By Pete Scantlebury, NAIA Manager of Athletics Communications

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – [ESPN3 | Championship Media Guide] No. 1 Morningside (Iowa) goes head-to-head with No. 7 Benedictine (Kan.) in the 2018 edition of the NAIA Football National Championship. Kick-off is slated for 6:04 p.m. ET at Daytona Stadium. ESPN3 will broadcast the game live.

Benedictine, in its 17^th NAIA football postseason appearance, has finally broken through to make its first championship game. Morningside makes its second championship-game appearance and is looking to avenge its 2012 overtime loss to Marian (Ind.).

The City of Daytona Beach hosts the event for the fifth-straight season. For fan and visitor information, including ticket details, click here.

2018 NAIA Football Championship Game Notes

• Daytona Stadium is home to the national championship for the fifth-straight season, although it has undergone a name change as it was known as Daytona Beach Municipal Stadium prior to this season. Forty-six different host venues have hosted the national championship since the inception of NAIA football in 1956.
• Savannah, Tenn., has hosted the most NAIA football championships with 11 (1997-2007). Rome, Ga., is second with six national championships; Daytona Beach is the third longest-tenured host with five.
• The 2018 title game is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 15 at 6:04 p.m. EST and will be broadcast exclusively on ESPN3. Former NFL offensive lineman Forrest Conoly returns for the sixth-straight season as the game’s color commentator, while Kristen Bedard is in her fourth-consecutive season as the NAIA’s sideline reporter. Drew Fellios, in his third-straight season, will provide play-by-play.
• This is the 62^nd football championship in NAIA history. The inaugural contest in 1956 featured former members Montana State and St. Joseph’s (Ind.) in Little Rock, Ark. The two teams shared a national title after a 0-0- tie.
• By comparison, the most points scored in an NAIA championship game came in 2014 – the first year in Daytona Beach. Southern Oregon and Marian (Ind.) combined for 86 points, with Southern Oregon winning 55-31.
• There have been seven ties in the national championship, most recently a 21-21 game between Central Washington and Findlay (Ohio) in 1995. Central Washington’s quarterback was Jon Kitna, who went on to a lengthy NFL career with the Seattle Seahawks, Detroit Lions and others.
• The first NAIA Football National Championship game to go into overtime came in 2012. Marian defeated Morningside 30-27 on a 26-yard field goal by Mike Josifovski to win the game. This is Morningside’s first national championship appearance since that game.
• There have been 10 national championship shutouts since the event began in 1956. The last shutout came in 2000 when Georgetown (Ky.) blanked Northwestern Oklahoma State 20-0. It is also the only shutout since the NAIA moved back to one division in 1997.
• The lower-ranked program has won nine of the last 12 titles.
• This is the first time since 2013 that both participants entered the event seeking a first national title. In 2013, Grand View (Iowa) beat Cumberlands (Ky.) for its first football national championship.
• Benedictine (13-1) advanced to the championship game with a 43-21 semifinal road win over No. 6 Kansas Wesleyan. The Ravens were led by Marquis Stewart, who had 286 rushing yards on 31 carries. That rushing total set a single-game school record for Benedictine.
• Morningside (14-0) largely ran roughshod over its opponents this year with an average margin of victory of just under 39 points per game. It had to earn its spot in the final though, going head-to-head with defending champion St. Francis (Ind.) and winning in overtime, 34-28. Quarterback Trent Solsma connected with his favorite target, Connor Niles, for a 25-yard touchdown to win the game, after the Mustangs saw a two-touchdown second-half lead evaporate in necessitate the extra period.
• Barring a prodigious performance, Trent Solsma will fall short of the single-season NAIA passing record, but he still has a shot at No. 2 in the record books. Solsma currently has 5,097 passing yards this season; he would need 337 to tie Ohio Dominican quarterback Cris Reisert for second place. Solsma has thrown for at least that many yards in nine of the Mustangs’ 14 games this season.
• Solsma would need 510 passing yards to move into a tie with Southern Oregon’s Austin Dodge for first place. His season-high is 528 yards. Benedictine, however, has one of the best defenses in the country, ranking fifth in the NAIA with 16.7 points allowed per game. The Ravens allow 178.4 pass yards per game.
• Morningside WR Connor Niles will likely end his career with his current No. 3 ranking in career receptions (329). The current record is held by Cris George of Glenville State (W.Va.) with 430; Niles would need 20 receptions to tie for second-place with Mike Maher of Saint Xavier (Ill.). For the season, Niles has 146 receptions for 2,475 yards and 31 touchdowns.
• Niles has already set the single-season receiving yardage record, surpassing the previous high of 2,221 by Chris George in 1993. He also has the opportunity to break the most receptions record, which is currently 158 by Caleb Thomas of Graceland (Iowa), set just last year.
• While the Solsma-to-Niles connection gets most of the headlines, Morningside – an embarrassment of riches on offense – also has one of the nation’s leading rushers. Sophomore Arnijae Ponder has 1,549 yards and 22 touchdowns on 289 carries.
• Benedictine has the offensive weapons to match Morningside, though. The Ravens boast two 1,000-yard rushers in Marquis Stewart (208-1,508-18) and Charlie Nihart (173-1,035-14), in addition to quarterback Shaefer Schuetz who has thrown for 32 touchdowns to nine interceptions with 2,828 passing yards. WR Aaron Jackson has been his favorite target with 61 catches for 1,094 yards and 18 touchdowns on the season.
• Benedictine has the third-ranked rushing attack in the nation, with 3,468 yards and 45 touchdowns, averaging 5.4 yards per carry.
• Here’s one stat that could sway the game: These teams are No. 1 and No. 2 in the NAIA in third-down conversion percentage. Benedictine leads the way, converting 51.3-percent of its third downs. Morningside is just behind the Ravens with a 49.5-percent conversion rate. With two high-powered offenses, the best defense is the ability to keep your counterpart off the field. That will likely be determined by who can convert third-downs more efficiently and consistently.

2018 NAIA Football Season Recap