S137 Quarterfinals
What a first couple of rounds in this tournament so far, some good teams are out and there was some surprises moving forward. It's a good thing that I'm not a gambling man because after my 1st round predictions, I would of doubled down on the 2nd round and lost big!
NORTH BRACKET
In the first round from the north, Virginia state, Tusculum, Bloomsburg and Long Island all advanced.
Tusculum in Hillsdale we're at a deadlock at the end of the third quarter 20-20 but then Tusculum pulled it together and finished strong winning 30-20.
Long Island delivered a dominant performance over St. Joseph's winning this 37 - 10. Fla_Dave will return the recruiting trail and Bigpoppa85 moves on.
In the second round we had a real nail-biter with Virginia State versus Tusculum. It was finally settled in double overtime as Virginia state was able to go up 54-51 and return to the quarterfinals for a second season. Catfish_Jack seems to always pull out these kind of games!
And all I can say is wow, Bloomsburg is the sleeper of the tournament watch out! They gave a dominant performance over Henderson State 58 - 7, and then took care of business when he 31-24 over a very good Long Island team. The game wasn't really a last-minute win either as they somewhat controlled the game throughout until the final minutes as Long Island started to close in. Jms245 could easily be a nominee for CoY.
So now we have Virginia State vs Bloomsburg and Jms245 could have more in him to pull out the upset. However, I have a feeling that Virginia State and Ol' catfish_jack is going to find a way to pull this out, because he always does!
SOUTHERN BRACKET
Down in the South bracket we had Cheney, Westchester, Winona State and Presbyterian move on to the second round.
The first round went as expected and the West Chester versus Valdosta State game was very close with West Chester pulling it out in overtime 32-26.
Winona State had a nice lead going into the 4th quarter versus pace, the pace came back strong but fell short 33-26. Gabby123 moves on to the second round.
Where was West Chester all season? Something changed big in the playoffs and West Chester pulls off an amazing Victory 37 - 3 over Cheney which is not an easy task. It just goes to show that while winning your CC is important, you can still win it all without. The game was actually pretty sloppy for both sides but it just translated in West Chester's favor based off special team play more than anything and field position. 2000Champou makes his way back and is one step closer to the semi-finals.
Presbyterian looks back to form and ready to try to make their way to the final four with a convincing win over Winona State 27-10. Their offense looked great and it's just in time for the quarter final play vs a hot West Chester team.
Originally, I thought we would see Cheney versus Presbyterian here, but after West Chester's play last game it's hard not to favor them in this one. It's a 50/50 here but I'll have to take the team that is coming off an impressive win over Cheyney.
EASTERN BRACKET
In the Eastern bracket Northern Alabama, Western New Mexico, Northern Michigan, and Texas A&M Commerce all move on to the second round.
North Alabama looks incredible right now with a huge win in the first round 68 - 6 over North Dakota. Western New Mexico had a nice 1st round win over Southern Conn
31-21.
Northern Michigan won easily 66-3 over Angelo St. and Texas A&M-Commerce did the same in their 69-7 victory over W. Liberty St.
In the second round, North Alabama won big over Western New Mexico 68 - 10. Fazbear05 has that offense just humming with 600 total yards of offense and allowing less than 200 yards for the opposing team. They will need that for sure, because tonight they have to face the defending national champion in Northern Michigan.
Northern Michigan pulls out a close one over Texas A&M Commerce 30-23. Texas had a 99 yard kickoff return to get them back in the game and Trail 23 to 23, but northern Michigan scored with 6 minutes left to pull ahead 30-23. Texas would get one last chance in the final seconds of the game but stalled out on 4th & 5 from the 5-yard line to tie it up.
Between North Alabama and Northern Michigan I think NMU plays the favorite here as they are able to move the ball through the air and has potentially the best running back in D2 football right now. Now will there defense be able to hold North Alabama back enough to control the game? We saw that Ferris State was able to put up points and if North Alabama is able to do the same this one could be one heck of a game to watch. Still because of their reputation, and losing to them, I'm going to have to say Northern Michigan pulls this out in the end.
WESTERN BRACKET
Finally in the west we had Ferris State, Midwestern State, Morehouse and Humboldt State all move on.
Edinboro did a nice job vs Midwestern State but in the end they couldn't hold on as Midwestern wins 39-28.
Missouri - Rolla played a great game versus Morehouse but wound up losing 36-23 as Morehouse makes it to the second round for only the third time in this team's history. When was the last time they made it this far? You'd have to look all the way back to season 1 and season 2.
In the second round Ferris State proved to be no contest from Midwestern State and ran away with his game-winning 29-3. There is really something Coachoatie is doing with that team and I have a feeling we are looking at the next national champion.
Morehouse found themselves in the game against a very good Humboldt State team, trailing 20-19 in the beginning of the 4th quarter, the game just got away from them and they lost 30-19. It was a great season for sportsdouche and a very solid Humboldt State team moves on.
In tonight's game between Ferris State versus Humboldt State it's going to be an interesting challenge for both coaches. On one hand you have Coachoatie who continues to find a way to get the most out of his offense and on the other side you have a very talented jaylien1 one who has great experience and has been here many times before.
Ferris State has definitely been tested this year and I think they have the talent to overcome Humboldt State plus they have to be the hottest team in the tournament at the moment. I think Ferris State moves on.
So there you have it we're down to the final 8 teams, so grab some popcorn and enjoy the tournament!