Sunday, December 16, 2001
Georgetown Tigers repeat as NAIA champions
Beat Sioux Falls 49-27 for 28th straight victory
The Associated Press
SAVANNAH, Tenn. — Georgetown College won its second straight NAIA championship Saturday, beating Sioux Falls 49-27 to finish 14-0 and extend its winning streak to 28 games.
The national championship is Georgetown's third; the Tigers also won in 1991.
Ryan Payne ran for two touchdowns in the first half and Eddie Eviston (Newport Central Catholic) passed for another to help the Tigers to a 28-13 advantage.
The Tigers scored twice in the final 3:15 of the half.
Jason Tenkman capped a 78-yard, 13-play drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. Later, Eviston connected with Brandon Midkiff on a 35-yard scoring pass with 24 seconds remaining.
The Tigers scored early in the second half when Derrick White broke for a 51-yard touchdown run on his team's first offensive play.
Sioux Falls (12-2) took advantage of a Georgetown turnover, recovering Eviston's pitch, to cut the lead to 35-20 with 9:44 left in the third quarter.
After Eviston's pitch was recovered by Ganna Mboob at the Tigers 35, Dax Michelena connected on a 31-yard pass to Zac Rutten to the 4. Two plays later. Nick Kortan scored on a 1-yard run.
But Georgetown put the game away with a 1-yard run by Nick Ayers (Glen Este) with 5:49 remaining in the third quarter and an 18-yard touchdown pass from Eviston to Michael Caba with 10:39 to play.
The Tigers' only loss in the last three years was 34-26 in the 1999 championship game against Northwestern Oklahoma State. The Tigers avenged the loss with a 20-0 victory over Northwestern Oklahoma last year.
Sioux Falls ....... 7 6 7 7—27
Georgetown, Ky. ....... 7 21 14 7—49
First Quarter
Geo—Payne 13 run (Davis kick), 8:57.
Sio—Rutten 20 pass from Michelena (Kuiper kick), 4:56.
Second Quarter
Geo—Payne 3 run (Davis kick), 12:28.
Sio—Michelena 1 run (kick failed), 9:01.
Geo—Tenkman 1 run (kick failed), 3:15.
Geo—Midkiff 35 pass from Eviston (Eviston run), :24.
Third Quarter
Geo—White 51 run (Davis kick), 13:29.
Sio—Kortan 1 run (Kuiper kick), 9:44.
Geo—Ayers 1 run (Davis kick), 5:49.
Fourth Quarter
Geo—Caba 18 pass from Eviston (Davis kick), 10:39.
Sio—Kortan 37 pass from Michelena (Kuiper kick), 7:55.
A—6,789.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Sioux Falls, Kortan 21-85, Michelena 20-57, Thomas 2-1, Simmons 1-(minus 4). Georgetown, Ky., Payne 20-78, White 5-65, Eviston 9-25, Ayers 6-21, Warren 2-16, Tenkman 5-15, Caba 2-10, Hoppe 1-(minus 3).
PASSING—Sioux Falls, Michelena 16-40-1-232. Georgetown, Ky., Eviston 16-28-1-188.
RECEIVING—Sioux Falls, Rutten 6-140, Kortan 6-47, Metzger 3-30, Arend 1-15. Georgetown, Ky., White 4-51, Tenkman 3-38, Payne 3-4, Midkiff 2-47, Spencer 2-19, Caba 1-18, Young 1-11.
Mount Union 30, Bridgewater 27
SALEM, Va. — Chuck Moore ran for 273 yards and three touchdowns as Mount Union won its sixth NCAA Division III title by prevailing in the Stagg Bowl.
The Purple Raiders (14-0) are just the fourth team to win six national championships in their division. Oklahoma has seven, and Alabama and Georgia Southern also have six.
Mount Union has won 82 of its last 83 games. The Purple Raiders also won titles in 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998 and 2000.
Bridgewater (12-1), making its first trip to the title game, couldn't find an answer for the Purple Raiders' defense and relentless rushing game.
Moore, the Gagliardi Award winner as the best player in Division III, scored on runs of 3, 36, and 95 yards.
After falling behind 13-7 in the second quarter, the Raiders scored two touchdowns in two minutes to take the lead.
Moore sprinted 36 yards through the middle of the field with 5:38 remaining. On the next drive, Jason Perkins intercepted Jason Lutz's pass and scored on a 44-yard return.
Montana 38, Northern Iowa 0
MISSOULA, Mont. — Yo-
hance Humphery ran for 142 yards and two touchdowns as top-ranked Montana advanced to its second straight NCAA Division I-AA championship game.
Quarterback John Edwards added 111 yards rushing and two more scores for Montana (14-1), which will face Furman (12-2) Friday in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Furman 24, Ga. Southern 17
STATESBORO, Ga. — Eric Emerson's 1-yard touchdown run with 8:24 left in the fourth quarter lifted Furman over two-time defending champion Georgia Southern in the semifinals of the Division I-AA playoffs.
The loss snapped the I-AA-record 39-game home winning streak of Georgia Southern (12-2).
Furman (12-2) advanced to Friday's title game in Chattanooga, Tenn., against top-ranked Montana.
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