ESPN College Football

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- Ryan Chappell ran for 235 yards and five touchdowns to spark North Dakota to a 42-0 victory over Winona State on Saturday in the NCAA Division II playoffs.

The first-round game was awarded to UND after a district judge issued a temporary injunction against an NCAA ruling over the school's Fighting Sioux nickname. The NCAA has barred several schools with American Indian nicknames from hosting playoff games.

Chappell gained 79 yards on his first two carries, including a 23-yard touchdown scamper to make it 7-0. He added scoring runs of 4, 21 and 8 yards to give UND (10-1) a 28-0 halftime lead. He made it 35-0 with a 64-yard touchdown run on the second play from scrimmage after intermission.

Chappell broke a 13-year-old school record for rushing yards in a playoff game. The previous record was 191 yards.

Winona State (9-3) saw its upset hopes evaporate quickly when quarterback Aaron Boettcher was knocked out with a broken wrist on the fourth play from scrimmage. The Warriors had lost first-string quarterback Drew Aber earlier this season.

The Sioux defense hounded Winona freshman quarterback Mike Trotter, sacking him twice in the first half for a total loss of 27 yards.

The Sioux will travel to Nebraska-Omaha (8-2) for next week's quarterfinal game.

Merrimack 28, Southern Connecticut 26

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. -- Sean Garvey kicked a 33-yard field goal with 24 seconds left to give Merrimack a 28-26 victory over Southern Connecticut.

Brandon Toles ran for 253 yards and scored all four of Southern Connecticut's touchdowns, including a 60-yard run to put the Owls ahead 26-25 with five minutes to play.

Merrimack (8-3) will face top-seeded Shepherd (10-0) in West Virginia next Saturday.

Newberry 34, Albany St. 28

NEWBERRY, S.C. -- The duo of Tymere Zimmerman and Josh Stepp exploded offensively to help lead Newberry to a 34-28 win over Albany State.

Senior quarterback Stepp was 17-of-31 passing for 174 yards and four touchdowns, as well as rushing for a touchdown. Zimmerman, a senior wide receiver, caught 10 passes for 105 yards and three touchdowns.

Newberry (11-1), the third seed in the southeast region, was hosting NCAA postseason competition for the first time in school history and will advance to the second round of the playoffs at second-seeded North Alabama.

Albany State (7-4), the sixth seed in the region, jumped out to an early 14-0 lead, but was unable to hold off Newberry's offensive attack.

The Indians tied the game with 6:14 to play in the third quarter, and took the lead for good just before the quarter's end on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Stepp to Zimmerman.

Albany State was led offensively by junior running back Brian Porter, who had 13 rushes for 66 yards. Running back Jimtavis Walker as well as quarterbacks Kisan Flakes and Terrance Ransom each ran for a touchdown for the Golden Rams.

South Dakota 31, Northwood 28, OT

MIDLAND, Mich. -- Frank Leibfarth kicked a 40-yard field goal in overtime to lead South Dakota to a 31-28 victory over Northwood.

The game was tied 28-28 after four quarters. Neither team got a first down in their only possessions in overtime.

After South Dakota (9-3) took the lead on Leibfarth's field goal, Northwood (8-3) tried a tying field goal on its next possession but Chris Kollas' 37-yard attempt went wide.

Noah Shepard threw four touchdown passes in regulation, including three to Desmond Allison for the Coyotes, who made their first playoff appearance in 20 years.

The Timberwolves tied the game on an 8-yard TD run by Antwan Ivy with less then a minute left in regulation.

South Dakota plays defending Division II champion Grand Valley State (11-0) in the second round of the playoffs Nov. 25 at Lubbers Stadium in Allendale.

Delta State 17, Elizabeth City State 10

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. -- Scott Eyster threw for 290 yards and a touchdown, and Delta State rallied from a 10-point deficit to beat Elizabeth City State 17-10.

The Statesmen (10-2), the No. 5 seed in the Southeast Regional, earned their first postseason win since they beat Bloomsburg in the 2000 national title game. Now they advance to face No. 1 seed North Carolina Central (11-0) in the second round.

Phillip Graves' 2-yard touchdown run broke a 10-all tie and put Delta State ahead to stay.

Eyster was 22-of-41 passing with two interceptions in the first half. He started the Statesmen's comeback from a 10-0 deficit with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Eric Marshall in the third quarter. Sid Halladay kicked a 30-yard field goal to tie it.

Elizabeth City State (9-3) led 10-0 in the second quarter when Chris Shaw returned a blocked punt 30 yards for a touchdown and Kevin Dodson kicked a 29-yard field goal.

Robert Davis had 11 catches for 169 yards for the Statesmen.

Delta State held Elizabeth City State to 73 total yards in the second half, and 134 for the game.

West Chester 31, Bryant 29

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- Brent Steinmetz ran for 141 yards and two touchdowns as West Chester beat Bryant 31-29.

Bryant's Charlie Granatell passed for three touchdowns and drove his team to West Chester's 22 before Tyler Downes intercepted a pass with 1:29 to play to seal the win.

West Chester (9-3) plays at Bloomsburg (10-1) in the second round next Saturday. Bryant, playing in its first postseason game since the program's inception in 1999, ended its season at 8-3.

The Golden Rams led 24-20 at halftime on Michael Washing's 75-yard pass from Bill Zwaan, a Steinmetz 4-yard run, Brendan Hargros' 6-yard run, and a field goal.

Granatell threw first-half touchdowns to Ryan Buckley, Vincent Norris, and Alex Chapparo.

In the third quarter, Bobby Heilmann's 26-yard field goal cut West Chester's lead to 24-23, but Steinmetz responded with a 5-yard run to provide West Chester some insurance.

Bryant's Lorenzo Perry scored at 8:49 of the fourth quarter, on a 6-yard run. But on the two-point conversion attempt to tie the game Michael Walter intercepted Granatell.

Perry gained 132 yards on 39 carries.

W. Texas A&M 30, Abilene Christian 27, OT

CANYON, Texas -- A 20-yard field goal in overtime by John Roberts gave West Texas A&M a 30-27 victory over Abilene Christian.

The game was forced into overtime by a 50-yard pass from West Texas A&M quarterback Dalton Bell to wide receiver Ramon Perry with just over a minute to play.

With the victory, West Texas A&M improves to 11-1 on the season and avenges its only loss of the season, a 49-33 home setback to Abilene Christian on Oct. 19th.

West Texas A&M, which trailed by 15 points late in the fourth period, got a 13-yard score from Bell to wideout Charly Martin with only 5:36 remaining to close the Abilene Christian lead to 27-19.

Martin then hauled in a short pass from Bell on a two-point conversion attempt to cut West Texas A&M's deficit to seven and set the stage for Perry's game-tying touchdown.

Bell completed 32-of-55 passes for 410 yards and three touchdowns.

In overtime, West Texas A&M was forced to settle for the 20-yard kick from Roberts after being turned away at the goal time.

On the ensuing Abilene Christian possession, West Texas A&M's defense forced a 34-yard attempt by ACU kicker Matt Adams, which was deflected and fell harmlessly to the turf.

This is the first 11-win season for West Texas A&M.

Midwestern State 28, Missouri Western 26

WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- Daniel Polk threw two touchdown passes to DelJuan Lee in the final four minutes, the last one with 31 seconds remaining, to lead No. 18 Midwestern State to a 28-26 win over No. 15 Missouri Western.

A 43-yard touchdown run by Jamison Burns put Missouri Western up 12 with about 11 minutes left. Midwestern (10-2) responded about seven minutes later, capping off a six-play, 54-yard drive with a 29-yard touchdown from Polk to lee.

Midwestern tried to get the ball back on an onside kick, but it didn't advance 10 yards. Missouri Western (9-3) had a chance to run out the clock but couldn't, failing to pick up a first down.

Given another chance, the Mustangs covered 80 yards in 10 plays. The winning score came on a 48-yard pass from Polk to Lee, who finished with six catches for 124 yards.

Midwestern State, the fourth seed in the Southwest Region, will play top seed Northwest Missouri State on Saturday in Maryville, Mo.

Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press