D3 roundup: St. John’s knocked out at Oshkosh, b’gosh

Devon Linzenmyer races for a 72-yard touchdown to put Wis.-Oshkosh ahead 24-14 in the fourt quarter Saturday against St. John's. (@UWOshkoshTitans)
Devon Linzenmyer races for a 72-yard touchdown to put Wis.-Oshkosh ahead 24-14 in the fourt quarter Saturday against St. John’s. (@UWOshkoshTitans)

Wis.-Oshkosh dominated the fourth quarter on Saturday at Oshkosh, Wis., to take a 31-14 victory over St. John’s in the second round of the NCAA Division III football playoffs.

The teams went into the fourth quarter with Oshkosh leading 17-14, but the Titans’ Devon Linzenmeyer broke loose for a 72-yard touchdown run with 14:09 to play in the fourth for a 24-14 lead.

NCAA DIII PLAYOFFS

Second Round

St. Thomas bracket

  • No. 3 St. Thomas 55, No. 16 Coe 6
  • No. 4 Wis.-Oshkosh 31, No. 9 St. John’s 14

Wis.-Whitewater bracket

  • No. 6 John Carroll 20, No. 18 Wesley 17
  • No. 2 Wis.-Whitewater 37, No. 17 Wittenberg 9

Mary Hardin-Baylor bracket

  • No. 1 Mary Hardin-Baylor 27, No. 8 Linfield 10
  • No. 13 Wheaton 31, North Central 14

Alfred bracket

  • No. 14 Alfred 30, Western New England 24
  • No. 7 Mount Union 28, No. 10 Johns Hopkins 21

Dylan Hecker added a 20-yard scoring run with 2:32 to play, sealing the victory for Wis. Oshkosh (11-1).

St. John’s (10-2) cut the Titans’ lead to three with 5:33 to play in the third quarter when Jackson Erdmann passed 3 yards to Zack Sundly for a touchdown. The two had connected for a touchdown with 2:28 to go in the second quarter, also from 3 yards.

That tied it at 7-7 after Hecker’s 2-yard run with 7:48 to play in the second. Hecker added a 16-yard scoring run in the third quarter.

Hecker finished with 198 yards on 21 carries, 9.4 yards a try.

Dusty Krueger led the Johnnies with 119 yards on 26 carries.

No. 1 Mary Hardin-Baylor 27, No. 8 Linfield 10

Quarterback Blake Jackson passed for 256 yards and ran for 63 yards as Mary Hardin-Baylor (12-0) cruised at Belton, Texas. Markeith Miller added 90 yards on 19 carries with two touchdowns.

Sam Riddle completed 26 of 41 passes for 236 yards for Linfield (9-2), but the Crusaders intercepted two of his throws.

Whitewater remains unbeaten: Senior lineackers Austin Jones (65) and Pat Costello (77) celebrate with wide receiver Manny Jones (5) after a touchdown on Saturday against Wittenberg. (www.uwwsports.com)
Whitewater remains unbeaten: Senior lineackers Austin Jones (65) and Pat Costello (77) celebrate with wide receiver Manny Jones (5) after a touchdown on Saturday against Wittenberg. (www.uwwsports.com)

No. 2 Wis.-Whitewater 37, No. 17 Wittenberg 9

Josh Ringelberg gained 147 yards on 19 carries to lead a dominate rushing game for Wis.-Whitewater (12-0), but Drew Patterson (20 carries, 74 yards) scored two touchdowns at Whitewater, Wis.

Will Meyer kicked field goals of 41, 39 and 37 yards as the Warhawks didn’t get into the endzone until 1:22 remained in the first half, when Patterson went in from 3 yards out.

Wis.-Whitewater out-gained Wittenberg (10-2) 231 yards to 69 on the ground.

No. 6 John Carroll 20, No. 18 Wesley 17

Anthony Leonetti caught a 14-yard pass from Anthony Moeglin in the second overtime to win it for John Carroll at University Heights, Ohio.

The touchdown came after Wesley (9-3) settled for Eric Speidel’s 47-yard field goal on its possession.

The game ended 7-7 after a scoreless second half Wesley had taken a 7-0 lead at 11:31 of the first quarter on Andre Connally’s 32-yard interception return.

John Carroll tied it at 11:11 of the second on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Anthony Moeglin to Nico James.

Those two connected from 4 yards in the first overtime, but Wesley answered with a 7-yard scoring pass from Nick Falkenberg to Jamar Baynard.

No. 8 Mount Union 28, No. 6 Johns Hopkins 21

Dom Davis hit Jared Ruth with a 30-yard scoring pass with 12:11 to go in the fourth quarter to give Mount Union (11-1) the victory at Homewood Field in Baltimore.

A three-and-out and a Johns Hopkins punt into the wind set up Mount Union at the Hopkins 30-yard line. Davis hit Ruth on the next play.

Davis connected with Ruth for 21 yards and the game’s first touchdown 4 minutes into the game. Davis also ran for a 4-yard score.

Davis completed 15 of 26 passes for 159 yards. For Johns Hopkins (11-1), Jonathan Germano completed 30 of 49 for 355 yards and all three Blue Jays touchdowns, two of them to Brett Caggiano.

No. 13 Wheaton 31, North Central 14

Sola Olateju rushed for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to seal the victory for Wheaton (11-1) at Naperville, Ill. Olateju ran 29 times for 175 yards. Andrew Bowers completed 16 of 29 passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns to Chase White.

Broc Rutter led North Central (11-1) with 222 yards on 20 of 35 passes.

No. 14 Alfred 30, Western New England 24

Tyler Johnson completed 17 of 25 passes for 287 yards and three touchdowns to lead Alfred (12-0) to victory at Alfred, N.Y. Johnson out-dueled Anthony Service of Western New England (11-1), who completed 29 of 38 passes for 331 yards and a touchdown.