Chadron St., Abilene Chr. set D-II playoff mark with 149 combined points

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CHADRON, Neb. -- Chadron State rallied from a 29-point fourth-quarter deficit, and quarterback Joe McLain scored on a 12-yard run in the third overtime to beat Abilene Christian 76-73 on Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs.

The 149 points were the most in Division II playoff history.

The teams traded touchdowns in the first two overtimes before Chadron's defense came up with a stop to force Matt Adams' 21-yard field goal.

Danny Woodhead gained 13 yards on the first play of Chadron's possession, then McLain went up the middle for the winning touchdown. He punctuated the run with a somersault into the end zone.

Chadron (12-0) advances to the quarterfinals to face Northwest Missouri State, which knocked it out of the playoffs last year.

Abilene Christian (10-3) and Chadron combined for 1,369 yards of offense in the 4-hour, 8-minute game.

Abilene Christian's Bernard Scott ran for 303 yards and five touchdowns and caught four passes for 80 yards and a TD to upstage Chadron's Woodhead, the all-division career rushing leader.

Northwest Missouri State 56, West Texas A&M 28

MARYVILLE, Mo. -- Northwest Missouri State running back Xavier Omon scored four touchdowns and Aldwin Foster-Rettig returned an interception 89 yards for a score.

Omon had 107 yards on 28 carries for Northwest Missouri State (10-1).

Foster-Rettig's interception was one of four turnovers for West Texas A&M (12-1).

West Texas A&M's Keith Null was 36-of-53 for 360 yards and two touchdowns.

Grand Valley State 21, North Dakota 14

ALLENDALE, Mich. -- Two-time defending national champion Grand Valley State extended its NCAA Division II record winning streak to 39 games by beating the last team it lost to.

Grand Valley (11-0) advances to face Central Washington.

Grand Valley built a 21-0 lead before North Dakota (10-2) used two third-quarter touchdowns to pull within a score. Grand Valley's defense protected the lead the rest of the way.

Grand Valley's Brad Iciek threw two touchdown passes, while James Berezik and Blake Smolen each rushed for more than 100 yards.

North Dakota beat Grand Valley 19-15 in the 2004 playoffs.

Central Washington 20, Nebraska-Omaha 17

OMAHA, Neb. -- Central Washington rallied for 13 points in the final 3 minutes to stun previously unbeaten Nebraska-Omaha.

Central Washington (10-2) lost to Nebraska-Omaha 59-21 in a conference game two weeks ago. Nebraska-Omaha (10-1) fell to 1-7 in the postseason under coach Pat Behrns.

Johnny Spevak caught the winning 18-yard touchdown pass from Mike Reilly. Spevak had eight receptions for 95 yards.

Brandon Stout had a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to pull Central Washington within 17-14 with 2:49 left.

Jerome Williams intercepted a pass from Zach Miller to set up the go-ahead score, then picked him off again to secure the victory.

Shepherd 41, Indiana, Pa. 34

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. -- Backup running back Jimmy Sutch ran for three touchdowns to help Shepherd advance to the quarterfinals for the second straight season.

Sutch, a freshman, entered in the third quarter with the score tied 20-20 after starter Devon Wallace left with cramps. Sutch accounted for the rest of the scoring for Shepherd (10-1) and finished with 117 yards on 19 carries.

A 59-yard touchdown pass from Andrew Krewatch to Ken Witter pulled Indiana (9-3) within 34-27 with 7:28 left.

Shepherd next plays California, Pa.

California, Pa. 43, Southern Connecticut 7

CALIFORNIA, Pa. -- Daine Williams rushed for 234 yards and two touchdowns and Joe Ruggiero passed for two scores as California won in its first playoff game.

Southern Connecticut (9-4) led 7-3 late in the first quarter before California scored 40 unanswered points.

California (12-0) had ended the regular season undefeated for the first time since going 8-0 in 1958.

North Alabama 20, Delta State 17

FLORENCE, Ala. -- A.J. Milwee hit Jason Messing with the winning 5-yard touchdown pass with 16 seconds left, capping a 55-yard, 10-play drive.

North Alabama (10-1) advances to face conference rival Valdosta State.

Delta State (10-2) had held North Alabama to less than 20 total yards in the second half before the decisive drive.

Valdosta State 55, Catawba 29

VALDOSTA, Ga. -- Michael Terry ran for 139 yards and two touchdowns, and Willie Copeland threw for 171 yards and a pair of scores to lead Valdosta State.

Catawba (11-2) led 13-7 in the first quarter before Valdosta (10-1) scored 31 straight points.

Valdosta had 456 yards on offense, including 285 rushing.

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

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