The NCAA News - News and Features

November 17, 1997

Division II Football

Eagles seeking fifth unbeaten season

Event: 1997 Division II Football Championship.

Overview: Top-ranked Carson-Newman (8-0 through games of November 1) is trying to complete the fifth undefeated regular-season slate in school history. The Eagles, last year's Division II runner-up, clinched their fifth consecutive South Atlantic Conference championship with a 76-3 victory over Lenoir-Rhyne November 1. Junior running back Tyrone Westmoreland ranks eighth nationally in scoring (15 touchdowns) and is fourth on the Eagles' all-time rushing chart with nearly 3,000 yards. The Eagles' defense has been outstanding, yielding only 10 points and 90 yards rushing per game .... Defending champion Northern Colorado (7-2) is making a late-season run similar to last year, when the Bears were 5-3 before winning seven straight to win their first Division II football title. Northern Colorado alternated sophomore quarterbacks through the first five games before head coach Joe Glenn chose Corte McGuffey as the starter in week six. The Bears responded with four straight wins before entering two key North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference games that will decide the conference champion .... New Haven (8-1) is the division's highest-scoring team -- and not just because of its offense. The Chargers' defense, which has allowed only 10 touchdowns (9.3 points per game), has scored 10 touchdowns. New Haven has scored first in eight of its nine games and has outscored its opponents, 101-7, in the first quarter. Senior quarterback Cazzie Kosciolek has a 150.1 passing efficiency rating and has thrown 20 touchdown passes. Senior running back Don Highsmith has scored 13 touchdowns and rushed for just over 100 yards per contest, and junior wide receiver Adam Roman leads the team with 46 catches for 628 yards.

Field: The 16-team field includes four teams from each of four regions.

Dates and sites: First-round (November 22), quarterfinal (November 29) and semifinal (December 6) games will be played on the campuses of competing institutions. The championship game will be December 13 in Florence, Alabama.

Television: ESPN will televise the championship game live at 2 p.m. (Eastern time) December 13.

Information/results: The fax-on-demand telephone number is 770/399-3066 (passcode 1915); request numbers are 1351 for bracket/schedule and 5090 for championship-game results. Game scores and pairings also will be available on the World Wide Web at www.ncaa.org. Championship-game results will be published in the December 22 issue of The NCAA News.