Full recaps of the first-round action in the bottom half of the NAIA bracket after the jump. For team capsules, see the first round precap. Because the NAIA redoes things after every round, the previews for the second round will be in their own post following the recaps; trust me, it’s just easier that way.
2 Carroll (MT) 47, 12 Valley City State 0
at Nelson Stadium, Helena MT; attendance unreported
The Saints just choked down Valley City, limiting the Vikings to 127 yards of offense while racking up 489 themselves.
Carroll got on the board nearly five minutes in on a 21-yard Dakota Stonehouse carry. Carroll then forced a turnover, Brian Stroble picking off VCSU’s Tommy Zinke, but went three-and-out; again, the Saints regained the ball when Noah McWilliams sacked Zinke and forced a fumble. This time, they scored, Chance Demarais rumbling in from 10 yards out; Tom Yaremko missed the PAT, and that was probably the worst thing that happened to the Saints all day. Zinke was picked off again, by Ted Morigeau, on the final play of the first quarter.
Carroll drove following that turnover, Demarais bulling in from the two. The teams then jockeyed for about nine minutes before Carroll took over on their own 21 after the Vikings failed to convert a 4th and 2 from the 20; the drive culminated in a 21-yard touchdown pass from Dane Broadhead to Matt Ritter, and the half ended with Carroll up 27-0.
The Saints didn’t stop there; they scored on their first three possessions of the second half with a 14-yard Dustin Rinker TD run, a 5-yard toss from Broadhead to Anthony Hogan, and a 46-yard scoring pass from Broadhead to Anthony Clarke. Yaremko missed the PAT on the last one, and at that point nobody cared. That ended the third quarter, and Carroll just ran the clock from there.
Broadhead was 14-17 for 237 yards and three scores. Demarais carried 18 times for 80 yards and two scores, while Rinker added 12 carries for 71 yards and a score. Matt Ritter caught 5 balls for 114 yards and a score. For the Vikings, Zinke was 8-18 for 61 yards, and threw two picks. A.J. Pfeifer carried 18 times for 70 yards.
9 Saint Francis (IN) 28, 7 Missouri Valley 14
at Gregg-Mitchell Field, Marshall MO; attendance 1819
A fourth quarter interception by Brody Kalbaugh turned the tide and gave Saint Francis the momentum to put away Missouri Valley in a road upset.
The teams traded scores on their first possessions. The Vikings scored off the opening kick, burning half of the first quarter on a 14-play 82-yard drive that ended with an eight-yard Frank Wolfe III touchdown run. Saint Francis answered, aided by good field position after a short kickoff; Bruce Reyes found the end zone on an 11-yard scamper to tie the score.
Midway through the second, the Cougars started a drive on their own 29; a 26-yard completion from Justin Boser to Aaron Knight which moved them into Viking territory was key, and the drive ended with a seven yard run by Antoin Campbell to give the Cougars a lead they’d carry into the half. Missouri Valley had a chance to narrow the gap, but a 39-yard field goal attempt by Chase Capron sailed wide left.
They’d have had the lead had the kick been true; opening the second half, the first play for the Vikings was a 47-yard run by Nijel Daw; two plays later, Reyes hit Chris Owens from eight yards out to tie the score. The fourth quarter began with the Vikings driving, but from the Cougar 34 Reyes was picked off by Kalbaugh, who broke a big return but a spot penalty brought the ball back to the Viking 36. Boser then hit Knight for a 34-yard gain; Campbell bulled in on the next play to give Saint Francis the lead once again. Missouri Valley was then forced three-and-out, and Boser led the march downfield; a 44-yard completion to Koby Frye brought the Cougars to the brink of the red zone, and four plays later RB Kyle Mathewson lofted a pass to Aaron Bettcher from the 12, and the Cougars were up 28-14. The Vikings drove, and with 2:17 left faced 4th and goal at the four, but Reyes’ pass fell incomplete, and Saint Francis — aided by a first down on a 9-yard keeper by Boser on 3rd and 8 with 1:17 to go — ran out the clock.
Boser was effective, going 8-16 for 134 yards and most importantly no interceptions. Campbell had 80 yards and two scores on 15 carries, while Wolfe handled the ball 18 times for 62 yards and a score. Knight hauled in 4 balls for 83 yards. For the Vikings, Reyes was 12-30 for 148 yards and a score, with two interceptions. Daw had 77 yards on 8 carries.
My pregame prediction: Missouri Valley 34, Saint Francis (IN) 27. I got half of that right, anyway. Missouri Valley simply failed to force the Cougars to pass, instead allowing it to be an option. Boser managed the game well and didn’t make mistakes, and the Cougar defense really stepped up to shut down the Viking running attack.
3 Georgetown (KY) 21, 15 Benedictine (KS) 7
at Toyota Stadium, Georgetown KY; attendance unreported
The Tigers spotted the Ravens the first score, then locked down defensively while scraping together enough offense to secure the win.
Benedictine struck on the first play from scrimmage when Nick Rudolph picked off a Neal Pawsat pass and dashed 22 yards into the end zone for the score. Undeterred, Georgetown answered with a 16-play, 80-yard drive which consumed almost exactly half the first quarter, scoring on a 12-yard toss from Pawsat to Chris Gohman to tie the game. A 34-yard field goal attempt by Zach Keenan on Benedictine’s next possession was blocked, and the teams settled in defensively.
Georgetown had a shot midway through the second, but were stopped on downs at the Benedictine 5-yard line. On their next possession, though, they drove 70 yards, with Pawsat hitting Rob Maden from 26 yards out to take the lead with less than 30 seconds to go in the half.
The third quarter passed without incident; the fourth began with a 15-play 79-yard drive which consumed almost eight minutes of clock, ending with a one-yard Adam Schmitz run to put the Tigers up 21-0. Bill Noonan was intercepted on 3rd and 13 when Benedictine attempted to respond; Georgetown then effectively sealed the win by grinding another 4:31 off the clock. Even though they turned the ball over on downs at the Raven 32, there was only 1:29 left; Benedictine drove to the Tiger 17, but with 15 seconds left and facing 4th and 10, Noonan’s pass to Andrew Pucinski fell incomplete.
Pawsat was 23-39 for 267 yards and two scores, plus the game-opening interception. Benedictine did manage to stifle the Tigers run game somewhat; nobody had more than 30 yards on the ground, and the Tigers were limited to 99 net rushing yards. Gohman led Tiger receivers with 8 catches for 88 yards and a score. For the Ravens, Noonan was 15-34 for 150 yards and two picks. Cameron Fore had 24 carries for 126 yards.
My pregame prediction: Georgetown 27, Benedictine 20. Got the call right, just not the nature of the game this time.
11 Saint Francis (IL) 21, 6 Morningside 17
at Elwood Olsen Stadium, Sioux City IA; attendance 350
A back-and-forth contest in which every score caused the lead to change finally titled Saint Francis’s way in the final quarter, although the real differences in the game were turnovers and Morningside’s failure to score from within the Saints’ five yard line.
Saint Francis had the shakes as they took the opening kickoff. The first play from scrimmage resulted in a fumble which the Saints recovered for a loss of ten. On fourth down, they lined up to punt; a bad snap resulted in a turnover on downs at their own 9 yard line. But the defense held; Morningside gained a yard on 3rd and goal from the 3, but an illegal block in the back penalty pushed them back to the 18, forcing Zach Maxey to come on and hit a 35-yard field goal. The failure to score a touchdown here was, effectively, the margin of the game.
Still, it looked like the Mustangs had the Saints on the ropes after Elliot Allen fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Morningside took over on the Saints’ 34. On 4th and 7 from the 31, however, Morningside went for it and failed to convert; the Saints took over on downs, and then Anthony Hubert ripped off a run for 22. Four plays later on 4th and 1 from the Morningside 43, Hubert took off again, and this time nothing stopped him; the Saints took the lead. The Mustangs immediately fired back; Colby Henderson returned a short kickoff to the 45, and a personal foul pushed that even further to the Saint 40. Kyle Nikkel immediately hit Kyle Schuck for 20, and then Fred Jones picked up 12 on the ground; on 2nd and goal from the 3, Nikkel hit Tyler Sinsabaugh for a score. The quarter ended with the Mustangs in the lead, 10-7.
Things settled into a field position battle, with the Saints either punting or turning the ball over on downs, while every Morningside possession save one ended with a turnover — Nikkel was intercepted twice and fumbled once. None of these miscues led to points for the Saints; it wasn’t until Morningside was forced to punt that something happened. WIth 4:05 to go in the half, Saint Francis took over on their own 44, and E.J. White immediately hit Allen for a 56-yard score, and the Saints were again in the lead. Morningside drove, penetrating to the Saints’ three; after a loss of one and facing 4th and goal from the four, Steve Ryan opted to send Maxey out to kick a 21-yard field goal rather than going for the lead. The kick was wide left, and the Saints escaped the half with a 14-10 advantage.
Morningside quickly moved into Saints territory to start the second half, but Nikkel was intercepted yet again. Two plays later, White was himself picked off, and Carter Ridenour entered the game to replace Nikkel. He immediately ran for 14, then after a fumble which the Mustangs managed to recover and a holding penalty made it 2nd and 23, hit Preston Ives for 8 yards and then found Colby Rohde for a gain of 29, brought down at the Saints’ 2. Ridenour then plunged into the end zone himself to put the Mustangs back on top, 17-14. The Saints embarked on a time-consuming drive then, eating 7:36 off the clock but only gaining 36 yards on 16 plays before White was intercepted. A trade of punts ended the third with Morningside in the lead.
On the second play of the fourth quarter, Fred Jones fumbled and Saint Francis recovered at the Mustang 42. Another clock-chewing drive ensued, but ended after six and half minutes with a missed field goal by Sean Murray from 40. Nikkel returned to the game, and Morningside advanced to the Saints 28 before turning the ball over on downs; two plays later White hit Lexus Jackson for a 69-yard scoring strike to give the Saints a 21-17 lead with seven minutes to go. Nikkel led the Mustangs into Saint territory, but the drive ended at the 24 when Nikkel only gained a yard on 4th and two. Two plays later, Garen Demery broke free for a 56-yard gain to the Mustang 16, and even though Morningside sacked White on 4th and 7 to take over at their own 23, that run — and the change in field position it signified — may well have been the knife in Morningside’s back. Nikkel again led the Mustangs into Saint territory, but a first-down sack which left Morningside facing 2nd and 16 from the Saint 38 effectively ended the threat; Nikkel threw three straight incompletions, and one knee to the ground later the Saints had their upset win.
Nikkel was 21-41 for 203 yards, with a score, two interceptions, and a fumble. Jones ran for 155 yards on 28 carries. For Saint Francis, White was 10-24 for 165 yards with two scores and two picks (both by Morningside’s Colby Henderson), and led Saints runners with 98 yards on 19 carries. Hubert added 82 yards on 7 touches with a score, and Demery had 13 carries for 78 yards.
My pregame prediction: Saint Francis 24, Morningside 14. Oddly, I had expected the Saints to beat Morningside through the air while struggling on the ground, but it was the reverse.