The Anniston Star from Anniston, Alabama • Page 25

fclje jWiston jltar COLLEGE FOOTBALL Sunday, December 16, 2007 Page5C SWAC CHAMPIONSHIP Oliver's twist gives JSU league crown a 7 Associated i vi -c Butch DillAssociated Press Valdosta State players celebrate their 25-20 win over Northwest Missouri State in the NCAA Division II championship in Florence on Saturday. ire ftDne paii lit) vA Valdosta hands NMSU third straight loss in Division II championship game. Press BIRMINGHAM Jimmy Oliver and Jackson State both came up with a big escape Satur- day. Oliver threw three touchdown passes and repeatedly scrambled out of trouble to lead Jackson State to a 42-31 comeback victory over Grambling State in the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game. Oliver's 15-yard touchdown pass to Terrance Jones as he was being tackled gave Jackson State (8-4) the lead for good early in the fourth quarter.

It was the fourth lead change, in the game at Legion Field. The victory gave Jackson State its 1 6th SWAC football championship, but its first since 1996. Oliver said he was determined to win the game after being passed over for both first- and second-team All-SWAC honors this season. "I wanted to win so I could have something they couldn't take away from me," he said. Jackson State pushed the lead to 42-3 1 when Lavarus Giles broke away from three defenders near the line of scrimmage and raced 54 yards for a touchdown with 1 1 :45 remaining.

Most of the rest of the game was played in a heavy rain, making it harder for Grambling's offense to come back. Oliver completed 16-of-30 passes for 249 yards, while Giles rushed 23 times for 1 17 yards and two touchdowns. Trailing 28-12 at halftime, Grambling (8-4) scored 19 unanswered points in the third quarter to take a 3 1 -28 lead heading into the fourth. Brandon Landers threw two touchdown passes and a pair of two-point conversions in the quarter. "Those two scores were made because of bad coverage," JSU coach Rick Comegy said.

"Naturally 1 was thinking, 'Oh my gosh, we had (a big) lead, and what's going to happen now?" But 1 knew if we could get it back defensively and hold them, that we could put some more points on the board. I had faith in our guys, and that's what' they did." Landers completed 18-of-38 passes for 229 yards. But he also threw three interceptions, one of which was returned 35 yards for a touchdown by Domonique Johnson. Despite those mistakes, Grambling coach Rod Broadway pinned a big share of the blame on the defense's inability to bring down Oliver Co. (4v i Dave MartinAssociated Press Jackson State receiver Christopher Johnson (18) celebrates with teammate Zarian Herring (47) after Johnson scored on a 17-yard touchdown reception against Grambling during the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship at Legion Field in Birmingham on Saturday.

"The story of the day was we missed too many tackles," the first-year head coach said. "We were just not good enough to win the championship this year." Grambling. which had been 4-0 in SWAC title games, took a 7-0 lead on its first possession on a I -yard touchdown run by Frank Warren. But Grambling failed to make it back to the end zone the rest of the first half, while Jackson State scored four touchdowns to build a 28-1 2 halftime lead. It was the third consecutive loss for Grambling, which had defeated Jackson State 30-20 during the regular season.

Butch DillAssociated Press Northwest Missouri running back Xavier Omon (2) sits dejected in the closing seconds of their loss. BY JAY REEVES Associated Press FLORENCE Northwest Missouri State set the very Division II record it was trying to avoid, thanks to a late touchdown by Valdosta State. Michael Terry scored with 22 seconds left and Valdosta State beat Northwest Missouri 25-20 Saturday, making the Bearcats the first team to lose three consecutive D-II title games. Terry's 1 -yard TD run capped an eight-play, 37-yard drive sparked by Willie Copeland's four straight completions for 27 yards. Valdosta (13-1) overcame a 1 4-3 halftime deficit in dropping Northwest Missouri to 12-2.

"I don't know if words can describe the disappointment that I feel for these guys," Bearcats coach Mel Tjeerdsma said. "They've done a great job and we've had a great run. They got beat by a very good football team." Valdosta State's William Montford intercepted a desperation pass by Joel Osborn with 16 seconds left to preserve the win, and Blazer fans swarmed the field, soggy after a cold rainstorm blew through. "We had a four-game playoff run, and in every game we played we were either behind at the half or tied," said first-year Valdosta State coach David Dean. "Our kids never panicked; you never felt like they were out of the game." Valdosta made its first trip to the championship since 2004, when it beat Pittsburg State 36-31.

Northwest Missouri has lost three straight title games by a total of 12 points. The loss was a rough end to a tough week for the Bearcats, who had to fight ice in the Midwest and fog in Alabama just to get to Florence. Not that the trip was all that easy for the Blazers: They had a 430-mile bus ride from southern Georgia. Copeland threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Clay Callaway early in the third quarter, and easier for everybody else," he said. The Blazers held Omon, the nation's leading rusher, to 63 yards on 27 carries.

Osborn was 18-of-28 passing for 148 yards with a pairof interceptions. Omon ran for 292 yards in the semifinals against Grand Valley State. "(Valdosta) stacked the box," Omon said. "They had a great game plan going in. It's a big disappointment." Copeland completed 29 of 44 passes for 257 yards and just one interception despite getting sacked four times.

Northwest Missouri built its early lead on a dazzling 31 -yard interception return by Aldwin Foster-Rettig, who grabbed a tap off the fingertips of Valdosta State's Cedric Jones, and a 3-yard touchdown pass from Osborn to Mike Peterson. Valdosta State's Zac Williams' kicked a 3'5-yard field goal, but Tommy Frevert was wide left from 40 yards for North west Missouri. Terry was Valdosta State's leading rusher with only 36 yards on 12 carries. the Blazers went up briefly at the start of the fourth quarter when Zach Parker caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from running back Ronnye Nelson, a former quarterback. Northwest Missouri answered less than a minute later with Xavier Omon's 2-yard touchdown run, but Maurice Leggett blocked the point-after and Roger King grabbed the ball and ran the length of the field for 2.

The teams swapped punts twice before Valdosta State took over at the Northwest Missouri 37 with 4:01 remaining after a short punt, setting up the winning drive. Valdosta State passed almost twice as often as it ran the ball, gaining just 34 ground yards to 271 through the air. Northwest Missouri's play selection was more balanced, but the Bearcats gained only 148 yards passing and 87 yards rushing. Valdosta State linebacker Michael Cullen said the defensive front never played better. "All across the line they just got after it and just manhandled them up front, which made it CHAMPIONSHIP ROUNDUP HA I U'ji II I I III i -hi 1 i DIVISION III 31, Mount Union 21 SALEM, Va.

Justin Beaver and Wisconsin-Whitewater finally found a way to beat Mount Union in the NCAA Division III championship game. Beaver, the Gagliardi Trophy winner as the best player in Division III, overcame a costly fumble with his normal reliability on the ground Saturday, leading the Warhawks to a 31-21 victory in the soggy, cold Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl. The Warhawks won their first national title after losing 35-28 to Mount Union in the 2005 championship game and 35-16 in the rematch last year. Wisconsin-Whitewater (14-1 ended Mount Union's 37-game winning streak, and deprived the Purple Raiders of their 10th national title in the last 15 years. Beaver ran for 249 yards and broke off a back-breaking 66-yard run in the final minutes after the Purple Raiders closed to 24-21 with 3:36 remaining.

Four plays after the long jaunt, quarterback Danny Jones' sneak finished the upset. The Purple Raiders (14-1)turned the ball over three times on fumbles two by quarterback Greg Micheli and one bytailback Nate Kmic 1 and never got their offense untracked. Mount Union came in averaging more than 54 points in the playoffs, but the Warhawks quickly began demonstrating that they were not playing in awe. NAIA Carroll, Mont. 17, Sioux Falls 9 SAVANNAH, Tenn.

Offensive MVP Gabe Le rushed for 1 16 yards and two third-quarter touchdowns to help Carroll College beat defending champion Sioux Falls for the Montana school's fifth NAIA title in the past six years. "Our offensive line played real well," said Le, who was soaked in mud after a game played on a sloppy field in steady rain. "We turned it on and got it done." The Saints (15-0) are 64-6 in the last six sea-N sons, including other unbeaten seasons in 2003 and 2005. Carroll ended Sioux Falls' 27-game winning streak. The Cougars' last loss was a 55-0 decision to Carroll in the 2005 NAIA "Our offense answered the bell," Carroll coach Mike Van Diest said.

"The depth we had on our defensive line made a this was an unbelievable team a lot of people contributed a lot of different ways." Sioux Falls (13-1) took a 6-3 lead on Ryan Low-miller's 1-yard run early in the second half, but a penalty backed them up forthe PAT. It fell short. Carroll scored on back-to-back drives ending with touchdown runs of 20 and 2 yards by Le, the second giving the Saints a 17-6 lead with 34 sec onds left in the third quarter. Associated Press i I.