Mount Union Rallies to Defeat Ohio Northern; Streak Reaches 54

Mount Union, three-time defending champion in NCAA Division III, rallied from a third-quarter deficit to defeat visiting Ohio Northern, 56-31, Saturday in a quarterfinal Saturday at Alliance, Ohio.

Gary Smeck threw four touchdown passes and ran for a fifth score for the Purple Raiders, who are 12-0 this season and have a 54-game winning streak, a record for college football.

The Polar Bears (11-2) of Ada, Ohio, led, 23-21, with seven minutes left in the third quarter when Mount Union scored touchdowns on a 36-yard reception by Adam Marino, a one-yard run by Dave Hassey and a 20-yard touchdown catch by Rob Sondles to take a 42-23 lead.

Smeck completed 16 of 23 passes for 271 yards and rushed for 79 yards in 11 carries. Chuck Moore ran for 168 yards and two touchdowns in 27 carries and Marino had six catches for 114 yards for Mount Union.

OTHER DIVISION III QUARTERFINALS

Rowan 42, Montclair 13--Free safety Clinton Tabb returned a fumble 95 yards for one touchdown and returned an interception 43 yards for another as the Profs (11-1) of Glassboro, N.J., beat the Red Hawks (9-2) at Upper Montclair, N.J. The Profs, who lost to Montclair in their regular-season finale, will face Mount Union in the semifinals.

Trinity of Texas 40, Hardin-Simmons 33--Michael Burton threw three touchdown passes as the host Tigers (12-0) beat the Cowboys (12-1) of Abilene, Texas, in a battle of undefeated teams at San Antonio. Trinity won its 12th consecutive game since losing to Mount Union in last year’s playoff semifinals and ended Hardin-Simmons’ winning streak at 21. The Cowboys lost three fumbles and had four passes intercepted. Trinity’s Andy Peoples returned a fumble 84 yards for a touchdown.

Pacific Lutheran 19, St. John’s 9--Chad Johnson threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Brown in the fourth quarter as the Lutes (11-1) of Tacoma, Wash., rallied to beat the Johnnies (11-2) in a defensive battle at Collegeville, Minn.

DIVISION I-AA

Florida A&M; 17, Troy State 10--Demetr Bendross caught touchdown passes of 77 and 57 yards in leading the Rattlers (10-3) over the Trojans (11-2) at Troy, Ala. Florida A&M; will play Youngstown State in the semifinals.

Youngstown State 41, North Carolina A&T; 3--Jeff Ryan was nearly perfect, completing 15 of 17 passes for 245 yards and two touchdowns as the Penguins (11-2) rolled to an easy victory over the Aggies (11-2) at Youngstown, Ohio.

Georgia Southern 38, Massachusetts 21--Adrian Peterson ran for 333 yards and five touchdowns in 32 carries to lead the Eagles (11-2) over the Minutemen (9-4) at Statesboro, Ga. Georgia Southern will play Illinois State in the semifinals. Georgia Southern lost to Massachusetts in the Division I-AA national championship game last season. The championship game will be Dec. 18 at Chattanooga, Tenn.

Illinois State 37, Hofstra 20--Dusty Burk stole the show from Hofstra quarterback sensation Giovanni Carmazzi by throwing for 350 yards and two touchdowns as the Redmen (11-2) upset the Flying Dutchmen (11-2) at Hempstead, N.Y. Burk, a freshman who replaced injured starter Kevin Glenn midway through the season, completed 31 of 37 passes.

DIVISION II

Northwest Missouri State 20, Indiana (Pa.) 12--The defending champion Bearcats (13-1) beat the Indians (9-4) at Maryville, Mo., as Travis Miles threw for 235 yards and a touchdown and David Jansen carried 32 times for 221 yards.

Carson-Newman 42, Northeastern State 7--Antwon Oliver rushed for three touchdowns to lead the host Eagles (13-0) over the Redmen (10-4) of Tahlequah, Okla., at Jefferson City, Tenn. Carson-Newman will face Northwest Missouri State in the title game next Saturday at Florence, Ala., in a rematch of last year’s title game.

STATE JC PLAYOFFS

City College of San Francisco 13, Butte (Oroville) 6--Even though undefeated and No. 1-ranked San Francisco (11-0) scored only one touchdown against No. 2 Butte (10-1) at Oroville, Calif., quarterback Nick Rolovich completed 27 of 52 passes for 422 yards.