September 17th, 2026 6:00am
Week 3 marks the start of crossover play for both Conference Carolinas and the Gulf South Conference, with league unbeatens and winless squads alike about to find out where they really stand. Two more Conference Carolina squads also open League play this weekend, as Barton and Chowan square off in a matchup between two teams still searching for consistency. With records on the line and conference standings about to take shape, here's what's on tap.
LAST WEEK IN CONFERENCE CAROLINAS (home team in bold)
North Greenville 42, Charleston 31
*UNC Pembroke 31, Shorter 24
Virginia Union 34, Chowan 13
Shaw 34, Ferrum 28 (OT)
Barton 36, Bluefield (NAIA) 21
Erskine 62, Thomas (NAIA) 3
LAST WEEK IN GULF SOUTH (home team in bold)
No. 25 West Alabama 24, Pittsburg State 23
No. 10 Valdosta State 38, Fayetteville State 9
Central Missouri 59, Delta State 10
THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE (all times Eastern)
*denotes Conference Carolinas matchup
Saturday, Sept. 19
No. 9 Valdosta State (3-0) at UNC Pembroke (2-1) | Pembroke, N.C. | 1:00 PM | STATS | VIDEO
Ninth-ranked Valdosta State remains a perfect 3-0 after taking down Fayetteville State 38-9 on the road, a game that saw quarterback Champ Harris throw for 289 yards and a touchdown while Jaheim Arnold hauled in four catches for 118 yards. Running back Shawn Paschall bulldozed his way to 87 yards on 16 carries, and Harris added a score on the ground. That kind of balanced attack has been the norm all season for the Blazers, who are averaging 45 points and 440 yards per game behind Paschall's 194 rushing yards, Harris' 521 passing yards and four touchdowns, and Arnold's team-leading 155 receiving yards. On the other side, the defense forced four turnovers in the Fayetteville State win alone and sits at seven takeaways (four interceptions and three fumble recoveries) and 18 tackles for loss on the season, with Jayden Bethea and Malik Moore each racking up 10 tackles and Jabari McMillan picking off two passes.
UNC Pembroke rides a two-game winning streak into this week's showdown with Valdosta State after knocking off Shorter 31-24 on the road, a win sparked by quarterback Josh Ehrlich's 94-yard, one-touchdown rushing performance and a spectacular 91-yard kickoff return score from Malik Brown. Ehrlich has been the engine all season, piling up 240 rushing yards and 351 passing yards with four total touchdowns, while Brown (103 receiving yards) and Avery Curtis (15 catches, 81 yards) give him a pair of dependable targets. The Braves' defense has been just as opportunistic, recording four sacks in the Shorter game alone to help push its season total to eight quarterback sacks. Jadin Baptist and Fred Giles have both logged 18 tackles, and Giles has two sacks.
Prediction: No. 9 Valdosta State
Brevard (1-0) at Erskine (2-0) | Due West, S.C. | 1:30 PM | STATS | VIDEO
NCAA Division III program Brevard opened its season in style, thumping Sewanee 39-14 behind a ground game that produced 241 yards and four rushing touchdowns, led by Zion Fauntleroy-McDaniel's 103 yards and a score on just eight carries and Marvin Reed Jr.'s two touchdowns on 14 totes. Quarterback Christian Conley did his part too, going 6-of-10 for 78 yards and a touchdown, connecting with Shy Grant for a scoring catch among his two receptions. On the other side, the Tornados' defense held Sewanee to 307 total yards while forcing two interceptions — one apiece from Jaylen Byrd and DJ Stevenson — and Will Hadden III paced the unit with 11 tackles.
Erskine is off to its best start since 2022, and it's riding a wave of momentum after last week's 62-3 demolition of Thomas University — a program-record scoring outburst that saw quarterback Ryan Killmer throw five touchdown passes, including a 66-yard strike to Jo Burson, while Beau Polcha and Reid Giles each chipped in 59 rushing yards. Killmer has been nothing short of dominant through two games, throwing for 533 yards and eight touchdowns, with Burson (190 yards, four TD grabs) and Siah Mack (146 yards) giving him a dangerous one-two punch at receiver, while the Flying Fleet as a whole are averaging nearly 50 points per game. The defense has done its part as well, forcing six fumble recoveries on the season, with Weston Bergman, Damontia Duff, Jon Scott and Skyler Vega all tied at 10 tackles apiece and Vega adding two sacks.
Prediction: Erskine
*Barton (1-2, 0-0 CC) at Chowan (1-2, 0-0 CC) | Murfreesboro, N.C. | 6:00 PM | AUDIO | STATS | VIDEO
Barton picked up its first win of the season last week, piling up 290 rushing yards and three ground touchdowns in a 36-21 victory over Bluefield, with Dakauri Davis bursting for 146 yards on the ground and Tyler Davis hauling in a 45-yard touchdown catch. That balance has been a season-long theme for the Bulldogs' offense — Jayden Brown (153 rushing yards) and D. Davis (142 rushing yards) have split carries effectively, while T. Davis leads all receivers with 177 yards and three touchdowns and quarterbacks Cam Estep and Nazir Garrett have combined for four passing scores. Defensively, Sean-Jacob Bethea has been the standout with 22 tackles and two sacks, and the unit generated eight tackles for loss and five sacks in the Bluefield win alone to help the Bulldogs bounce back from consecutive losses to open the year.
Chowan enters Saturday's home matchup with Barton looking to rebound after a 34-19 setback to Virginia Union, a game in which quarterback Tyler Adkins threw for 230 yards and a touchdown on 22-of-41 passing while Treshawn Blair broke off a 34-yard run among his eight carries for 72 yards. Adkins has continued to carry the offense through three games, throwing for 759 yards and five touchdowns on the season, with Amir Alexander establishing himself as a go-to option at 20 catches for 355 yards and two scores; the running game, meanwhile, has lagged well behind at just 197 total yards. Darian Whitaker remains the anchor of the defense, leading the Hawks with 23 tackles and 2.5 sacks, though the unit has been gashed for 528 rushing yards allowed through three contests.
Prediction: Barton
North Greenville (2-0) at No. 19 West Alabama (3-0) | Livingston, Ala. | 7:00 PM | STATS | VIDEO
North Greenville is off to a 2-0 start after outlasting Charleston (W.Va.) 42-31 in the home opener, a game where Kam Montgomery once again did it all — rushing for 104 yards and two scores on 15 carries while also throwing for 255 yards and a touchdown, finding Mikhai Isaac four times for 82 yards and a score. That dual-threat production has carried the Trailblazers' offense early on, with Montgomery accounting for 189 rushing yards and 450 passing yards with eight total touchdowns, helping North Greenville average 41 points and nearly 450 yards per game. The defense has been just as opportunistic, forcing two interceptions, with Jeremiah Lomax and Brannon Teamer both piling up 17 tackles apiece. Pressure up front needs work, however, as NGU only has a pair of sacks through two contests.
West Alabama has climbed to No. 19 in the latest D2Football.com Top 25 after a 24-23 nail-biter over Pittsburg State, with Luther Richesson tossing three touchdown passes — including a 44-yard strike to TD Parker — on 22-of-32 passing for 262 yards. Richesson has been the catalyst for an unbeaten start, throwing for 678 yards and eight touchdowns on the season while also leading the team on the ground with 174 rushing yards, and Parker (165 receiving yards, two TDs) and Jaylon York (144 yards) give him a dangerous set of targets. The bigger story might be on defense, where the Tigers have forced eight takeaways — six interceptions and two fumble recoveries — through three games, with Joseph Harper and KC Bradford each racking up 17 tackles and Ayden Gibson adding two sacks.
Prediction: No. 19 West Alabama
Delta State (0-3) at Mississippi Valley State (1-2) | Itta Bena, Miss. | 7:00 PM | STATS | VIDEO
Delta State remains winless through three weeks after a lopsided 59-10 defeat at Central Missouri, though Jekerious Williams provided a spark with a 90-yard kickoff return touchdown in that game, part of a season in which he's already racked up 260 return yards on nine attempts. The Statesmen have struggled to generate much on offense overall — Emile Picarella III leads the passing game with 201 yards and two touchdowns, while the ground attack has managed just 412 total yards as a team through three contests. Defensively, Tavian Moore has been a bright spot with 27 tackles, but Delta State has yet to record an interception and has been outscored 147-23 on the season, including a 20-touchdown deficit in total scores allowed.
Mississippi Valley State picked up its first win of the season at the Chicago Football Classic, knocking off Lincoln (Pa.) 31-20 behind Josh Brown's three touchdown passes on 17-of-26 throwing for 260 yards, with Dayvian Bluitt hauling in a 143-yard, one-touchdown effort on just four catches and Norman Taylor punching in a rushing score. Brown has carried much of the offensive load through three games, accounting for 306 passing yards and three touchdowns overall, while Jaylen King has been his most consistent target with 12 receptions for 85 yards. The Delta Devils' defense has actually been the more productive side of the ball this season, totaling three interceptions, with Douglas Franklin and Malek Jackson each logging 15 stops and Javieane Stevens adding two sacks.
Prediction: Mississippi Valley State
Columnist Picks
Last week: 9-0
2026 season: 19-2