2006 NAIA Championship Series Homepage
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CSTV to Televise NAIA Title Contest

OLATHE, Kan. - Sioux Falls (S.D.) and Saint Francis (Ind.) enter next Saturday's NAIA title game unscathed in the 2006 season, each carrying records of 13-0 in to the title clash.

Additionally, each school is 3-0 in its 2006 play-off run, with both schools putting together a pair of blow-out victories and one seven-point win on the way to the title game.

Saint Francis opened its play-off run with a 42-3 win over Walsh (Ohio), scoring touchdowns in the first and second quarter to take a 14-3 lead into the halftime locker room. Out of the intermission, the Cougars extended the lead to 28-3 with a pair of third-quarter scores, and Saint Francis blew the game open with two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter to win the game by 39.

Saint Francis would see its close call in the quarterfinals, beating Bethel (Tenn.) 42-35 in a shoot-out that saw the teams combine for 57 second-half points. Saint Francis jumped out to a 14-0 first-quarter lead, and the Cougars were answered in the second quarter by a Bethel touchdown that made the score 14-6 heading to intermission.

Bethel would get 16 points in the third quarter but Saint Francis held off the rally with 14 of its own to lead 28-22 after three quarters, but with 2:16 left in the game, Bethel `s Ricky Easton scored on a 17-yard pass from Brent Dearmon to put Bethel on top 35-34.

Saint Francis quarterback Eric Hooks would answer, however, with a 17-yard strike of his own to Zach Rainey, and Hooks found Brian Schultz in the end zone to complete the scoring drive, as USF went up for good with 0:56 remaining.

The Cougars coasted last week in semi-final play, beating up Saint Xavier (Ill.) 49-20, as the Cougars led 35-6 at the half and matched Saint Xavier with 14 points each in the second half to win the game by 29.

For Sioux Falls, the championship series opened with a 48-10 win over Jamestown (N.D.), a game in which Sioux Falls outscored Jamestown 27-3 in the first quarter and coasted to a 34-10 halftime advantage. The Cougars shut out Jamestown in the final two quarters of their opening-round win, scoring a touchdown in both the third and fourth frames to come away with the 38-point win.

In the quarterfinals, Sioux Falls again put the game on cruise control with a first-half run, finding the end zone once in the first quarter before scoring 16 in the second to go up 23-0 at intermission. Chad Cavendar threw a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter to put the Cougars up 37-0, and despite giving up a late fourth-quarter rushing touchdown to Morningside, Sioux Falls walked away with its second-straight championship series win, 37-7.

The semifinals proved to be a tough test for the Cougars, as Missouri Valley scored 12 unanswered points after a Sioux Falls touchdown to take a 12-7 lead into the halftime locker room. Sioux Falls rallied for a touchdown and a field goal in the third quarter to take a 17-12 lead, but in the fourth, Missouri Valley's David Allen punched in from one yard out to give the Vikings an 18-17 lead with 13:22 left in the game.

Missouri Valley would fail on its two-point try after the touchdown, and with 6:08 remaining, Cavendar capped an eight-play 54-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown strike to put the Cougars up 23-18. Cavendar gave Sioux Falls a full-touchdown lead on the point-after attempt, passing to put the Cougars up 25-18, a lead that would hold over the final six minutes of the fourth quarter.

In addition to the similar roads taken by the two teams to get to Savannah, several factors make next Saturday's title game interesting, both on and off the field. The following list provides in-depth information on the two title contenders:

•  St. Francis LB Brian Kurtz and DB Matt Millhouse have been playing football together since grade school. They won four state high school championships (Bishop Luers H.S.) together and have three consecutive NAIA national championships appearances together.

•  Saint Francis QB Eric Hooks a transfer from Ball State. In his first two seasons at Saint Francis he was the No. 2 quarterback and played special teams. This season he has thrown for 26 touchdowns and 6 rushing touchdowns.

•  Sioux Falls' quarterback, Chad Cavender, did not play quarterback in high school. He did not start playing the position until he began his college career at Shasta College.Four of the coaches on the University of Sioux Falls coaching staff were members of the only Sioux Falls team to win the National Championship (1996). It was also the first time the National Championships were held in Savannah, Tennessee.

•  Shortly after the 1996 National Championship, former Sioux Falls head coach Bob Young's granddaughter was named Savannah. That year was also the first year the National Championships was played in Savannah, Tennessee.

•  The seniors of the 2006 University of Sioux Falls football team have tallied a career record of 47-4 (39-1 GPAC).

•  In the last four years, Sioux Falls has competed in the semifinals of the NAIA Football Championship Series. This year is the first season the Cougars have advanced to the National Championship since 2001.

•  This is Sioux Falls' 11th appearance in the NAIA Football Championship Series.

•  Sioux Falls has won 14 conference titles in its history.

•  Sioux Falls' quarterbacks coach Kurtiss Riggs owns NAIA records for lowest percentage intercepted (0.75, 3 of 400), consecutive attempts without an interception (290), most touchdown passes (55), and most yards gained per attempt (9.15). He is also the head coach of the Sioux Falls Storm, the back-to-back champions of the United Indoor Football League.

•  Wide receiver Dusty Hovorka has passed head coach Kalen DeBoer in the following University of Sioux Falls records: career reception, career receiving yards, and career touchdown receptions.

For more information on next Saturday's title game, log on to www.naia.org, and for ticket information, call 1-800-552-3866. Tickets are $15 at the gate or $12 in advance, and advance ticket orders can be placed until 3 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 15. Included on the NAIA's Official Web site will be daily previews of the game, game notes and releases from each school, as well as a full national release that will be made available in PDF form on the NAIA's official football page.

Semifinals Results
Saint Francis (Ind.) def. Saint Xavier (Ill.), 49-20

Sioux Falls (S.D.) def. Missouri Valley, 25-18

Quarterfinal Results

Saint Francis (Ind.) (12-0) def.  Bethel (Tenn.) (10-3), 42-35

Sioux Falls (S.D.) (12-0) def.  Morningside (Iowa) (9-3), 37-7

Saint Xavier (Ill.) (10-2) def. Carroll (Mont.) (11-2), 14-7

Missouri Valley (13-0) def.  Northwestern Iowa (11-2), 33-26

First Round Results
#1 Saint Francis (Ind.) (11-0) def. #16 Walsh (Ohio) (9-3), 42-3

#6 Northwestern Iowa (11-1) def. #12 Black Hills State (S.D.) (8-3), 17-10

#9 Saint Xavier (Ill.) (9-2) def. #7 Georgetown (Ky.) (9-2), 42-28