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» ☀️ Welcome Back! Here’s hoping that you and yours had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. Now we get ready for the end-of-semester push.

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TOP STORY
1. Great Scots! Alma Shocks Mount Union

by Mike Popovich, Canton Repository

“Just like that, it's over.

A season that began with Mount Union trying to reach the NCAA Division III football summit again came to a crashing end Saturday with a 24-20 second-round loss to Alma. It was the earliest playoff exit since 2019 for the Purple Raiders, last year's national runner-up.

The 2023 Purple Raiders were hoping climb the final rung of the ladder that eluded them last season. Instead, they were were stunned by a 96-yard Scots drive that ended with 10 seconds left when Carter St. John threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Cole Thomas.”

» Field Awareness. “Alma's game-winning 11-play, 96-yard drive covered just 1:19. A 52-yard pass from St. John to Jordan Williams quickly pushed the Scots into field goal range. With (the Scots) out of timeouts on first-and-goal from the 2, St. John threw a jump pass to Thomas for the game winner. It was a play that would have made Tim Tebow smile.”

» The Key Stat. St. John finished with 303 yards through the air to go with three touchdowns for the Scots (12-0), including a pair to Thomas. The two teams combined for nearly 900 yards on the afternoon.

» Worth Noting. “(Braxton) Plunk broke former Mount Union quarterback Bill Borchert's Division III career passing yards record of 14,482 in the first half. The Gagliardi Trophy semifinalist threw for 261 yards to increase his total to 14,599, but was intercepted twice.”

» Read More

FOOTBALL
2. Quarterfinals Are Set

Elsewhere around the DIII playoffs, the quarterfinals are now set after Saturday’s play. And the biggest news is that someone new will be playing in the Stagg Bowl.

Alma, Cortland, Johns Hopkins and Randolph-Macon advanced on the right side of the bracket - none of those four have ever reached the national final.

The Red Dragons drove 57 yards in 12 plays in 5:47, capped by a 1-yard TD run by Jaden AlfansoStJohn to pull within one of Grove City with 1:23 remaining. And Cortland took the lead, 25-24, on a two-point conversion pass to Omari Kendrick The Wolverines moved into field goal range with :06 on the clock, but Caleb Kuechly’s 37-yard attempt was wide left.

RB Spencer Uggla ran for three scores, including a pair in the decisive fourth quarter, as the Blue Jays defeated Union, 39-17. Hop outscored the Garnet Chargers, 17-0 in the final 15 minutes. The Yellow Jackets rolled Ithaca, 46-0, as RBs Mitchell Johnson and Nick Hale combined for 247 yards and three TDs.

Wartburg easily dispatched Whitworth, 42-20, as QB Nile McLaughlin threw for 352 yards and four scores. UW-Whitewater held off Wheaton (Ill.), 49-42. QB Alec Ogden threw four TD passes, while RB Tamir Thomas ran for 224 yards with two runs to paydirt.

North Central (Ill.) put a hurting on Trinity (Texas), 71-28. QB Luke Lehnen accounted for 339 yards of total offense with four passing TDs. And UW-La Crosse outscored Aurora, 21-7, in the final period to pull away for a 56-35 triumph. QB Keyser Helterbrand threw for 317 yards and five TDs on just 11 completions, while also running for 82 yards with two more scores.

» Matchups. North Central, Ill. (12-0) at Wisconsin-La Crosse (11-1); Wisconsin-Whitewater (11-1) at Wartburg (12-0); Cortland (11-1) at Alma (12-0); Randolph-Macon (12-0) at Johns Hopkins (12-0).

» Keep Reading

BASKETBALL
3. Weekend Wrap

After a day of feasting, DIII basketball teams returned to the hardwood for weekend action.

No. 15 Mary Hardin-Baylor fell in overtime to St. Thomas, 90-82, while No. 23 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps had the toughest weekend on the men’s side, falling to unranked George Fox, 88-84, and Carleton, 83-75. In a matchup of ranked opponents, No. 25 UW-Oshkosh held off No. 21 North Park, 69-64.

On the women’s side, four games pitted top-20 opponents with three lower-ranked team coming away with victories. #11 Smith edged #7 Trinity (Conn.), 66-63, #17 Trine downed #10 Ohio Northern, 64-56, while #16 Hardin-Simmons needed overtime to subdue #12 Trinity (Texas), 92-88. No. 5 Rhode Island College held serve with a 53-48 victory at No. 13 Babson.

» Did You Know? According to NCAA Stats, there are 42 undefeated men’s teams through Sunday’s games.

ICE HOCKEY
4. Weekend Wrap

The Elmira (8-2) men made a case to return to the national rankings in winning the Utica Thanksgiving Showcase, toppling No. 8 Oswego, 7-1, and knocking off No. 3 Utica, 5-2, in the title game. GK Kyle Curtin made 37 stops in the win against the Pioneers and F Shawn Kennedy was named the tourney MVP.

It was also a strong weekend for Saint John’s who made the trip East a successful one with a 1-1 draw with Utica and a 4-2 win against Oswego.

No. 4 Plattsburgh State (6-0-1) made a statement in winning Cardinal/Panther Classic, downing No. 9 Wisconsin-Eau Claire, 6-1, and No. 5 Middlebury, 3-1. GK Lilla Nease was the Classic MVP after making 37 saves to register the win in the title game.

NEWS
5. Lightning Round

🏈 Football. “Fontbonne University banked on a new sprint football program to help reverse its plummeting enrollment. But half the team dropped out of the private Catholic institution after its first season — raising questions over Fontbonne’s future as it plans massive cuts to academic programs.”

💵 Money. “Baldwin Wallace University this year was already planning on how it would address a $3 million budget deficit accrued from July 2022 to June 2023 — a product of rising costs, decreased revenue from enrollment, and other factors — when it learned its deficit was actually much higher: a little over $20 million.”

TRANSACTIONS
6. Comings and Goings

• BETHANY LUTHERAN - Josh Pederson stepped down as head golf coach

• OLD WESTBURY - Ryan Pastuch named head men’s volleyball coach

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