Sam Kukura ran for two touchdowns, and John Carroll dominated the third quarter on Saturday to beat the No. 1-ranked team in NCAA Division III football for the second time in four weeks, this time 31-14 over host Wisconsin-Whitewater.
NCAA DIII PLAYOFFS
Second Round
St. Thomas bracket
- No. 4 Wis.-Oshkosh 34, No. 3 St. Thomas 31
Wis.-Whitewater bracket
- No. 6 John Carroll 31, No. 2 Wis.-Whitewater 14
Mary Hardin-Baylor bracket
- No. 1 Mary Hardin-Baylor 38, No. 13 Wheaton 16
Alfred bracket
- No. 7 Mount Union 70, No. 14 Alfred 45
The Blue Streaks (12-1) defeated No. 1 Mount Union 31-28 on Nov. 12 in their last regular-season game. This victory moved them into the D3 semifinals next week against Wisconsin-Oshkosh, a 34-31 winner on Saturday over St. Thomas.
John Carroll and Whitewater (12-1) were tied 7-7 at the half, but the Blue Streaks took the third-quarter kickoff 75 yards in 12 plays, ending with Anthony Moeglin’s 10-yard scoring strike to Nico James.
John Carroll’s Michael Hollins intercepted a pass from Whitewater quarterback Cole Wilber on the next drive, setting up the Blue Streaks at their own 32. It resulted in Kukura’s 1-yard touchdown run with 3:24 to play in the quarter.
The Blue Streaks’ Reese Armstrong intercepted Wilber again on the first play after the kickoff, leading to Matt Danko’s 31-yard field goal with 1:17 on the clock, giving John Carroll a 24-7 lead.
Whitewater struck back with 10:51 to play in the fourth quarter on Wilber’s 23-yard touchdown pass to Brent Campbell that made the score 24-14, but Kukura’s 10-yard touchdown run with 2:24 to play sealed the win.
No. 7 Mount Union 70, No. 14 Alfred 45
Dom Davis completed 21 of 29 passes for 251 yards and three touchdowns, and rushed for 108 yards and a fourth score to lead Mount Union (12-1) to the victory at Alfred, N.Y.
Tim Kennedy caught 11 passes for 105 yards and B.J. Mitchell rushed for 123 yards and three touchdowns as the Purple Raiders amassed 573 yards of offense, 322 on the ground.
Mount Union had to overcome the passing of quarterback Tyler Johnson, who completed 36 of 67 passes for 534 yards and five touchdowns for Alfred (12-1). Johnson also ran for a touchdown.
No. 1 Mary Hardin-Baylor 38, No. 13 Wheaton 16
A touchdown at the end of the third quarter and another with 1:26 left in the game sealed the victory for Mary Hardin-Baylor (13-0) at Belton, Texas.
Quarterback Blake Jackson passed for 155 yards, 80 coming on a touchdown strike to Bryce Wilkerson with 1:37 to go in the third quarter.
Markeith Miller rushed 27 times for 145 yards, adding a 37-yard scoring run with 2:07 left in the game.
Johnny Peltz led Wheaton (11-2) with 284 yards passing on 28 of 48 attempts, with two touchdowns and three interceptions.