National title hopes are alive and well for top-ranked Kentucky, No. 2 Bowling Green, fifth-ranked UMass and No. 6 Virginia Tech. With quarterfinal victories Saturday, their tickets are booked for the national semifinals December 7 in Reading, PA, where the Wildcats and Minutemen will meet for the right to play the winner between the Hokies and Falcons.
Defending champion Kentucky booked a return trip to the semis, defeating MARC champion St. Joe’s, 63-17, Saturday in Lexington, KY. 2021 and 2022 champion Virginia Tech also returns to the final four after a 44-39 defeat of Liberty runner up Boston College.
Winning Saturday to reach their first-ever NCR semifinals were Bowling Green and UMass. The Falcons defeated Clemson, 29-18, in Bowling Green, OH, and the Minutemen topped LSU, 27-12, in Amherst, MA.
In Lexington, the kicking game by the Wildcats was accurate and aggressive all morning, leading to a halftime score of 29-3. The Hawks enjoyed a stretch in the second half, where they put up 14 points in about 10 minutes, but Kentucky responded with a pair of tries to quell any hopes of a comeback.
In Blacksburg, VA, Boston College appeared to pull away in the second half in large part to captain and flyhalf Bobby Voth, who went 6/7 from the tee. Outside center Will Breslin added a hat trick, helping build a 34-15 BC lead.
Led by the kicking of flyhalf Cooper Anderson, the Hokies stormed back, rattling off a 24-5 run to tie it, 39-39, at full time. In overtime, Virginia Tech came out aggressively, dotting down in the first five minutes and holding BC off for the win.
Awaiting the Hokies in the semis is MAC champion Bowling Green, who successfully separated from Clemson in the second half Saturday. After 40 minutes, the Tigers led by just a point, 13-12, but it was a stingy second half for the Falcon defense, making four goal-line stands.
Offensively, Bowling Green was physical and intense with every run. No. 8 Phil Tracey scored a hat-trick, including two off mauls. And loosehead prop Evan Holderer was a bruising runner all day, also slamming home a score. The Falcons reeled off 17 unanswered points to take a late 29-13 lead before Clemson mustered a second-half score.
LSU traveled 1,500 miles for a shot at the semifinals, but UMass captain Arthur Dehareng and the Minutemen proved too much. The No. 8 dotted down twice, and co-captain John McGoey ran one in from flyhalf and slotted a penalty kick. The Tigers looked static in the cold on offense and never got going against a strong UMass defensive line.
Written by Nick Berger, Event Marketing Intern
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