Long day for area college football teams as Pitt State, Baker bow out of playoffs
The playoffs are underway for select smaller-college football teams around the Kansas City metro. And Missouri State played its regular-season finale on Saturday in Springfield.
Here are some highlights from this weekend’s action and a look at what’s to come:
DIVISION II PLAYOFF HIGHLIGHTS
Hardin 48, Pittsburg State 3: Defending champion Harding scored 48 straight points to oust the host Gorillas at Carnie Smith Stadium in Pittsburg, Kan. PSU (8-3) was seeded third in the seven-team super regional for the 28-team Div. II playoffs; Hardin (11-1), from the Great American Conference, is seeded fourth and will be moving on.
Mules to Heritage Bowl: Central Missouri, led by strong-arm quarterback Zach Zebrowski and the potent Mules offense, will play in the Heritage Bowl for the second straight year. UCM (8-3) will take on the University of Texas-Permian Basin (7-4) in a noon kickoff Saturday, Dec. 7 in Corsicana, Texas. The Heritage Bowl is billed as the longest continually running Div. II bowl in the country.
NAIA PLAYOFF HIGHLIGHTS
No. 20 Pikeville (Kentucky) 42, No. 13 Baker 35: The Wildcats lost a heartbreaker in the first round of the NAIA playoffs at Baldwin City, Kan. It had been a shootout, too, the score tied at 35 until Amon Williams’ 15-yard TD run for Pikeville (6-5).
That TD, Williams’ second of the day, proved to be the fourth-quarter dagger. For Baker (9-2), QB Sam Heggemann threw 3 TD passes with 3 INTs. He also ran for a score, finishing with 19 carries for 77 yards. Lee Kirkland had the same TD totals for Pikeville, with one fewer pick.
No. 15 Southwestern (Kan.) 31, No. 18 Saint Francis (Ind.) 24: QB Braden Howell passed for 4 TDs and finished with a 157.1 rating Saturday as Southwestern improved to 11-1 and advanced.
No. 16 Friends (Kan.) 47, No. 17 OUAZ (Arizona) 35: Friends rushed for 526 yards on 62 carries and improved to 11-1. K’Vonte Baker had 179 yards and a TD on 22 carries; Elias Pino added 115 yards and 2 TDs.
No. 14 Dickinson State (N.D.) 27, vs. No. 19 Kansas Wesleyan 20: Kansas Wesleyan (7-5) got a 2-TD, 156-yard day from RB Luke Armstrong but still fell short against Dickinson State (10-1).
Benedictine and MNU on deck: No. 9 Benedictine (9-2) and No. 12 MidAmerica Nazarene (9-1) earned first-round byes and will open their respective playoff runs next Saturday, Nov. 30.
This story was originally published November 23, 2024 at 4:53 PM.