On Saturday, December 14, 2013, the two semifinal games for the NCAA Division 3 Football Championship took place. For the winners, it meant a spot in the 2013 Stagg Bowl. For the losers, it means that their season is over and a whole offseason of what might have been will ensue. The first semifinal game was between North Central College (Illinois) and Mount Union.
North Central (IL) (13-0) at Mount Union (13-0)
The entire game was played in blizzard conditions but that did not stop either team from putting up points early on. North Central struck first with quarterback Spencer Stanek finding wideout Peter Sorenson from 3 yards out to take a 7-0 lead. Mount Union answered with a touchdown of their own, courtesy of a 24 yard touchdown run from quarterback Kevin Burke. North Central added a field goal midway through the 1st quarter, but again Mount Union answered with a touchdown. Running back B.J. Mitchell took a hand off 9 yards to the end zone. Mount Union's Edward Ruhnke failed to convert the extra point and Mount Union's lead stayed at 13-10.
The scoring slowed down in the 2nd quarter. Stanek again found Sorenson, this time from 11 yards out. North Central missed the extra point, but still retained the lead at 16-13. With North Central leading 16-13 and 5:15 left on the clock in the 2nd half, Stanek forced a pass over the middle and it was intercepted by Jonathan Gonell. Gonell took the interception to the end zone and give Mount Union the lead once more at 20-16. That would be the score at halftime.
Mount Union received the ball to start the 3rd quarter and they methodically went down the field. The drive was finished off once again by Kevin Burke, this time he ran in from 3 yards out. Mount Union took a 27-16 lead and North Central had to answer. North Central responded with a methodical drive of their own, capping the drive off on 4th and goal from the one with a touchdown via Matt Randolph. North Central attempted the extra point, but it was blocked and Mount Union led 27-22.
After a huge punt return by Shane Dierking to the Mount Union 5, Matt Randolph punched the ball in again for another touchdown early in the 4th quarter. North Central once again tried to go for 2 but failed to convert. North Central now led 28-27 with 14:56 remaining in the game. After both teams were stopped on 4th down, Mount Union got the ball back at their own 23. North Central held Mount Union again and they were forced to punt. Mount Union's punter was unable to handle the snap and North Central recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown. Once again, North Central failed on the extra point attempt and led 34-27. Needing a respone, Mount Union drove down the field while chewing up the clock. Logan Nemeth ran for a 15 yard touchdown and Kevin Burke converted the 2 point conversion to give Mount Union the 35-34 lead.
On the ensuing kickoff, North Central's Jordan Dean got the ball out to his own 48 yard line giving North Central great field position. Spencer Stanek threw the ball with success, including a great throw and better catch to Peter Sorenson down to the Mount Union 1 yard line. Matt Randolph finished the drive from there and North Central lead 40-35. They would fail to convert on the 2 point conversion. It was now or never time for Mount Union as they started on their own 35 yard line. Kevin Burke threw with ease on the North Central defense and found Mike Collichio wide open for a 26 yard touchdown to give Mount Union the 41-40 lead. They too would fail on the 2 point conversion.
North Central still had 1 minute left on the clock to drive and win. They got down to the Mount Union 30 yard line, but they threw 4 straight incompletions and Mount Union hung on for a 41-40 victory. For the game, Mount Union quarterback Kevin Burke threw for 163 yards and 1 touchdown. He also ran for 131 yards and 2 touchdowns. His teammate B.J. Mitchell added 124 yards and a touchdown on the ground as well. North Central's wide receiver caught 10 passes for 119 yards and 2 touchdowns in the loss. Matt Randolph added 3 touchdowns on the ground for North Central.
For Mount Union, this will be their 9th consecutive trip to the Stagg Bowl. They are 4-4 in the previous 8 games. This was North Central's first Division 3 semifinal in school history.
Wisconsin-Whitewater (13-0) at Mary Hardin-Baylor (13-0)
This game was the polar opposite of the first semifinal in almost every way. This game was played in sunshine down in Texas and did not have nearly as many points. Just over halfway through the 1st quarter, Mary Hardin-Baylor took a 3-0 lead thanks to a 30 yard field goal from Chad Peevey. Late in the 1st quarter, a high snap by Whitewater caused a safety and Mary Hardin-Baylor led 5-0. On the ensuing drive, Zach Anderson did not see the cornerback Brady Grayvold and threw right to him deep in Whitewater's red zone taking points off the board. Whitewater would fumble on their possession after the interception and Mary Hardin-Baylor's Andy McAteer recovered.
Neither team was able to get their offense going again until Mary Hardin-Baylor got a 10 yard touchdown run from Elijah Hudson to give them a 12-0 lead. Whitewater responded with a touchdown on the ensuing drive to cut the deficit to 12-7, which is how the 1st half would end.
Mary Hardin-Baylor could not get their offense going after they received the opening kick of the 2nd half. Whitewater again went down the field and scored. They used over six and a half minutes and punched the ball in from 5 yards out via Jordan Ratliffe. Whitewater failed on the 2 point conversion and the lead was 13-12 with 7 minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter. Whitewater's defense came up with a stand again and forced a 3 and out against Mary Hardin-Baylor. Whitewater would only get a field goal out of the drive, but it gave them a 16-12 lead heading into the 4th quarter.
Neither team was able to move the ball well until past the halfway point of the 4th quarter. Whitewater's Eric Kindler punted the ball only 29 yards to his own 36 and Mary Hardin-Baylor's Cody Jones returned it to the Whitewater 20 yard line. Once again, Whitewater's defense stiffened and held Mary Hardin-Baylor to a field goal. Whitewater still held the lead at 16-15 with 3:29 left in the game. Mary Hardin-Baylor had one last chance on a hook and ladder play, but an illegal forward pass on the play ended their hopes as Whitewater won 16-15.
The running backs were both prominent in this game. Whitewater's Jordan Ratliffe had 100 yards and 2 touchdowns on 28 carries. Mary Hardin-Baylor's Elijah Hudson had 106 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.
For Wisconsin-Whitewater, this will be their 8th Stagg Bowl appearance in 9 years. All 8 of those appearances were against Mount Union and they have a record of 4-3 in the 7 previous games.