SOUTHERN OREGON 55, MARIAN 31
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Austin Dodge led Southern Oregon to its first NAIA football championship, throwing for 429 yards and three touchdowns Friday in a 55-31 victory over turnover-prone Marian College.
Dodge, the NAIA Player of the Year, completed 21 of 39 passes for the Raiders (13-2). Melvin Mason, Dylan Young and Ryan Retzlaff caught touchdown passes, and Mason ran for 56 yards and three scores.
"We fulfilled a dream because the players bought in," Southern Oregon Coach Craig Howard said. "These guys have done everything we asked, and I promised these guys they would leave Southern Oregon with a degree and a national championship."
Hayden Northern threw for a school-record 495 yards for Marian (11-3) but had six interceptions. The Indiana school also lost two fumbles. Anthony Jones Jr. had 17 catches for 234 yards and 3 touchdowns.
"The turnovers were big," Marian Coach Mark Henninger said. "We probably left 21 points on the board in the first half. Playing against a team like Southern Oregon, you can't turn the ball over like that and you can't miss tackles like we did."
The Raiders took a 24-7 lead in the first quarter and led 38-10 at halftime.
Marian rallied in the third quarter. Northern threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Jones and a 32-yarder to Krishawn Hogan on a fourth-and-2 play to make it 38-24.
"We were able to chip away a little bit there," Northern said. "It was tough coming from behind, but I know my teammates were going to keep fighting."
Dodge converted two third downs with passes to Jeremy Scottow and Young to set up a 9-yard touchdown pass to Retzlaff on the first play of the fourth quarter to make it 45-24.
"Austin can make all the throws, and we have the utmost confidence in him during these situations," Howard said. "I think he has that 'it' factor. I coached Tim Tebow in high school and he had it. Austin has it, and you win championships with those guys."
Marian and Jones teamed again for a 75-yard touchdown strike on the first play of the Knights' next series to make it 45-31.
"I thought we were still going to come back," Jones said. "I kept telling my teammates that this game wasn't over yet."
Dodge, however, continued to make his best throws on third down and led the Raiders on a 12-play, 57-yard drive that ended with a 38-yard field goal by Aldrick Rosas that gave Southern Oregon a 48-31 lead.
"This was an amazing effort from the offense today," Dodge said. "The offensive line, the wide receivers, the coaches -- it was a team effort and everyone deserves a lot of credit for this win."
Julius Rucker had two interceptions for Southern Oregon, returning one 54 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter to make it 10-0.
"We wanted to attack and try to get the ball back to our offense as quick as we could," Rucker said. "We were able to get turnovers and defense will win championships."
Mason turned a simple check down into a 64-yard touchdown to give the Raiders a 31-7 lead early in the second quarter.
"That was a big play and everyone was able to feed off that play," Mason said. "It's just an amazing feeling to win this game with my team."
Ryan Retzlaff had five catches for 117 yards, and Matt Retzlaff had five receptions for 107 yards for Southern Oregon.
DIVISION III CHAMPIONSHIP
WISCONSIN-WHITEWATER 43, MOUNT UNION 34
SALEM, Va. — Wisconsin-Whitewater senior Matt Behrendt threw for 365 yards and four touchdowns and the Warhawks continued their mastery of Mount Union in the NCAA Division III championship game. The Warhawks (15-0) extended their winning streak to 32 games, the longest in the nation, and beat the Purple Raiders for the sixth time in the last seven meetings.
Behrendt finished 26 for 38 with two interceptions and was named the most outstanding player for the second year in a row, both times after outplaying Kevin Burke, the Purple Raiders’ two-time Gagliardi Trophy- winning quarterback.
FCS SEMIFINALS
NORTH DAKOTA STATE 35,
SAM HOUSTON STATE 3
FARGO, N.D. — John Crockett ran for three touchdowns and North Dakota State’s defense returned to form with a victory over Sam Houston State.
The three-time defending champion Bison (14-1) will return to Frisco, Texas, in January with the hopes of becoming the first team in the division formerly known as I-AA to win four consecutive titles. Appalachian State has also won three in a row.
The Bearkats (11-5) were trying to find their way back to Frisco after losing back-toback title games to NDSU in 2011 and 2012. Sam Houston State had a statistical edge in the first half but the Bison offense piled up 217 yards in the third quarter to break open a close game.
Sports on 12/20/2014