FCS PLAYOFFS ROUNDUP Saturday’s first-round games
Northern Iowa 40, Maine 15
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — Pat Grace threw two long touchdown passes to Jarred Herring to spark a second-quarter burst for Northern Iowa. Derrick Law ran for two touchdowns and Corey Lewis became Northern Iowa’s career rushing leader while also scoring a TD for the third-seeded Panthers (11-2), who improved to 9-0 in first-round playoff games in the UNI-Dome. They’ll play host New Hampshire in a quarterfinal game next Saturday. Maine (8-5) stayed with the Panthers until UNI scored 16 points in just five minutes late in the first half to break a 7-7 tie. Grace finished 15-of-24 for 229 yards and one interception and added 54 yards rushing on 15 carries. Lewis carried 14 times for 75 yards and scored on a 2-yard run early in the fourth quarter. He ran his career total to 3,886 yards, breaking the school record of 3,835 set by Jeff Stovall from 1993-96.
New Hampshire 29, S. Illinois 20
CARBONDALE, Ill. — R.J. Toman threw for 257 yards as No. 10 New Hampshire defeated No. 9 Southern Illinois. New Hampshire (10-2) capitalized on three SIU turnovers and a blocked punt return for a touchdown to advance to its fourth second-round playoff appearance since 2004. With the game tight at 19-13 in the last minutes of the third quarter, New Hampshire defensive back John Clements returned a blocked SIU punt 26 yards to put New Hampshire up 26-13 heading into the final quarter. SIU quarterback Chris Dieker answered with a 30-yard touchdown pass to tight end Kyle Haruff to come within a score, but Kicker Tom Bishop iced the game with a 32-yard field goal, his fifth on the day. Bishops five field goals tied the Division I playoff record set previously by Fordham in 2002 and Western Illinois in 2003.
James Madison 38, Wofford 35
HARRISONBURG, Va. — Rodney Landers passed for three touchdowns and rushed for 166 yards and another score to lead James Madison. Landers scored the eventual game-winning touchdown on a 6-yard run with 3:21 remaining in the game after throwing scoring passes of 15, 27 and 23 yards as the Dukes (11-1) built a 28-14 halftime lead.
Montana 31, Texas St. 13
MISSOULA, Mont. — Chase Reynolds rushed for a career high 233 yards and two second-half touchdowns to lead Montana over Texas State. No. 23 Texas State (8-5) jumped out to a 10-0 lead before fifth-ranked and No. 4 seed Montana (12-1) scored on its final possession of the first half and its first two possessions of the second half to pull away.
Richmond 38, E. Kentucky 10
RICHMOND, Va. — Eric Ward threw for 245 yards, Tre Gray had a pair of touchdown receptions and Richmond took advantage of four turnovers to defeat Eastern Kentucky. The Spiders (10-3), who have won six consecutive games, advanced to play at Appalachian State in the quarterfinals next Saturday.
Villanova 55, Colgate 28
VILLANOVA, Pa. — Matt Szczur returned the opening kickoff 91 yards for a score and added two more TDs as Villanova cruised over Colgate. Villanova (10-2) won its fifth straight game and picked up its first playoff victory since 2002, when it advanced to the semifinals before losing to McNeese State.
Appalachian State 37, S. Carolina State 21
BOONE, N.C. — Armanti Edwards passed for a school record 433 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for another to lead Appalachian State against South Carolina State. The Mountaineers (11-2), three-time reigning national champions who were unbeaten in the Southern Conference this season, notched their first 400-yard passing game during the postseason in school history.
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