David Geebli picked up his first career 100-yard game on the ground. Bethel athletics photo by Carl Schmuland

Bethel got past Wheaton in a battle of at-large teams, while Trinity (Texas) beat ASC runner-up Hardin-Simmons, Mary Hardin-Baylor cruised past Huntingdon and Linfield pulled away from Pomona-Pitzer. This recap covers games in the bottom right-hand bracket, or the Trinity bracket. Mary Hardin-Baylor will play at Trinity in the second round, while Bethel will travel to Linfield. Sites will be formally announced on Sunday.

• Playoff scoreboard
• Updated bracket
• Top left bracket: NACC, ARC send WIAC packing
• Top right bracket: Springfield picks up road win; home teams cruise
• Bottom left bracket: R-MC, Utica get stops; Mount, Del Val win big
• Bottom right bracket: Trinity wins on last-minute TD; Bethel edges Wheaton
• Even more game stories

Trinity collected the program's first win in the Division III playoffs since the 2002 Stagg Bowl as the Tigers escaped with a 14-7 win against Hardin-Simmons.

The Tigers (11-0) held the Cowboys (9-2) to just 219 yards of total offense in the 43-degree rain, and only 8 yards of offense through the third quarter while the Trinity offense found the end zone to tie it up.

Towards the end of the third and the early stages of the fourth, both teams punted from inside the opponents' territory, as it became more and more obvious that field position would be critical to the final result. Trinity started its second drive of the final quarter at exactly the midway point with just 7:30 remaining. The Tigers used up more than five minutes of that time on the decisive scoring drive. Merrifield once again caught two passes to convert on third down - including the 38-yard touchdown strike on third-and-6.

Jacob Holmen had a key interception for Bethel to preserve a two-point lead going into halftime and Devin Williams picked off a pass and returned it for a touchdown to open the second half. Giovanni Weeks carried the ball 25 times for 182 yards with three touchdown runs for Wheaton, and he caught a touchdown pass to boot, but Bethel got a stop on a Wheaton two-point conversion as the Royals defeated the Thunder 34-32.

Late in the game, the Thunder regained the ball at their own 25-yard line. A roughing the passer penalty against Bethel occurred on the second play of the drive to send the Thunder to midfield. Weeks had runs of 10 and 13 yards on the drive that concluded with him reaching the end zone on a 2-yard touchdown run to cut the Royals' lead to 34-32 with 3:10 left in the game. Wheaton attempted a two-point conversion to tie the game, however the rush attempt was no good and Bethel maintained its narrow two-point lead.

Bethel regained the ball, and the guests had a key third-down conversion on a 6-yard pass. Two plays later, after Wheaton took its final timeout, Roste had a 15-yard run that gave Bethel a first down and secured the game for the guests as the Royals took a knee on the next three plays to run out the clock.

Huntingdon drove deep into Crusader territory on their first offensive drive but a fumble recovery from UMHB's Mason Cavness gave the Cru their first turnover of the game. UMHB followed that with a 71-yard scoring drive, capped by a 20-yard rush up the middle from Aphonso Thomas. The Cru went up 7-0 and never really looked back in a 54-0 victory. Johnny Smith-Rider tipped a pass that Durand Hill picked off to stop another drive. UMHB's offense totaled 651 yards on 65 plays as Kyle King completed 18 passes for 364 yards and four touchdowns in the contest. K.J. Miller totaled six catches for 145 yards and two scores while Jamaal Hamilton added four catches for 79 yards and a touchdown.

Linfield scored 24 unanswered fourth-quarter points to pull away from Pomona-Pitzer 51-24. The Sagehens (8-3), making their first playoff appearance, gave the Wildcats all they could handle until Linfield scored three touchdowns and a field goal in a span of less than seven minutes to secure their 24th consecutive home win.

Gavin Dalziel had a career-best 46-yard field goal in the first quarter, then topped that with a 50-yarder that started the decisive scoring surge with 14:49 to play. With Linfield up 30-24 it was still a one-score game, but Dalziel's boot seemed to ignite the Wildcats.

Pomona-Pitzer's next possession saw a sack by linebacker Blaze Holani force a third-and-17, then Noble's deep pass was picked off by Caiden Biege-Weatherbee at the Wildcat 34-yard line. It took Linfield six plays to cover the 66 yards, McNabb scoring from two yards out to give the 'Cats some breathing room at 37-24 with 11:05 left. The drive was kept alive with Eaton's third-and-2, 34-yard pass that Valadez managed to haul in over a Sagehen at the P-P 26.

When Pomona-Pitzer couldn't pick up a first down on the ensuing possession, Searle came up with his second blocked punt of the game and fell on the ball at the Sagehen 5. On the Wildcats' second play, Eaton found Murray in the right side of the end zone for a 44-24 lead 9:13 from the finish.