NAIA Spreadsheet: (Excel2003, 182 kb)

NAIA Game of the Week:
It wasn’t a thriller by any stretch of the imagination, but it was a matchup of unbeaten top ten teams.  #5 Missouri Valley paid a visit to #9 Baker with a place on the front row of the HAAC race at stake.

The Vikings got off to a good start, holding Baker to a single first down on their opening drive and then blocking the ensuing punt.  Three plays later, Bruce Reyes tossed a 28-yard touchdown pass to Jacoby Bellard to give Missouri Valley an early lead.  On the next drive, it was the Viking defense which rose to the occasion, as Danny Reyes sacked Jake Morse (no relation) and forced a fumble.  Missouri Valley kept the ball on the ground, grinding yards before LaNorris Dukes scored on a three-yard run to put the Vikings up 14-0.  Baker did manage a field goal midway through the second quarter, but Missouri Valley held the Wildcats to 80 yards of total offense in the first half; with 37 seconds to go before intermission, Taylor Beasley (subbing for Reyes, who was injured on the Vikings’ second drive) hit Bellard for a 25-yard score to give the Vikings a 21-3 halftime advantage.

Their first two possessions of the second half put the game away for Missouri Valley.  Fabian Miramontes hit a 30-yard field goal, and Del’von Franklin scored on a one-yard run to make it 31-3.  Baker tried to rally in the fourth quarter, scoring twice in the first eight minutes of the period on a one-yard Dillon Baxter run and a 12-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Bolton from Sam Vossen, who’d replaced the ineffective Morse.  After that, however, the Wildcats were unable to chip away at the lead any further, and the Vikings held on for a 31-17 conquest.  Four turnovers were the downfall for Baker, as they led to the margin of victory.

There’s not a lot else to talk about this week, so…
The New Top 25:


Other scores of note:
Nail-Biters:
There simply weren’t any this week outside the Top 25 or others receiving votes.

Done Been Trucked:
Bacone 77, at Haskell 13
at Belhaven 70, Campbellsville 28
at Concordia (NE) 52, Dordt 12
Robert Morris (IL) 45, Lindenwood-Belleville 6
at Southern Oregon 45, Dickinson State 7

Defense Is an Optional Package:
at Montana State-Northern 46, Montana-Western 39
at Bethel (TN) 56, Bluefield 28
Tabor 44, at Saint Mary (KS) 37

No Offense… But No Offense:
Union (KY) 10, at Webber International 7