/notables/2022/11/week10-wrapup-top25

Top 25: Mount tested, Cru kicks, Bethel returns

Anthony Avila has hit big kicks for Mary Hardin-Baylor before, although some of those were back in 2019.
d3photography.com file photo by Doug Sasse
  

Mount Union got past John Carroll in its first big test of the season, Bethel secured its spot in the MIAC title game with a defensive two-point conversion with 31 seconds to play, and Mary Hardin-Baylor got a walkoff win when Anthony Avila knocked a 44-yard field goal through on the game's final fplay. That and more in Saturday's Top 25 action.

Braxton Plunk threw for 367 yards and three touchdowns but it wasn't until the Purple Raiders covered an onside kick with 18 seconds left that No. 2 Mount Union was able to breathe easy in its 34-28 win at home against No. 22 John Carroll. Tied 14-14 at the half, Mount Union got two touchdown drives and TD passes by Plunk to open up the lead. But Joe Collins drove his team back down the field for two touchdowns. Unfortunately for the Blue Streaks, the last one came with 19 seconds left and the onside kick attempt failed, allowing Mount Union to kneel it down and end it.

Who's clinched?

The following teams have clinched bids to the 2022 NCAA Division III football playoffs. Twenty-seven conferences receive automatic bids, with five at-large bids. The NESCAC does not participate in postseason play in football.

ARC: Wartburg
ASC: Mary Hardin-Baylor
CC: Susquehanna
CCC: Endicott
CCIW: North Central
E8: Cortland
ECFC: Gallaudet
HCAC: Mount St. Joseph
LL: Ithaca
MAC: Delaware Valley
MASCAC: Mass-Dartmouth
MIAA: Alma
MIAC: St. John's
MWC: Lake Forest
NACC: Aurora
NCAC: DePauw
NEWMAC: Springfield
NJAC: Salisbury
NWC: Linfield
OAC: Mount Union
ODAC: Randolph-Macon
PAC: Carnegie Mellon
SAA: Trinity (Texas)
SCIAC: Pomona-Pitzer
UMAC: Northwestern (Minn.)
USAC: Huntingdon
WIAC: UW-Whitewater

Rossy Moore finished with seven total tackles and was in on three of the four times the Purple Raiders sacked Collins. Mount Union can finish off its automatic bid and OAC championship next week against Baldwin Wallace.

Down 24-16 midway through the fourth quarter, Landon McKinney and Howard Payne drove 78 yards on 16 plays, finishing it off with a touchdown that officials ruled Jordan Carroll caught, but appeared to have been intercepted in the end zone before Carroll ripped it away. McKinney then found Otis Lanier wide open for the two-point conversion to tie it up with 30 seconds left.

It turned out that was just as much time as the Cru needed. Kyle King started the drive off with a 25-yard easy jaunt up the middle to midfield with 20 seconds left. UMHB threw two passes to the sidelines and Anthony Avila came on to attempt a 44-yard field goal from the right hash with the clock reading 0:02. Sure enough, he nailed it and the No. 3 Cru survived 27-24, a fitting end to a back-and-forth game with the American Southwest Conference automatic bid on the line. UMHB managed just 308 yards of total offense, with King's line reading 18-for-29 for 195 yards and two TDs.

Bethel got taken all the way to the wire at Augsburg in a bid to get into the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title game, as Auggies quarterback Cade Sheehan, who was named to our Team of the Week for his Week 9 performance, scrambled into the end zone for a touchdown with 31 seconds left in regulation, cutting Bethel's lead to 28-27. But the Auggies rolled the dice, and they came up snake eyes, as Bethel freshman defensive back Devin Williams picked off the conversion pass and ran it all the way back for a defensive two-point conversion, sealing the 30-27 win for the Royals. Bethel will go to St. John's for the MIAC title game next week after the Johnnies defeated Carleton.

For the first time since joining the Liberty League, Ithaca has secured the outright title as the Bombers defeated Union 31-28 on the road. Ithaca, ranked No. 12 earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship for the first time since 2014 and improves to 9-0 this season to set up an undefeated matchup next week at Yankee Stadium against No. 11 Cortland for the 63rd Cortaca Jug Game. IC trailed for the first time all season in Saturday's contest against Union, and was behind, 21-14, at the half. The Bombers then forced an early turnover in the third quarter to swing momentum and imposed their will in the trenches to dominate the second half as IC ran for 133 yards over the final 30 minutes of action.

North Central saw its scoreless streak end after 265 minutes and 22 seconds, but Illinois Wesleyan's second-quarter field goal was hardly a blip on the radar as the Cardinals rolled over the Titans 68-3. A blustery day in Bloomington, Illinois prompted the Cardinals to holster the passing game and run for 452 yards on the day. Ethan Greenfield ripped off a 59-yard run on the Cardinals' third snap, then finished it off with a 2-yard run as one of his three touchdowns on the day. Luke Lehnen ran for a 40-yard score and threw two touchdown passes to DeAngelo Hardy on a day in which he completed 7 of his 11 pass attempts. The win clinched the CCIW crown for the Cards.

Susquehanna rallied from a 24-14 fourth-quarter deficit and came back to win 28-24 at Muhlenberg, improving to 9-0 and clinching the Centennial Conference automatic bid. The game featured five lead changes and was the Mules' third loss of the season by a touchdown or less. Susquehanna's final drive began with began with four straight carries from Frankie Negrini, rushing for five, seven, nine, and then seven yards to pick up two first downs and move the River Hawks into Muhlenberg territory. From there, Hunter Coulter took the reins and made good use of them, ripping off a game-long 42-yard rush down the right sideline before stepping out of bounds at the Muhlenberg 2. He finished his work with two 1-yard carries and gave his team the lead with 3:09 left.

No. 14 Delaware Valley blitzed FDU-Florham 42-7 and became the first program in the 63-year history of MAC football to win the conference five times in a row. The win gave the Aggies the conference's automatic bid. Aggies quarterback Louie Berrios IV threw for 273 yards and four touchdowns on just eight completions and also ran for 76 yards and two scores. DelVal defensive end Mike Nobile celebrated senior day with three sacks, the last of which forced a fumble.

Andrew Ihle rushed for a career-best 104 yards and four touchdowns on Senior Day as No. 18 Randolph-Macon rolled up a season-high 563 yards of total offense in a 52-10 win over Ferrum. The win, in conjunction with Hampden-Sydney's loss to Shenandoah, clinches the ODAC championship and automatic bid for the Yellow Jackets. Randolph-Macon has won 15 consecutive games and the team is 9-0 for the second time in program history.

Dec. 15: All times Eastern
Final
Cortland 38, at North Central (Ill.) 37
@ Salem, Virginia
Video Box Score Recap Photos
Dec. 9: All times Eastern
Final
North Central (Ill.) 34, at Wartburg 27
Box Score Recap
Final
Cortland 49, at Randolph-Macon 14
Box Score Recap Recap Recap Photos
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