CHENEY, Wash. — Quarterback Brian Bell ran for two touchdowns and threw for another and Sam Houston State raced to a 35-0 halftime lead but barely held on to beat second-seeded Eastern Washington 45-42 Saturday afternoon, earning a trip to the Football Championship Subdivision championship game.

The Bearkats (11-3) face top-seeded North Dakota State, which won last year’s match up 17-16, Jan. 5 in Frisco, Texas.

The victory over Eastern Washington (11-3) was the Bearkats’ third consecutive over a Big Sky Conference team in the playoffs this year and fifth in a row in the past two years.

Sam Houston State has won 10 consecutive since losing 24-20 at Central Arkansas on Sept. 22 in Conway.

“When we were 1-2 at the beginning of the season I don’t think there were very many people that thought we were going to get back,” Sam Houston State Coach Willie Fritz said.

After the Bearkats dominated the first half, backup quarterback Vernon Adams tied a school record with six touchdown passes to pull the Eagles within a field goal with3:02 to play.

However, behind Tim Flanders, who rushed for 219 yards, Sam Houston State was able to run out the clock. Flanders had 231 yards on 34 carries and the Bearkats had 503 yards of offense, 418 of which came on the ground.

“We were clearly hitting on all cylinders offensively and playing real well defensively,” Fritz said. “When a team doesn’t have a lot of time to work on the triple option it’s hard.”

Eastern Washington had 523 yards, including 481 passing. Adams completed 14 of 26 passes for 364 yards. Brandon Kaufman had nine receptions for 215 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Kaufman, who had only two catches for 15 yards in the first half, set the FCS record for single-season yardage on his second touchdown. He went past the 1,712-yard record set by Eddie Conti of Delaware in 1998.

Kaufman finished the season with 93 receptions for 1,850 yards and 16 touchdowns.

After Adams’ fourth touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter, Bell engineered a five play, 86-yard drive, completing three passes for 38 yards, including a 4-yard touchdown to Shane Young.

Through three quarters Sam Houston State quarterbacks were 5 of 9 for 32 yards.

Adams responded with a 4-play, 78-yard drive in 61 seconds to make it 42-35 on a 7-yard pass to Nicholas Edwards with 9:48 to play. The Bearkats got a 42-yard field goal from Miguel Antonio but after Adams was intercepted, the Eastern Washington defense held and Adams threw his sixth touchdown, a 33-yarder to Kaufman.

Bell had touchdowns of 6 and 72 yards sandwiched around a 37-yard interception return by Robert Shaw. Keshawn Hill added a 15-yard run and wide receiver Richard Sincere, playing quarterback in a wildcat formation, scored on a 6-yard run in the first half.

Until Adams had scrambles of 11 and 7 yards late in the first half, Eastern Washington had negative 1 yard rushing. Meanwhile, the Bearkats piled up 285 yards, led by Flanders with 116.

The Eagles had 155 passing yards, but in addition to the interception return, Shaw picked off Adams at the goal line late in the second quarter.

Adams threw three touchdowns in the third quarter, connecting with Greg Herd for 31 yards early and Kaufman for 22 late, followed by a 43-yarder to Ashton Clark after a successful on-side kick. He made it four possessions in a row with a 43-yarder to Kaufman two minutes into the fourth quarter. And after Bell’s touchdown pass, Adams made it five with the 7-yarder to Edwards.

DIVISION II CHAMPIONSHIP VALDOSTA STATE 35, WINSTON-SALEM STATE 7

FLORENCE, Ala. - Matt Pierce returned the opening kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown and freshman Cedric O’Neal and for 140 yards and a score to lead Valdosta State to a victory over Winston-Salem State on Saturday in the Division II championship game.

The Blazers (12-2) took a 21-0 halftime lead en route to their 10th consecutive victory and first national title since 2007, which was Coach David Dean’s debut season. The Rams (14-1) were trying to become the first historically black school to win the Division II title after losing in the semifinals last season. But they couldn’t overcome six turnovers, including several that hurt promising drives.

The Blazers needed 12 seconds to score and five minutes to build a 14-0 lead against a team that hadn’t trailed by more than a touchdown all season.

Cayden Cochran was 18-of-26 passing while throwing for a touchdown and running for two scores. O’Neal carried 24 times.

Sports, Pages 34 on 12/16/2012