The two remaining east region teams were eliminated in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division 3 football tournament. St. Thomas pounded St. John Fisher 45-10, while two time defending national champion Wisconsin-Whitewater stopped Salisbury 34-14.
Whitewater built a 17-0 half-time lead in cruising past Salisbury. The Salisbury Gulls had some success running the football, but the option heavy run attack appeared too predictable for the athletic defending national champions. Wisconsin-Whitewater put extra defenders in the box and dared Salisbury to switch to a passing attack, which it did not do while the game was still within reach.
Salisbury's option running game is a ton of fun to watch, especially for old school football fans like me. But you cannot physically overwhelm every football team in the nation. Salisbury's option running game basically states, "We know you know it's coming. You just cannot stop it." That holds true when you are facing a team which is physically slower and smaller. But it back fires against a top tier team. Whitewater prepared to stop the option, and it did.
St. John Fisher's Cinderella playoff run ended in Minnesota to the #4 nationally ranked Tommies of St. Thomas. Ryan Francis had an 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown for Fisher to pull the Cardinals to within 14-10 late in the first quarter. That was the last time Fisher would score.
St. Thomas looked like a legitimate national championship contender running their record to 13-0. The Tommies have outscored its opponents 131-22 in the 2011 NCAA playoffs. Fisher ran into a buzz saw and did not have enough depth to compete with St. Thomas.
It was a solid run for east teams in the 2011 tournament. Fisher's big win over Johns Hopkins, Kean's destruction of Christopher Newport, and Hobart's near upset of Wesley likely changed a lot of perceptions about the strength of eastern football.
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