Findlay 26, Walsh 7

Rushing attacks were at the fore in Canton on Saturday, as these two combined for a brisk pace (took only 2:27 to play this one) and a rather inept 16 of 45 and three picks by the two QB's. As expected, Monterae Wiliams closed out his Oiler career with a bang by racking up 187 yards and all four of Findlay's touchdowns on the ground. Toba Olarewaju had 133 yards rushing for Walsh in addition to tallying the Cavaliers' lone score of the day.


Hillsdale 14, Northwood 3

Much like the game above, this affair was a quick one that saw the two QB's combine to hit less than 50% of their passes. And, like the game above, the winning team sent its all-time leading rusher out with a fantastic performance. Joe Glendening tallied both Charger touchdowns and touched the ball on 41 of Hillsdale's 65 offensive plays en route to 211 yards on the ground. That great final game netted Glendening the outright 2012 GLIAC rushing title, as he led the league both in total yards and yards per game.


Michigan Tech 35, Wayne State 13

The Warriors may have "Groundhog Day" nightmares for a while, as for the second straight week they dropped a 35-13 decision. Perhaps the only solace for Wayne fans after this one is that this game was really only lopsided on the scoreboard. The WSU offense actually kept pace with Tech statistically in this one, but fell short in closing out drives as Wayne had four trips inside the Tech 40-yard line net zero points. The Husky ground committee churned out 198 yards on the afternoon, and QB Tyler Scarlett kept the Tech offense balanced and on track with a mistake-free 16 of 22 for 169 yards and three TD's.


Ashland 65, Notre Dame 0

Ashland completed their unbeaten regular season, and boned-up on their power run game in preparation for the playoffs as the Eagles thoroughly demolished visiting Notre Dame. This one was over early as the Eagles scored touchdowns on seven of their eight first half possessions. QB Taylor Housewright closed out his senior regular season with three scoring tosses on an efficient 16 of 23, but it was the Ashland ground attack and smothering defense were the stories here. Notre Dame was only able to cobble together 157 yards of total offense...Ashland more quadrupled that with 635 total yards, anchored by a 422-yard outburst on the ground. Jordan McCune led the attack with 178 yards and a score, while backfield-mate Anthony Taylor found the end zone four times. Those performances were great, but the star of the day may have been senior Justen White-Reid who has spent most of his Eagle career as a dedicated special teams and support guy, but was able to cash-in during the second half and have one of his best days as a collegian with 111 yards and the final TD of the afternoon.


Ferris State 32, Northern Michigan 31

Despite being out-gained offensively for the second straight week, Northern managed to do another "hang around" job. They used kicker Rockne Belmonte once again to get points out of stalled drives (3 for 3 on FG's for the day), as well as special teams (Christian Jessie 99-yd KO return TD) to make up for the advantage that Ferris had in nearly every offensive category. This week, however, it wasn't enough as the Bulldogs were able to put together a 14-play, 93-yard drive over the final three minutes to get within one. Ferris then went for two and the win and converted to post the final result. QB Jason VanderLaan was once again the go-to-guy for FSU, rushing for 121 yards and two scores on the ground, and throwing for another TD. Cody Scepaniak's final game as a 'Cat saw him run for one score and throw for another, but few in Marquette will forget what his insertion into the line-up did to make the second half of the year exciting for NMU.


Ohio Dominican 56, Malone 7

No surprises here, as ODU scored TD's on seven of their first eight possessions and cruised to the easy win. Panther RB Mark Nichols closed out his career in style with a 174-yard, three TD performance, while Brandon Shoen concluded his impressive freshman campaign with a couple of scores. The Panther defense was stifling in this one, registering 13 tackles-for-less and forcing four turnovers, including a pair of interceptions by Brad McCurdy.


Tiffin 34, Lake Erie 14

Both teams threw the ball well in this one, as Lake Erie used three QB's to total 342 yards while Dan Pitts registered 364 yards for Tiffin. The problem for LEC was that their top two signal-callers both went down to injury and they were forced to turn the reigns over to a guy who hasn't played QB in more than two years. That's where the results diverge as Pitts was spotless on his way to three TD passes while the LEC crew totaled four INT's, including one returned for a TD. Marcus Beaurem led the Dragon receivers with eight grabs for 150 yards and two TD's. Anthony Bilal paced The Storm's offense with 109 rushing yards and a score.


Saginaw Valley 55, Grand Valley 52

In what would have to be considered an "instant classic", the Lakers showed an impressive amount of resolve in responding to a 35-7 halftime deficit. They scored touchdowns on their first six possessions of the second half to erase that Cardinal lead and take a 52-48 advantage with about 6:00 to go. It was the Cardinal's resilience that may have been even more impressive, however, as they kept their composure despite the impending collapse and put together a 95-yard drive with no time-outs in the game's final minute to earn the win and create a four-way tie atop the GLIAC North. With scoring like that, of course there were numerous, eye-popping performances. Jonathon Jennings threw for 360 yards and three scores and ran for another to lead the Cardinals. Jeff Janis and James Thrash both latched on to ten receptions each, with Janis totaling 165 yards and two scores. He added a third TD on the ground, but hauling in the game-winner with nine seconds left was the certainly "the big one". Tim Hogue led the SV ground game with 175 yards, including 87 on the second play from scrimmage to set up the Cards' first score. In the loss, Isiah Grimes bounced back from a pair of first quarter INT's to throw for 391 yards and four TD's. All four scores went to Charles Johnson, who closed out his Laker career with a ten-grab, 198-yard day. Mike Ratay chipped-in with three TD's rushing for Grand Valley.


Well folks, that's it...the 2012 regular season is in the books. We know that Ashland will be in the playoffs, but there may be an outside chance of Saginaw Valley sneaking into the field also. Of course, we'll know those answers after this evening's selection show. For those whose season is over, my thanks to you for reading and making D2Football.com a part of your week. Hopefully you'll stop back during the playoff runs of any GLIAC teams that make the bracket, as we'll be keeping pace with them throughout the post-season.