NCAA Division II football: GVSU, Ferris St. win to set up rivalry rematch in quarterfinal

Grand Valley State 13, Northwest Missouri State 8: Tarik Reid’s 7-yard run with 1:55 remaining sent the top-seeded Lakers (13-0) on to the NCAA Division II quarterfinals, and a rematch with Ferris State.

GVSU’s defense stood stout all afternoon in Allendale, keeping the Bearcats out of the end zone; their only points came on two field goals and a third-quarter safety. But the Lakers struggled to reach the end zone for much of the afternoon as well after taking a 7-0 lead on Reid’s 4-yard TD run with 1:50 remaining in the first quarter. GVSU had 200 yards rushing and another 194 passing while holding the Bearcats to 53 on the ground and 249 through the air.

Reid had 15 carries for the Lakers for 98 yards, and quarterback Cade Peterson, who failed to get into the end zone on a 2-point try on the second TD, had 13 carries for 78 yards. Peterson was also 9-for-23 on the ground.

The Lakers will have a tougher challenge on the ground next week in Allendale, as Ferris State, the defending national champs, use a run-heavy attack. GVSU rallied from a 21-10 deficit to beat Ferris State, 22-21, on Oct. 15, ending the Bulldogs’ unbeaten streak at 43 games.

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Ferris State 17, Pittsburg (Kansas) St. 14: After Mylik Mitchell hit Brady Rose for a 69-yard touchdown with 92 seconds left in the first quarter, it looked like the Bulldogs would have an easy path to a rematch with the Lakers. But the Gorillas’ defense stiffened and rallied to tie Ferris State, thanks to an 18-yard interception return late in the first half.

But in the end, the Bulldogs prevailed, taking their final lead on a 20-yard field goal by Eddie Jewett with 9:47 remaining in the fourth quarter. Ferris State mustered just 104 yards on 34 carries, led by Marcus Taylor’s 13 for 59 yards, but Mitchell was mostly effective as a passer: 24-for-36 for 286 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.

The winner of next week’s game between the Lakers and Bulldogs will advance to the national semifinals, to be played on Dec. 10. The four national semifinalists are reseeded and play for the two berths in the final, slated for Dec. 17 in McKinney, Texas.

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Division III: Scots fall at home to Aurora

Aurora 48, Alma 26: The Scots’ historic season, in which they finished the regular season undefeated for the first time in program history, is over as Alma (13-1) had no answer for the Spartans’ offensive attack. Aurora piled up 297 yards on the ground, on 61 carries, and added another 284 through the air. Alma, meanwhile, kept up passing, with 275 yards, but struggled on the ground with 38 carries for 156 yards. Jhequay Chretin led the Spartans with 38 carries for 225 yards and two touchdowns while quarterback Josh Swanson completed 22 of 37 passes for 284 yards and four TDs.

For Alma, freshman quarterback Carter St. John went 15-for-29 for 273 yards and two TDs, but only rushed eight times for 25 yards and a TD. Eddie Williams rushed 25 times for 113 yards.

The two teams traded TDs in the first quarter, but the second was all Aurora as Swanson picked up three of his four TDs and Chretin added a 5-yarder on the ground to build a 34-6 lead at the half. The lead swelled to 48-12 in the fourth quarter before St. John led a pair of scoring drives.