UMHB athletics file photo by Pat Carrigan

UMHB survived a defensive battle against an in-state rival, while Birmingham-Southern did the same and St. John's and Linfield made it look easy in first-round action on Saturday in the 2021 Division III football playoffs.

This recap covers games in the top left-hand bracket, or the St. John's bracket. UMHB will host Birmingham-Southern in the second round on Nov. 27, while Linfield will travel to St. John's. These sites will be formalized on Sunday.

• Playoff scoreboard
• Updated bracket
• Johns Hopkins scores big win in lower right bracket
• UMHB wins defensive battle in top left bracket
• UW-La Crosse wins big win in top right bracket
• DePauw wins thriller in lower left bracket
• Even more game stories

UMHB converted a pair of field goals and added a late scoring run in the fourth quarter as the Cru got past Trinity (Texas) 13-3 in the first round in Belton, Texas. UMHB took its first lead of the game after a 33-yard field goal from Brandon Cunningham, after Anthony Avila had converted a 42-yarder late in the first half. The Cru held a 6-3 lead until late in the fourth quarter when Cunningham made a field goal but an offside call against Trinity gave the Cru a fourth-and-1 opportunity. Aphonso Thomas broke through on that play, running in 17 yards for the first touchdown of the game. Cunningham's extra-point kick split the uprights, giving UMHB the 13-3 lead with 2:05 left in the contest.

Trinity had taken the lead in the first quarter with a 28-yard field goal from Blake Lin. Thomas led UMHB (11-0) with 118 yards rushing. Kyle King went 10-of-22 for 128 yards. Tucker Horn was 20-for-40 passing for 190 yards for the Tigers (9-1).

Chris Shufford was bottled up in the backfield for Birmingham-Southern, but Panthers quarterback Trey Patterson got it done through the air and on the ground as B-SC got past in-state rival Huntingdon 24-14 in the first round. It was a matchup of the only two Division III schools in the state of Alabama.

Patterson completed 11 of 18 passes for 175 yards and ran for 45 yards and two touchdowns, as Shufford was limited to 39 yards on 15 carries fpr Birmingham-Southern (10-1). Landon Cotney (179 passing yards, 44 rushing yards) was a similar dual threat for the Hawks (8-3), including a touchdown on the Hawks' opening drive. Huntingdon did not score again until the fourth quarter.

Chris Backes threw for four touchdowns and Devin Vouk had a huge game on the ground for St. John's as the Johnnies eased past Lake Forest 41-14. Vouk got the lion's share of the carries over Henry Trost and made the most of them, going for 143 yards and two scores on 17 carries. The Johnnies limited Lake Forest (10-1) to a safety and two A.J. Jackson touchdowns, one in the closing minutes of each half.

Linfield rolled past Redlands for the second time this season as well, as the Wildcats shook off a slow start in defeating the Bulldogs 44-10. The Bulldogs scored first on a short field goal but Linfield answered two and a half minutes later with a TD pass from Wyatt Smith to Joel Valadez. Redlands stuffed Linfield on fourth-and-goal, but gave up a safety moments later and the Wildcats drove down after the free kick for another TD, as Wyatt Smith hit Devon Murray for the first of two scoring plays on the day. Smith finished with four touchdown passes, including one to Colton Smith. Murray and Smith each went over 100 yards receiving on the day.