Recaps courtesy of LSC SID's

Northwest Missouri State 35, Abilene Christian 10

MARYVILLE, Mo. -- For the second straight season, Northwest Missouri State put an end to Abilene Christian's football season, this time in dominating fashion with a 35-10 victory at Bearcat Stadium in the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs.

The Bearcats (11-1) advance to the national quarterfinals to play either No. 1 Central Washington or Tarleton State.  The Wildcats finish their fourth straight playoff season with a 9-4 record.

Last season the Bearcats ended ACU's perfect season with a 45-36 quarterfinal victory at Shotwell Stadium in Abilene.  Two huge fumbles by the Wildcats - one at the Northwest 1-yard line and one on the opening offensive play of the second half - sealed ACU's fate on Saturday.

Northwest took the opening drive and went 77 yards to a score, a drive capped by an 8-yard run by LaRon Council just 2:14 into the game.  ACU answered, though, with a 51-yard drive that was capped by a 29-yard field goal by Morgan Lineberry, cutting the lead to 7-3 with 6:38 left in the first quarter.

On Northwest's ensuing drive, the Bearcats moved from their own 17-yard line to the ACU 49 before Blake Bolles was intercepted at the ACU 28-yard line by Josh Wise.  ACU then began to move the ball, pushing down to a first-and-goal at the Northwest 3-yard line after a couple of big third-down conversions.

But on third-and-goal from the 1-yard line, ACU quarterback Mitchell Gale had the ball knocked out of his hand by Willie Horn and Josh Lorenson recovered at the 1-yard line.

"That was totally my fault," Gale said of one of the game's biggest plays.  "I was just trying to do too much and got the ball knocked out of my hands."

After an exchange of punts, Northwest took over at its own 15-yard line with 6:51 left in the first half and holding a precarious 7-3 lead.  After a Council run and a Bolles pass to Nick Rhodes moved the ball to the 29, Bolles faked a handoff to Council and kept around left end and went untouched for a 71-yard score that gave the Bearcats the cushion they needed.

ACU had a chance to get on the board again late in the first half, moving from its own 49-yard line after a Fred Thompson interception and driving to the Northwest 23-yard line.  But Lineberry missed a 39-yard field goal to keep the halftime score 14-3.

The Wildcats received the opening kickoff, but on the first play, Reggie Brown fumbled and Aldwin Foster-Rettig recovered at the Wildcat 17-yard line.  Three plays later, Council scored from 1 yard out to make it 21-3, effectively putting a wrap on the game and the Wildcats' season.

The Bearcats added a couple of more touchdowns before Daryl Richardson scored ACU's only touchdown on a 1-yard run with 2:01 to end the scoring.

Gale finished the game 21 for 33 for 175 yards, while backup Zach Stewart directed the touchdown drive, finishing 3 of 4 for 33 yards.  Brown led the Wildcats in rushing with 72 yards on 18 carries.

Northwest's offensive effort was led by receiver Jake Soy, who had seven catches for 141 yards.  Bolles completed 15 of 20 passes for 229 yards and one touchdown, but did throw three interceptions.  Council finished the game with 87 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 17 carries.

Central Washington 26, Tarleton State 7

ELLENSBURG, Wash. - The No. 12 Tarleton Texans had a hard time running the ball Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Division II playoff against No. 1 Central Washington, and just nine first downs were logged by the Texans in a 26-7 loss in Ellensburg, Wash.

Tarleton's season closed with the loss as the Texans finished 11-3 overall.

The Texans handed the ball over on two fumbles, and the Wildcats scored 10 points off of those turnovers, while the Texans had an interception and had just three points. One of the Texan turnovers was deep into Wildcat territory.

"This was disappointing for us, and you can't go on the road against a good team like CWU and help them out like that," said Tarleton head coach Sam McElroy. "Give credit to their defense, but its unfortunate we couldn't make something happen for us."

The Texans gained just 178 yards of total offense, Tarleton's second worse out of the season after Abilene Christian held Tarleton to 172 total yards. On Saturday, Tarleton gained 192 yards through the air, but the Texans were limited to minus-17 yards on the ground.

Bradley Bullitt intercepted a Cole Morgan pass and then lateralled the ball to Jeremy Sifford who returned it to the CWU 39-yard line to set up the first score of the game when Garrett Lindholm made a 39-yard field goal with 4:07 left in the first quarter. The score came after six plays and Tarleton covered just four yards in the scoring drive to make it 3-0 Texans.

On the next drive for the Wildcats, Morgan hit Johnny Spevak for a 48-yard touchdown. Garrett Rolsma had the extra point to put the home team ahead 7-3 with 2:33 left in the opening quarter. The drive took three plays to cover 50 yards.

The Wildcats stretched the lead to 14-3 with 10:16 left in the first half when Randall Eldridge punched it in from two yards away. Rolsma added the kick to cap the two-play 15-yard drive that was set up by a Roderick Smith fumble at the Tarleton 22-yard line. The ball was scooped up by Taylor Breitzman and returned to the Tarleton 15.

The Texans took the next drive 48 yards on 10 plays in 4:03 to set up a 31-yard field goal by Lindholm. The Texans trailed 14-6 with 6:03 on the clock.

CWU then added a field goal with 1:39 remaining in the second quarter when Rolsma connected on a 27-yard attempt to close an eight-play, 71-yard drive that took 4:24 off the clock. The Wildcats led 17-6 at the half.

The Texans stopped the Wildcats' first drive of the second half, and the offense was driving down the field when Roderick Smith caught a screen pass from Scott Grantham, but the senior running back again fumbled - this time at the CWU 23-yard line. 

The home team then took the ball 69 yards on six plays to stretch its lead to 20-6 when Rolsma hit a 30-yard field goal with 8:07 left in the third quarter. 

Neither team scored again until the Wildcats put the last point of the game on the board. Eldridge punched the ball in from three yards out to end a nine-play, 67-yard drive. The kick by Rolsma put the final tally on the board with CWU winning, 27-6.

Evan Robertson had 26 yards to lead the Texans' rushing game on 10 carries. Keith Demby had one carry for two yards while Smith had five carries for minus-six yards and both fumbles. 

Grantham was 14-of-33 for 192 yards and was sacked twice. Devin Guinn led the team with three catches for 45 yards while Arthur Buckingham had three receptions for 34 yards. 

The Wildcats totaled 409 yards of total offense, including 122 yards on the ground and 287 yards through the air.   

Morgan was 21-of-31 for 287 yards and a touchdown with one sack and one interception. Spevak led the squad with five catches for 97 yards and a score while Eldridge had 18 carries for 101 yards and two touchdowns.

The Texans were ranked No. 5 in South Central Four and downed No. 4 in the region Texas A&M-Kingsville in double overtime last Saturday, 57-56. Tarleton has made the second round of the Division II playoffs in both 2001 and 2009. Tarleton is now 2-3 all-time in Division II playoff games.