COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF AND BOWL RESULTS FROM DECEMBER 6th

* NJCAA CHAMPIONSHIP *

MISSISSIPPI BOWL – This Bowl was the National Championship Game this year and pitted the number 1 Defending Champions – the EAST MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE LIONS – against the 2nd ranked IOWA WESTERN COLLEGE REIVERS – who happen to be the 2012 NJCAA Champions. This clash of the most recent champions went the Lions’ way from start to finish. East Mississippi led 21-7 by Halftime and kept up the pressure in the 2nd Half, doubling up on the Reivers 34-17 for their 2nd title in a row and their 3rd in the last 4 years! * CONGRATULATIONS TO THE LIONS – THE NJCAA FOOTBALL CHAMPIONS FOR 2014! *

* NAIA PLAYOFFS *

FIRST SEMIFINAL – In a rematch of the 2012 National Championship Game the MARIAN UNIVERSITY KNIGHTS took on the homestanding MORNINGSIDE COLLEGE MUSTANGS. The end result was the same, too, with the Knights coming from behind for the win. Marian trailed 7-0 in the 1st Quarter and 21-14 at Halftime. After the break the Knights shut out the Mustangs while piling up points themselves, ultimately winning in a 41-21 rout. Marian QB Hayden Northern had 2 Touchdowns by air and 1 more on the ground.  

SECOND SEMIFINAL – The scoring was fast and furious in this game between the SOUTHERN OREGON UNIVERSITY RAIDERS and their hosts, the SAINT XAVIER UNIVERSITY COUGARS. By the end of the 1st Quarter the Raiders trailed the Cougars 17-10 but had taken a 27-17 lead by the break. In the 2nd Half the blowout was on, with Southern Oregon ultimately winning by a final score of 62-37. QB Austin Dodge passed for 460 yards and FIVE Touchdowns in the win!   ***   IT WILL BE THE MARIAN UNIVERSITY KNIGHTS VERSUS THE SOUTHERN OREGON UNIVERSITY RAIDERS FOR THE NAIA CHAMPIONSHIP ON DECEMBER 19th IN DAYTONA BEACH, BROADCAST ON ESPNU!    

* NCAA DIVISION  TWO PLAYOFFS *

CSUP SURVIVES – The COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY AT PUEBLO THUNDERWOLVES enjoyed a reasonable lead over the visiting OHIO DOMINICAN UNIVERSITY PANTHERS for most of the game, only to be forced to hold on for a tight victory in the end. A 10-0 1st Quarter lead for the Thunderwolves became 24-14 by Halftime and in the 3rd the Panthers pulled it within 24-21. The two teams exchanged Touchdowns in the 4th Quarter as CSU-Pueblo moved on to the Semifinals by a score of 31-28. Thunderwolves QB Chris Bonner threw for 172 yards and 2 Touchdowns.    

CONCORD MOVES ON – The CONCORD UNIVERSITY MOUNTAIN LIONS hosted the BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY HUSKIES yesterday. The Mountain Lions led 9-2 in the 1st Quarter and made that a 23-9 advantage by the Half. After the break the Huskies mounted a furious comeback attempt to trail by just 29-26 to end the 3rd Quarter. Concord added a Field Goal in the final frame, winning by a score of 32-26 and improving to 13-0. RB Cal Jones rushed for 116 yards and 2 Touchdowns for the Mountain Lions.   

HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLVES – The UNIVERSITY OF WEST GEORGIA WOLVES continue to be THE Road Warriors of D2’s 2014 playoffs. This week the Wolves took it on the road against their Gulf South Conference rivals the VALDOSTA STATE BLAZERS. Despite trailing in virtually every statistical category West Georgia once again got it done, leading 14-7 in the 1st Quarter and 21-17 at the midpoint enroute to a commanding 31-17 victory. RB Seth Hinsley had 2 Touchdowns on just 56 rushing yards in the win.

MINNESOTA MASSACRE – The state of too damn many lakes was the site of the Quarterfinal game between the MINNESOTA STATE MAVERICKS and the visiting UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA AT DULUTH BULLDOGS. The 1st Half ended in a 10-10 tie after a 10-0 lead for the Mavericks in the opening Quarter. After the break it was all Minnesota State as the Mavericks put up 17 points in both the 3rd and 4th Quarters for a 44-17 blowout win! QB Ricky Lloyd passed for 277 yards and 3 Touchdowns for Minnesota State.  

* NCAA DIVISION THREE PLAYOFFS *

ROYAL PURPLE COMEBACK – The Defending Champions – the UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN AT WHITEWATER WARHAWKS – got a huge scare yesterday from the visiting WARTBURG COLLEGE KNIGHTS. The Knights led in every Quarter except the one that counted. Their 13-6 1st Quarter lead became 19-13 to close out the Half, then a comfortable 33-16 to end the 3rd. The Warhawks dug deep in the 4th Quarter, shutting out Wartburg and putting up 21 points of their own for a dramatic 37-33 comeback win! 

AGAIN? –  To the annoyance of D3 fans outside of Ohio and Wisconsin we moved one more step closer to yet ANOTHER Stagg Bowl between UWW and the MOUNT UNION PURPLE RAIDERS. UMU’s guests the JOHN CARROLL UNIVERSITY BLUE STREAKS put up quite a fight, trailing just 28-21 at Halftime and – in a defense-heavy 2nd Half – losing by just 36-28. At least other teams are getting closer to beating the Big Two in the postseason.

WESLEY CRUSHES HOBART – The WESLEY COLLEGE WOLVERINES had a much easier time dispatching their Quarterfinal opponents the HOBART & SMITH COLLEGE STATESMEN. The Wolverines had a comfortable 17-6 lead over their guests by the break and kept up the pressure in the 2nd Half, going on to win by a final score of FORTY-ONE to THIRTEEN. Wesley RB Jamar Baynard rushed for 78 yards and 2 Touchdowns in the win.

LETHAL LINFIELD – The LINFIELD COLLEGE WILDCATS made sure the West Coast got some representation in D3 football’s Final Four for 2014. The Wildcats were on the road against the WIDENER UNIVERSITY PRIDE and completely annihilated them. Linfield led 14-0 in the 1st Quarter and 28-7 at Halftime on their way to a FORTY-FIVE to SEVEN blowout victory. QB Sam Riddle threw for 261 yards and FIVE Touchdowns for the Wildcats from Portland, OR.  

* NCAA DIVISION TWO BOWLS *

MINERAL WATER BOWL – The UNIVERSITY OF SIOUX FALLS COUGARS were a football dynasty in the NAIA and now, just three years after moving up to D2, have already made it to – and won – their first Bowl game. Their opponents in this 49th Annual Mineral Water Bowl were the UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA BRONCHOS (their spelling). The Cougars led 28-3 at Halftime enroute to a 42-10 triumph. Congratulations to Head Coach Jed Stugart and his team on this impressive win in their first ever postseason appearance since their move to D2.

LIVE UNITED BOWL – This D2 Bowl pitted the UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL MISSOURI MULES against the SOUTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA STATE SAVAGE STORM. A very tight 1st Quarter ended in a 10-7 lead for the Mules but by the break UCM had converted that into a 20-7 advantage. Things didn’t get any better for the Savage Storm in the 2nd Half and the Mules ultimately won in a 48-21 blowout. QB Hayden Hawk passed for 280 yards and 4 Touchdowns for Central Missouri.  

HEART OF TEXAS BOWL – Regular readers of Balladeer’s Blog will remember that the Heart of Texas Bowl is a Two-Game event: an early game between two NJCAA teams and a prime-time game between a pair of D2 programs. D2’s TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY AT COMMERCE LIONS did battle with Oklahoma’s EAST CENTRAL UNIVERSITY TIGERS in the night game. It was all Lions as a 21-7 1st Quarter lead became 44-13 at Halftime and finally a SEVENTY-TWO to TWENTY-ONE victory. QB Tyrik Rollison had 460 yards through the air and 4 Touchdowns for TAMC.   

* NJCAA BOWLS *

SALT CITY BOWL – The HUTCHINSON COLLEGE BLUE DRAGONS won their 7th Bowl game in a row yesterday, this one against the HUDSON VALLEY COLLEGE VIKINGS. They also finished a program- best 11-1 for the 2014 season. A 17-0 2nd Quarter lead for the Blue Dragons ultimately became an embarrassing FIFTY-TWO to SEVEN smackdown of the Vikings. Hutchinson QB Kylen Binn passed for 149 yards and 4 Touchdowns in the win.

EL TORO BOWL – The ARIZONA WESTERN COLLEGE MATADORS clashed with the CENTRAL LAKES COLLEGE AT BRAINERD RAIDERS in this Bowl. Head Coach Tom Minnick’s Matadors had a 24-7 lead by Halftime but he ultimately credited his defense for the victory. In the 2nd Half the D limited the Raiders to just 7 more points as Arizona Western went on to win the game 38-14. QB Trent Hosick threw for 128 yards and a Touchdown in the Matadors’ win. AWC finishes at 11-1, CLCB at 10-2.

VALLEY OF THE SUN BOWL – This game pitted the NASSAU COLLEGE LIONS against the SCOTTSDALE COLLEGE FIGHTING ARTICHOKES. The Lions were fighting to end the season undefeated. The Fighting Artichokes came in with two losses already and were trying to improve on their team’s poor record in Bowl games. After a scoreless 1st Quarter the offenses came alive and by the break Nassau trailed by a score of 17-10. In the 3rd Quarter the Lions came roaring back and took a 31-17 lead to end the frame. From there Nassau won by a final score of 34-27, clinching their perfect season.  

HEART OF TEXAS BOWL – The early game in this Two- Game Bowl Event saw the TRINITY VALLEY COLLEGE CARDINALS, still sore from just missing out on a shot at the National Championship, taking on the COFFEYVILLE COLLEGE RED RAVENS. This was one of the best Bowl games of the day as it turned out. The Red Ravens and Cardinals were tied at 7-7 in the 1st Quarter and exchanged blow-for- blow the rest of the way, too, leading to a 24-24 tie with just 36 seconds left in the 4th Quarter. Trinity Valley’s record- setting kicker Leo Peralta nailed what turned out to be the game- winning Field Goal from 21 yards out, making the final score Cardinals 27  Red Ravens 24.    

GRAPHIC EDGE BOWL – MAIN EVENT – The Graphic Edge Bowl is a 2-game event as well. This year’s Feature Game was a rematch of last year as the IOWA CENTRAL COLLEGE TRITONS took on the ROCHESTER TECH YELLOW JACKETS. A 7-0 1st Quarter lead for the Tritons switched to a 14-10 deficit at Halftime. Iowa Central had retaken the lead 28-20 to end the 3rd Quarter then outscored the Yellow Jackets in the 4th for a 41-27 victory.    

GRAPHIC EDGE BOWL – OPENING GAME – The Opening Game this year was a battle between the ELLSWORTH COLLEGE PANTHERS and the DAKOTA COLLEGE AT BOTTINEAU LUMBERJACKS. The Panthers led the Lumberjacks 7-0 in the 1st Quarter and 13-7 at the break. In the 2nd Half the Ellsworth defense took over, shutting out DCB while their offense added 3 points in the 3rd and 23 in the 4th for a 39-7 blowout win.      

* CCCAA CHAMPIONSHIP *

The Championship Game in the CCCAA will be played on December 13th between the MOUNT SAN ANTONIO COLLEGE MOUNTIES (Southern Champs) and the CITY COLLEGE OF SAN FRANCISCO RAMS (Northern Champs). 

* NCCAA CHAMPIONSHIP *

The 2014 Championship has already been decided for the National Christian College Athletic Association. The Victory Bowl was, as usual, the title game. The NORTH GREENVILLE UNIVERSITY CRUSADERS are the National Champions. The runners-up were the SHORTER UNIVERSITY HAWKS. 

* USCAA CHAMPIONSHIP *

The 2014 Championship has been decided for the United States Collegiate Athletic Association. The IOWA WESLEYAN COLLEGE TIGERS are the National Champions. The runners-up for the 2014 season were the WILLIAMSON TRADE SCHOOL MECHANICS.  

Some helmets provided by The Helmet Project.

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