Full recaps of the second round of the D-II playoffs (Super Regions One and Two), and previews and predictions for the quarterfinals, right after le sauter.
Super Region One:
1 Winston-Salem State 35, 5 California (PA) 28
at Bowman-Gray Stadium, Winston-Salem NC; attendance 7645
Winston-Salem blew up for 21 second-quarter points, and then held on to dispatch the fifth-seeded Vulcans to move on to the regional final.
The Rams got off to a hot start from the opening kick, with Kameron Smith hitting Jameze Massey for 19 yards on the first play from scrimmage, followed immediately by a 33-yard Nic Cooper run to get the Rams to the California 16. They were stalled there, however, and a 30-yard field goal attempt from Landen Thayer was wide right. Taking over at their own 20, however, Cal was victimized on their second play when Peter Lalich was picked off by Jonathan Setzer; five plays later, Cooper ran in from six yards out to give the Rams the early lead. Cal drove on the ensuing possession, though, keyed by a 30-yard completion from Lalich to running back Mario Washington; on the 11th play of the drive, Jeff Knox rolled in from the six to tie the score. Winston-Salem drove in return, but Kameron Smith fumbled at the Cal 25, and Eric Livsey recovered for the Vulcans. Again, Lalich hit a receiver for a big gain, connecting with Thomas Mayo for 46; three plays later, Knox again stormed in, this time from three yards out, and Cal had a 14-7 lead.
The Rams came right back after the quarter sounded, churning out a five-minute, nine-play drive which ended with a one-yard Cooper run. The kick failed, leaving Winston-Salem a point behind. No matter; Lalich was intercepted by C.J. Washington on the second play of the next drive, and a six-yard pass from Kameron Smith to Cedric Hickman, followed by a two-point converstion, put the Rams up seven. Another turnover, this time a fumble by Thomas Mayo following a completion from Lalich, gave the Rams another shot. Driving to the Cal 7, Thayer was again called on; his 25-yard attempt was wide right. Cal was forced to punt, however, and a quick five-play drive led to a 26-yard touchdown pass from Kameron Smith to Jamal Williams. Cal tried to respond, but a 51-yard play from Lalich to Mayo didn’t reach the end zone as time expired, and would have been called back on a hold anyway. Winston-Salem took a 28-14 lead into the locker room.
Cal’s first drive of the third quarter ended with another Lalich interception, as Antonio Gates hauled in the errant pass and returned it to the Cal 35, with 15 more yards tacked on due to a personal foul. From the 20, Winston-Salem managed to eat 2:45 on six plays before Cooper again punched it in from the one. The Vulcans started to fight back; Lalich completed a series of passes, the final one a seven-yard toss to Lamont Smith for a score. On the third play of the Rams’ response, Kameron Smith was sacked by Greg Cochrane and fumbled; Kevin Crawford recovered at the 22, and three plays later Cal had closed to within 7 when Lalich hit Lamont Smith again from 17. Winston-Salem pretty much went backward on the ensuing drive before punting, and Cal started grinding through the end of the period, trying to erase the 35-28 deficit.
After 13 plays, 69 yards, and over five and half minutes, the Vulcans came away empty-handed with Cody Nuzzo’s 26-yard field goal attempt was blocked. Two plays later, however, Kameron Smith was picked off by Marcus Cook, giving Cal the ball at the Rams’ 23. A holding call set them back, however, and on 4th and 6 from the 19, Lalich failed to connect with Chedrick Cherry, turning the ball over on downs. Winston-Salem burned 4:20 off the clock before punting, but the defense held, forcing Cal to punt in return. Cal did the same, but had to expend their timeouts; their final drive ended at the Ram 42 when Lamont Smith was stopped for no gain on 4th and 1. Winston-Salem was then able to kill the clock and come away with the win.
The big stat of the day was Winston-Salem’s limiting of the Cal rushing game to 57 net yards. Lalich was 30-47 for 381 yards in the air, with two touchdowns and three interceptions; Mayo had 6 catches for 129 yards. Kameron Smith threw for 267 yards, going 20-33; he also had two scores and three picks. Cooper rushed for 122 yards on 20 carries with three TDs, and Massey led Ram receivers with 5 catches for 65 yards.
My pre-game prediction: Winston-Salem State 31, California 21. I predicted Cal wouldn’t be able to run, but they did managed to score one more touchdown than I expected.
2 New Haven 44, 3 Kutztown 37
at DellaCamera Stadium, West Haven CT; attendance 3118
Playing without starting QB Kevin Morton, and with leading RB Robbie Frey and WR Josh Smith both suffering injuries on the first offensive series, Kutztown still almost managed to pull off the upset. A late surge by New Haven, however, buried the Golden Bears.
Kutztown took the opening possession and moved quickly, grabbing the early lead on a 17-yard pass from Marshall Vogel to Josh Mastromatto. New Haven responded, their first play from scrimmage being a 46-yard strike from Ryan Osiecki to Jason Thompson which set up an eventual 23-yard Chris Scifo field goal. On the next drive, Vogel was intercepted by Charlie Hatchet at the New Haven 46; a personal foul on the play moved the ball to the Kutztown 39. Again, New Haven was forced to settle for three, this time Scifo hitting from 21. Kutztown couldn’t move, and had to punt; New Haven started their drive and the game moved to the second quarter with the Golden Bears up 7-6.
Four plays into the quarter, Osiecki hit Thompson for a 43-yard touchdown pass, and New Haven took the lead. Kutztown came right back, however, and Vogel connected with Erik Frazier from the 23 to reclaim the advantage. The Chargers responded in kind, moving 63 yards on 7 plays, ending with an Osiecki pass to Thompson from five yards out; again Kutztown came back, Vogel hitting Colby Tuell from the six. Once again, however, Osiecki hooked up with Thompson; this time, a 44-yard dagger with no time left in the half. New Haven took a 26-21 lead into the locker room.
As crazy as the second quarter was, the third was downright dull. New Haven chewed up over five minutes of the quarter, but still ended up having to punt from their own eight yard line after an 8-play, 2-yard drive on which they picked up two first downs and one costly holding penalty. Kutztown regained the lead when Vogel connected with Mastromatto from 34 yards out, and then halted the Charger advance at their own 1 yard line with Osiecki fumbled and Andrew Hodges recovered for the Golden Bears. Kutztown then embarked on a long drive which spanned the quarter gun; heading into the final period, the Golden Bears led 28-26.
After 15 plays, 97 yards, and almost seven minutes, Jack Ruggieri hit a 19-yard field goal to give the Bears a five-point cushion. It took New Haven less than three minutes to undo it; on the fifth play of their drive, Osiecki found Mike DeCaro for a 45-yard score, and then added a two-pointer on a toss to Thompson for good measure. Kutztown went three-and-out; taking over on his own 36, Osiecki wasted exactly 10 seconds before spotting Thompson open once again, and a 64-yard touchdown resulted. Vogel was picked off to end Kutztown’s next two drives before Scifo added a 19-yard field goal with 1:38 to go; a desperation heave from Vogel with no time left resulted in a 25-yard TD reception by Tuell, but that was only worth six points and they needed 14.
It wasn’t a bad day for Vogel, having been forced into action; the fifth-year senior was 38-54 for 356 yards and five touchdowns, and while he threw three picks, they only resulted in six points. Mastomatto led the Golden Bears in both rushing and receiving; he had eight carries for 54 yards on the ground, and 11 catches for 129 yards with two scores in the air. As good as Vogel’s day was, Osiecki’s was better; he was 23-31 for 433 yards and five touchdowns with no picks. Thompson had six catches, four for touchdowns, and 214 yards. Scifo was 3-3 on field goals, providing the margin of victory.
My pre-game prediction: New Haven 34, Kutztown 24. New Haven did in fact stop Robbie Frey in more ways than one, and Kutztown simply couldn’t defend against Osiecki. Both teams were simply more explosive than expected.
Next up:
2 New Haven (11-1) at 1 Winston-Salem State (12-0)
Bowman-Gray Stadium, Winston-Salem NC, 12pm ET
Video available via NCAA.com. Audio available via WNHU. Live stats available via NCAA.com.
Series: first meeting.
Jon’s Prediction:
New Haven 37, Winston-Salem State 33. New Haven’s going to force Kameron Smith into the air, and while the Rams will get some play out of that, I don’t think it’s going to work out as well as they’d like. I don’t think New Haven will completely silence Cooper, however, so the Rams are going to score points. But Winston-Salem was vulnerable to Peter Lalich, and they’re going to be vulnerable to Division II’s passing efficiency leader too.
Super Region Two:
1 Delta State 42, 5 North Alabama 14
at Parker Field-McCool Stadium, Cleveland MS; attendance 5125
The Statesmen ripped off 35 unanswered points to dispatch their conference rivals.
It only took three plays to get on the board for Delta State, scoring less than a minute into the game on a 60-yard pass from Micah Davis to Chance Dennis. North Alabama responded with a five and half minute drive ending on a 2-yard Antwan Ivey run to even the score. The next three possessions ended in punts, and then facing 3rd and 10 from his own 16 Lee Chapple found Jason Smith for an 84-yard strike to put North Alabama in the lead 14-7 with 34 seconds remaining in the quarter.
Another trade of punts saw Delta take over at their own 21. Nearly five minutes later, Davis plunged in from the one to tie the game. UNA was forced three-and-out, and Delta had a short field; a seven-play drive resulted in a three-yard completion from Davis to Jacob Sesma for the go-ahead score. Each team lost a fumble on the ensuing two possessions before UNA failed to convert a 4th and 1 at the Delta 39, and as time expired in the half Delta led 21-14.
Another three-and-out opened the second half for the Lions; Delta again drove, 90 yards on 11 plays, scoring on a 20-yard pass from Davis to Avery Horn. On the third play of the next drive Chapple was sacked by Robert Hogan and fumbled. Ixavier Triplett recovered and rumbled to the Lion 20 before he was brought down. Delta drove to the UNA 10, where on 3rd and goal Rod Woodson was called for pass interference, giving Delta a first down at the 4. Richard Freelon promptly ran it in for a score. The Lions then drove to midfield, but a bad punt left Delta with the ball at the UNA 49. Three plays later, the quarter ended with Delta leading 35-14.
The Statesmen finished off the Lions then, a three-play drive aided by a personal foul on UNA, ending with a 19-yard Brian Botill run to make it 42-14. Chapple guided the Lions to the Delta 15, but lost 15 yards on the next two plays before throwing incomplete on 4th and 21. Delta then ground out a 16-play drive which took almost 10 minutes off the clock before turning over on downs; UNA’s backups managed the final possession and accomplished nothing.
Davis was 20-27 for 238 yards and three touchdowns. Botill led Delta rushers with 10 carries for 67 yards and a score; Dennis had 4 catches for 88 yards. For UNA, Chapple was 20-38 for 238 yards and a score. Chris Coffey had 7 carries for 39 yards; Travis Purifoy caught 9 balls for 103 yards.
My pre-game prediction: Delta State 31, North Alabama 27. Well, hey, at least I got the winner right. Delta just came out ready to murderate.
3 North Greenville 58, 2 Mars Hill 32
at Meares Stadium, Mars Hill NC; attendance 2275
North Greenville erupted for 28 points in three minutes and thirty-five seconds during the third quarter to bury Mars Hill.
A 36-yard pass from Willy Korn to Daniel Adderly on the game’s opening drive set up an eight-yard Teryan Rucker score to put the Crusaders in the lead. Mars Hill responded with an 11-play drive which consumed over six minutes, and ended with a 29-yard Michael Pinkerton field goal. North Greenville ended the quarter with 2nd and six and the ball at the Mars Hill 34, leading 7-3.
On the very first play of the second quarter, Korn kept it and scored. Mars Hill responded with an 80-yard drive which ended when Jon Richt found Dmitri Holmes for a 10-yard score, but the point after was blocked and returned for a score by the Crusaders. North Greenville was forced to punt on their possession, and the Lions took advantage, tying the game on a 4-yard Jonas Randolph carry. North Greenville had time to do more damage, however, aided by a short kick and a 29 yard return by Cedric Proctor. With five seconds remaining in the half, Korn lobbed a three-yard touchdown pass to Sean Wright, and the Crusaders took a 23-16 lead into the half.
Mars Hill pushed to the NGU 26 on the opening drive of the second half, but on 4th and 9 Richt’s pass to Holmes fell incomplete. Seven plays later, Korn scored again on a keeper, this time from 23 yards out. On the second play of the ensuing drive, Randolph fumbled, giving the Crusaders the ball at the Lion 22; Idris Anderson carried the ball the entire way, gaining 4, 7, and then 11 yards for the score. On the first play after the kickoff, Mars Hill turned it over again when Richt was intercepted by Jamarius Robinson. Three plays later, Korn scored again from the 12. Richt was intercepted by Robinson again on the first play of the following drive; Robinson took it 45 yards for the score himself. On the kickoff, Anthony Lewis rambled 61 yards to give the Lions possession at the North Greenville 33. Luis Cruz replaced Richt at quarterback, and after Jonas Randolph’s legs got the Lions to the five yard line, Cruz found Holmes for a touchdown to narrow the margin to 51-24. North Greenville burned the rest of the quarter getting to midfield.
Korn completed a pass to Wright, but Wright fumbled and Marvin James recovered for the Lions at their 32. Trudging to midfield, the Lion drive was halted when Cruz was picked off by Nick Rosamonda, who returned the interception 55 yards for the Crusaders’ final tally of the day. Later, Cruz would hit Randolph for a 21-yard score, but it was clearly all over by this point.
Korn was 11-13 for 172 yards and a score, and ran 12 times for 92 yards and three touchdowns. Rucker added 80 yards and a score on 14 carries. For Mars Hill, Richt was 9-16 for 161 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions; Cruz was 7-14 for 89 yards with two scores and a pick. Randolph, D-II’s leading rusher, rolled for 200 yards on 38 carries with a score, while Holmes caught 7 balls for 129 yards and two touchdowns.
My pre-game prediction: North Greenville 35, Mars Hill 27. Well, I called the upset. I didn’t remotely expect a vicious beating to ensue.
Next up:
3 North Greenville (11-2) at 1 Delta State (10-2)
Parker Field-McCool Stadium, Cleveland MS, 2pm ET
Video available via NCAA.com. Audio available via Stretch Internet. Live stats available via NCAA.com.
Series: first meeting.
Jon’s Prediction:
North Greenville 38, Delta State 33. Yep, I’m calling the upset here as well. And I may be underselling North Greenville’s offense, which has just been ridiculous in the post-season. But Delta’s been iffy all year, and they don’t have years of seething hatred to draw on for incentive here.