Saints Football Eyeing Playoff Berth With Regular Season Finale This Saturday

Limestone University’s football team is knocking on the door to a second straight trip to the post-season.

The Saints can wrap up an impressive regular season campaign with a victory over Emory & Henry this Saturday – which would push their overall record to 8-3 with one of the most difficult schedules in the nation.

The NCAA Division II regional rankings were updated on Monday, and Limestone debuted in the Super Region Two Top 10, coming in at No. 8 following last weekend’s 33-28 victory at Barton College.

The top seven teams in each of the four Super Regions move on to the National Championship playoffs.

Limestone is currently 7-3 overall and 7-1 in the South Atlantic Conference going into this Saturday’s 1 p.m. kickoff in Virginia against Emory & Henry. The home-standing Wasps are now 5-5 overall and 3-5 in the SAC.

“We need to finish strong as we travel to Emory & Henry, which is hosting its Senor Day on Saturday,” Saints head coach Mike Furrey said. “We have the second toughest strength of schedule in our Super Region, and we need to keep the momentum going with this important road game ahead of us. To make the National Championship playoffs for a second straight year would be an amazing accomplishment, and these young men on this team certainly deserve it. But right now, our only focus is on Emory & Henry, another tough SAC opponent.”

With a win over Emory & Henry, the Saints will then look to see how the rest of the Top 10 shakes out as they seek back-to-back trips into the post-season. The matchup Limestone fans will certainly be watching is No. 6-ranked Fayetteville State (8-2) hosting No. 7-ranked Virginia Union (9-1) at 3 p.m. The loser of that contest stands a good chance of slipping out of the first seven spots.

Another intriguing game this Saturday is No. 3 Valdosta State (9-1) welcoming West Georgia (6-3), which toppled out of the Top 10 this week following last Saturday’s 47-13 loss to No. 2-ranked Delta State. Should West Georgia upset Valdosta State, the Wolves could potentially jump back into the playoff hunt.

The complete Top 10 in Super Region Two currently consists of, respectively, Benedict, Delta State, Valdosta State, Lenoir-Rhyne, West Florida, Fayetteville State, Virginia Union, Limestone, Miles, and Mars Hill.

Since taking over a Limestone squad that went 0-9 in 2021, Furrey has guided the Saints to a current two-year SAC record of 14-3, while now a combined 15-6 in the 2022 and 2023 regular seasons. Limestone qualified for the playoffs for the first time in program history in 2022, dropping a first-round contest at West Florida.

This year’s NCAA Division II Playoff Selection Show will take place on Sunday, Nov. 12. The first round of the post-season gets underway on Saturday, Nov. 18.