Nov. 29, 2008

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – (Scoreboard) The NAIA Football Championship Series (FCS) Quarterfinals featured an upset and two undefeated teams staying perfect on the season. Lindenwood (Mo.) won on the road by a field goal 37-34 at Morningside (Iowa). Sioux Falls dominated Langston (Okla.) 50-13 and Saint Francis (Ind.) survived a 31-20 affair over Cumberlands (Ky.). Today’s winners advance to the Semifinals to be played on campus sites Saturday, Dec. 6. The Semifinal pairings will be officially announced by 11 a.m. CST on Sunday (Nov. 30).

Lindenwood (11-1) placekicker Halley Ferrell connected on a 25-yard field goal with :3 seconds remaining to lift the Lions to the upset road win over Morningside (10-2). LU’s game-winning drive started at its own 30-yard line with just :37 seconds left. Quarterback Ben Kisner, who went 32-for-47 for 445 yards and three touchdowns for Lindenwood, completed three passes during the clinching drive. A week after scoring 65 points and piling up 541 yards of total offense, LU totaled 566 yards and 30 first downs today. Morningside quarterback Ian Gilworth went 27-for-34 passing for 320 yards. MU managed to finish with 457 yards of offense but turned the ball over twice.

Winning its 34^th straight home game, Sioux Falls eliminated Langston from the FCS thanks to a 37-6 lead at the half. USF (12-0) advances to its fourth straight Semifinal contest in the last four years. A team ranked No. 1 nationally in all four major defensive statistical categories, Sioux Falls held Langston to 150 yards of offense while recording 358. The Cougars relied on their rushing attack going for 265 led by Erik Cimpl’s 100 yards. There were a combined seven turnovers in the contest with USF forcing four of them.

St. Francis (12-0) earned its sixth straight Semifinal trip in as many years with a 31-20 victory over Cumberlands in Fort Wayne, Ind. The win also marked the 52^nd straight home victory for the Cougars. USF moves to 12-0 on the year and ends Cumberlands season at 10-2, which ties the program record for most wins in a season. Entering the game averaging over 280 rushing yards, Cumberlands only gained 124 on the ground and posted 196 total yards of offense. Daniel Carter rushed 17 times for 105 yards and two touchdowns for St. Francis.

The 53^rd Annual Russell Athletic-NAIA Football National Championship is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 20 at Rome, Ga. Rome-Floyd County and Shorter (Ga.) College will host the event at Barron Stadium. The event will be televised live on CBS College Sports Network with kick-off slated for 12 p.m. EST. For ticket information, call (706) 233-7288 or click here to download the order form.

To view the scores, stats and game recaps of the Quarterfinals, click here.

For complete Championship history and records, click here.

For more information on the 2008 National Championship, click here.

Football Championship Series Notes: St. Francis earns its sixth straight trip to the Semifinals in as many seasons while Sioux Falls is in its fourth straight Semifinal and Lindenwood is appearing in its first… Carroll is in its eighth Semifinal in the last nine seasons… St. Francis leads the active group in consecutive FCS appearances with 10… Carroll holds the most current wins in the FCS with a 29-11 record after the First Round win over Dickinson State… St. Francis (Ind.) kept alive its home game winning streak at 52 in-a-row after the 31-20 Quarterfinal win over Cumberlands (Ky.)… Sioux Falls extended its home winning streak to 34 straight after the win on Nov. 29… Carroll has not lost (a span of 27 games) since the 2006 FCS Quarterfinals… Sioux Falls is one shut-out shy of equaling the national season record of eight shut-outs… Since 2000, the home teams in the FCS Quarterfinals are now 24-11 after 2 of 3 hosts won on Saturday (Nov. 29)… Three teams will enter the FCS Semifinals with an undefeated record -- Carroll, Sioux Falls, St. Francis… Two programs in this FCS hold at least one National Championship ring – Carroll (Mont.) has five followed by Sioux Falls (S.D.) with two.