ACU rolls Mesa State 56-12 in First Round of D2 playoffs

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ABILENE -- ACU Wildcat football fans waited almost 30 years to see their team play a playoff game at Shotwell Stadium.

They had to have liked what they saw Saturday afternoon as the 15th-ranked Wildcats shredded Mesa State's defense in a 56-12 win over the Mavericks in front of 7,346 fans.

The win pushes the Wildcats to 10-2 on the season, while the Mavericks end their season with the same record. ACU's first 10-win season since the 1977 team finished 11-1-1 will continue next Saturday in Nebraska when the Wildcats take on Chadron State (Neb.) in the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs. That 1977 team -- which went on to win the NAIA Division I national championship -- was the last ACU team to play a football playoff game at Shotwell Stadium, beating Wisconsin-Stevens Point, 35-7, in the NAIA semifinals.

"This is big; it's big for our program, it's big for our school and it's big for recruiting," ACU head coach Chris Thomsen said. "We're very proud to be able to bring this to Abilene and our students."

Mesa State entered the game with the nation's sixth-ranked defense as the Mavericks rolled through the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, losing only 7-6 at Chadron State. The Mavericks had the national leader in sacks, Kurt Kissner, and a defensive unit that had not allowed more than 27 points all season.

After an early hiccup, the Wildcats quickly went about proving their third-ranked offense was better than the nation's sixth-ranked defense.

Mesa State's Mark Gruner intercepted an attempted screen pass by Billy Malone on the first play of the game and returned it 17 yards to give the Mavericks a surprising 6-0 lead after the PAT was blocked by E.J. Whitley.

After an ACU punt, the Wildcat defense -- as it did time-after-time on Saturday -- made a stand, forcing a Mesa State punt on the Mavericks' first possession. ACU then took the lead for good with a two-play, 34-yard drive that culminated in a 14-yard scoring run for Bernard Scott, the first of his three rushing scores of the day. After Mesa State missed a 37-yard field goal attempt, the Wildcats wasted little time unleashing the combo of Malone-to-Johnny Knox as the ACU quarterback hit a wide-open Knox in stride for a 75-yard touchdown pass.

From there, the rout was on as the Wildcats scored on eight of 10 possessions to top the 50-point mark for the sixth time in 12 games in 2007.

"You have to give credit where credit is due," Mesa State head coach Joe Rumanno said. "Abilene Christian whipped us in all phases of the game. We've got to try and get to the level where their program is right now. Their weapons on offense are on an entirely different level than what we're used to seeing. Chadron State will be a good test, but ACU's talent is on another level above where we are right now."

Malone finished his day 18 of 22 for 271 yards and four touchdowns, while Knox had five catches for 118 yards and three scores. Scott -- who did not play in the second half as ACU had a 42-6 halftime lead -- had 125 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries, while Jerale Badon had three catches for 41 yards and one score in his final game at Shotwell Stadium. The Wildcats finished with 511 yards of total offense, and they had solid balance with 199 yards rushing and 312 through the air.

But it was the ACU defense that Thomsen wanted to talk about after the game.

ACU's defense responded after giving up 654 yards last week to Midwestern State, holding the Mavericks to just 229 yards of total offense and only 154 through the air. ACU held an opposing offense below 28 points for the first time since a 58-7 win over Northeastern State on Oct. 6.

Cornerback E.J. Whitley had a big game with four tackles (one tackle for loss), two interceptions and one blocked PAT. The defense sacked Mesa State quarterback Philip Vigil seven times and had 12 tackles for loss for minus-80 yards.

"I'm really proud of our defensive effort," Thomsen said. "They continue to play hard and improve each week. They were able to get stops and give our offense good field position, and we were able to take advantage of that."

Whitley might have scored on his second interception late in the game, but an illegal block penalty nullified the score. He also drew a 15-yard penalty for a dive into the end zone that he will probably pay for in practice later in the week.

"I was just going with the flow on that one," Whitley said.

"That's a sore subject right now," Thomsen joked in the interview area.

"I might have to do a little bit of running for that one," Whitley said as he eyed his head coach. "But seriously ... our defense played great today. The defensive line and linebackers got great pressure, and that made our job in the secondary a lot easier."

And now that defense will prepare to play a Chadron State team that features Harlon Hill Award-winning running back Danny Woodhead, who earlier this season became the all-time leading rusher in NCAA history. As the No. 1 team in the NCAA Division II Southwest Region, Chadron State had a bye on Saturday.

"There weren't any messages sent by us (today)," Thomsen said. "Chadron has a tremendous team and program, so they don't need any messages from us. I think they've only lost once in their last 25 games, so they're probably not into messages. We'll have to go up there and play as hard as we can to have a chance to come out of there with a win. They've got a great program with the best player iin the nation on their team."

Wildcats shred Mesa State - ACUSports.com—Official Web Site of Abilene Christian Athletics