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Sixteen Still There in Small-College CRC Competition

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Sixteen Still There in Small-College CRC Competition

Babson makes a break. Alex Goff photo.

Sixteen teams remain in the Men's Small College division in the CRC, but some of the best teams are starting to put their hand up.

In Pool A, Christendom, led by the huge and imposing Owen Kennedy that allowed them to play a more physical style, they thundered by SUNY-Geneseo and Widener. But the quick Wayne State backs were a different type of team altogether and almost produced something of an upset. 

Smart and patient, Christendom clawed back 28-24.

Endicott needed an extra conversion to edge past a very tough UW Stout to win their pool.

New Mexico Tech won Pool C with their brilliant combination of speed and speedy ball movement. Denver's team defense—only 22 points allowed—saw them win Pool D.

Maine won two games in their pool by a conversion, including a tense 12-10 win over Loyola. It was enough as they inched their way to 3-0 in Pool E.

Led by a superb chip-and-chase try from captain Rafe Lewis, who was immense on Saturday, Franciscan upset an impressive Hofstra team to tie them at 2-1. For their part, Hofstra's results weren't necessarily expects, but they had been training five days a week to prepare and it showed.

So then everything came down to Bryan vs VMI—a VMI win would put three teams at 2-1, but somehow Bryant put together their best game of the day and beat VMI. So Franciscan and Hofstra move on.

And finally in Pool B a very dynamic and exciting Babson team blasted past their competition. The Beavers scored the second most points of any small-college team on Saturday, and allowed the fewest. Babson's players, like the players for some other teams, were actually dispersed around the country since classes had ended at their campus.

So players worked out on their own or in small groups. But when they assembled they picked up where they left off. 

The top two from each pool make the playoffs, and so do the top two third-place teams. Those end up being Wayne State and Loyola of Maryland. Notably, both of thos teams lose very tight games against pool winners.

So those third-place teams are no walkovers.

Round of 16 Matchups:
Babson vs Wayne State
UW-Stout vs Coastal Carolina
Susquehanna vs Maine
Christendom vs SUNY Geneseo
Endicott vs Hofstra
Denver vs Central College
Franciscan vs John Carroll
New Mexico Tech vs Loyola Md. 

Pool A W L T PF PA PD
Christendom College 3 0 0 89 39 50
SUNY - Geneseo 2 1 0 48 38 10
Wayne State University 1 2 0 79 47 32
Widener University 0 3 0 5 97 -92
             
Pool B W L T PF PA PD
Endicott College 3 0 0 52 46 6
U of Wisconsin - Stout 2 1 0 94 31 63
U of Richmond 1 2 0 46 73 -27
Slippery Rock University 0 3 0 22 64 -42
             
Pool C W L T PF PA PD
New Mexico Tech 3 0 0 83 19 64
Susquehanna University 2 1 0 61 48 13
Oregon Tech 1 2 0 60 70 -10
Colby College 0 3 0 21 88 -67
             
Pool D W L T PF PA PD
U of Denver 3 0 0 79 22 57
John Carroll University 2 1 0 58 32 26
Southern Nazarene 1 2 0 39 48 -9
Central Connecticut State 0 3 0 22 96 -74
             
Pool E W L T PF PA PD
U of Maine - Orono 3 0 0 64 36 28
Coastal Carolina 2 1 0 85 52 33
Loyola - Maryland 1 2 0 80 33 47
U of Pittsburgh - Johnstown 0 3 0 7 115 -108
             
Pool F W L T PF PA PD
Franciscan University 2 1 0 69 54 15
Hofstra University 2 1 0 75 50 25
Bryant University 1 2 0 64 66 -2
Virginia Military Institute 1 2 0 47 85 -38
             
Pool G W L T PF PA PD
Babson College 3 0 0 92 14 78
Central College 2 1 0 41 38 3
U of Wisconsin - Stevens Point 1 2 0 38 67 -29
Grove City College 0 3 0 24 76 -52