The best two-hour period of the season had an exciting conclusion with close finishes in three 1 p.m. ET games. Coe and Mary Hardin-Baylor recovered game-saving onside kicks within moments of each other and Illinois Wesleyan won a double overtime thriller against Wabash.

No. 25 Coe upset No. 4 St. John's in Collegeville 34-27, withstanding a late rally to advance to the second round of the NCAA playoffs. The Johnnies trailed 34-20 but forced a Kohawks turnover inside their own five. Joe Boyle connected with Kellen Blaser for a touchdown to draw St. John's within one score but Coe recovered the onside kick and held on for the victory. No. 10 St. Thomas awaits because the Tommies ousted No. 8 Monmouth 43-26. Fritz Waldvogel and Ben Wartman rolled up 418 yards in the win.
First round Scoreboard.

No. 6 Central trailed No. 7 Mary Hardin-Baylor by 14 entering the fourth quarter but the Dutch scored three touchdowns to draw within two at 42-40 with 28 seconds left. Central's two-point conversion fell incomplete and the Crusaders recovered the onside kick to preserve the win. That sets up a rematch of the 2004 Stagg Bowl between Mary Hardin-Baylor and No. 5 Linfield. The Wildcats scored 31 consecutive points and outrushed Cal Lutheran 249 yards to 65 in a 38-17 win.

The finish of the day was in Bloomington, Ill. where No. 14 Illinois Wesleyan outlasted No. 15 Wabash 41-35 in double-overtime. The Little Giants took a 28-20 lead in the fourth quarter on a Derrick Yoder seven-yard touchdown run, but the Titans answered back with a 15-play scoring drive to tie the game. Illinois Wesleyan and Wabash traded touchdowns in the first overtime and then, after Wabash was intercepted, Titans quarterback Kraig Ladd hit Jack Scalcucci for a 30-yard touchdown and the victory.

The top three ranked teams advanced easily. No. 1 Mount Union crushed No. 20 Washington & Jefferson 55-0, No. 2 UW-Whitewater rolled over Lakeland 70-7 and No. 3 Wesley defeated North Carolina Wesleyan 55-23.

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The early starts ended early in more ways than one as every game started at 12 p.m. ET finished with a double-digit margin of victory. The closest of the bunch may have been No. 11 Thomas More holding off DePauw 49-39. The Saints held the Tigers to just 55 yards rushing. They will meet Johns Hopkins who pulled off the first upset of the tournament, scoring the final 16 points to knock off No. 18 Hampden-Sydney 23-7. Corey Sedlar was held to 16-for-37 passing and the Tigers ran for just 29 yards on 13 carries. Andrew Kase ran for 109 yards and a touchdown on 38 carries.

Albright scored a 35-25 win at Alfred as Nate Romig caught 11 balls for 193 yards and two scores. The Lions, who used Tanner Kelly and Patrick Subers at quarterback, earned a return trip to No. 16 Delaware Valley who dominated Susquehanna, 66-7. The Aggies rolled up 642 yards and seven rushing touchdowns in setting a new school record for points in a game.

Trine captured the MIAA's first playoff victory in several years as the Thunder rolled by No. 9 Case Western, 51-38. The Thunder gained 503 yards including 113 for Kent Biller. Next up for Trine is No. 12 Wittenberg who cruised past Mt. St. Joseph 42-7.

No. 19 Mississippi College jumped out to a 28-7 lead on Huntingdon and never looked back. Choctaws quarterback Adam Schaffer threw for 343 yards and four touchdowns leading his team to a second round game at Wesley. Montclair State took care of Maine Maritime 38-22 and will travel to Alliance for a second round game against Mount Union.

No. 24 Kean, Springfield, St. John Fisher, Union, Lebanon Valley and Franklin Marshall notched ECAC bowl wins. Geneva nippied Greenville 29-28 in the NCCAA's Victory Bowl.