Abilene Christian dominated Mesa State and West Texas A&M went to the wire with Washburn as both Lone Star Conference teams posted wins in NCAA Division II Southwest Region football playoff action today.

      In their first playoff game in almost 30 years at Shotwell Stadium, ACU beat Mesa State, 56-12, in front of 7,346 fans.  The Wildcats improve to 10-2 on the season and advance to play at Chadron State in the semifinals next Saturday.

      Junior quarterback Billy Malone was 18 of 22 for 271 yards and four touchdowns, while Johnny Knox had five catches for 118 yards and three scores and Bernard Scott ran for 125 yards on 12 carries with three touchdowns.

      WTAMU trailed for nearly the whole game including a 14-0 deficit at halftime before mounting an impressive comeback to beat Washburn, 40-39.  The Buffs' Wayne McKnight sparked the rebound by taking the half's opening kickoff back 83 yards which led to WTAMU's first score, a field goal.

      The Buffs, who remain perfect on the season at 12-0, move on to the semifinals to face Northwest Missouri State in Maryville, Mo.  Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. next Saturday.

      Keith Null completed 38 of 58 passes for a career-high 498 yards and also tied a school and LSC record with six passing TD's.