DIVISION II CHAMPIONSHIP
COLORADO STATE-PUEBLO 13, MINNESOTA STATE-MANKATO 0
KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Chris Bonner threw for 191 yards and a touchdown, Cameron McDondle ran for 113 yards and Colorado State-Pueblo relied on its stingy defense to beat Minnesota State 13-0 on Saturday for its first Division II national championship.
Paul Browning had five catches for 84 yards and the game's lone touchdown, and Greg O'Donnell bounced back from an early miss to connect on his next two field goals. Pueblo (14-1) held Minnesota State to 265 yards in posting the first shutout since the 1997 title game.
Ricky Lloyd and Nick Pieruccini shared quarterback duties for the Mavericks (14-1) and neither was particularly effective. Lloyd threw for 99 yards and Pieruccini threw for 61 yards.
Connor Thomas, who had more than 1,300 yards this season, was held to 25 yards rushing.
The victory capped a remarkable rebuilding job by ThunderWolves Coach John Wristen, who played quarterback for the school when it was known as Southern Colorado in 1980-1983.
The program was disbanded along with several others in cost-cutting moves in 1985, and Wristen was brought on board in 2007 to revive it. Pueblo won four games the following year and simply kept improving, going unbeaten in the regular season the three previous seasons.
Each of those years ended in playoff disappointment, though. But after losing its only game to Fort Lewis earlier this season, Pueblo made sure to finish things off this time.
Fort Lewis is coached by former Arkansas coach John L. Smith.
The Division II title game moved this year from its longtime home in Florence, Ala., to Sporting Park, the $200 million soccer-specific home of MLS club Sporting Kansas City.
As expected, two of Division II's best defenses took center stage early. Neither team crossed midfield until late in the first quarter, and the game was still scoreless midway through the second.
Both teams squandered chances, though. O'Donnell missed right on a 44-yard field-goal attempt, and Minnesota State's Alden Haffar had his 27-yard attempt blocked.
O'Donnell finally broke the deadlock with a 27-yard field goal late in the half.
Minnesota State, which blew out Concord 47-13 in the semifinals, proceeded to go three-and-out for the second time in the half. Pueblo took advantage of good field position and briskly marched 69 yards, taking a 10-0 lead on Bonner's 18-yard fade pass to Browning.
O'Donnell added a 24-yard field goal early in the second half to extend the ThunderWolves' lead, and the same defense that shined in 10-7 semifinal victory over West Georgia came through again.
For Minnesota State, it was a bitter ending to a remarkable season.
Todd Hoffner returned as coach after a two-year hiatus caused by some messy legal trouble, and the Mavericks put together a perfect regular season. They then advanced to the Division II finals for the first time, beating perennial powerhouse Pittsburg State in overtime along the way.
On Saturday, they ran into the first team they couldn't beat.
FCS SEMIFINALS
ILLINOIS STATE 21, NEW HAMPSHIRE 18
DURHAM, N.H. -- Illinois State scored 15 unanswered points in the fourth quarter as the fifth-seeded Redbirds rallied for a victory over top-seeded New Hampshire in the FCS semifinals.
Tre Roberson scored on a 47-yard run midway through the fourth quarter to give Illinois State (13-1) the lead and Jon-Marc Anderson ran in the two-point conversion.
Roberson was 2 for 2 on third-down conversions during the drive and capped it off with the big run. The defense held after that and the Redbirds punched their ticket to the FCS Championship Game against No. 2 North Dakota State, the three-time defending champion and ISU's Missouri Valley Conference rival, on Jan. 10 in Frisco, Texas.
The Wildcats defense couldn't get off the field in the fourth quarter. After going 2 of 9 on third-down conversions through three quarters, the Redbirds were 4 of 5 in the fourth.
Roberson passed for 278 yards and ran for another 95 including the touchdown as Illinois State will head to its first ever championship game.
Marshaun Coprich capped a 10-play, 84-yard drive for the Redbirds with a 2-yard run a minute into the fourth quarter to cut New Hampshire's lead to 18-13. He finished with 79 yards on 24 carries a week after having 258 yards in a quarterfinal victory at Eastern Washington. It was the first time this season he was held under 100 yards.
Sports on 12/21/2014