The Curse of Brian Kelly lives on, Division II gets its third 2,000 yard freshman running back ever, and another unbeaten team goes home. Second-round recaplets, regional final previews, and stuff and things (including announcement of a new conference) right after the jump.<\/p>\n
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Super Region 1<\/strong><\/p>\n (4)Shepherd 41, at (1)Kutztown 34<\/a><\/span> at (2)Mercyhurst 28, (6)Bloomsburg 14<\/a><\/span> Regional Final: (4)Shepherd at (2)Mercyhurst<\/span> Super Region 2<\/strong><\/p>\n at (1)Albany State 30, (4)Wingate 28<\/a><\/span> at (2)Delta State 47, (6)North Alabama 24<\/a><\/span> Regional Final: (2)Delta State at (1)Albany State<\/span> Super Region 3<\/strong><\/p>\n at (1)Minnesota-Duluth 20, (4)St. Cloud State 17 (OT)<\/a><\/span> at (2)Augustana (SD) 38, (3)Grand Valley State 6<\/a><\/span> Regional Final: (2)Augustana (SD) at (1)Minnesota-Duluth<\/span>
\nWith eight minutes to go, Kutztown trailed Shepherd (11-1) 19-14. Then bedlam ensued. A 70-yard completion led to the go-ahead score, and on the ensuing Rams possession Jay McKnight picked off a pass and returned it to the house; suddenly the Bears were out in front 27-19. Shepherd’s response? “Not so fast, my friend.” Keon Robinson returned the ensuing kickoff for a score, and Maurice Perry intercepted Kutztown’s first pass of the following possession and notched a pick-six of his own. Just like that Shepherd led again 34-27; the two teams had scored 28 points in 1:45. With just under two minutes to go, Shepherd iced the game on Tommy Addison’s 73-yard touchdown run. Kutztown — in their first playoff appearance in school history — came up short, and finishes the season at 10-2.<\/p>\n
\nThe two teams combined for fewer points than Mercyhurst (10-2) scored all by themselves in their State Game meeting two weeks ago, but the result was the same as the Lakers outmanned the Huskies. Bloomsburg’s Franklin Quiteh ran for 132 yards on the afternoon, becoming only the third freshman in D-II history to break the 2,000 yard mark in a season. Bloomsburg ends the season at 10-2.<\/p>\n
\nBoth of these teams are capable of scoring points by the bushel. They’re also both capable of giving them up by the truckload. Expect a high-scoring affair, and I think Mercyhurst is going to benefit from having played in a slightly tougher league.<\/p>\n
\nAlbany (11-0) held off a stubborn Bulldog offense who refused to go away; the Rams never trailed, but they also never led by more than nine points. Wingate concludes their first-ever playoff action, and finishes at 9-3.<\/p>\n
\nOur Bowden Watch is over, as Delta (9-3) piled up 359 yards on the ground and 524 overall to spank the Lions. The Statesmen thus avenge a 31-7 defeat last month and move on. UNA ends the year 9-4.<\/p>\n
\nTwo fairly complete teams match up here, and the key edge probably goes to Albany, who have the benefit of playing at home where they tend to have a larger-than-normal advantage.<\/p>\n
\nThe number one team in the land almost went home for the winter, as Duluth (12-0) escaped St. Cloud in overtime. The Bulldogs had to get a 19-yard field goal from David Nadeau in the closing seconds just to force the extra period. The Huskies, still riding the wave of having their program saved from extinction, will go home with a 10-3 record (two of those losses being to Duluth).<\/p>\n
\nAugustana (11-1) used six turnovers and a blocked punt to just flat out hammer the Lakers, who’ll be sitting at home watching the regional finals for the second time in three years. With one exception, every team that has defeated Grand Valley in the playoffs has made it to Florence (although admittedly only three of them did it before getting<\/em> to Florence; maybe this bodes well for Augie, who secured their first playoff win in school history. The loss was the worst loss suffered by Grand Valley since 1999, and leaves them with an 11-2 record.<\/p>\n
\nThese two conference-mates did not meet during the regular season, and until Augustana’s surprise loss to Wayne State it looked like the conference title was going to be left hanging on that small detail. We finally get to see them face off, and it should be a good one. Based on last week’s games, I’m going to suggest that Augustana had the much more impressive win, and pick them for the upset here.<\/p>\n