Pittsburg State racked up 611 yards against Central Missouri as it improved to 9-1 on the season.
No. 6 Pittsburg State 38, Central Missouri 31
PITTSBURG, Kan. -- Sixth-ranked Pittsburg State started fast, then finished in a flurry to pull out a 38-31 victory against Central Missouri Saturday iin front of a sellout crowd of 10,043 fans at Brandenburg Field/Carnie Smith Stadium.
The win moves the Gorillas (9-1, 9-1 MIAA) one step closer to at least a shared MIAA crown, while the Mules (7-3, 7-3 MIAA) dropped from conference title contention after the slugfest.
After a Connor Frazell 40-yard field goal tied things up at 31 for Pittsburg State, a three-and-out gave the ball back to the Gorillas. Anthony Abenoja, who finished the game with 428 passing yards, completed strikes of 21 and 27 yards to wide receiver Gavin Lutman on the game-winning drive, before running back Jamal Tyler scooted into the end zone from 23 yards out for the winning score with 2:04 remaining.
The Gorillas racked up 611 yards of offense in the win.
No. 1 Minnesota State-Mankato 49, Wayne State 0
WAYNE, Neb. --- Top-ranked Minnesota State-Mankato earned its fifth road win of the season as it shutout Wayne State 49-0 Saturday afternoon.
With the win, MSU improves to 10-0 on the season, including a 6-0 record in NSIC South Division action. The Mavericks have now won at least a share of the NSIC South Division Championship. MSU has now posted three shutouts this season.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Mavericks recorded three touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 21-0 lead into halftime.
Nick Pieruccini completed 20 of 22 passes for 297 yards and a TD. He also ran for 99 yards and three touchdowns in the win.
Dorian Buford caught seven passes for 108 yards.
No. 2 Minnesota-Duluth 53, Mary 35
DULUTH, Minn. -- Sophomore Beau Bofferding scored on a 3-yard scoring run nine plays after the opening kickoff and No. 2 Minnesota-Duluth never looked back in a 53-35 Senior Day win against Mary Saturday afternoon at James S. Malosky Stadium.
Boefferding went on to rush for three more touchdowns while helping lead the Bulldogs to their 18th consecutive regular season victory and push their overall record to 10-0.
The Bulldogs took a comfortable 34-7 lead into the halftime break, racking up 365 yards of total offense in the process. Mary battled back in the second half and got to within 13 points (41-28) early in the fourth quarter, but junior running back Logan Lauters' second touchdown run of the afternoon with 7:56 to go iced the victory -- UMD's eighth in eight lifetime meetings with the Maruaders (8-0).
Lauters wound up with 147 yards on 21 carries (his sixth 100-yard outing of the year) while Bofferding added 44 yards on just seven touches. Sophomore quarterback Drew Bauer completed 23 of 34 passes for 250 yards and a pair of scores -- including a 57-yard strike to junior Justin Fowlkes in the opening quarter -- for the Bulldogs, who closed out the day with a season-high 575 total yards.
No. 3 Lenoir-Rhyne 42, Alderson Broaddus 7
PHILIPPI, W.Va. -- Third-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne continued its march to an unbeaten season with a 42-7 victory against Alderson Broaddus Saturday afternoon at the Multi-Sport Performance Complex.
Lenoir-Rhyne senior fullback Chris Robinson rushed for a game-high 114 yards and two touchdowns as the Bears scored the final 42 points and finished with 514 yards on the ground in the win.
Lenoir-Rhyne (10-0), the top-ranked rushing team in the nation, also received a career-high 108 yards and two scores from junior tailback Michael Patrick in the win.
The Bears, the top-ranked team in the region as well, won for the 23rd time in their past 24 contests and continued their best start in 52 seasons.
After Lenoir-Rhyne spotted Alderson Broaddus (6-4) a 7-0 advantage on the game’s opening drive, the Bears responded with back-to-back touchdowns on their first two possessions to take the lead for good.
No. 4 Ferris State 35, Northern Michigan 17
BIG RAPIDS, Mich. -- Unbeaten No. 4 Ferris State clinched at least a share of the program's first Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Championship since 1999 by rallying for a 35-17 win against Northern Michigan on Saturday at FSU's Top Taggart Field.
On a day in which 17 seniors were honored prior to the regular season home finale, the Bulldogs celebrated the milestone accomplishment after overcoming a 10-point second half deficit against NMU.
However, a big second half from junior quarterback Jason Vander Laan helped the Bulldogs moved to 10-0 on the year and 9-0 in the GLIAC with one game remaining in the regular season.
Vander Laan finished 17 of 27 for 222 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He also added 90 yards and three scores on the ground.
No. 5 Bloomsburg 40, Lock Haven 3
LOCK HAVEN, Pa. -- Bloomsburg made good of its last chance to tune up for next weekend's Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship Game, rushing for 303 yards in a convincing 40-3 win at Lock Haven on Saturday afternoon.
With the victory the fifth-ranked Huskies (10-0, 9-0 PSAC East) stretch their winning streak to 10 and set up a rematch for the PSAC title next week at Slippery Rock. The Huskies defeated Slippery Rock (8-2, 7-2 PSAC), the PSAC West champion by way of tiebreaker following its win against Clarion and a loss by California (Pa.) at Mercyhurst, in last year's PSAC Championship Game.
Bloomsburg led 13-3 at halftime, but dominated after the break to put the game on ice.
No. 7 Northwest Missouri State 42, Emporia State 14
EMPORIA, Kan. -- Brady Bolles tossed four touchdowns as No. 7 Northwest Missouri State routed Emporia State 42-14 Saturday afternoon at Welch Stadium.
Bolles finished 15 of 25 for 256 yards, with all four of his TD passes coming in the first half with the Bearcats opening up a 35-point halftime cushion.
Northwest improved to 9-1 in the MIAA and remain tied for first with Pittsburg State.
No. 8 Colorado State-Pueblo 52, Colorado Mesa 3
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. -- Eighth-ranked Colorado State-Pueblo dominated all areas of the game Saturday to cruise to a 52-3 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference road victory against Colorado Mesa at Ralph Stocker Stadium in Grand Junction, Colorado.
The ThunderWolves (9-1, 7-1 RMAC) outgained the Mavericks (5-5, 4-4 RMAC) 429-176, totaled 27 first downs to CMU's 11 and forced four interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns. The Pack didn't commit a turnover and went 10-for-18 (56 percent) on third down. The CSU-Pueblo defense held Colorado Mesa to a 1-for-14 effort on third down.
Colorado Mesa totaled 79 yards on its first drive of the game, collecting just 97 total yards of offense after that while the lone three points came with 8:48 left in the fourth quarter.
The 52 points were the most since a conference home game against New Mexico Highlands on Oct. 30, 2010. The ThunderWolves won that game 66-0.
Junior running back Cameron McDondle notched his seventh consecutive and eighth total 100-yard game of the season. He racked up 136 yards on 21 carries for 6.5 yards per rush and two touchdowns.
No. 9 Ouachita Baptist 47, Arkansas-Monticello 10
MONTICELLO, Ark. -- Ninth-ranked Ouachita Baptist defeated Arkansas-Monticello 47-10 on Saturday to improve to 9-0 and clinch at a least a share of the Great American Conference Championship.
Brandon Marks scored three touchdowns for the Tigers and Josh Hall finished with a season-high seven tackles.
The Tigers dominated both sides of the football in the first half. Offensively, the Tigers put up 283 first-half yards, gaining 14 first downs and putting 44 points on the board. On defense, Ouachita held UAM to six first downs and 84 yards of total offense.
Steven Kehner ran 16 times for 99 yards and a TD for Ouachita Baptist.
No. 10 Winston-Salem 17, Fayetteville State 7
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- Tenth-ranked Winston-Salem scored 17 unanswered in the second half of a defensive struggle to top Fayetteville State 17-7 on Saturday.
Tyree Massey's 15-yard touchdown run with 27 seconds left in the third quarter proved to be the difference, as it gave the Rams (9-1) a 14-7 lead at the time. Alajandr Suarez added a 23-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to make it a 10-point lead.
Fayetteville State (6-7) took a 7-0 lead into halftime until Winston-Salem's Eric Williams hauled in a 12-yard touchdown pass from Phil Sims with 6:45 to play in the third.
The Rams held the Broncos to 104 yards of offense, but only managed 207 of their own.
