Hillsdale Wins in OT, SVSU Falls to Nebraska-Kearney in First Round of D-II Football Playoffs

MANKATO, Minn./KEARNEY, Neb. - Hillsdale College needed overtime to win its first-ever NCAA Division II football playoff game on Saturday, while Saginaw Valley State University, making its first playoff appearance since 2005, fell in its game at the University of Nebraska-Kearney.

Release courtesy of the Hillsdale College Sports Information Department

Hillsdale 27, at Minnesota State-Mankato 24 (OT) [Box Score]

The first overtime game in more than five years for the Hillsdale College football team was one its players, coaches and fans will never forget.

First-Team All-GLIAC kicker Mark Petro nailed a 34-yard field goal on Hillsdale's first possession of overtime to take Hillsdale ato a 27-24 win over host Minnesota State-Mankato Saturday afternoon.

The Chargers (10-2) will now advance to the Super Region 3 semifinal game on Saturday, Nov. 21 against Grand Valley State University at 1 p.m. Mankato's season ends with a 10-2 record.

The Mavericks scored a touchdown with 38 seconds left to tie the game at 24-24. The Chargers immediately drove down inside the red zone, but fumbled the ball with eight seconds left, forcing the extra session.

Hillsdale immediately made plays on defense as overtime started. Linebacker David Bakker had a tackle-for-loss on the first play of overtime. On that play, the Mavericks were whistled for an illegal block penalty, setting them back to the Hillsdale 47-yard-line.

On the second play of overtime, senior captain Lance Smith forced a fumble, that was recovered by senior linebacker Joe Stempien, ending Mankato's first scoring attempt.

Hillsdale College senior RB Vinnie Panizzi had runs of six and three yards on Hillsdale's first drive, putting Petro in ideal field goal range. His kick split the uprights, extending Hillsdale's magical 2009 season at least one more week.

The Mavericks controlled the first part of the game, rushing for 80 yards on their first possession of the game to take a 7-0 lead. But Hillsdale's offense had an answer, driving 80 yards in nine plays, culminating with a one-yard TD plunge by senior Bill Kanitz, tying the game 7-7.

Mankato scored on a 21-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the second quarter to go ahead 14-7. Despite facing another deficit, the Charger offense bounced back once again, tying the game on their next possession.

The Chargers put together a grind-it-out, 12-play, 73-yard drive capped by another one-yard score by Kanitz to make it a 14-14 game. Kanitz has 17 rushing touchdowns in his career, all coming from one yard out.

The Mavericks booted a field goal in the second quarter, and went into halftime with a 17-14 lead.

But the third quarter is when Hillsdale grabbed control of the contest. The team ate six minutes off the clock, mixing up the run and pass effectively and keeping the Mavericks just off-balance enough to punch the ball into the end zone.

Panizzi, already the school record-holder for career touchdowns, found paydirt in the playoffs for the first time from six yards out, giving the Chargers their first lead of the game, 21-17.

Petro booted a 20-yard field goal less than three minutes into the fourth quarter to give Hillsdale a seven-point lead.

All season, Hillsdale has been very well-balanced on offense, and this game was no exception. Panizzi rushed 22 times for 85 yards and one score.

Release courtesy of the Saginaw Valley State University Sports Information Department

at Nebraska-Kearney 35, Saginaw Valley State 20 [Box Score]

The Saginaw Valley State University football team ended their 2009 season with a heartbreaking loss to Nebraska Kearney today (Nov. 14) by a score of 35-20.

The Cardinal defense got the games first big play when Jeff Heath (Lake Orion, Mich.) intercepted a Jake Spitzlberger pass and returned it to the Saginaw Valley 47, but would be unable to capitalize on the turnover.

Saginaw Valley would find the endzone on its second possession when Charles Dowdell (Ft. Wayne, Ind. / Indiana State Univ.) found for his first career touchdown Zach Cecich (Crown Point, Ind.) on a 16 yard strike with 6:53 remaining in the first quarter. Dowdell would finish the afternoon 14-of-22 pass for 310 yards and two touchdowns. He would also add 64 yards on 11 carries on the afternoon.

The SVSU defense would get the ball back when Spitzlberger threw his second interception of the first quarter, this time to Carlton Down (Detroit, Mich. / Denby HS). Dowdell would connect with Galen Stone (Grand Blanc, Mich. / Swartz Creek HS) on a three yard pass to put the Cardinals up 12-0. Mike Peterson would then connect with John Jacobs (Prudenville, Mich. / Midland Dow HS) to extend the advantage to 14-0 with just over 13:00 minutes left in the second quarter. Stone would finish the game with five receptions for a total of 27 yards

The Cardinal defense would come up with its third forced turnover of the game when Heath recovered a fumble on the Saginaw Valley 24 yard line. Heath would finish the day with one tackle, an interception and a fumble recovery. The Cardinal would turn the ball back over to the Lopers on a bad exchange from Dowdell to Xavier Walker (Bridgewater, N.J./Raritan HS) who finished the afternoon with 19 carries for 69 yards and had 84 yards on six receptions.

The Lopers would cut into the SVSU lead on a 16 yard pass from Spizlberger to Tyrone Hilton with just :17 second left in the half. After a kick out of bounds the Cardinals would get the ball at their own 40 yard line. Brandon Hayes (Saginaw, Mich. / Swan Valley HS) would break loose on a 15 yards run that would set-up a 44 yard pass from Dowdell to Nick Gallina (Troy, Mich.) to the one-yard line with just a second remaining on the clock. Gallina ended the game with 72 yards on three carries. Hayes would finish off the drive and give SVSU the 20-7 lead going into the locker room.

After a couple of possessions by both teams the Lopers would finally cut the Cardinals lead to 20-14 on a Rustin Dring 11 yard run late in the third quarter. Nebraska-Kearney would take the lead on a 17 yard Spizlberger pass to Brendan Liess to make the score 21-20 with 10:30 left in the fourth quarter. The Loper lead would be extended when Spitzlberger hit Hilton for the season time of the game for the 28-20 lead. Kearney would add a touchdown late to put the game out of reach.

The Cardinal offense ended the game with 38 rushes for a net total of 160 yards and 22 receptions for a total of 310 yards.

The SVSU defense was led by Jacobs who ended the game with 13 total tackles and 1.5 tackles for a loss of 2 yards. Senior Mike LeVand (Grandville, Mich.) added ten total tackles, 1.0 tackles for a loss of three yards and had one pass break up.

The Cardinals end the 2009 season with an overall record of 9-3. Nebraska Kearney will travel to Duluth, Minnesota on November 21 to take on number-one-seeded Minnesota Duluth.