COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF RESULTS FROM DECEMBER 14th

* FRIDAY NIGHT DEC 13th *

TEXARKANA BOWL – This Bowl game in NCAA Division 2 was postponed from last Saturday due to inclement weather. The game was far from worth the wait from a competitive angle as the HARDING UNIVERSITY BISON had their way with the TEXAS A&M-COMMERCE LIONS. The Bison, who hail from the Great American Conference crushed and mangled the Lions, who play in the Lone Star Conference. The final score in this thoroughly one-sided affair was Harding 44  TAMC 3.

* NCAA DIVISION 2 SEMIFINALS *

A TJAMPIONSHIP GAME APPEARANCE IN MEMORY OF TJEERDSMA? – For the first time since the era of their legendary coach Mel Tjeerdsma the NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE BEARCATS are headed back to the D2 Championship Game, just in time for its final bow in Florence, AL. The Bearcats hosted the GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY LAKERS, another storied program and a frequent Championship Game opponent of Northwest Missouri State.

The Lakers led 6-0 after putting up 2 Field Goals but by the end of the 1st Quarter the Bearcats led 7-6. After a 2nd Quarter in which both teams kept sabotaging their own drives the Bearcats extended their lead to 10-6 as Halftime arrived. The 3rd Quarter saw 10 more points from Northwest Missouri State but then the Lakers at last reached the Endzone to make it a 20-13 game with just 2 seconds left in the Quarter. In the 4th the Bearcats scored another Touchdown followed by stellar play from their defense to keep Grand Valley State scoreless the rest of the way. The final score was Bearcats 27  Lakers 13.    

TRIPLING UP ON THE OPPOSITION – The LENOIR-RHYNE UNIVERSITY BEARS welcomed the WEST CHESTER UNIVERSITY GOLDEN RAMS in the early game to start off the semifinal action in D2 for the day. As always the Bears are incredibly energized when defending Moretz Stadium and prevented the Golden Rams from ever really being in the game once things were well and truly underway. The Lenoir-Rhyne defense held West Chester to just 14 points for the day while on offense it was a Bear market as the home team notched 42 points of their own. Lenoir-Ryhyne moves on to the D2 Championship Game in Florence, AL.  

* NCAA DIVISION 3 SEMIFINALS *

THAT OL’ MOUNT UNION MAGIC – The day’s first semifinal was played between the defending champion UNIVERSITY OF MOUNT UNION PURPLE RAIDERS and the visiting NORTH CENTRAL COLLEGE CARDINALS. This game was everything that December football is supposed to be and took place in a driving snow that left the players slipping and sliding and the grounds crew struggling to keep the yard markers visible. The weather conditions wreaked havoc with both teams’ kicking games, too, resulting in multiple missed PAT attempts and helping the Cardinals block a punt at one point.

There were 7 lead changes in this snowy Armaggedon, two of them very late in the 4th Quarter. The Purple Raiders led 35-34 when the Cardinals managed a Touchdown with a missed 2-point conversion attempt that left just 1:41 left in the game and a 40-35 North Central lead on the scoreboard. Mt Union being Mt Union it only took them a few seconds to move down the field for a Touchdown of their own that put them up 41-40 with around 1:30 left to play. The Purple Raiders’ own 2-point attempt was stuffed by the Cardinals, who then moved into Mt Union territory before turning the ball over on downs via a missed Hail Mary pass with just 10 seconds to go. For the 9th year in a row the Purple Raiders will appear in the D3 Championship Game.

SHOULD WE YAWN OR BE IMPRESSED? – And so yet AGAIN the NCAA Division 3 Championship Game aka the Stagg Bowl, will be played between Mt Union and the UW-WHITEWATER WARHAWKS just like it was for 7 years in a row not so long ago. The Warhawks were on the road against the UNIVERSITY OF MARY HARDIN-BAYLOR CRUSADERS and trailed 5-0 after a very odd 1st Quarter.

By Halftime the Crusaders held a 12-7 lead but that vanished in the 3rd Quarter as UWW shut out “the Cru” and put up 9 points. With the Warhawks leading 16-12 as the 4th Quarter started a defensive struggle ensued for the rest of the game. UMHB logged a Field Goal to pull within 1 point but the Whitewater defense stood tall, holding on for a 16-15 win. Back to Salem, VA for the Warhawks after a 1 year hiatus. 

* CCCAA CHAMPIONSHIP GAME *

ROADRUNNERS ESCAPE THE HORNETS – The BUTTE COLLEGE ROADRUNNERS, where Aaron Rodgers played his college ball before  transferring to Cal way back when, squared off against the visiting FULLERTON COLLEGE HORNETS in today’s championship game. Fullerton Quarterback Jose Escobar’s hand was still healing from the break it suffered against Riverside College in the Hornets’ last game and he uncharacteristically threw 2 interceptions in the 1st Quarter but the defense had his back and the 1st Quarter ended with neither team scoring.

At Halftime the Roadrunners led 6-0 after a 2nd Quarter Touchdown followed by a failed PAT. Butte followed that up with another Touchdown late in the 3rd followed by a successful 2-point conversion to make it 14-0. With just over a minute left in the Quarter Fullerton finally put up 7 points of their own. In the 4th Quarter the Roadrunners added another TD to extend their lead to 21-7 with 13:56 left to play. At the 4:33 mark the Hornets scored a Touchdown but botched the PAT, leaving it a 21-13 game. With 38 seconds remaining in the game and Fullerton driving, the Roadrunners snatched a 51 yard pick-6 to clinch the win by a final score of 28-13. Congratulations to Butte College on their 2nd CCCAA Championship in the last 5 years!

* OTHER 2013 CHAMPIONSHIPS *

NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) – The NAIA Championship Game for 2013 will be played in Rome, GA next Saturday. The two teams competing for the title are the UNIVERSITY OF THE CUMBERLANDS PATRIOTS and the GRAND VIEW UNIVERSITY VIKINGS.

NCCAA (National Christian College Athletic Association) – The Victory Bowl is the annual Championship Game in the NCCAA and it was won three weeks ago by the AZUSA PACIFIC UNIVERSITY COUGARS.

USCAA (United States Collegiate Athletic Association) – The SOUTHERN VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY KNIGHTS aka the BYU of the east are the 2013 champions in USCAA football with the AVE MARIA UNIVERSITY GYRENES being the runners-up. 

NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) – The Mississippi Bowl was this year’s NJCAA Championship Game and was won on Sunday December 8th by the EAST MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE LIONS.