DILLON — A football program that's won three national titles in the past six years is now one win away from returning to the championship game.
The Morningside (Iowa) Mustangs erased a double-digit deficit and shut out Montana Western in the second half of an NAIA Football Championship Series quarterfinal game Saturday en route to a 31-24 victory and a spot in next week's semifinals, where they'll face rival Grand View (Iowa).
The Bulldogs, who last week earned their first postseason victory in 30 years, conclude the season at 10-2 overall record.
Western built a 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter off a 1-yard rushing touchdown from Jake Humphrey and a 32-yard catch-and-run score from Michael Palandri to Eli Nourse.
The Bulldogs eventually took a 24-10 lead into halftime. But on Western's opening drive of the third quarter, Morningside forced and recovered a Palandri fumble and then scored on a 21-yard pass from Zack Chevalier to Zach Norton to cut Western's lead to 24-17.
The Mustangs then tied the game early in the fourth quarter on a 25-yard scoring pass from Chevalier to Drew Sellon, and with less than 10 minutes left scored the go-ahead and final touchdown of the game on a 63-yard catch-and-run from Chevalier to Drew Sellon.
