Simpson 63, William Penn 6
Simpson stormed to a 63-6 victory over William Penn in IIAC action Saturday afternoon in Indianola. William Penn, which is withdrawing from the Iowa Conference, ended the year 2-8, 2-8 in the IIAC.

The Storm (6-4, 6-4) scored on their first five possessions and led 56-0 at halftime.  Senior quarterback Brad Zelenovich made his final appearance in a Simpson uniform, a memorable one, as he was 8-for-13 for 221 yards and a career high four touchdowns.  Zelenovich tossed an 89-yard bomb to fellow senior Jordan Jones on the Storm's second possession and also tossed a 6-yard touchdown to Jones in the first quarter. Grant McGraw (13 yards) and Jesse Von Behren (34 yards) also caught touchdowns from Zelenovich.

Collin Freeburg ran back a Bill Bolen punt 71 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter and ended the day with 113 all-purpose yards.  Senior running back Troy Clemen ran 12 times for 100 yards and a touchdown. The Storm defense limited William Penn to 117 yards of total offense.  

Simpson forced seven WP fumbles (three of which the Storm recovered), intercepted five Statesmen passes, and sacked two William Penn quarterbacks three times.

William Penn's lone bright spot was running back Ephram Twillie who rushed 23 times for 102 yards and scored the lone Statesmen touchdown.

Rochester 41, Case Western 10
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Senior quarterback Jeff Piscitelli threw for three touchdowns and ran for another to lead the University of Rochester to a 41-10 victory over visiting Case Western Reserve University at Edwin Fauver Stadium here today. 

Piscitelli broke two single-season records and one career mark. He set the single-season record for passing yards (now 1,711) as well as total offense (1,912 yards).  The passing mark was 1,588 yards, set by Jeff Wittig in 1985. Piscitelli broke his own record for total offense in a season. He had 1,634 yards last year. He broke Wittig's career record for total offense. Wittig finished with 4,992 yards. Piscitelli has 5,016 yards in his career (745 rushing, 4,271 passing).

Piscitelli threw scoring passes of 9 yards to Darren Gaul and 21 yards to John Breedy, in the first quarter, helping Rochester to a 14-7 lead. He ran for a 1-yard TD early in the second quarter, then finished the Yellowjacket scoring with a 4-yard pass to Joe Spilman midway through the third quarter. He finished with 12 completions in 25 attempts for 176 yards. He was intercepted once. He also ran eight times (one was a sack) for 10 net yards.
Sophomore running back Greg Lozeau ran for a 1-yard TD late in the second quarter. Lozeau rushed 16 times for a game-high 122 yards.

Freshman placekicker Jon Sarich made all five PATs and field goals of 37 and 29 yards. Sarich is the first Rochester placekicker to make two field goals in one game in nine years -- since Joe Caruso made  three at Washington U. on Sept. 28, 1991.

Case Western scored on a 47-yard halfback option pass from Vince Domenico to Luke Vriezen in the first quarter (tying the game at 7-7) and a 31-yard field goal by Joey Pearce.

Piscitelli hit Gaul for the opening score four plays after Isaac Standish recovered a fumble by CWRU's John Kobs at the Case 19.

The Spartans tied it instantly. Three plays after the TD, Tom Kauffman lateraled to Domenico. His pass found a wide-open Vriezen behind the Rochester defense, tying the score.

Rochester's defense clamped down after that. The Spartans did not get another first down in the half. It was 34-7 at intermission. The Yellowjackets finished with 449 yards in total offense, 308 on the ground. CWRU rushed for 51 net yards and passed for 188 more. 

Rochester finished at 6-4, 1-3 in the University Athletic Association (in fourth place). It is the most wins in a season since 1992 and the first winning campaign since a 5-4 result in 1993. Case Western Reserve finished 3-7, 0-4 in the UAA (fifth).

Mary Hardin-Baylor 52, East Texas Baptist 7
MARSHALL, Texas -- The UMHB football team stayed alive in the hunt for an NCAA Division III playoff bid and made an impressive final statement to the selection committee with a 52-7 win over East Texas Baptist University in Marshall Saturday afternoon. The Crusaders fell behind 7-0 just two and a half minutes into the game before ripping off 52 unanswered points to rout the first-year Tigers. The Crusaders finish the 2000 regular season with a 9-1 overall record and an 8-1 mark in the American Southwest Conference. ETBU falls to 2-8 overall and 1-8 in the ASC.

The Tigers recovered a Jeff Shinn fumble at the UMHB 30-yard line on the Crusaders first drive of the ball game. Three plays later, Joel Nearing hit Keoun George for a 34-yard TD on a shovel pass and ETBU had a 7-0 lead.

The lead did not last for long, however. Cody Fredenburg hit Dell Washington with a 20-yard touchdown pass 57 seconds after ETBU's touchdown to tie the game at 7. Jeff Shinn added a 3-yard TD run, Preston Meyer returned an interception 63 yards for a score and Isaac Shaw scored on a 3-yard touchdown run before the first quarter ended as the Crusaders opened up a 28-7 lead. The Crusaders added a 20-yard Kevin Wilburn field goal, a 3-yard Donnie Fuller touchdown run and Fredenburg's 10-yard TD strike to Jared Johnson to stretch the lead to 45-7 at halftime.

The Crusaders made wholesale substitutions in the second half and scored the only points of the final half when Meyer stripped ETBU's Mitchell Hearne on a reverse. Lorenzo Morgan pounced on the ball in the end zone for the Crusaders' final touchdown of the game. UMHB held the ball for more than 20 minutes of the second half and completely controlled the game, rolling up 426 yards of total offense and holding the Tigers to 153 yards.

Fredenburg threw for a career-high 200 yards on 9-for-13 passing. He had two TD passes and threw one interception. Daniel Strange had a big day in his first significant varsity action of the year for UMHB. Strange caught four passes for 82 yards and added 17 yards rushing on a flanker reverse. Six different Crusaders ran for at least 14 yards, as UMHB rolled up 140 yards rushing in the game.

UMHB held the Tigers to minus-13 yards rushing in the game, sacked ETBU quarterbacks seven times and picked off five passes. The Tigers also fumbled the ball away to UMHB three times. The Crusaders tied school single game records for points scored (52) and yards passing (286).

Monmouth 31, Knox 17
The upper hand and the turkey belong to Monmouth.

The Fighting Scots dominated the first half and held on in the second to pull ahead 51-50-10 in the all-time series against archrival Knox and retain the coveted Bronze Turkey Trophy.

The story in the first half was Monmouth's efficient, balanced offense, which rolled up 102 yards on the ground and 94 through the air. It was after a 46-yard Monmouth drive that the game's scoring opened in the second quarter. However, it was the visiting Prairie Fire who scored, as Brandon Orr blocked Jeff Sidell's 26-yard field goal attempt and then returned it 80 yards for a TD.

Monmouth marched right back, though, and wound up scoring on its next three possessions. A perfect 31-yard strike from Rob Purlee to Ryan Wood knotted the game and then Sidell's 37-yard field goal after a Clint Terwilliger-forced fumble made it 10-7. Randy Terrell cut back and found the end zone on a nice 12-yard TD to end the first half scoring with 1:05 left in the quarter.

The Scots reached their high-water mark midway through the third period when Purlee and Wood hooked up for a 58-yard gain. Terrell scored on the next play for a 24-7 lead.

The rest of the third quarter belonged to Knox, and the Fire nearly tied the game. They marched 44 yards in three plays to make the score 24-14, and senior Jon Baikie was knocked from the game as he fumbled the ensuing kickoff. The Fire settled for a 35-yard field goal, but minutes later they were back on the doorstep, with a first-and-goal at the MC 7. The Scots held, though, and Knox turned the ball over on downs at the Monmouth 3.

Midway through the fourth quarter, senior Preston Eiler put an emphatic exclamation mark on his MC career, catching a 27-yard pass to start an 80-yard scoring drive and ending it with a 27-yard run for a TD.

Terrell finished the game with 157 yards on a school-record 40 carries and Purlee was 13-for-22 passing for 196 yards, including six to Wood for 129 yards. Justin Oertle led the defense with 11 tackles.

MC coach Steve Bell is now 1-0 all-time against Knox. The only other Monmouth coach to never lose or tie against Knox was also named Bell -- Clifford Bell -- whose 18-1 record at Monmouth in 1904-05 included a 1-0 mark against Knox.

Wooster 33, Hiram 14
HIRAM, Ohio -- Wooster, which struggled offensively for most of the year, capped the 2000 season with its top offensive performance while defeating Hiram 33-14 in a North Coast Athletic Conference contest.

The Scots (6-4, 4-3) compiled 448 yards of total offense against the Terriers -- four more yards than they gained in their season-opening 32-16 win over Kalamazoo.

Leading the way for Wooster was senior quarterback Justin Abraham, who completed 21 of 35 passes for a career-high 326 yards and four touchdowns. The 326 yards passing equaled the third-highest total in school history, while the four touchdown throws were the second-most thrown by a Scot quarterback.

Abraham, who missed the past two games with a concussion, threw three touchdown passes in the first half to give the Scots a 27-7 lead at halftime. He hit junior Chris Cabot on a 47-yard scoring pass in the first quarter to give Wooster a 14-0 lead, then hit sophomores Adam Zann and Scott Jones on passes of 19 and 55 yards, respectively, in the second quarter.

Abraham completed his career-best game by hooking up with Cabot again in the third quarter on a 40-yard touchdown pass. Abraham finished the season with 1559 passing yards and 13 touchdowns. Cabot had a big day as well, catching seven passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns. For the season, Cabot caught 49 passes and eight touchdowns for 825 yards -- the second-highest receiving total at Wooster.

Tim Devericks was a one-man show for Hiram (3-7, 2-5). He scored both of the Terriers' touchdown and finished with 131 yards receiving on seven catches and a team-best 14 yards rushing. Three Hiram quarterbacks combined to complete 14 of 34 passes for 198 yards.

Defensively, Wooster held the Terriers to 229 yards of total offense and just 31 yards rushing on 29 carries.

Individually, senior linebacker Seth Duerr led Wooster in tackles for the ninth time this season with seven, including three for losses. For the season, Duerr collected 130 tackles, including 26 for a loss and five sacks. For his career, Duerr finished as Wooster's all-time leader in tackles with 426. He also had an astounding 59 tackles for losses in his career.

Senior Seth Mastrine and sophomore Nick Hajjar each intercepted a pass, giving them seven and six, respectively, for the season.

With Earlham's 22-19 victory over Kenyon Saturday and Ohio Wesleyan's 22-14 loss to Allegheny, the Scots finished tied with both teams for fourth place in the final NCAC standings.

Greensboro 35, Guilford 20
GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Senior running back Daryl Gholson set school records with 34 carries for 264 yards and a touchdown as visiting Greensboro downed Guilford 35-20 in the fourth annual Gate City Soup Bowl Saturday.  Thanks to a 22-0 fourth-quarter edge, the Pride regained the Soup Bowl Trophy, which is awarded to the winner of the annual meeting between Greensboro's two Division III football teams.

Pride senior quarterback Wes Wilder threw two touchdowns to junior George Washington in Greensboro's school-record fifth win.  The Pride (5-5) finished with a .500 record for the first time in the program's four-year history.

Guilford held a 12-6 halftime lead and went ahead 20-13 on a 10-yard scoring run and two-point conversion run by senior running back Marques Williams with 6:58 left in the third quarter.

Gholson opened the fourth quarter with a 38-yard jaunt down to the Guilford one-yard line and punched it in one play later to pull the Pride within 20-19.  Guilford foiled a fake point-after kick attempt as rookie Travis Newkirk and Carlos Landin stopped holder Justin Wilder just shy of the goal line, preserving the one-point Quaker lead.

Greensboro took the lead for good on its next possession when junior slot back Colin Wells scored on an 8-yard end around, capping a seven-play, 87-yard drive.  Gholson ripped off a 49-yard run to the Quakers' 10-yard line, his longest dash of the day.  Wes Wilder hit Washington with a two-point conversion pass for a 27-20 Greensboro lead with 9:57 left in the game.

Guilford's comeback efforts suffered a setback when sophomore receiver J.J. Edwards muffed the ensuing kickoff at the Quakers' 1-yard line, recovered it in the end zone and mistakenly downed it there for a Greensboro safety.  The play gave Greensboro a 29-20 lead.

After the safety, Guilford kicked off from its own 20-yard line, which gave the Pride possession on the Guilford 47-yard line.  With Gholson sidelined, junior running back Tim Lewis took over and rushed four times for 60 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown run, which provided the game's final margin.

Rookie running back Marcus Ballard earned Guilford's Most Valuable Player Award after gaining a career-high 181 yards on 16 carries (11.4 yards per carry).  He ripped off an 81-yard scoring run late in the second quarter to break a 6-6 tie.  Sophomore running back Brandon Lockhart ran 12 times for 112 yards, including a 35-yard touchdown jaunt on Guilford's first possession.  Guilford set a school record with its 389 rushing yards.

Gholson and Lewis (seven carries, 69 yards) helped the Pride set single-game school records for rushing yards (449) and total offense (627).  Wilder, who also ran for 61 yards, completed 11 of 24 passes for 24 yards.  Senior Mark Bauer led all receivers with six catches for 97 yards.

Greensboro's win evens the season series between the two schools at 2-2.

Carthage 56, North Park 52
North Park senior tailback, Darnell Rios shattered the school single-game rushing record that he established last week with a 322 yards and three touchdowns.  Rios' 322 yards is the second most ever in a CCIW game, trailing only Carthage's Pete Beranek, who rushed for 382 against North Central in 1985.

The Redmen took the opening kick, and scored on their second play, as Pat Brown ran 38 yards to put Carthage ahead 7-0.  The Vikings came right back, Mike Fields caught a 20-yard pass from Dana Anderson to cut the lead to 7-6. 

Randal Baker scored on an 18-yard run for the Redmen and Rob Garnes caught an 18-yard pass from Brown, to put the Redmen ahead 20-6. Rios countered with a 47-yard TD run to make the score 20-12.  Carthage's Scott Steger caught an 18 yard TD from Brown to put the Redmen up 27-18.  Fields hauled in a 63-yard pass from Anderson to make the score 27-18 at the end of the first quarter.

Carthage scored early in the 2nd on a Brown to Garnes pass to make it 35-18.  North Park scored on a 44-yard strike from Anderson to Steve Eifrid, just before the half to cut the deficit to 35-24.

Rios scored on a 33-yard run, and Brent Frahm got the two-point conversion to make it 35-32.  Frahm then scored on a 5-yard run to give the Vikings their first lead of the day at 38-35.  Carthage answered with a 7-yard, Brown to Garnes TD that made it 42-38 Carthage at the end of the third.

Rios' third TD of the day, this one on a 31-yard draw, and Mike Lundberg's two-point conversion put the Vikes back in front at 46-42.  Tim Daggy's 45-yard return of an interception stretched the lead to 52-42.

Carthage answered with Brown's fourth TD pass to Garnes, this one covering 32 yards, and the score was 52-49 North Park.  Following a Viking punt, the Redmen drove 59 yards for the game winning score.  Steger hauled in a 30-yard pass from Brown and the Redmen were ahead 56-52.  North Park was unable to score on their last possession.

In addition to Rios' 322 yards rushing, the Vikings got 213 yards passing from Anderson and Fields caught three passes for 97 yards and two touchdowns. 

Defensively, Pat Ryan recorded 4½ sacks and six tackles for loss. Carthage's Rob Garnes caught 15 passes for 243 yards and four touchdowns. Pat Brown completed 19 of 29 passes for 311 yards and six touchdowns, despite being sacked seven times.

Bluffton 31, Defiance 30
Bluffton College came away with a 31-30 victory in the final seconds at Defiance to win a share of the 2000 Heartland Conference championship and deny Defiance an HCAC title and trip to the NCAA playoffs.

Bluffton's season comes to an end with a 7-3 overall record and a 5-1 mark in the Heartland Conference, which matches the league mark of Hanover, which beat Franklin to earn the HCAC's automatic berth to the NCAA playoffs.

Defiance ends their season 7-3 after starting out the 2000 season 6-0.

Defiance scored the first two touchdowns of the game to take a 14-0 lead, but Bluffton outscored the Yellow Jackets 31-3 over the next 29 minutes of action to build a 31-17 lead in the fourth quarter. Defiance came roaring back, though, and scored a touchdown with 9:08 left in the game to bring the score to 31-24. Defiance then got the ball back with 2:18 left on the clock and capped off a 55 yard drive with an 8-yard touchdown pass with just 33 second left in the game. The extra point was wide right, however, and Bluffton celebrated their one-point victory.

Bluffton senior Tyson Goings rushed for 136 yards and three touchdowns as he set the BC single season rushing record with 1,487 yards. Sophomore quarterback Brad Moore passed for 208 yards and a TD, with eight of those completions going to freshman Jovan Johnson for 155 yards. 

Defiance freshman running back Maurice Hooker had a game-high 156 yards rushing and scored two touchdowns.

Wesleyan 37, Trinity (Conn.) 13
MIDDLETOWN, Conn. -- Freshman quarterback Brennan Carney and senior wide receiver Todd Themistocles each posted their finest career performance of their careers to carry Wesleyan to a 37-13 victory over Trinity in the season finale for both teams here this afternoon. The win gave Wesleyan a 5-3 record for the year, the team's fourth straight winning season. Trinity closed out with a 4-4 record, only the second non-winning campaign in the last 21 for Trinity.

Carney completed 17 of 33 passes for 277 yards and five TDs, three of those going to Themistocles, who collected 11 receptions for 147 yards. The previous best performance for Carney was 15-for-32 for 252 yards and two TDs in a 20-17 win at Bates. In that game, Themistocles had nine catches for 132 yards, his best game before today.

Trinity did score first in the second half to make it 21-13 as Tom Pierandri scored on a 12-yard run. He led all rushers in the game with 67 yards on 18 carries. Wesleyan also added a safety late in the third quarter when Trinity was called for a tripping penalty in the end zone during a passing play.
This was the 100th meeting between the two colleges, dating back to 1885. Wesleyan holds a 52-47-1 edge in the series but Trinity has won 15 of the last 20 battles.

Kings Point 28, Coast Guard 21
KINGS POINT, N.Y. -- The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy scored with 1:12 remaining in the game to seal a 28-21 win against the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in the annual battle for the Secretary's Cup today on Captain James Harvey Tomb Field.  Senior Shawn Johnson made his final game a memorable one when he dove over the top of the line for the winning 1-yard touchdown, which was his second score of the day.  Johnson then ran in a two-point conversion for the Blue and Gray, to give the Mariners the 28-21 victory. 

Kings Point ends the season at 3-6 (3-3 Freedom Football Conference) while the Bears are 2-8 overall and 0-6 in the FFC.

The Mariners jumped  ahead first at 12:36 after sophomore Jason Rowland recovered an onside kick on the opening kickoff. Kings Point got the ball at the Coast Guard 28-yard line and Johnson scored on an 8-yard run to put KP ahead.  Sophomore kicker Erik Hedval added the PAT and the score was 7-0. 

Junior Trenel Hardy added to the lead at 12:28 in the second when he scored on a 1-yard scamper.  Coast Guard's Mike Benson, a senior, put the Bears back into the game with back-to-back touchdown runs of 3 and 5 yards at 5:36 and 1:06 respectively.  However, failure to convert on both PATs gave the Blue and Gray a 14-12 lead heading into the locker room.

In the third quarter, freshman quarterback Dan Circelli hit junior wideout Jay DeBruhl on a 67-yard scoring strike and the Mariners increased their edge to 20-12.  The completion allowed Dan Circelli to etch his name into Academy lore as he broke the season passing yardage record.  He has tallied 1807 yards during his rookie campaign to set the new mark.  The former record was held by Brian Clark who threw for 1,680 yards in 1993. 

The Bears responded by driving to the KP 6-yard line, but the Blue and Gray's stingy defense kept Coast Guard out of the end zone.  Instead,
Coast Guard was forced to kick a 23-yard yard field goal and the Mariners
held a 20-15 lead. 

Coast Guard attacked again and on their next possession, Benson added his third score of the day on a 9-yard run, giving the Bears their first lead of the game at 21-20 at 1:52 in the third.  The Mariners attempted two field goals in the fourth, but Benson was able to get a hand on both kicks, preserving the lead until Johnson's winning score.

Senior quarterback Andrew Behnke led Coast Guard with 25 carries and 90 yards.  He completed one pass for 9 yards.  Benson ran 17 times for 89 yards and three scores to go along with the two blocked kicks. Defensively, Coast Guard was led by junior linebacker Christian Hernaez with 10 tackles and a fumble recovery.

Circelli finished the game with 237 yards after completing 20 of 36 passes.  Senior Tori Fredericks led the rushing effort with 43 yards before suffering an ankle injury.  DeBruhl caught five passes (120 yards, one touchdown) and junior Will Felch also grabbed five catches for 47 yards.  Senior lineman Chris Lopez had a team-high 11 tackles and three tackles for eight yards of loss.  Rowland and junior Luke Wisniewski each had eight tackles.

Wartburg 35, Loras 8
Sophomore running back Justin Beatty scored three touchdowns and rushed for 142 yards to lead No. 15 Wartburg to a 35-8 win against Loras. The Knights improved to 9-1 with the win, while Loras ended their season at 4-6.

Wartburg will now await the NCAA Division III playoff selection show Sunday at 1 p.m. Their lone loss was a 24-10 defeat at No. 3 Central.

Sophomore quarterback Jake Olsen hit on nine of 23 passing attempts for  179 yards and two touchdowns. Junior tight end Scott Denner was his favorite target with two catches for 55 yards and a touchdown.

The Knights scored the first 35 points of the game. Loras put up their lone score with under two minutes to play in the game.

Mike Mullarkey was the top Duhawk rusher with 17 carries for 60 yards. Anthony Stone led Loras' passing attack, completing seven of 12 attempts for 69 yards and a touchdown. Andy Burbach was tops in receptions with five catches for 65 yards.

St. John's 35, Concordia-Moorhead 14
COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. -- Saint John's completed another successful regular season with a 35-14 win against Concordia-Moorhead at Clemens Stadium.  The game marked the 700th collegiate game in school history for SJU and the final game for long-time Concordia head coach Jim Christopherson, who announced his retirement earlier this season.

After a scoreless first quarter, SJU jumped on the scoreboard with 28 points in the second quarter.  Senior quarterback Tom Linnemann connected with senior tight end Nate Kirschner on a 15-yard touchdown pass and the Johnnies led 7-0.  On Concordia's ensuing possession, senior linebacker Tim Pahula returned an interception 40-yards to give SJU a 14-0 lead.  Later in the quarter, Linnemann connected with senior wide receiver Jeremy Forsell for a six-yard touchdown pass.  Kirschner scored again before halftime as Linnemann threw him a 10-yard touchdown pass.

In the third quarter, Concordia finally got on the scoreboard as junior wide receiver Jake Olson caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Jeff Hertel to make the score 28-6.

The fourth quarter saw SJU score its final points of the game on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Linnemann to senior wide receiver Drew Gibson.  The Cobbers scored the last points of the game as freshman quarterback Ryan Hebrink threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to senior split end Adam Strainer, making the final score 35-14 in favor of the Johnnies.

SJU outgained Concordia 380 to 229 yards in total offense.  The Johnnies were limited to minus-23 yards rushing, mostly due to being sacked six times.  Concordia only managed 17 yards on the ground.

Linnemann was 31-for-44 passing for 383 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions.  The 31 completions by Linnemann set a new SJU single-game record.  Kirschner had another great game, catching nine passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns.  Forsell hauled in eight catches for 100 yards and one touchdown.

For the Cobbers, starting quarterback Jeff Hertel was 9-for-24 passing for 146 yards and one touchdown.  Strainer had a big day for Concordia, catching seven passes for 154 yards and one touchdown.

Cobber head coach Jim Christopherson ends his 32-year career with a career record of 218-101-7, two national titles and 11 MIAC championships. 

With the win, SJU head coach John Gagliardi improves his career record to 373-108-11 in 52 seasons as a collegiate head coach, 48 of them at SJU.  Today's meeting between Gagliardi and Christopherson was the 32nd meeting between the two coaches, a NCAA All-Divisions.  No other two coaches in collegiate football history have competed against each other in more games.

SJU is now 9-1 on the season, 8-1 in the MIAC.  The Johnnies, currently ranked 17th in the latest AFCA NCAA Division III poll, finish in second place in the final MIAC standings and hope to earn one of three at-large bids into this year's 28-team NCAA Division III football playoff championship. Concordia ends the year with a 4-6 overall record, 4-5 in the MIAC.

Bethel 25, Augsburg 20
MINNEAPOLIS -- Putting together 352 yards of total offense, Bethel claimed its first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football championship, staving off Augsburg 25-20 on Saturday afternoon at Augsburg's Anderson-Nelson Field.

Bethel finishes the regular season with a perfect 10-0 record, 9-0 in the MIAC, for its first unbeaten conference campaign ever. Bethel began playing in the MIAC in 1978. Augsburg finishes its season with a 3-7 overall record, the school's first sub-.500 campaign since 1996 and just the second sub-.500 finish in the last eight years.

The Royals will advance to their first-ever NCAA Division III national playoffs as the automatic qualifier from the MIAC. The NCAA will announce national playoff bids on Sunday afternoon.

Scott Kirchoff completed 25 of 42 passes for 248 yards and two first-half touchdowns, as Bethel built a 15-7 halftime lead. Augsburg kept the game close throughout, taking advantage of two touchdown passes to Mark Johnson. But the Royals scored on each drive after an Augsburg score in the second half to clinch the victory.

Kirchoff threw two first-half touchdown passes, a 10-yarder to Joel Olson in the first quarter and as 6-yarder to Deon Jordan late in the second quarter.

The Royal scores bracketed a bit of trickery by the Auggies, as halfback Brian Warden threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Auggie quarterback Paul Tetzloff with 6:45 left in the first half.

Trailing 15-7 in the third quarter, Augsburg put together a seven-play, 57-yard drive to score, capping the drive on a 29-yard pass from backup quarterback John Goodale to Johnson to cut the lead to 15-13. But just 1:14 later, the Royals surged ahead again, as Mike Johnson busted through the line for a 54-yard scoring scamper with 5:42 left.

Augsburg scored late in the game, on a 7-yard pass from Tetzloff to Mark Johnson, but the Auggies could not convert the ensuing onside kick, and the Royals capped the scoring on a 28-yard field goal by Seth Olson and
a subsequent interception by Ben Kidd.

Tetzloff had his best passing game of the season for the Auggies, completing 15 of 29 passes for 203 yards. However, he was intercepted twice. Goodale also threw two interceptions. Ben Matthews scored two of the pickoffs for the Royals, giving him a nation-high 15 interceptions to complete the regular season.

Mark Johnson had 113 receiving yards on six catches for the Auggies, while Desman Oakley had five catches for 81 yards in his final collegiate game.

For the Royals, Mike Johnson had 94 rushing yards on 12 carries, capped by the 54-yard scoring scamper in the third quarter. Jordy Hage had eight catches for 60 yards.

Jeff Bormes had 16 tackles (11 solo) to lead all players. Jon Foss and Kidd had 10 tackles apiece.