Huntingdon College scored in the final minute to beat Maryville College 45-38 on Saturday in Montgomery, Ala., preventing the Scots from winning the USA South championship outright.
Taylor Hughes finished off an 11-play, 44-yard drive with a 5-yard pass to Darius Dawsey for the game-winner.
The Scots had the lead with nine minutes left in the fourth quarter until Hughes completed a 44yard pass play to Tyler Robinson for a touchdown that tied the game at 38-38.
Maryville (8-2, 6-1 USA South) split the conference championship with Methodist University, but the Scots had already received the USA South automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament.
The Scots amassed 450total offensive yards. Evan Pittenger was 11-for-22 for 113 passing yards while also running 15 times for an additional 123 yards and a pair of rushing touchdowns from 3 and 34 yards.
Maryville running back Travis Felder, who eclipsed the school’s single-season rushing record of 1,069 by Armond A kiboh, finished with 112 yards on 23 carries and three TDs.
The Hawks (7-3, 5-2), who lead Division III in total offense, continued to do so with 520 yards (190 passing and 330 yards rushing). Huntingdon set a school record for most passing yards in a season with 3,447.
Maryville coach Mike Rader was Huntingdon’s receivers coach for eight years before the Scots hired him last year.
The Scots will watch the NCAA selection show at 6 p.m. Sunday in the Lawson Auditorium on campus.