Josh Bright picked the most prominent stage on which to let his star shine.

The Delta State quarterback rushed for three touchdowns and 175 yards as the Statesmen rolled to a 63-34 victory over Bloomsburg in the Division II Football Championship December 9 in Florence, Alabama.

Bright scored on runs of seven and 35 yards in the first quarter, and added a 25-yard touchdown scamper in the third period. In addition to his running exploits, the Statesmen's signal caller completed six of 11 passes for 80 yards.

"It seems like every week (Bright) does something that amazes me," said Delta State head coach Steve Campbell. "I just shake my head. He turns a bad call into a good call. He really played well."

After ending the first quarter in a 14-14 tie, Campbell's team seized control of the contest by registering three second-quarter touchdowns while holding Bloomsburg scoreless. Delta State's defense limited the Huskies to one first down and 24 yards in the second quarter, and Tanny Flowers, Rico McDonald and Jason Franklin powered into the end zone on short touchdown runs.

"I was really proud of the way our team came out and played," Campbell said. "I thought we really executed well offensively.

"Defensively, we gave up two big drives early, but we really settled down and played well in the second quarter, which allowed us to build a lead going into halftime."

Bloomsburg narrowed the deficit to 14 points twice in the third quarter, the second time on a 16-yard pass from Eric Miller to Darryl Williams with 5:49 remaining in the period. Less than two minutes later, Bright scored his third touchdown and Delta State was on its way to winning its first NCAA championship in a men's sport.

McDonald added 86 yards rushing and Deforest Hart 84 as Delta State rambled for 524 yards on the ground. The Statesmen set a Division II playoff-game record for first downs with 36 and tied the mark for points scored. Their 63 points is a record for all NCAA football championship contests.

Miller completed 23 of 39 passes, including three for scores, for 261 yards. He set Division II tournament records for passing yards with 1,236 and touchdown passes with 17.

The Huskies' Mike Lelko hauled in 10 passes and teammate Tierell Johnson had 101 receiving yards in the championship game. Lelko established tournament marks for receptions with 33 and touchdown catches with nine, and Johnson added a third record with 462 receiving yards.

Delta State ended its championship season with a 14-1 record. Bloomsburg, which also set team tournament records of 176 points and 2,114 total offensive yards, finished 12-3.

Delta St. 34, North Dakota St. 16; Bloomsburg 58, UC Davis 48.

Championship

First quarter

B -- Mike Lelko 7 pass from Eric Miller (Chris Thompson kick) (12:12); DS -- Josh Bright 35 run (kick failed) (9:55); DS -- Bright 7 run (James Grubbs pass from Bright) (5:04); B -- Lelko 2 pass from Miller (Thompson kick) (2:16).

Second quarter

DS -- Tanny Flowers 1 run (Billy Dorgan kick) (12:17); DS -- Rico McDonald 1 run (Dorgan kick) (7:26); DS -- Jason Franklin 9 run (Dorgan kick) (2:15).

Third quarter

B -- Miller 1 run (Thompson kick) (11:39); DS -- Deforest Hart (2 run (Dorgan kick) (8:28); B -- Darryl Williams 16 pass from Miller (Thompson kick) (5:49); DS -- Bright 25 run (Dorgan kick) (3:51).

Fourth quarter

DS -- Flowers 7 run (Dorgan kick) (12:03); DS -- Gary Smith 18 run (Dorgan kick) (5:26); B -- Arrastene Henry 5 run (kick blocked) (3:32).

Team statistics

Delta St. Bloomsburg

Attendance -- 7,123.

Individual statistics

Rushing: Delta St. -- Bright 22-175, McDonald 19-86, Hart 8-84, Flowers 6-59, Trevan Dixon 1-43, Gary Smith 5-37, Mario Purifoy 3-26, Jeff Smith 2-9, Franklin 2-7, Team 1-(minus 2); Bloomsburg -- Henry 9-91, Marquis Glaze 12-43, Miller 6-(minus 1).

Passing: Delta St. -- Bright 6-11-0-80, Jeff Smith 3-4-1-45; Bloomsburg -- Miller 23-39-0-261.

Receiving: Delta St. -- Jody Jennings 5-66, Franklin 2-35, McDonald 1-15, James Grubbs 1-9; Bloomsburg -- Lelko 10-87, Tierell Johnson 5-101, Williams 2-35, Brian Sullivan 2-26, Glaze 2-3, Allen Lechthaler 1-11, Henry 1-(minus 2).