Slippery Rock jumped out early and used strong carries and smart kicking to control the first half, heading into the break up 15–3. Their No. 8 and No. 13 were the most consistent threats, breaking tackles and getting over the gain line, while both teams brought the heat around the breakdown.

The second half was defined by scrums. Lots of them. New Mexico’s pack had the edge there and used it to slow the game down and apply pressure, but turning that pressure into points proved difficult. A Slippery Rock try was briefly wiped off after an accidental whistle by the ref, but they regrouped quickly and struck again through their fullback to stretch the lead to 22–3.

New Mexico finally broke through when winger Chunggong spun out of a scrum play to make it 22–10 with time left, and they spent long stretches camped near Slippery Rock’s line. Still, Slippery Rock’s defense held firm, staying connected and forcing New Mexico into one-off runners and messy rucks.

A late try from flanker Alec Harbison sealed it, and Slippery Rock ran out the clock from there.

It wasn’t always pretty, but it was effective. Slippery Rock advances after a gritty performance.

Grand Valley struck first through flyhalf Reinhart Stipp, who split the line with a sharp step and set up lock Hayden Crum to finish.

Chicago answered by grinding their way downfield, cashing in on penalties and forward carries, with Will Hendricks dotting down to make it 7–5 early. The opening stretch was played at good pace, but Chicago looked a bit more settled building phases, while Grand Valley relied more on opportunistic strikes.

When Chicago picked up a yellow card, Grand Valley took advantage, crashing over to retake the lead. Chicago responded the same way they would most of the game—off the lineout. Hooker Jose Alzugaray powered over from close range, then Chicago struck again on a long throw to center Will Johnson, who raced in untouched. Four lead changes later, Grand Valley took a slim 21–20 edge into halftime.

The turning point came early in the second half when Grand Valley lost Stipp, the engine of their attack. Chicago immediately found space and pulled ahead, though Grand Valley kept swinging, scoring out wide to keep it within a point at 27–26.

From there, things got a bit sloppy, and Chicago’s set piece took over. A grubber try, followed by another score, stretched the gap before Alzugaray sealed it with his third try—this time off a long, rolling maul.

It was close early, but when fatigue hit, Chicago stayed organized, leaned on their strengths, and pulled away to advance.

Holy Cross struck first with a penalty to go up 3–0, and for the opening stretch this was a straight-up arm wrestle. Defense ruled, bodies flew, and neither side could find space. It took 22 minutes for the first try to arrive, which tells you pretty much everything you need to know about how hard-fought the early exchanges were.

The game cracked open when Holy Cross picked up a yellow card around the 20-minute mark. Franciscan immediately capitalized, scoring twice during the sin-bin window and flipping the momentum in a big way. From there, the Barons never really looked back.

Holy Cross tried to impose themselves through the middle, running direct and leaning on their size, but Franciscan’s defensive organization was excellent. They stayed connected, tackled in numbers, and made Holy Cross work for every meter.

The bigger separator, perhaps, was the kick-and-chase game. Scrumhalf Joe Bob Moleski and flyhalf Lex Lang were outstanding with the boot, consistently winning territory and forcing Holy Cross to turn and chase. Holy Cross struggled to field kicks cleanly, and Franciscan made them pay. Gus Wright and Nate Bateman both benefited from perfectly weighted kicks that took friendly bounces and turned into long-range tries.

Holy Cross had the size advantage, but Franciscan matched it with athleticism, fitness, and nonstop effort. Paul Leerkes put in a massive shift in the forward pack, crashing over for two tries and setting the tone in the tight exchanges on both sides of the ball.

Holy Cross grabbed a couple late scores, but the outcome was already decided. Franciscan, despite some adventurous conversion kicking, had built too much of a lead and closed it out comfortably.

Next up: Franciscan vs. Slippery Rock for the D3 national title. They’ve already split two meetings this season—Sunday decides who gets the last word.

UNC Wilmington landed the first blow with a penalty kick, then followed it up with a try after a Vermont knock-on gave them possession deep in the red zone. Lock John McAllister finished off a series of bruising carries to put UNC up 8–0, and early on it was Wilmington setting the tone defensively with hard hits and aggressive counter-rucking. Every carry was contested, and clean ball was at a premium.

Vermont settled in and slowly wrestled back momentum. Their first points came after a smart line break from the back, capped by an offload at the goal line. From there, Vermont’s attack began to click. Fullback Colin Green was constantly involved, popping up in space and keeping the defense honest, while scrumhalf McGovern did a nice job organizing things and speeding up the recycle.

A sustained, multi-phase sequence ended with center Tom Burnett crashing over to take the lead, and Vermont kept pressing. After another penalty and several strong forward carries, space finally opened wide for winger Zan Rice to score, giving Vermont a 17–8 halftime lead after running in 17 unanswered points.

The second half turned into a slog. Penalties, stoppages, and injuries broke up any rhythm, and neither side could land the decisive blow despite long stretches of pressure. UNC clawed back three points late after a Vermont yellow card, but time ran out quickly.

In the final minute, Vermont sealed it in dramatic fashion. A kick bounced into the try zone with two players tangled up over the ball, leading to a lengthy TMO review and even a challenge flag from the UNC bench. In the end, officials ruled that a Vermont forearm applied downward pressure in-goal, and the try stood—the only try of the second half.

Vermont moves on to face Chicago in the D2 National Final.

Tennessee vs Bowling Green
🏆D1-AA FINAL
🗓️Dec 13th, 1pm EST
🏟️Sabercats Stadium—Houston, TX
📺 Streaming here.

Texas Tech vs Fairfield
🏆Lonestar Bowl
🗓️Dec 13th, 3:30pm EST
🏟️Sabercats Stadium—Houston, TX
📺 Streaming here.

St. Bonaventure vs Queens
🏆D1 FINAL
🗓️Dec 13th, 6pm EST
🏟️Sabercats Stadium—Houston, TX
📺 Streaming here.

Slippery Rock vs Franciscan
🏆D3 National FINAL
🗓️Dec 14th, 1:00pm EST
🏟️Sabercats Stadium—Houston, TX
📺 Streaming here.

Vermont vs Chicago
🏆D2 National FINAL
🗓️Dec 14th, 3:00pm EST
🏟️Sabercats Stadium—Houston, TX
📺 Streaming here.