MOUNT BERRY, Ga. - The No. 17 Berry College football team's (11-2) historic season came to an end as they fell 21-13 to the No. 9 John Carroll University Blue Streaks in the NCAA DIII Quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon at home.
With both teams only allowing 13 points a game it was no surprise that the game started out as a defensive slugfest with both teams going three and out on their first possessions. The Blue Streaks then managed to get to the Berry 40 on their next drive but the Vikings defense came up with a big stop to keep the game scoreless with 5:58 to go. The Blue Steaks would then open the scoring to start the second quarter on a 10 play 71 yard drive to take a 7-0 lead.
The Vikings offense looked to answer immediately as they drove down to the John Carroll 33 yard line thanks to a big third down completion to Nate Lyons for 24 yards. The Vikings were unable to take advantage as an interception halted their drive. The Vikings defense then kept the Blue Streak off the board to give the offense another chance but once again a turnover halted their hopes. The Blue Steaks then took advantage of a short field as they scored again to increase their lead to 14-0 with 1:45 to go in the half which is where the game stood at halftime.
The Vikings looked for a strong start to the second half but again weren't able to do much as they went three and out on their first drive. The Vikings would then get the ball back on a muffed punt with a great play by Will Johnson but they immediately turned it over on the next play to halt what could've been a promising drive.Â
The Vikings defense continued to keep the Vikings in the game but the offense struggled to keep the ball as they turned it over two more times. Neither team was able to hold on to the ball throughout the middle of the third quarter with multiple turnovers including a big forced fumble by Michael Clark after another Vikings turnover. The Vikings then threw two more interceptions as they couldn't get any offense going.
The Blue Streaks then scored again to start the fourth to increase their lead to 21-0 as it looked like they had put away the game with 13:21 to go. The Vikings didn't give up though as Andrew Hunter led the offense down the field on an 11 play 70 yard drive culminating in a six yard touchdown pass to Nate Lyons to make it 21-6 with the extra point missed. Sensing the momentum the Vikings defense came up with another stop thanks to a big sack by Clark and Cole Carver and a pass breakup on third down by Steven Pickett.Â
The Vikings offense then took over with 4:22 left and went on an 11 play 86 yard drive ending with a 24 yard strike from Hunter to Cameron Coleman in the back of the end zone to cut the Blue Streaks lead to 21-13 with 2:07 to go. The Vikings then looked to recover the onside kick in the hopes of pulling off a spectacular comeback but that wasn't in the cards as the Vikings were called for touching the opponent early as the Blue Streaks took the ball and closed out the game.
Â
