By Daniel Johnson, Sports Editor
Midwestern State quarterback Daniel Polk broke two school rushing records, a single-season touchdown record and had the best game of his career.
But Abilene Christian University is going to the playoffs.
The No. 17 Wildcats secured their spot in the NCAA Division II playoffs after a 70-yard game-winning drive and a defensive stop in the final seconds helped them to a 42-41 come-from-behind win over Midwestern State on Saturday.
“It was do or die today,” senior cornerback Corey Jordan said. “They had nothing to lose, we had nothing to lose, basically we were just trying to get on that airplane. That’s all we talked about is getting on that airplane.”
The Wildcats, who completed the season with a 5-1 Lone Star Conference record and 9-2 overall record, are ranked No. 5 in the NCAA Division II Southwest regional poll and needed to win its final regular season game to solidify a spot in the playoffs. With the win, the Wildcats are in the playoffs and will find out who their opponent will be today at 10:30 a.m., when the Southwest Regional committee announces the 24-team field for the 2007 Division II playoffs.
If ACU stays at No. 5 it will be the away team in the first round of the playoffs, but if the Wildcats move up to No. 4, they may host the first NCAA playoff game in ACU history.
In matchup between the two top offenses in Division II football, the Midwestern fans at Memorial stadium in Wichita Falls were not disappointed, until the end.
ACU trailed the entire game, and after Midwestern was forced to settle for a field goal, the Wildcats got the ball back six points behind, on the 30-yard line with 4:13 on the clock.
From there all ACU had to do was put the ball in junior running back Bernard Scott’s hands. Scott, who rushed for 178 yards and three touchdowns, touched the ball five out of the nine plays in the 70-yard, three and a half minute drive and cruised into the end zone after a pass interference call put the Wildcats five yards away from tying the game.
Junior plackicker Matt Adams nailed the extra point after Scott tied it up, to give ACU a 42-41 lead with 43 seconds left on the clock.
“That’s what you do when the game is on the line, put the ball in the hands of the playmakers,” head coach Chris Thomsen said.
But the game wasn’t over yet.
Polk and the Mustangs got the ball back and made it down to the ACU 28-yard line, but a last-second touchdown throw to Tyron Morrison was ruled incomplete, and the Wildcat sideline and throng of fans charged the field in celebration.
“That’s the heart of this team, to keep coming no matter what,” Thomsen said. “When we lost to [University of Central Oklahoma] we won six straight and when we lost to [West Texas A&M] we won four straight. That is what this team is about.”
Both teams had players break multiple records and set milestones in the regular season finale.
Junior quarterback Billy Malone’s 304 passing yards against Midwestern made him LSC’s career passing leader with a total of 8,167 yards. Malone’s final game also made him the first ACU quarterback to throw for 3,000 yards for two seasons in a row. With one year of eligibility left Malone is already No. 2 on the ACU career-passing list behind Jim Lindsey.
Senior wide receiver Jerale Badon team-leading performance of seven catches for 80 yards and a touchdown put his career receiving yards total at 3,092 yards and broke the LSC’s career record.
Polk rushed for a career best and school single-game record 290 yards, broke former Cooper high school graduate Dominic Rhodes Midwestern single-season touchdown record after rushing for three touchdowns for a season total of 19.
ACU’s nine-win season was the first one since 1977 and its upcoming playoff berth is only the second time an ACU team has made the playoffs in 30 years.
