# 2022 Stagg Bowl

The 2022 NCAA Division III Football Championship Game, more commonly referred to as the 2022 Stagg Bowl or Stagg Bowl XLIX, was a postseason college football game played on December 16, 2022, at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland. It determined a national champion in NCAA Division III for the 2022 season. The game began at 7:00 p.m. EST, and aired on ESPNU. The game featured the two finalists of the 32-team single elimination playoff bracket, North Central and Mount Union; North Central won 28–21 to claim their second national championship.

## Teams

The participants of the 2022 NCAA Division III Football Championship Game were the finalists of the 2022 Division III Playoffs, a 32-team single elimination brackets tournament which began on November 19. The winners of each of the four 8-team regions qualified for the national semifinals.

### National semifinals

| Semifinals December 10 Hosted by higher seeded team | Semifinals December 10 Hosted by higher seeded team | Semifinals December 10 Hosted by higher seeded team | National Championship December 16 Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, MD | National Championship December 16 Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, MD | National Championship December 16 Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, MD |
| Wartburg | Wartburg | 31 | | | |
| Mount Union | Mount Union | 34 | | | |
| Mount Union | Mount Union | 34 | Mount Union | Mount Union | 21 |
| | | | North Central | North Central | 28 |
| North Central | North Central | 49 | North Central | North Central | 28 |
| Mary Hardin–Baylor | Mary Hardin–Baylor | 14 | | | |

## Game summary

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Mount Union | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 21 |
| North Central | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 28 |
at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, Maryland
* Date: Friday, December 16, 2022
* Game time: 7:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: Clear • Temperature: 42 °F (6 °C) • Wind: W 4 mph
* Game attendance: 3,231
* Referee: David Hergert
* TV: ESPNU
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | Mount Union | North Central |
| 1 | 11:32 | 6 | 78 | 3:24 | North Central | Ethan Greenfield 34-yard touchdown reception from Luke Lehnen, Tanner Rains kick good | 0 | 7 |
| 2 | 6:18 | 1 | 94 | 0:14 | North Central | Deangelo Hardy 94-yard touchdown reception from Luke Lehnen, Tanner Rains kick good | 0 | 14 |
| 4 | 14:56 | 10 | 87 | 6:09 | North Central | Ethan Greenfield 4-yard touchdown run, Tanner Rains kick good | 0 | 21 |
| 4 | 9:19 | 11 | 69 | 5:33 | Mount Union | Braxton Plunk 9-yard touchdown run, Thomas Piccirillo kick good | 7 | 21 |
| 4 | 3:34 | 9 | 50 | 4:02 | Mount Union | Wayne Ruby Jr. 3-yard touchdown reception from Braxton Plunk, Thomas Piccirillo kick good | 14 | 21 |
| 4 | 1:24 | 6 | 47 | 2:10 | North Central | Deangelo Hardy 3-yard touchdown reception from Luke Lehnen, Tanner Rains kick good | 14 | 28 |
| 4 | 0:30 | 5 | 60 | 0:45 | Mount Union | Edwin Reed 4-yard touchdown reception from Braxton Plunk, Thomas Piccirillo kick good | 21 | 28 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 21 | 28 |

## Statistics

Team statistical comparison :
| Statistic | Mount Union | North Central |
| First downs | 20 | 11 |
| First downs rushing | 8 | 8 |
| First downs passing | 9 | 3 |
| First downs penalty | 3 | 0 |
| Third down efficiency | 6–15 | 3–10 |
| Fourth down efficiency | 2–4 | 2–3 |
| Total plays–net yards | 72–294 | 49–374 |
| Rushing attempts–net yards | 35–60 | 39–233 |
| Yards per rush | 1.7 | 6.0 |
| Yards passing | 234 | 141 |
| Pass completions–attempts | 26–37 | 4–10 |
| Interceptions thrown | 0 | 0 |
| Punt returns–total yards | 0–0 | 2–32 |
| Kickoff returns–total yards | 5–70 | 2–25 |
| Punts–average yardage | 5–178 | 3–94 |
| Fumbles–lost | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Penalties–yards | 4–30 | 6–60 |
| Time of possession | 33:50 | 26:10 |
Mount Union statistics :
| Purple Raiders passing ||||||
| | C–A | Yds | TD–INT |
| Braxton Plunk | 26–36 | 234 | 2–0 |
| TEAM | 0–1 | 0 | 0–0 |
| Purple Raiders rushing ||||||
| | Car | Yds | TD |
| Tyler Echeverry | 12 | 38 | 0 |
| Braxton Plunk | 10 | 16 | 1 |
| KJ Redmon | 8 | 15 | 0 |
| Lance Mitchell | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| TEAM | 1 | −12 | 0 |
| Purple Raiders receiving ||||||
| | Rec | Yds | TD |
| Wayne Ruby Jr. | 9 | 109 | 1 |
| Jaden Manley | 4 | 41 | 0 |
| KJ Redmon | 4 | 35 | 0 |
| Chase Lawson | 4 | 23 | 0 |
| Tyler Echeverry | 4 | 22 | 0 |
| Edwin Reed | 1 | 4 | 1 |
North Central statistics :
| Cardinals passing ||||||
| | C–A | Yds | TD–INT |
| Luke Lehnen | 4–10 | 141 | 3–0 |
| Cardinals rushing ||||||
| | Car | Yds | TD |
| Ethan Greenfield | 25 | 119 | 1 |
| Luke Lehnen | 10 | 98 | 0 |
| Terrence Hill | 3 | 18 | 0 |
| TEAM | 1 | −2 | 0 |
| Cardinals receiving ||||||
| | Rec | Yds | TD |
| Deangelo Hardy | 3 | 107 | 2 |
| Ethan Greenfield | 1 | 34 | 1 |