BALTIMORE -- Defending national champion Mount Union scored the final 21 points of the game Saturday to rally past Johns Hopkins 28-21 in the second round of the NCAA Division III Playoffs at Homewood Field.
Both teams had a 21-point run in the game as the Raiders (11-1) answered Johns Hopkins' run to turn a 21-7 deficit into the seven-point victory.
Johns Hopkins (11-1) grabbed a 14-point lead late in the second quarter when quarterback Jonathan Germano threw an 8-yard touchdown to Brett Caggiano, capping a 10-play drive that covered 66 yards.
Taking over at their 37 after the ensuing kickoff, the Raiders drove 63 yards on 12 plays. Jawanza Evans-Morris scored on a 3-yard run with 49 seconds left in the half to cut the lead to 21-14.
Mount Union put together a methodical 14-play, 82-yard drive that took nearly five minutes in the third quarter, converting on two third downs on the drive. Quarterback Dom Davis scored on a 4-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 21-21. Davis then hit Jared Ruth on a 30-yard touchdown pass with 12:11 remaining for the game-winning touchdown.
Johns Hopkins had three possessions over the final 12 minutes and twice got into Mount Union territory, but a failed fourth-down conversion and an interception ended two of the drives. The third drive ended as time expired with the Raiders recovering a fumble after Germano completed a pass to Quinn Donaldson and tried several laterals.
Davis was 15-of-26 passing for 159 yards and 2 touchdowns and added 53 rushing yards with a third touchdown for Mount Union, which advances to the quarterfinals for the 25th consecutive year. Germano went 30-of-49 passing for 355 yards and 3 touchdowns.
In other NCAA Division III playoff games Saturday, Alfred University (12-0) withstood a late rally from Western New England (11-1), forcing a fumble with 29 seconds left to secure a 30-24 victory at Alfred, N.Y. ... Markeith Miller ran for two touchdowns and the Mary Hardin-Baylor (12-0) defense held Linfield (9-2) to 375 yards of total offense in a 27-10 victory inatBelton, Texas. ... Wheaton (Ill.) running bck Sola Olateju had 160 yards and 2 touchdowns rushing and quarterback Andrew Bowers went 16 of 29 for 166 yards and 2 touchdowns to lead the Thunder (11-1) to a 31-14 victory over North Central (11-1) at Naperville, Ill. ... Quarterback Alex Fenske threw for 229 yards and three touchdowns as St. Thomas (Minn.) (12-0) improved to 6-0 in NCAA second-round games under Coach Glenn Caruso with a 55-6 victory over Coe College (11-1) at St. Paul, Minn. ... Dylan Hecker ran 21 times for 198 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead Wisconsin-Oshkosh (11-1) to a 31-14 victory over St. John's (Minn.) (10-2) at Oshkosh, Wis. ... Anthony Moeglin's touchdown pass to Anthony Leonetti in the second overtime gave John Carroll (11-1) a 20-17 victory over Wesley (Del.) (9-3) at University Heights, Ohio. ... Wisconsin-Whitewater (12-0) extended its school-record home winning streak to 32 games with a 37-9 victory over Wittenberg (10-2) at Whitewater, Wis.
NAIA
Cougars outlast Mustangs
FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- St. Francis (Ind.) quarterback Nick Ferrer completed only 12 passes Saturday, but five of them went for touchdowns as the Cougars (11-1) overcame a 20-0 deficit to earn a 42-35 victory over Morningside (Iowa) in the NAIA playoffs.
Morningside (10-2) took a 20-0 lead on Tyler Kavan's 42-yard touchdown run, two field goals by Jared Amundson and a 22-yard touchdown pass from Trent Solsma to Michael Whitehead. St. Francis receiver Sam Coate caught the first of his three touchdown passes with 44 seconds left in the first half to cut the lead to 20-7.
Ferrer threw two touchdown passes in each quarter of the second half. He found Akeim Kelsaw on a 3-yard pass to cut the lead to 20-14, then found Zach Gegner on an 8-yard pass to take a 21-20 lead with 4:01 left in the third quater.
Morningside answered with a 23-yard touchdown pass from Solsma to Jason Vander Kool, who had nine catches for 171 yards, to take a 28-21 lead after a two-point conversion with 1:52 left in the third quarter.
Ferrer's two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter both went to Coate. A 28-yard touchdown pass tied the game at 28-28 early in the quarter, then a 50-yard touchdown with 9:04 left gave St. Francis the lead for good at 35-28.
Justin Green, who finished with 296 yards on 25 carries, added a 47-yard touchdown with 2:15 left for a 42-28 lead. Whitehead caught his second touchdown pass for Morningside, an 18-yarder with 1:27 left, to set the final margin.
Ferrer finished 12 of 25 for 175 yards, while Solsma was 32 of 52 for 441 yards.
In other NAIA playoff games Saturday, Eastern Oregon (10-2) scored on a 35-yard interception return for a touchdown, a 64-yard punt return and a 23-yard field goal by Nathan Harden in a 17-0 victory over Marian (Ind.) (11-1) at Indianapolis. ... Tyler Bradley caught five passes for 182 yards, L.J. Stegall ran for two fourth-quarter touchdowns to put the game out of reach and Reinhardt (Ga.) (13-0) remained undefeated with a 27-0 victory over Montana Tech (10-2) at Waleska, Ga. ... Dylan Beasley completed 22 of 43 passes for 251 yards and 2 touchdowns to lead Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) (12-1) to a 42-27 victory over Baker (Kan.) (12-1) at Baldwin City, Kan.
Playoff results and schedules
NOTE Results and schedules for the Football Championship Subdivision and NCAA Division II playoffs are listed on page 5C.
NCAA DIVISION III
SATURDAY’S SECOND-ROUND GAMES Mount Union 28, Johns Hopkins 21 Alfred 30, Western New England 24 Mary Hardin-Baylor 27, Linfield 10 Wheaton (Ill.) 31, North Central 14 St. Thomas (Minn.) 55, Coe 6 Wisconsin-Oshkosh 31, St. John’s (Minn.) 14 John Carroll 20, Wesley (Del.) 17, OT Wisconsin-Whitewater 37, Wittenberg 9 SAT., DEC. 3 QUARTERFINALS Mary Hardin-Baylor (12-0) vs. Wheaton (11-1), TBA Alfred (12-0) vs. Mount Union (11-1), TBA St. Thomas (Minn.) (12-0) vs. Wisconsin-Oshkosh (11-1), TBA John Carroll (11-1) vs. Wisconsin-Whitewater (13-0), TBA
SAT., DEC. 10 SEMIFINALS
TBD
FRI., DEC. 16 CHAMPIONSHIP At Salem, Va.
Semifinal winners, TBA
NAIA
SATURDAY’S QUARTERFINALS
Saint Francis (Ind.) 42, Morningside (Iowa) 35 Eastern Oregon 17, Marian (Ind.) 0 Reinhardt (Ga.) 27, Montana Tech 0 Baker (Kan.) 42, Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 27
SAT., DEC. 3 SEMIFINALS
TBD
SAT., DEC. 17 CHAMPIONSHIP At Municipal Stadium Daytona Beach, Fla.
Semifinal winners, 5 p.m.
Sports on 11/27/2016