Washington and Jefferson 35, Millsaps 20

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JACKSON, Miss. — Senior running back Curt Jones rushed for 208 yards and four touchdowns on 31 carries and senior teammate Bobby Swallow completed 22-of-31 passes for 246 yards, as 19th-ranked Washington & Jefferson outscored Millsaps 21-3 in the second half to upset the 3rd-ranked Majors 35-20 and advance to the South Region Finals next weekend at Mary Hardin-Baylor.

In a game that featured two of the 10 national finalists for the 2008 Gagliardi Trophy in W&J's Swallow and Millsaps' Juan Joseph, both quarterbacks had outstanding afternoons and made strong cases for their spot in the elite company of the nation's top Division III college football player.

W&J (11-1) became the first team to outgain Millsaps all year, 481-416, and the first in 23 games to hold them to 20 points or less dating back to a Nov. 18, 2006 loss at No. 24 Carnegie Mellon 21-0.

Joseph and Millsaps struck first in the game's opening quarter, as senior Eric McCarty hauled in a 44-yard pass to put the Majors up 7-0 and tie a Millsaps career record with his 20th touchdown reception. Just three plays earlier on 2nd-and-3 from the 30-yard line, Joseph's 11-yard strike to McCarty helped him move into first all-time on the SCAC's career passing list at over 9,000 yards.

The Presidents knotted the game at 7-7 on the ensuing possession, using three plays and traveling 57-yards over 1:20. After a 30-yard kick return from Joe Mucho out to the W&J 43-yard line to set up good field position, Swallow connected with Craig Besong from 48-yards out down to the Majors' 1-yard line. From there, Jones punched it in for one of his four scores on the day.

Freshman Shane Bowser's 1-yard touchdown run with just over 13 minutes left in the second quarter helped the Majors retake the lead at 14-7 before a 17-play, 73-yard drive from W&J over 10:54 ended with a 1-yard score from Swallow and tied the game at 14-14 with 2:16 to play in the half.

A 67-yard kick return from freshman Gary Davis on the ensuing kickoff, coupled with a 15-yard personal foul penalty, set up Millsaps at the W&J 9-yard line where they would have to settle for a 19-yard Taylor Russolino field goal four plays later just before the half to make the score 17-14.

Millsaps extended its lead to 20-14 on their opening drive of the second half, driving 8-plays over 2:38 down to the W&J 8-yard line before having to settle for another Russolino field goal from 25-yards.

From there, Jones and the Presidents' offense took over, outscoring the Majors 21-3 over the final 23 minutes and gaining 263 yards combined through the air and ground. Jones rushed for all three of W&J's second half scores from 2, 7 and 52-yards out, carrying the ball 16 times for 127 yards for an average of 7.9 ypc.

Trailing just 21-20 at the 6:57 mark in the fourth, Millsaps had its chance to get the go-ahead score after putting together a decent drive inside the W&J 30 yard-line. A 1st-and-10 from the 26-yard line turned into a 4th-and-5, with Russolino missing just his second field goal of the season from 38-yards out.

Two scores from W&J over the final 1:36, including Jones' 52-yard burst, made the final margin 35-20, however, the game was much closer than the score read at the final buzzer.

Millsaps ends the year at 11-1, its most wins in school history, while W&J also moved to 11-1. The Presidents will travel to Belton, Texas, on Dec. 6 to face off with the south's No. 2 seed, Mary Hardin-Baylor.
Press release submitted by on Nov 29, 2008 at 06:09 PM Eastern