2017 NCAA Division II Football Championship Game

The 2017 NCAA Division II Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game that determined a national champion in NCAA Division II for the 2017 season. It was played at Children's Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas, on December 16, 2017,[1] with kickoff at 5:00 p.m. EST (4:00 p.m. local CST), and television coverage on ESPN2.

Not to be confused with 2018 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game or 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship.
2017 NCAA Division II Football Championship
West Florida Argonauts Texas A&M–Commerce Lions
(11–3) (13–1)
Gulf South Lone Star
27 37
Head coach: 
Pete Shinnick		 Head coach: 
Colby Carthel
Seed
4
Seed
2
1234 Total
West Florida 7767 27
Texas A&M–Commerce 146143 37
DateDecember 16, 2017
Season2017
StadiumChildren's Mercy Park
LocationKansas City, Kansas
RefereeDwight Neibling
Attendance4,259
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN2

Teams

The participants of the 2017 NCAA Division II Football Championship Game were the finalists of the 2017 Division II Playoffs, which began with four 7-team brackets to determine super region champions, who then qualified for the national semifinals.[2] The game featured the winners of those national semifinal games: No. 4 seed West Florida and No. 2 seed Texas A&M–Commerce. This was the first meeting between the two teams[3] and the first appearance for both teams in the championship game.[4]

National semifinals

Super region champions were seeded 1 to 4 for the national semifinals.

Semifinals
December 9
Hosted by higher seeded team 		National Championship
December 16
Children's Mercy Park, Kansas City, KS
      
1 IUP 17
4 West Florida 27
4 West Florida 27
2 Texas A&M–Commerce 37
2 Texas A&M–Commerce 31
3 Harding 17

Game summary
2017 NCAA Division II Football Championship Game
1 2 34Total
No. 4 West Florida 7 7 6727
No. 2 Texas A&M–Commerce 14 6 14337

at Children's Mercy Park • Kansas City, Kansas

  • Date: Saturday, December 16, 2017
  • Game time: 5:00 p.m. EST (4:00 p.m. CST)
  • Game weather: Clear • Temperature: 61 °F (16 °C) • Wind: SE 7 mph
  • Game attendance: 4,259
  • Referee: Dwight Neibling
  • TV: ESPN2
  • Sources:[5]
Game information
First Quarter
  • (11:52) TAMC – Luis Perez 50 yard pass to Shawn Hooks, Kristov Martinez kick (Drive: 7 plays, 97 yards, 3:08; Texas A&M–Commerce 7–0)
  • (2:24) UWF – Chris Schwarz 1 yard rush, Austin Williams kick (Drive: 10 plays, 49 yards, 4:45; Tied 7–7)
  • (2:10) TAMC – Reggie Kincade 99 yard kick return, Kristov Martinez kick (Texas A&M–Commerce 14–7)
Second Quarter
  • (13:42) TAMC – Kristov Martinez 29 yard field goal (Drive: 6 plays, 70 yards, 2:21; Texas A&M–Commerce 17–7)
  • (8:51) TAMC – Kristov Martinez 29 yard field goal (Drive: 8 plays, 25 yards, 3:57; Texas A&M–Commerce 20–7)
  • (0:58) UWF – Mike Beaudry 20 yard pass to Antoine Griffin, Austin Williams kick (Drive: 10 plays, 77 yards, 2:51; Texas A&M–Commerce 20–14)
Third Quarter
  • (10:03) UWF – Austin Williams 27 yard field goal (Drive: 4 plays, –5 yards, 1:58; Texas A&M–Commerce 20–17)
  • (6:08) TAMC – E.J. Thompson 9 yard rush, Kristov Martinez kick (Drive: 10 plays, 62 yards, 3:52; Texas A&M–Commerce 27–17)
  • (1:57) UWF – Austin Williams 47 yard field goal (Drive: 4 plays, 8 yards, 1:14; Texas A&M–Commerce 27–20)
  • (0:03) TAMC – Luis Perez 40 yard pass to Marquis Wimberly, Kristov Martinez kick (Drive: 4 plays, 61 yards, 1:21; Texas A&M–Commerce 34–20)
Fourth Quarter
  • (7:41) TAMC – Kristov Martinez 19 yard field goal (Drive: 10 plays, 86 yards, 5:34; Texas A&M–Commerce 37–20)
  • (4:45) UWF – Chris Schwarz 3 yard rush, Austin Williams kick (Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 2:55; Texas A&M–Commerce 37–27)

Statistics
StatisticsUWFTAMC
First downs2024
Plays–yards71–27673–477
Rushes–yards23–2440–154
Passing yards252323
Passing: Comp–Att–Int22–48–123–33–2
Time of possession27:3532:25
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
West FloridaPassingMike Beaudry22/48, 252 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
RushingChris Schwarz14 carries, 45 yards, 2 TD
ReceivingAntoine Griffin8 receptions, 112 yards, 1 TD
Texas A&M–CommercePassingLuis Perez23/30, 323 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
RushingE.J. Thompson21 carries, 110 yards, 1 TD
ReceivingShawn Hooks4 receptions, 104 yards, 1 TD

References
  1. "Tex. A&M-Commerce vs DII Football Game Summary - December 16th, 2017 | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  2. "2017 Division II Football Official Bracket | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  3. "Football History vs University of West Florida". Texas A&M University-Commerce Athletics. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  4. "DII Football Championship History | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  5. "Football vs West Florida on 12/16/2017 - Box Score". Texas A&M University-Commerce Athletics. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
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