KANSAS CITY, Mo. – (FCS Schedule) Morningside (Iowa), Marian (Ind.), Southern Oregon and Saint Francis (Ind.) keep their national championship hopes alive with wins in the quarterfinals of the 2015 NAIA Football Championship Series (FCS) Saturday. Morningside, Marian and Southern Oregon advance to the round of four for the second-consecutive season.

FCS semifinal contests will be played on Saturday, Dec. 5.

Marian and Southern Oregon – the two teams that met in last year’s national championship – picked up quarterfinal road wins for a second-straight season. The Knights downed Grand View (Iowa), 30-3, while the Raiders slipped past Baker (Kan.), 24-19.

Since 1997, host schools in the playoffs own a 202-61 (.768) record in the FCS, including a 55-20 (.733) mark in the quarterfinals. Last season, hosts went 2-2 in the round of eight.

The 60th annual NAIA Football National Championship, presented by Waste Pro, is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 19 in Daytona Beach, Fla. The City of Daytona Beach will host the event at Municipal Stadium for the second-straight season. For information on the NAIA’s partner hotels and details on the championship week schedule details, visit http://bit.ly/NAIARaceToDaytona2015. The game will be carried live on ESPN3 starting at 6 p.m. EST.

2015 NAIA Football Championship Series Semifinal Pairings
Game 1 – Southern Oregon (10-2) at Morningside (Iowa) (12-1), TBA
Game 2 – Marian (Ind.) (10-2) at Saint Francis (Ind.) (11-0), TBA

Game Notes
Game 1 – Morningside (Iowa) (12-1) def. Tabor (Kan.) (11-2), 51-6
• One week after surviving a four-overtime thriller, top-ranked Morningside looked nothing short of dominant in a 51-6 FCS quarterfinal win against Tabor (Kan.).
• The victory propels the Mustangs into the semifinals for the third-straight season and improves the club to 16-11 all-time in the playoffs.
• Morningside scored all 51 of its points consecutively before Tabor lit the scoreboard late in the fourth quarter on an Ontreveon Cooper 5-yard touchdown run.
• Quarterback Ryan Kasdorf – the Great Plains Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year – threw for 259 yards and two touchdowns in the game. Wide receiver Connor Niles was his favorite target with five catches for 104 yards and a score.
• Tailback Tyler Kavan tallied his sixth 100-yard performance on the season with 100 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. He now owns 1,252 rushing yards this year for the Mustangs.
• Defensively, Morningside forced four turnovers, including a pair of interceptions by Ethan Stofferan. Tabor’s four miscues led to 21 points for the Mustangs.
• Cooper and Rustyn Kerbs led the ground attack for Tabor. Cooper registered 52 rushing yards, while Kerbs tallied a team-high 56 yards.
• Tabor quarterback Simon McKee threw for only 38 yards – the third time this season that he has garnered 40-or-less passing yards.
• The Bluejays are now 3-5 all-time in five appearances in the FCS.

Game 2 – Southern Oregon (10-2) def. Baker (Kan.) (11-2), 24-19
• Defending national champion Southern Oregon kept its repeat hopes alive with a 24-19 win at Baker (Kan.).
• This is the second-straight season that the Raiders have won on the road in the FCS quarterfinals.
• Southern Oregon is looking to become the first team to repeat as national champion since former member Sioux Falls (S.D.) accomplished the feat in 2008 and 2009.
• With the win, Southern Oregon improves to 10-4 all-time in the FCS, including a 2-4 mark in the round of eight. The Raiders are unbeaten all-time – 3-0 – against teams from the state of Kansas in the FCS
• Quarterback Tanner Trosin led the offense with 307 total yards, including 261 through the air. His lone touchdown pass on the day came on the opening drive of the third quarter when he connected with Matt Retzlaff on a 60-yard strike.
• Running back Melvin Mason, who ended the contest with a game-high 89 rushing yards, scored Southern Oregon’s other two touchdowns on runs of one and 19 yards.
• Baker quarterback Logan Brettell, who had served as the team’s backup quarterback most of the season, threw for 206 yards and ran for 47 en route to 253 total yards. The sophomore accounted for both of Baker’s touchdowns – one passing and one running.
• The Wildcats fall to 13-14 all-time in the FCS and 4-3 in the quarterfinals.

Game 3 – Marian (Ind.) (10-2) def. Grand View (Iowa) (11-2), 30-3
• Marian scored 23 unanswered points en route to a dominant 30-3 win at Grand View (Iowa) in the FCS quarterfinals. The Knights reach the semifinals for the second-straight season and improve to 4-1 all-time in the round of eight.
• Marian is 3-0 all-time against Grand View in the FCS.
• The Knights improve their winning streak to seven games.
• Wide receiver Krishawn Hogan led the way with seven catches for 152 yards and a score. Through two FCS games this season, Hogan boasts 13 catches for 303 yards and two touchdowns. He also scored all three of the Knights rushing touchdowns.
• Running back Robert Gibson also had a strong performance for Marian, tallying a game-high 94 yards rushing on 12 attempts.
• For Grand View, running back Jordan Cheatem was the only consistent offense on the afternoon. He ran for 91 yards on 16 attempts.
• Vikings’ quarterback Derek Fulton was sacked five times and threw two interceptions.
• Three points marks the lowest scoring total for Grand View since failing to score on Nov. 19, 2011. That game also came against Marian in the FCS.
• With the loss, Grand View’s NAIA-best 11-game winning streak is snapped. The Vikings fall to 6-3 all-time in the playoffs.

Game 4 – Saint Francis (Ind.) (11-0) def. Montana Tech (10-2), 42-20
• Saint Francis (Ind.) – the only remaining unbeaten team in NAIA football – scored 28 third-quarter points en route to a 42-20 win Saturday against Montana Tech.
• The win propels the Cougars into the semifinals of the FCS for the first time since 2008. Additionally, Saint Francis improves to 23-14 all-time at the event, which is the most wins among the qualifying teams.
• For the second week in-a-row, running back Justin Green was the key performer for the Cougars. The Griffith, Ind., native ran for 217 yards on 21 attempts, including touchdown runs of two and 12 yards. In the FCS, Green has run for 468 yards and five touchdowns.
• Quarterback Nick Ferrer also had a good game for Saint Francis, throwing for 230 yards and three touchdowns. He completed 61.8 percent (21-for-31) of his throws and was intercepted one time.
• Overall, Saint Francis outgained Montana Tech, 535-309.
• Frontier Conference Offensive Player of the Year Nolan Saraceni was limited to only 64 yards on 24 carries. He did score two touchdowns, including a 70-yard scoring reception.
• Montana Tech – the Frontier Conference champions – fall to 4-8 all-time in the FCS and 0-3 all-time in the quarterfinals. The Orediggers were one of the largest surprises in NAIA football this season, rebounding from a 1-9 campaign in 2014 to win 10 games in 2015.

Note – Portions of the above information is credit of the participating institutions.