Playoffs! NCAA Division II Quarterfinals | Syracusefan.com

Playoffs! NCAA Division II Quarterfinals

SWC75

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West Chester knocked off Shephard 28-7 with a couple of late interceptions. “Al-Hajj Shabazz and Brandon Pepper returned a pair of interceptions for touchdowns 17 seconds apart in the fourth quarter to break open a tight game… Harlon Hill finalist Rondell White rushed for 94 yards and one touchdown in the game…West Chester racked up 304 yards of total offense while Shepherd was limited to 271. It marked just the third time this year that Shepherd allowed an opponent more than 300 yards of total offense in a game.” (West Chester Athletics).


Lenoir Rhyne used offense to get past North Alabama 42-39. The bears rushed for 377 yards but they did get a 55 yard pick six of their own from Michael Green that was also needed for the win. They held on after twice having 3 touchdown leads. The Lion’s Luke Wingo threw three touchdown passes, two of 71 and 48 yards and Lamonte Thompson scored on a 90-yard kickoff return. L-R quarterback Josh Justice rushed for 89 yards and two scores, one a 22 yarder with 2:38 left to make it 42-32. North Alabama came back to score with 1:24 left on a 5 yard pass from Wingo to Lee Mayhall but an on-sides kick failed and the Bears ran out the clock.


Grand Valley State came back from a 14-28 halftime deficit to beat West Texas A&M 35-28. The Lakers had three third quarter interceptions and scored the touchdowns that gave them control of the game. The Buffalos, who had gained 310 first half yards, got only 124 in the second. The Lakers only gained 295 yards but quarterback Heath Parling had four touchdown passes. So did the Buffalo’s Dustin Vaughn.


Northwest Missouri didn’t beco0me the latest upset victim of St. Cloud of Minnesota. The Bearcats sprang to a 28-0 halftime lead on their way to a 59-21 win, the seventh straight game they have won by at least 24 points. They ran for 296 yards and passed for 245 more. They used long, grinding drives. Phil Jackson rushed for 117 yards and 4 TDs and Billy Creason ran for 99 yards and 3 scores. Those seven touchdowns were from a total of 57 yards out and capped drives totaling 51 plays.


The Semi-Final match-ups:


WEST CHESTER of Pennsylvania 12-1 (550-283) #16, 12-10 (0)

Vs.

LENOIR RHYNE of North Carolina 12-1 (446-193) #11, 8-5 (1)


NORTHWEST MISSOURI 13-0 (609-218) #2, 37-14 (3)

Vs.

GRAND VALLEY STATE 12-2 of Michigan (542-337) #23, 42-12 (4)


Comments: On one side of the bracket are two “blast form the past” teams. West Chester and Lenoir Rhyne were big small college powers back in the 50’s and 60’s before the NCAA has tournaments, (L-R won an NAIA title and lost two other title games. West Chester wasn’t in the NAIA). It will be fun seeing them play each other. (Both these games will be on ESPN 3). The other side of the bracket are more recent powers who have 7 DII titles between them and played for it five other times. Grand Valley beat MW Missouri for the title in both 2005 and 2006, (under Coach Brian Kelly who went onto Cincinnati and Notre Dame). The Bearcats look like the class of the field from here.
 

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