Division II Football Starts Out Rocky for Top Teams

The Division II football season started out with a bang for some of the top teams in the league.

23 games were played yesterday, with six having ranked teams involved.

No. 23 Nebraska-Omaha had no problem with East Central. Greg Wunderlich threw for three touchdowns, and Duane Bowen ran for two more as the UNO football team opened the 2009 season with a 48-0 win over East Central University on Thursday night at Caniglia Field. The Mavericks allowed the Tigers just 63 yards of total offense and four first downs.

No. 20 West Chester had no problem with Lock Haven. Joe Wright threw for 186 yards and one touchdown, and West Chester University’s defense posted the team’s first shutout on the road since 2006 as the 20th-ranked Golden Rams downed host Lock Haven University, 43-0, in the 2009 football opener for both schools.

Now is where its gets fun.

No. 11 Bloomsburg battled No. 13 Ashland. Senior running back Stefan Adams ran for 104 yards, including a key 46-yard run in the fourth quarter, as Bloomsburg University defeated Ashland 10-7 in a battle between two nationally ranked football teams on Thursday night at Redman Stadium.

The Huskies defense controlled Ashland for most of the game, forcing two fumbles, two punts and stopping the Eagles four times on fourth down plays through nearly three quarters of play.

No. 9 California(PA) vs Saginaw Valley State: SVSU showed it belongs among the top football teams in the nation Thursday, defeating host California (Pa.) 23-17 in the Cardinals' season opener.

After California took a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter, the Cardinals tied the game just 43 seconds into the second quarter on a Xavier Walker 1-yard touchdown run. Austin Bouchard kicked the first of his three extra points for SVSU.

California went ahead 9-7 on a safety. Dominique Curry blocked Kurtis Fournier's punt, which the Vulcans recovered in the end zone.

On the ensuing free kick, the Cardinals' Dustin Mayner forced a fumble and recovered the ball at the Cal 36. It took the Cardinals just two plays to find the end zone, as Galen Stone rushed 12 yards for the score to give Saginaw Valley a 14-9 lead heading into halftime.

With 5:55 left in the third, Cal went up 17-14 on a 12-yard run by Freddie Bacco, but the Cardinals responded with a seven-play, 69-yard drive capped by a 13-yard pass from Charles Dowdell to Stone to put Saginaw Valley up 21-17.

The final points came on a safety with 5:04 left. The Cardinals marched the ball down to the Vulcans' 1-yard line before turning it over on downs. On the ensuing play, the Cardinals' Bryan Klobucar stuffed Cal's Brandon Anderson in the end zone.

No. 10 Carson-Newman vs. Winona State. Winona State University came up with a huge rushing game and a tight defensive game in knocking off Carson-Newman (Tenn.) College on Maxwell Field at Verizon Wireless Stadium.

It was the season opener for both clubs, but it was the Warriors who looked like they were seasoned veteran team, as they put up 253 yards rushing and 436 yards in total offense, while holding the Eagles, who were one of the top rushing teams in the NCAA Division II last year, to 108 yards rushing and 364 yards in total offense.

The Warriors started the game on the right foot taking the game's opening drive and marching 63 yards for a 22-yard field goal by Cullen Fahey.

WSU then went on to close out the first half with a 10-point lead when Dewberry scored from 12 yards out at 14:55 of the second.

The offense went on to run its 17th consecutive unanswered point when Simmons battled his way into the end zone on a two-yard run. Fahey converted both extra points for a 17-0 WSU lead with 3:27 left in the third stanza.

Carson-Newman did counter with 12 points in the fourth quarter only to have an unsuccessful onsides kick with 31 seconds left to played lock up the upset victory for the Warriors.

Best Game of the Night:

No. 5 Abilene Christian vs No. 2 Northwest Missouri State. Abilene Christian University took advantage of three turnovers by Northwest Missouri State to score 14 points en route to a 19-14 season-opening win over the Bearcats at Shotwell Stadium in the first game of the Champions Classic.

ACU, the defending Lone Star Conference champions, jumped out to a 16-0 halftime lead and made it stand up.

After Northwest gave up a safety on a bad punt snap, ACU linebacker Arthur Johnson got the scoring started when he returned a fumble by Northwest quarterback Blake Bolles 42 yards for a score, giving ACU a 9-0 lead with 4:25 left in the first quarter.

The Wildcats stretched the lead to 16-0 with 5:59 left in the half when Clark Harrell found tight end Ben Gibbs from 24 yards out to make it a three-score game.

ACU's defense then held time and time again in the second half as the Wildcat offense (struggling to replace quarterback Billy Malone, running back Bernard Scott and wide receiver Johnny Knox) put up just 174 yards of total offense.

Northwest had three drives in the fourth quarter with two starting at its own 40 and 41, but ACU turned the Bearcats away each time. The Bearcats turned the ball over on downs with 10:22 left after a Bolles pass fell incomplete.