Mcneese’s Jones Proves Too Much To Keep Up With
College football playoffs
Jerod Jones’ 69-yard interception return for a touchdown and a punt return for another score was all McNeese State needed to defeat Western Illinois 14-12 Saturday in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs at Macomb, Ill.
Jones intercepted Jeff Hecklinski’s pass with 3:38 left in the first quarter. The Cowboys (12-2) never gave up the lead, scoring again on Donnie Ashley’s 39-yard punt return with 3:34 left in the third quarter.
The Leathernecks (11-2) got two field goals from Keith Jones and a 3-yard touchdown run from Aaron Stecker. The two-point conversion attempt failed after Stecker’s touchdown.
McNeese moves on to the semifinals against the University of Delaware next Saturday.
Delaware 16, Ga. Southern 7
Craig Cummings ran for a touchdown and Sean Leach kicked three field goals as the Blue Hens (12-1) advanced to the I-AA semifinals by defeating the Eagles (10-3) at Newark, Del.
The Blue Hens dominated the first half statistically, but had to settle for Leach field goals of 36 and 21 yards.
Delaware held Georgia Southern, the fourth-best running team in I-AA, to 49 yards in the first half. The Eagles did not cross the 50-yard line.
NCAA Division II
Mike Schauer kicked a 26-yard field goal with 1:03 left, giving Northern Colorado a 30-29 semifinal victory over top-ranked Carson-Newman at Jefferson City, Tenn.
Billy Holmes scored three TDs for the defending national champion Bears in a rematch of last year’s title game.
In the other semifinal, three TDs by Adam Roman and a big-play defense that forced four turnovers led New Haven to a 27-25 win over UC Davis in New Haven, Conn.
NCAA Division III
At Alliance, Ohio, Bill Borchert threw for 396 yards and four touchdowns and Steve Evans rushed for 92 yards and three touchdowns to lead defending champion Mount Union (13-0) over Simpson (12-1) 54-7 and into the championship against Lycoming next Saturday at Salem, Va.
For Lycoming, quarterback Jason Marraccini scored on a 5-yard run with 1:48 left to give the Warriors (12-0) their first lead of the game and help them to a 28-20 victory over Rowan (11-1) at Williamsport, Pa.
NAIA
Tim Blair scored three touchdowns and Willamette (12-0) rushed for a school-record 554 yards in defeating Montana Tech (10-2) 50-24 in a quarterfinal at Corvallis, Ore.
Willamette quarterback Chuck Pinkerton ran for 142 yards and two touchdowns and Rich Rideout added 133 yards and two TDs.
Willamette will apparently host a semifinal game next Saturday against Sioux Falls, S.D. (11-1), which beat Jamestown 29-6 Saturday.
In the other quarterfinals, Findlay, Ohio (12-0), defeated Geneva, Pa., 28-7 and Doane, Neb. (11-0), defeated Evangel, Mo., 59-20. The site of the Findlay-Doane semifinal has not been announced.