area college update

GAME OF THE WEEK Concordia (Moorhead, 7-1, 5-1 MIAC) at St. Thomas (6-2, 4-2), 1:10 p.m. Saturday: The Cobbers, ranked No. 21 in the d3football.com poll, are in second place in the MIAC after last week's 35-27 victory at Carleton. St. Thomas, ranked No. 18, rallied for a 17-14 victory at Augsburg last Saturday. The Tommies have beaten the Cobbers five consecutive times, including 21-7 last season in Moorhead.

WEEK 10 STORY LINES

• Division II Super Region 3: Northwest Missouri State (9-0) remained the top-ranked team in the region. NSIC teams occupy the next three spots in the regional rankings: MSU Mankato is No. 2, Minnesota Duluth No. 3 and St. Cloud State No. 4. The top six teams in the final region rankings earn a spot in the Division II playoffs. MSU Mankato is ranked No. 1 and Minnesota Duluth No. 6 in the AFCA Division II poll.

• Division III West Region: WIAC-leading Wisconsin-Whitewater is ranked No. 1 and MIAC-leading Bethel No. 2 in the first Division III West Region rankings. Wisconsin-Oshkosh is No. 4, Concordia (Moorhead) No. 5, Wisconsin-Platteville No. 6 and St. John's No. 10. Linfield of McMinnville, Ore., is ranked No. 3 while St. Thomas, which reached the Division III championship game last season, is not ranked in the region top 10.

• UMAC title at stake: St. Scholastica, which is 29-3 in the UMAC over the past four seasons, including 8-0 this year, will travel to Greenville, Ill., on Saturday to face UMAC co-leader Greenville for first place. The Saints have earned a spot in the Division III playoffs the past two seasons.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Jake Jensen, RB, St. Scholastica: The 6-2 senior from South St. Paul leads the UMAC with 1,204 yards rushing. Jensen, who rushed for 628 yards last season, has rushed for 12 TDs — second-most in the UMAC — and is averaging 6.4 yards per carry.

Phillip Klaphake, QB, St. Cloud State: The 6-1 senior from Princeton, Minn., became the Huskies' career passing leader in their 45-6 victory at Bemidji State. Klaphake, who has passed for 9,788 yards, is also fourth on the SCSU's career rushing list with 2,233 yards.

BY THE NUMBERS

3 Victories for MSU Moorhead this season — the first time the Dragons have won three games in a season since 2007. The Dragons rallied for a 31-30 victory at Minot State last Saturday. It's the Dragons' first two-game winning streak since 2010.

15 Consecutive losses by Gustavus to St. John's before the Gusties edged the Johnnies 23-20 in two overtimes last Saturday.

1,231 Combined offensive yards by Winona State and Southwest Minnesota State last Saturday. Winona State had 701 yards but lost 51-44 in overtime.

Joel RippeL