Football Friday! NCAA Division III Playoffs

Thirty-two DIII teams entered the postseason. Seven of those teams had a total of 13 players from our area. Four teams remain with two from this area striving to be a National Champion.

With fewer DIII schools in the midwest, there are fewer area grads who compete in that division. DIII offers great competition. I know. My son played four years of football at a DIII school. Those were great times.

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This year, there were 1,215 MO and KS graduates who competed in DIII football. They filled rosters at 45 colleges from Washington and Lee to the East to Pomona-Pitzer to the West. There are 32 teams that make the playoffs in DIII. Below you will find detail on the 13 local grads who entered this year’s post season. I will start with the two who are in the DIII semi-finals that will be played tomorrow.

No. 12 Wartburg will face No. 2 Mount Union at 11:00 tomorrow in Alliance, Ohio in a semi-final match up. The winner will play the winner of No. 1 North Central (IL) and No. 3 Mary Hardin-Baylor for the national championship. Wartburg upset their way to the semi’s by defeating No. 7 Wisconsin-LaCrosse, No. 6 St. John’s (MN), and Aurora.

Helping the Knights accomplish that are two Missouri high school grads. DJ Witt, a sophomore defensive back from Carthage did not see time on the field, but undoubtedly provided needed competiton through out the season in practice. As a freshman linebacker out of Brookfield, Trent Polley has played in four games and registered seven tackles, four of them solos.

The other local participants in the DIII playoffs are:

Aurora University

Daylen Wagoner - WR - Sophomore - Festus

Unranked Aurora upset No. 11 Wisconsin-Whitewater and No. 22 Alma before falling to No. 12 ranked Wartburg.

Gallaudet University

Shalmar’E Wade - WR - Freshman - Paseo Academy

Gallaudet lost to No. 8 Delaware Valley in the first round.

Lake Forest College

Damon Bonds - RB - Graduate Student - Chaminade

Mal Chunn - RB - Sophomore - John Burroughs

Lake Forest lost to No. 1 North Central (IL) in the first round.

No. 15 Carnegie-Mellon University

Will Squibb - QB - Sophomore - Springfield Catholic

Carnegie Mellon defeated DePauw in the first round before losing to No. 1 North Central (IL) in the second round.

DePauw University

Danny Sheehan - WR - Senior - Chaminade

Jack Duarte - K - Freshmanj - Collegiate

Carlos Hillman - DL - Junior - John Burroughs

Ryland Irvin - DB - Sophomore - Kirkwood

Mac Wissel - Long Snapper - Junior - Shawnee Mission South

Depauw lost to No. 15 Carnegie Mellon in the first round.

Pomona-Pitzer

Nate Barewin - LB - Senior - Pembroke Hill