KANSAS CITY, Mo. – [FCS Schedule] The NAIA Football Championship Series saw seven First Round games played this weekend. One the final contest being played on Sunday and one seeing the lower seeded automatically advancing after a withdrawal of their opponent. During the contests, the higher seed won six of the seven games decided on the field, with Keriser (Fla.) pulling the lone upset. 

Entering the First Round, eight conferences were represented led by four from the Mid-States’ two divisions, three from the Mid-South’s three divisions, and two from the Great Plains, Heart, and KCAC. The GPAC is the lone conference to have all their representatives still chasing the Red Banner. The North Star and Sooner Conferences have had their teams eliminated.

The #2 vs. #15 matchup was the highest scoring affair of the round as well as posting the most yards. Johnny Sullivan (Grand View), Joe Dolincheck (Morningside), and Gavin Brooks (Concordia) all tossed out a round high three touchdowns. Three running backs ran for 150+ yards led by Anthony Sims dashing for 184 (Morningside), Ali Scott for 169 (Grand View), and Marquess Burgess 155 (Keiser). Six athletes caught over 100 yards of passes with Reid Jurgensmeier earning the crown with 184 for the Mustangs. Eric Holman posted a high nine solo tackles for OUAZ, while Tyler Wingert took the prize for assisted tackles (15) and total tackles (19).

No. 1 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 48, No. 16 Montana Western 21

• After being the last game to kick-off, the undefeated run for the reigning National Champions continues. Receiving the ball to start the game, the Bulldogs drove 51 yards before John Mears knocked in a 34 yarder to give UMW their first and only lead of the game. The Blue Raiders put up a pair of rushing touchdowns in the first quarter to take the lead. A third straight score – a passing touchdown from Cameron Dukes – continued the change in tide for LWC. Montana Western punched in a touchdown after a 72 yard drive, but Dukes was not done. He added two more scores before the intermission. The only points of the third period was a Nate Simkins reception. Lindsey Wilson opened the final period with two rushing touchdowns. The last points of the game was at the 9:20 mark with a Simkins TD pass.
• Lindsey Wilson recorded 27 first downs and converted 63% of their third down attempts. The Blue Raiders recorded 539 yards of offense, including a difference in 296-89 in rushing yards. Neither quarterback threw an interception in the game. LWC was led in rushing by Jaylen Boyd who carried the ball 28 times for 143 yards. UMW was guided by Jamison Hermanson’s 101 receiving yards.
• On the other side of the ball, the Bulldogs’ leading tackler was Kameron Rauser with 10 solo and five assisted. Montana Western recorded nine tackles for a loss compared to only three for Lindsey Wilson. Robert Carter tallied a game-high three pass breakups for the Blue Raiders.

No. 2 Morningside (Iowa) 63, No. 15 Ottawa (Ariz.) 38

• On paper this looks liked it was going to be a high scoring affair as it featured the top two scoring teams nationally. They did not fail, lighting the scoreboard up for 101 points. In the first period, Morningside jumped out to a 14-0 lead off a pair of Joe Dolincheck TD passes. OUAZ came back with a Michael Hall field goal and Brandon McLaugh’s 18 yard catch. Moving away from the passing game, three touchdowns on the ground were scored by each team before halftime. Anthony Sims carried all three across the goal line for the Mustangs; Shamar Moreland toted two for the Spirit.
• In the third quarter, OUAZ received the kickoff and marched down the field for a QB keeper by Austin McCullou giving them a 38-25 lead. From that point on, it was all Morningside with a pair of Ryan Cole touchdown runs bracketing a punt return TD and Dolincheck’s third touchdown pass of the game.
• The Spirit defense was led by the trio of Eric Holman, De’Andre Armstrong, and Brandon Tomerlin Jr. who combined for 31 tackles. On the other side, Tyler Wingert tallied 19 total while Jamal Jones and Isaac Pingel recorded 11 each.

No. 3 Grand View (Iowa) 38, No. 14 Dickinson State (N.D.) 13

• The Vikings took control of the game from the very beginning, scoring 31 unanswered points in the first quarter. Johnny Sullivan threw three touchdown passes while kicker Nathan Hamilton added a field goal and four extra points. In the second half, Aaron White tossed a pair of touchdowns for the Blue Hawks; Grand View finalized their scoring on a 13 yard carry by Ali Scott.
• Grand View ran up 530 yards of total offense, evenly split with 265 on the ground and through the air. Dickinson State matched the air attack, but had negative 15 yards rushing. Blue Hawks passers were intercepted four times and sacked three times.
• Each team had seven players record tackles for a loss, but Nick Miller for DSU was the only defensive player with double digit total tackles.

No. 4 Northwestern (Iowa) 24, No. 13 Central Methodist (Mo.) 7

• The Eagles took the opening kickoff and ran five plays, before Jaden Snyder intercepted the pass and took it 53 yards to the house. Flipping the script, Khari Henley intercepted a pass and ran it back 60 yards to set up the CMU offense on the five yard line. Paxton DeLaurent tied the game at 7-7 early in the second quarter. As the clock ticked down in the first half, Northwestern’s Eli Stader kicked a 25 yard field goal for the lead at halftime. The Red Raiders added a touchdown in the third quarter by Blake Anderson and one in the fourth by Logan Meyer.
• Across the line of scrimmage, one sack each was recorded by the defense. As well as four players each recording tackles for a loss. The Eagles’ Landon Chambers earned 10 tackles and Noah Van’t Hof was a team high for NWC with eight.
• Central Methodist pass for 70 yards more than NWC, but the Red Raiders had 25 yards more of offense than the Eagles. With both teams throwing two interceptions each, penalties put CMU in a huge hole as they were called for 20 for 174 yards.