ALLIANCE, Ohio (AP) -Greg Micheli threw three touchdown passes to Pierre Garcon, and Nate Kmic ran for 199 yards and a pair of touchdowns Saturday to lead Mount Union over St. John Fisher 52-10 in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III playoffs.
The Purple Raiders (13-0) extended their winning streak to 36 games. Mount Union is seeking its fourth straight national title and 11th in 16 years, and is 229-10-1 overall since 1990 – including 55-9 in the playoffs.
Mount Union will play Bethel in the semifinals.
St. John Fisher (11-2) scored its only touchdown on a 34-yard pass from Rob Kramer to Corey Jackson in the fourth quarter. After catching the pass, Jackson ran into the area where the Mount Union band was seated and pounded on a bass drum several times to celebrate the score.
The Cardinals lost to Mount Union 26-14 in last season’s semifinals.
Bethel 27, Central 14
PELLA, Iowa (AP) – Bethel pounded out 303 yards rushing to beat Central in frigid weather and advance to the semifinals, where the Royals will tangle with four-time defending national champion Mount Union.
The game was delayed by 90 minutes because of an ice storm that was hammering the state and both teams had to compete against freezing rain, sleet and gusty winds.
Central, which relies heavily on its passing game, found it difficult to move the ball. Tim Connell three for 136 yards with three interceptions and one touchdown.
Bethel (12-1) took an early 6-0 lead on a 3-yard run by Dusty Wahl. The Royals turned the ball over on downs on their next possession and Dutch running back Vance Shuring tossed a 12-yard touchdown pass to Josh Smith to give Central (12-1) a 7-6 lead.
Ben Wetzell ran 16 yards for a score after a botched Dutch punt attempt to make it 13-7. He then hit Kyle Lee on an 11-yard touchdown toss to make it 20-7 at halftime.
Neither team scored again until late in the fourth-quarter, when Bethel’s Tim Cornish intercepted a Connell pass and returned it 85-yards for a score.
Mary Hardin-Baylor 27, Wesley 10
DOVER, Del. (AP) – Jarvis Thrasher ran for 138 yards and Quincy Daniels added 79, including a 30-yard touchdown, helping Mary Hardin-Baylor defeat Wesley.
Thrasher’s 83-yard run in the third quarter set up a 4-yard touchdown pass from Josh Welch to Adam Aquilera. Daniels then scored from 30 yards out with 3:28 left in the quarter as the Crusaders increased their 10-3 halftime lead to 24-3.
Welch completed 5-of-10 passes for 74 yards and ran for one touchdown for Mary Hardin-Baylor (12-1), which now faces Wisconsin-Whitewater in next Saturday’s semifinals.
Jason Schatz completed 17-of-35 passes for 256 yards for Wesley (11-2).
Wisconsin-Whitewater 47, Wabash 7
WHITEWATER, Wis. (AP) – Brady Pittz and Justin Beaver ran for a combined 301 yards and two touchdowns to lead Wisconsin-Whitewater to a victory over Wabash College during an icy Midwestern snow storm.
Wabash’s quarterbacks were picked off five times by Whitewater (12-1), which will host Mary Hardin-Baylor in the semifinals next week.
Whitewater’s Gabe Schultz intercepted a pass by Dustin Huff on the second play of the game to give the Warhawks a short field. Three plays later, Beaver scored on a 3-yard run.
Whitewater converted two more first-quarter interceptions for touchdowns and scored on its first four possessions to take a 28-0 lead.
Pittz finished with 156 yards and Beaver had 145 yards. Matt Blaziewske picked off two passes for Whitewater, giving him six interceptions in the last six games.
Wabash (11-2) scored on its first possession of the second half with a 12-play drive capped by Matt Hudson’s 6-yard pass to Mike Russell.
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