2 area schools make field for NCAA Division II football playoffs

Two area college football teams will open their bids for the NCAA Division IIchampionship Saturday against opponents from the Gulf South Conference.

South Atlantic Conference champion Lenoir-Rhyne will host Florida Tech at 2 p.m. in Hickory, and SAC runner-up Wingate will visit West Georgia for a noon kickoff.

Lenoir-Rhyne and Wingate are part of the 28-team field for the five-round playoff series that climaxes with the Division II championship game Dec. 15 in McKinney, Texas, about 30 miles north of Dallas.

Lenoir-Rhyne is seeded third in the South Region. The Bears (10-1), who went 7-0 in the SAC, have won 10 straight games. This is their first playoff appearance since 2014, when they lost to Valdosta State, this year’s No. 1 seed in the South.

Florida Tech is making its second playoff appearance after an 8-3 season (5-3 in the Gulf South).

Wingate, seeded seventh in the South, started the season 2-3 but has won six straight. West Georgia finished 10-1 and 7-1 in the Gulf South. Its only loss was to Valdosta State.

The Bulldogs are in the playoffs for the second straight year and the third time overall. They lost in the first round last season to eventual national runner-up West Florida.