times for 97 yards to account for nearly half the offense.
For California, Lalich threw for 357 yards and three TDs, and was not intercepted. Washington accounted for the largest chunk of that yardage, catching eight balls for 165 yards; Thomas Mayo added seven catches for 89, including all three of Lalich’s TD throws. Lamont Smith gained 83 yards on the ground over 11 carries, and scored three times.
My pregame prediction: California 24, Elizabeth City State 20. Hey, I got the total points right on the nose, didn’t I? And, uh, the winner? Right?
Next up:
5 California (PA) (10-2) at 1 Winston-Salem State (11-0)
Bowman Gray Stadium, Winston-Salem NC, 1pm ET
Video available via LiveStream. Audio available via WCAL. Live Stats available via Sidearm.
Series: first meeting.
Jon’s Prediction:
Winston-Salem State 31, California 21. The Vulcans took the Vikings behind the woodshed, but Winston-Salem is another matter entirely. California’s running game may be nearly non-existent this week. That’s not to say that the Rams will be able to run up the score; California has some defense themselves, after all. But 10 points seems a reasonable margin at this stage.
SUPER REGION TWO:
#3 North Greenville 63, #6 Albany State 13
at Younts Stadium, Tigerville SC; attendance 3374
It wasn’t even a contest, as former Clemson QB Willy Korn led the Crusaders to a convincing rout of Albany State. It was the third-worst loss in the history of Albany football.
Albany forced North Greenville to punt on their first possession, but that was pretty much the last thing that went right for the Rams before the game was completely out of hand. On Albany’s second play from scrimmage, Stan Jennings was intercepted by Isaiah Johnson; five plays later, Idris Anderson barrelled in from 9 yards out to give the Crusaders the lead. NGU scored on their next two possessions, first on a 15 yard run by Teryan Rucker, then a 10 yard pass from Korn to Sean Wright, before Johnson returned an Albany punt 62 yards for a score. Marcus Wilson added a 22-yard TD run before Albany finally got on the board with a one-yard Jennings keeper with 22 seconds to go in the half. A personal foul on the PAT forced Albany to kick off from their own 20; Cedric Proctor returned the kick 75 yards to give NGU a 42-7 halftime lead.
After forcing an Albany punt on their first possession of the second half, Korn struck again, hitting Freddie Martino for a 7-yard score. The teams then traded punts before Jennings was again intercepted, this time by Jereme Green who scored on a 30-yard return, making it 56-7. At that point, both teams threw in the towel and played the second string; each team scored again in the fourth quarter.
Jennings was 15-25 for 224 yards, but no touchdowns and three picks, as well as eating five sacks. As a testament to North Greenville’s run defense, Albany’s leading rusher was backup QB Blaize Schaeffer, who had 24 yards rushing on two carries in the fourth quarter. RB Nathan Hoyte was held to 12 yards on 7 carries. Ronnie Tubbs led Albany in recieving yards, accumulating 101 on two catches; Orion Ponder and Mark Bell led in receptions with six apiece.
For the Crusaders, Korn was a modest 10-15 for 144 yards and two scores, but that’s all he needed to do. Rucker led NGU runners with 70 yards on 10 touches; Marcus Wilson had 60 on 11. The real story, of course, was defense and special teams, which directly scored three touchdowns and set up an easy fourth.
My pregame prediction: North Greenville 37, Albany State 21. No… no, it wasn’t that close, was it? Still, I’ll give myself credit for recognizing it wouldn’t be close at all.
Next up:
3 North Greenville (10-2) at 2 Mars Hill (8-2)
Meares Stadium, Mars Hill NC, 12pm ET
Video availabile via NMTV. Audio available via WNGR. Live Stats available via North Greenville and Mars Hill.
Series: Mars Hill leads 6-0 (last: 38-28 Mars Hill, at Mars Hill on 9/24/2011)
Jon’s Prediction:
North Greenville 35, Mars Hill 27. The two teams match up well, and although we’ve already got a 10-point win at Mars Hill to go on here, the fact of the matter is that North Greenville hasn’t lost since then. Mars Hill has been shaky of late, and got hammered by Lenoir-Rhyne. It’ll be close, but the Crusaders should manage the upset.
#5 North Alabama 43, #4 West Alabama 27
at Tiger Stadium, Livingston AL; attendance 6925
North Alabama exploded for three straight scores in the final 8:24 of the second quarter, breaking a 15-14 game into a 36-14 rout from which West Alabama could not recover.
The Lions initially led 12-0 just five minutes into the game after a one-yard Chris Coffey TD run and an ill-advised punt return by former Florida Gator Janoris Jenkins which ended up being a 92-yard touchdown return. Both scores were followed by failed kicks. The Tigers fought back, scoring on a Matthew Willis run after a 10-play, 69 yard drive. Nathan O’Jibway booted a 37-yard field goal to stretch UNA’s lead back to 15-7, but the Tigers again drove; 76 yards and another Willis TD plunge later, and North Alabama only led 15-14.
That’s when the Lions went to work. A 14-play 88-yard drive ate five minutes, and Chris Coffey’s 8-yard run reset the lead to eight. After forcing a three-and-out, Lee Chapple picked up 75 yards through the air, including a 52-yard strike to Tristan Purifoy, to get the Lions within the West Alabama 5. Chapple then hit Purifoy for a 5-yard TD pass to go up by 15.
On the ensuing drive, West Alabama failed to convert 3rd and 1 on their own 38, then went for it on fourth down; that attempt was stopped as well, giving the Lions a short field. Chapple eventually hit Cameron Wade from eight yards out, and UNA led 36-14. Ryne Smith hit a 41-yard field goal for the Tigers at the end of the half, then hit another from 20 yards out after a long 15-play drive to open the third quarter, but West Alabama would never get any closer. The teams traded scores; an 8-yard Wes Holland run gave UNA a 43-20 lead with half a minute to go in the third, and West Alabama answered with a 10-play drive culminating in Willis’s third rushing TD of the day to make it 43-27. The Lions then embarked on a soul-crushing 13-play drive which chewed up six and a half minutes; that drive ended with a missed 30-yard field goal attempt by Ojibway, but the damage was done. On 3rd and 21 on the ensuing drive, Jenkins intercepted Kyle Caldwell, and UNA took over at the UWA 9-yard line. They didn’t score; on fourth and goal at the two, Antwan Ivey was stopped for no gain. West Alabama drove to the UNA 28, but the drive ended on sack of Caldwell resulting in a fumble, and UNA took over and ran out the clock.
Chapple was 27-33 for 320 yards and two scores; the first of those two broke the UNA record for career TD passes formerly held by current West Alabama head coach Will Hall. Wes Holland had 66 yards and a TD on the ground, and Chris Coffey had 32 and two scores. Daniel Almon led the Lion receiving corps with 8 catches for 104 yards, to go along with Purifoy’s 6-74. For West Alabama, Caldwell was 16-25 for 188 with no TDs and the Jenkins interception. Willis ran for 156 yards and three scores, while Gerald Worsham led Tiger receivers with 9 catches for 97 yards.
My pregame prediction: West Alabama 23, North Alabama 21. Yeah, missed that one entirely. Bottom line is that UNA woke up for this game after sleepwalking lately.
Next up:
5 North Alabama (9-2) at 1 Delta State (9-2)
Parker Field at McCool Stadium, Cleveland MS, 2pm ET
Video availability to be determined. Audio available via Stretch Internet. Live Stats available via Sidearm.
Series: North Alabama leads 30-23-1 (last: 30-24 Delta State, at North Alabama on 10/13/2011)
Jon’s Prediction:
Delta State 31, North Alabama 27. In other words, this one could go either way. Since their meeting six weeks ago, both teams have looked very good, and both teams have looked very mediocre. Micah Davis is turnover-prone, which isn’t going to help Delta’s cause any. But UNA’s defense is porous, and Delta’s isn’t so much. It’ll be a good one.