Tarleton, ACU advance to second round of NCAA Division II Football Championship
Tarleton State and Abilene Christian both recorded wins in the first round of the NCAA Division II Football Championship on Saturday.
No. 12 Tarleton State 57, No. 13 Texas A&M-Kingsville 56
In one of the most dramatic games in school and NCAA history, the No. 12 Tarleton Texans needed a come-from-behind victory and double overtime to advance to the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs with a 57-56 win at No. 13 Texas A&M-Kingsville.
Tarleton will travel to Ellensburg, Wash. to face No. 1 Central Washington next Saturday, November 21 at 2 p.m. CST.
Tarleton improved to 10-1 on the season after quarterback Scott Grantham scored on a 20-yard run in the second overtime to pull Tarleton within one before running the two-point conversion in himself to give the Texans the win.
However, overtime was set up with a 64-yard field goal by Tarleton's Garrett Lindholm to tie the game as time expired. The kick was the longest field goal in NCAA Division II Championship play and the second longest in NCAA Division II history.
Devin Guinn set a new school record for career receiving touchdowns with 26 in his career, passing Jeremy Madkins who earned 25 in 2003-06.
Tarleton finished the afternoon with 530 yards of total offense, including 234 yards rushing and 296 yards through the air. The Javelinas had 402 yards of offense, including 238 yards on the ground and 164 yards passing.
Robertson has 19 carries for 131 yards and a touchdown while Smith had 13 carries for 67 and a score. Grantham had five rushes for 35 yards and a score while Demby had two carries for one yard and a touchdown.
Grantham threw for 296 yards and three touchdowns and was 20-of-40 with one interception.
Hobson had 10 receptions for 188 yards and two touchdowns while Guinn had four catches for 27 yards and a score.
The Javelinas were led by Winborn on the ground with 35 carries for 223 yards and four touchdowns while Garza had five carries for 16 yards and a score.
Garza was 20-of-31 for 164 yards with two interceptions and now passing touchdowns while Ryan Lincoln led the squad with six catches for 38 yards.
Abilene Christian 24, Midwestern State 21
Abilene Christian defeated Midwestern State, 24-21, in the first round of the NCAA Division II Championship; just one week after the Wildcats fell to the Mustangs to end the regular season.
ACU rallied from a 14-7 halftime deficit to avenge the loss last week and advance to play Northwest Missouri State in the second round on November 21 in a Maryville, Mo.
The Wildcats first-half offensive effort put up just 60 total yards and no points as ACU's only first-half points came when Dennis Campbell returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a score.
But the Mustangs put up 186 yards of offense and two late scores to grab a 14-7 halftime lead. Zack Eskridge, who finished the game with 298 yards on 23-of-34 passing, used his feet accounting for scoring runs of 25 and 9 yards.
The Wildcats found a way to move the ball late in the third quarter. Mitchell Gale hit Edmund Gates for a 16-yard scoring strike with 1:47 to go to cap an 11-play, 81-yard drive and tie the game at 14-14.
Gale then connected with Kendrick Johnson on a 41-yard crossing pattern to give the Wildcats a 21-14 advantage, before ACU sacked Eskridge and forced a fumble that was recovered by the Wildcats at the MSU 18-yard line.
The Wildcats sacked Eskridge eight times led by Jones and linebacker Kevin Washington, who had two sacks each.
Morgan Lineberry, who hit a pair of 50-yard field goals last week, connected on a 25-yard field goal with 9:57 to go give ACU a 10-point advantage with 9:57 to play.
The Mustangs responded with an 11-point, 98-yard drive capped by an Eskridge-to-Andy Tanner 7-yard scoring connection to cut the ACU advantage to 24-21 with 1:06 to go.
MSU was unable to fall on Lee Scott's ensuing on-side kick allowing the Wildcats to run out the clock.
The Mustangs close the season at 9-3 with all three losses by just a field goal.
