ESPN College Football

ALLENDALE, Mich. -- Cullen Finnerty passed for three first-quarter touchdowns -- two to Eric Fowler -- and defending Division II champion Grand Valley State defeated North Dakota 30-20 in a quarterfinal playoff game Saturday.

Grand Valley State (13-0) will take its 26-game winning streak, the longest in any division, to the national semifinals on Dec. 10, when the Lakers host Delta State, 27-10 winners over North Alabama in another quarterfinal.

Grand Valley was ahead 27-7 at halftime, but four fumbles by the Lakers in the second half kept the Sioux (11-2) in the game.

Brandon Brady's 1-yard run late in the third quarter cut the Lakers' lead to 27-14. Todd Carter kicked a 28-yard field goal early in the fourth to put Grand Valley State up by 16, but the Sioux came back with Reed Manke throwing a 17-yard touchdown pass to Weston Dressler.

The 2-point conversion failed, keeping the Lakers ahead by 10. North Dakota recovered an onside kick, but the Sioux turned the ball over on downs with 3:53 to play. Finnerty fumbled two plays later, but Dan Skuta intercepted a pass from Manke with 1:49 left to put the game away.

Delta State 27, North Alabama 10
FLORENCE, Ala. -- Scott Eyster threw for 227 yards and two touchdowns to lead Delta State over its Gulf South Conference rival.

Delta State (12-2) moves on to the semis against Grand Valley State. North Alabama finishes at 11-1.

The Statesmen scored on their first possession, led 13-3 at the half and 27-3 with less than three minutes to go, when North Alabama mounted its only touchdown drive.

Northwest Missouri State 28, Chadron State 21
MARYVILLE, Mo. -- Josh Mathews passed for two touchdowns and Xavier Omon ran for 158 yards and scored two TDs as Northwest Missouri State (13-0) handed Chadron State (12-1) its first loss.

Northwest Missouri advanced to a semifinal matchup on Dec. 10 against Bloomsburg (12-1), a 24-21 winner over Shepherd in another quarterfinal.

The Bearcats scored twice in just over three minutes on a 10-yard pass from Mathews to Omon and a 20-yard run by Sheldon Cook for a 14-7 lead after the first quarter. Northwest Missouri led 21-7 at halftime on Omon's 12-yard run.

Chadron State scored with 4:45 left to cut the lead to 28-21, but on its final drive a fourth-and-1 pass from the Bearcats' 40 fell incomplete with 23 seconds left.

Bloomsburg 24, Shepherd 21
SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. -- Jamar Brittingham ran for 171 yards and scored on a 4-yard run with just over four minutes left to lift Bloomsburg (12-1).

Bloomsburg rolled up 208 yards rushing while holding Shepherd (11-1) to just 116 yards on the ground on attempts. Shepherd's leading rusher Dervon Wallace was held to 64 yards. He also caught a 53-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Lazeer in the first quarter.

Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press