Small school roundup: Late score completes Whitworth comeback over LaVerne

Duke DeGaetano’s 2-yard run with 23 seconds to play lifted visiting Whitworth to a 48-42 win at La Verne (California) that capped a see-saw non-conference battle on Saturday.

DeGaetano finished with three touchdowns and 90 yards on 14 carries.

The Pirates (2-1) led by 11 points twice in the first half, but fell behind by 10 in the third quarter before outscoring the Leopards 17-0 over the final 17 minutes of the game.

La Verne (0-2) ran for 502 yards and finished with 658 yards of total offense. Whitworth passed for 502 yards and finished with 641 yards of offense.

Whitworth has a bye before opening Northwest Conference play on Oct. 1 at George Fox.

MSU-Northern capitalized on Carroll mistakes to earn a 28-14 upset over No. 21 Carroll College in Havre, Montana, in Frontier Conference play.

The Carroll offense was stagnant, gaining just 268 yards of total offense and turned the ball over three times, which led to two Northern touchdowns.

Conner Fohn was the offensive bright spot for the Saints (1-2, 1-2) grabbing 11 receptions for 181 yards and a touchdown.

Evan McDowell’s 2-yard touchdown run with 16 seconds left lifted Trinity (Texas) over Pacific Lutheran 9-3 in San Antonio, Texas, in non-league action.

McDowell’s score capped a 12-play, 92-yard drive that covered more than 4 minutes.

Dallan Rodriguez’ 38-yard field goal for PLU (1-1) with 12:46 to go tied it at 3.

Azusa Pacific (3-0, 2-0) scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns and knocked off host Central Washington (1-2, 1-1) 27-17 in Ellensburg in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.

APU’s Ethan Zeidler caught a 20-yard touchdown pass with 1:59 left to make it a two-possession game. CWU’s Christian Cummings tied a career high with 92 yards rushing.