I thought for sure we would have more than just one Viking Land team still left playing this weekend. The team that is still playing, Bethel University, is the most unlikely of the three teams to survive last weekend (out of North Dakota, St. John’s & Bethel). Bethel just picked up their very first playoff win on Nov. 17 after going winless in their previous four postseason appearances. Before we look at what is in store for Bethel, we’ll first look at the story from DII:
NCAA Division II Playoffs – Northwest Region
Northwest Region Championship 12/1/07 ( * = Home team)
Grand Valley State* (11-0)
Central Wash. (10-2)
Round Two Results ( * = Home team)
Grand Valley State* 21
North Dakota 14
Central Wash. 20
Nebraska-Omaha* 17
Nebraska-Omaha continues to be a regular-season force and a playoff disappointment. The Mavericks ran the table this year going 10-0 and winning the last North Central Conference title outright. This record granted them a first-round bye for a third year in a row. However, for a third year in a row they are out after one game with a 20-17 loss to Central Washington and have made very little advancement in the postseason in the last several years.
On the other side of the bracket, North Dakota (who conversely has made deep playoff runs in the past several years) met the same fate as last year. They advanced in the playoffs only to meet their demise against Grand Valley State. Grand Valley is on a 39-game winning streak and the last team to beat them was North Dakota back in 2004. The hopes of taking down the juggernaut do not look any better for this weekend’s challenger, Central Washington. Central Washington comes into this weekend with two losses. One came against North Dakota and one against Nebraska-Omaha, the opponent they defeated last week. No local clubs left in this Division but it would be nice to see Central Washington take out this Goliath.
NCAA Division III Playoffs – West Region
Round Three Game ( * = Home team)
#1 Central* (12-0)
#2 Bethel* (11-1)
Round Two Results ( * = Home team)
#1 Central* 37
#4 St. John’s 7
#2 Bethel* 21
#6 Eau Claire 12
St. John’s got waxed down in Iowa 37-7 by Central College. The Johnnies, who normally fare very well against Iowa teams, were beat so badly we have to look back 14 years to 1993 to find a comparable blowout. SJU lost 56-8 to Mount Union in the playoffs that year but this margin of loss is highly unusual for John Gagliardi’s crew.
Bethel is on a nice little playoff run and has the definite potential to land themselves into the DIII Semifinals. This weekend Bethel squares off with Central College in Pella, Ia. Both teams are coming off of recent victories over St. John’s. Bethel edged the Johnnies 17-14 on Nov. 10 and Central blew them up last week. They also had one other common opponent in Beuna Vista but Bethel dropped their opener to them and have been on an 11-game winning streak ever since. I would love to see either one of these teams make it to the title game and I believe both are capable of such a feat.
Bethel University “Royals” (11-1) @ Central College “Dutch” (12-0) – 12pm – Schipper Stadium, Pella,
Bethel’s RB Logan Flannery and QB Ben Wetzell have done a fantastic job of moving the ball on the ground this year. They will need to continue a solid run game to slow down the air attack of Central’s Tim Connell. The Johnnies only cranked out 34 yards of total rushing last week versus Central and that put them at a severe disadvantage. By keeping the ball on the ground Bethel will be able to control the time of possession and slow down the air game. I think this should be a great match up this weekend. If I have to lean one way I would have to say Central will keep on playing because they are an experienced playoff team playing at home. But I will not be surprised if either team lives to play another day.