Score: No. 2 Grand View Vikings 35, No. 1 Keiser Seahawks 7
Records: Keiser (12-1), Grand View (14-0)
Location: Durham County Memorial Stadium (8,500) – Durham, N.C.
Time of Game: 2:59
Weather: Sunny, wind 11 mph, 46 degrees
The No. 1-ranked Keiser football team ended its season with a 35-7 loss to the No. 2-ranked Grand View Vikings in the NAIA National Championship on Saturday. The loss snapped the Seahawks nation's longest winning streak which ended at 23 games. It also marked the Seahawk's first loss to an NAIA program since the 2022 NAIA National Championship Game.
Keiser could not overcome an early 21-0 lead by the Vikings, dropping its first and only game of the season. The Vikings used 353 yards on the ground, led by quarterback Jackson Waring (203), to keep the Keiser defense on the field. However, it was four TD passes by Waring that led to the GVU win.
The Seahawks were led by quarterback
Shea Spencer, who completed 22-of-45 passes for 277 yards and one touchdown. Spencer connected with seven different receivers, including
Maurico Porcha, who had five catches for 102 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, the Seahawks were led by safety
Evan Jackson, who had 13 tackles in the game. Also among the leaders on the defensive side of the ball were
Tristan Vann (eight tackles),
Hunter Hargrave (six tackles), and
Justin Carcel (six tackles).
The Seahawks ended the season with a 12-1 overall record, advancing to the NAIA Football Championship Series for the sixth straight season while making the team's third straight appearance in the NAIA National Championship Game.
Grand View 7, Keiser 0
- The Vikings started the game with ball and drove down to the Keiser 10-yard line
- On second-and-one from the Keiser 10, CJ Gilmore forced a fumble on quarterback Jackosn Waring which was recovered by Hunter Hargrave at the Seahawk's own one-yard line (11:32)
- Later in the quarter, the Vikings took a 7-0 lead with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Waring to Aisea Toki (4:40)
Grand View 21, Keiser 7
- The Seahawks got the ball down to the GVU six-yard line but was stopped on fourth down, giving the ball back to the Vikings with 14:05 on the game clock
- The Vikings took their ensuing drive 95 yards in six plays capped off with a 22-yard TD pass from Waring to Toki (10:50)
- After stopping the Seahawks in fourth down from the Seahawk's 45-yard line, GVU drove 45 yards on four plays to extend its lead, 21-0 (1:05)
- Keiser got on the board as Shea Spencer connected with Maurico Porcha for 26 yards and the score
- With the made extra point, Keiser trailed 21-7 with 10 seconds left in the half
Grand View 28, Keiser 7
- The Vikings scored on a 20-yard pass from Waring to Corey Phillips
- The score pushed the GVU lead to 28-7 with 4:57 remaining in the third
- The closed out the quarter with an 11-play drive, taking the ball to the GVU 40-yard line
Grand View 35, Keiser 7
- The Seahawks looked to keep the drive going but two straight incomplete passes gave the ball back to the Vikings as the Seahawks turned the ball over on downs
- Two drives later, the Seahawks got down to the GVU 18-yard line but the Viking's Kellen Moore picked off a Spencer pass in the endzone to stop the Keiser threat
- The Vikings took that turnover and turned it into points, going 80 yards on nine plays
- An 11-yard rushing touchdown by Dalten Van Pelt gave the Vikings a 35-7 lead with 3:40 left in the game
- The Seahawks made one last push, getting the ball down to the GVU 20-yard line but an incomplete pass on fourth-and-six gave the ball back to the Vikings with 1:11 on the game clock
.
- Today's captains – Jude Guerrier, Hunter Hargrave, Tivon Sutton and Jaden Meizinger
- The Seahawks wore navy jerseys with navy pants (4-1 this season when wearing this combo)
- Weather at kickoff – Sunny, wind 11 mph, 46 degrees
- With the loss, Keiser moves to 1-2 in the NAIA FCS Championship Game
- Keiser made their third straight appearance in the NAIA National Championship Game
- Keiser ends the season with a 12-1 overall record - best mark in school history
- Quarterback Shea Spencer finished the day with 277 yards on 22-of-45 passes and one touchdown
- The Vero Beach, Florida, native ended the 2024 season with school-records in passing yards (3,118) and passing touchdowns (30)
- Running back Andrew Burnette rushed for a team-high 85 yards on Saturday
- Burnette ended his 2024 campaign with 1,345 yards (No. 3 in a season at Keiser) on the ground with 17 touchdowns (No. 3 in a season at Keiser)
- Maurico Porcha led Keiser with 102 yards receiving on five catches and one touchdown
- The 100-yard receiving game was the second of the season for Porcha
- Safety Evan Jackson tied a career-high in total tackles with 13 on Saturday
- The Seahawks ended the 2024 season with 2,804 yards rushing (second-most in a season) and 33 rushing touchdowns (third-most in a season)
- The Keiser passing game set school records of passing yards (3,321) and passing touchdowns (31) in a season
- With the loss, Keiser moves to 22-8 all-time versus ranked opponents (4-5 all-time versus the Top 5)
- The loss snaps a streak of nine straight victories over ranked opponents
- The loss also snaps the nation's longest winning streak (23 games)
- Keiser moves to 12-1 as the No. 1 team in the nation
- Saturday's loss is the first for the Seahawks since the 2022 NAIA National Championship Game
- With the loss, Keiser moves to 2-1 all-time versus teams from the Heart of America Athletic Conference in the NAIA Football Championship Series
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