Huntingdon to travel to Wheaton (Ill.) for 1st round of playoffs

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Huntingdon football team will play at Wheaton College on Saturday in the opening round of the NCAA Division III playoffs.

Kickoff for the Top-25 matchup is set for noon at McCully Stadium. Huntingdon enters the game ranked 25th by D3football.com. Wheaton is ranked 13th in the D3football.com poll and 10th in the American Football Coaches Association poll.

Gathered as a team Sunday afternoon to watch the Division III Selection Show, senior quarterback and team captain Luke Bailey said the Hawks were a little anxious to find out who they would match up with.

"Last year, we kind of had an idea of who we would play. But this year, we had no idea," Bailey said. "We were hearing predictions this morning on who it might be, but we didn't really know. That's part of what makes it exciting.

"Now, we just have to keep focusing on ourselves and prepare. If we show up and play our best ball, we're tough to beat, no matter who we're playing."

This is the second straight playoff appearance for the back-to-back USA South Athletic Conference champions and the third appearance in Huntingdon history. Huntingdon beat Hendrix College in the first round of the 2015 playoffs before falling to 10th-ranked Mary Hardin-Baylor in the second round. The Hawks' first playoff appearance was in 2009.

"The way we're going about things this year is, whoever we line up in front of, we're going to give them our best shot and we're going to expect to win," senior defensive lineman and team captain Octavis Harris said. "That's how we've been going about it all year and that's how we're going to continue to go about it."

This will be the first meeting between Huntingdon (9-1) and Wheaton (9-1). The Thunder, who finished as the runner-up in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, earned an at-large bid.

This is the third straight season Wheaton has reached the playoffs and the 10th time in program history. Wheaton has a 13-9 record in the playoffs, including a 9-0 record in the first round.

Ticket prices for Saturday's game will be $8 for general admission and $4 for students with a valid student ID. Children under three will be admitted free.