Viking Land College Ball

Plenty of action still left for local teams. North Dakota, St. John’s and Bethel are all heading into a second weekend of playoff games. Between the three of them we should be back next week to talk about a third round of playoffs. North Dakota has the toughest road as they are taking on juggernaut Grand Valley State. Here is a look at the DII & DIII playoffs:

NCAA Division II Playoffs – Northwest Region

Grand Valley State* (10-0)

Winona State              44

North Dakota embarrassed Winona State for the third time in two years, routing them 44-2 last Saturday. Things should be different for the Warriors next year as North Dakota moves to Division I-AA, making things easier on the rest of Viking Land. With the departure of North Dakota and a few others, the North Central is dissolving after this year. In light of that news I am really hoping one of the NCC teams can make a run at the national title, you know just for old time’s sake. Central Washington beat up on Ashland assuring that a NCC team will be in the third round of the playoffs as they will square off with Nebraska-Omaha this weekend.

University of North Dakota “Fighting Sioux” (10-1) @ Grand Valley State University “Lakers" (11-0) – 12:30pm ET, Lubbers Stadium, Allendale, MI

North Dakota has met Grand Valley in the playoffs five times, with the Lakers leading the series 3-2. The Sioux are the last team to take down Grand Valley in the playoffs, which happened back in November of 2004. North Dakota is just the team to do it again. They have a great tradition and it would be a great way for Dale Lennon’s team to finish off their last year in Division II. However, this is a team that has won 38 straight games and the closest any club has been to beating them is 11 points when Saginaw Valley played them to a 21-10 game. If you can’t tune in to this game, at least look for the highlights in the Sunday paper.

NCAA Division III Playoffs – West Region

No surprises in the top bracket of the West Region playoffs. The two teams with a ton of playoff experience moved on to play another day. St. John’s, with a 34-15 all time playoff record, cruised to its’ 15^th consecutive first-round playoff win, beating Redlands 41-13. Central is making its record-tying 19^th postseason appearance and they took down a 6-4 Olivet team to improve to a 28-10 playoff record.

In the other side of the bracket, we saw two teams with little playoff experience advance to the second round. This is only the second appearance for Eau Claire in the postseason. Back in 1998 they went 2-1 in the playoffs and even took out St. John’s in the second round. Bethel won their very first playoff game 28-0 over Concordia, WI. Now they will host Eau Claire for their third meeting of all time between the two clubs in which the series is tied at 1-1.

Bethel University “Royals” (10-1) vs. UW-Eau Claire “Blugolds" (9-2) – 12pm – Royal Stadium, Arden Hills, MN

Bethel won a convincing 28-0 game over Concordia, WI. Now they are facing a scrappy Eau Claire team that averages fewer points but manages quite a few takeaways. Bethel has ripped off ten straight wins, including a very big one over St. John’s. With all of their momentum, they should turn out their 11^th straight win this weekend.

Saint John’s University “Johnnies" (10-1) @ Central College “Dutch” (11-0) – 12pm – Schipper Stadium, Pella, IA

The Dutch are undefeated at 11-0. They are the #1 seed in their region and they are set to host three games if they keep winning. Now, why would anyone feel bad for them in the second round? Well, they should certainly worry for them when St. John’s is coming to town. SJU has a 4-1 all-time record over Central and they beat the Dutch in the first round of the 2006 playoffs 21-13. St. John’s has seemingly re-found their groove with a 41-13 win over Redlands and I am sure they would like to have a second shot at Bethel. Watch out Central!