/seasons/2017/contrib/201710284vspw4

Berry Football Clinches Share of SAA Title, Postseason Berth at BSC

More news about: Berry

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — For the second consecutive season, the Berry College football team has earned the title of Southern Athletic Association (SAA) Champions after a 35-18 win at Birmingham-Southern College on Saturday afternoon.

The Vikings have clinched at least a share of the SAA title after the win and a loss from Trinity today. By virtue of the head-to-head tiebreaker with Centre, Berry has also clinched a spot in the NCAA postseason for the first time in program history. Head Coach Tony Kunczsewski and his squad will still have a chance to clinch the conference title outright with a win against Trinity on November 11th or a loss from Centre.

Berry was dominant in the outing, racking up 447 yards of offense and holding the Panthers to just 19 yards on the ground. The Vikings were able to lean heavily on the ground game, collecting 249 yards rushing. 

The first score of the game belonged to Jacob Collins who found the end zone from 27 yards out to give Berry a 7-0 advantage. BSC would answer before the end of the opening period, but Mamadou Soumahoro got a hand on the point after attempt to keep the score 7-6.

Collins scored again in the second quarter from two yards out to give Berry a 14-6 lead. Trey Ciresi then hauled in his ninth TD of the year, giving the Vikings a 21-6 halftime advantage. Austin Lowe and Slade Dale would add a pair of rushing scored in the third to secure the Vikings win. 

BERRY STATISTICAL STANDOUTS:

  • Slade Dale: 8-12, 146 pass yds, 2 tot TD, 32 rush yds
  • Jacob Collins: 25 att, 132 yds, 2 TD
  • Mason Kinsey: 4 rec, 77 yds
  • Trey Ciresi: 4 rec, 58 yds, TD
  • Mamadou Soumahoro: 3 tkl, 2 sacks, 2 blks
  • Kevin Grier: 2 tkl, INT

BSC STATISTICAL STANDOUTS:

  • Trevor Oakes: 30-53, 298 yds, 2 TD, INT
  • Kyler Jackson: 5 att, 25 yds
  • Kerrigan Pennington: 8 rec, 115 yds, TD
  • Hunter McEntire: 12 tkl
  • Sy Butler: 9 tkl, TFL

NOTABLES:

  • Berry improved to 9-0 on the year and extended their win streak to 14
  • Birmingham-Southern fell to 2-7
  • Jacob Collins is currently at 643 yards rushing on the year, just 17 yards short of the single-season record. 

UP NEXT:

  • Berry will enjoy a bye week before closing the regular season against Trinity on November 11th. 
  • The Vikings can also circle November 18th on the calendar as the first NCAA postseason appearance in program history. 
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