Staff reports

The University of North Alabama’s run at a possible 2016 NCAA Division II football national championship will take to the road this weekend when the Lions travel to Shepherdstown, West Virginia, to face Shepherd University in the playoff semifinals

Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. Central and the game will be aired on ESPN3.

UNA, the No. 1 seed in Super Region 2 and a 38-0 winner over North Greenville in the quarterfinals, is making its 10th all-time appearance in the NCAA semifinals.

The Lions, 10-1 this season, have won four previous semifinal matchups and went on to claim Division II national championships in 1993, 1994 and 1995.

Shepherd, the No. 3 seed in Super Region 1, has a perfect 13-0 record and posted a come-from-behind 41-30 win over California, Pennsylvania, in its quarterfinal match.

Shepherd advanced to the 2015 Division II championship game before falling to Northwest Missouri State, 34-7. The Rams are in their 10th NCAA post-season event, all under head coach Monte Cater, who is in his 30th year at the school.

“This a great opportunity and a great challenge for our team,” said UNA head football coach Bobby Wallace. “Anytime you go up against a team that is 13-0, you know you are facing an outstanding football team. It takes a great team to make it through the regular season undefeated. Then add on that they’ve won three playoff games and the last two on the road. That’s quite an accomplishment.”

The game will feature two finalists for the 2016 Harlon Hill Trophy as Division II Player of the Year in UNA quarterback Jacob Tucker and Shepherd quarterback Jeff Ziemba.

Tucker is a dual-threat who is UNA’s leading rusher with 789 yards and 15 touchdowns, while throwing for 2,483 yards and 20 TDs. Ziemba, who was also a Hill finalist in 2015, has thrown for 3,515 yards and 31 touchdowns. He has added five rushing scores.

“Having two Hill finalists in the game is exciting,” Wallace added. “They are both outstanding quarterbacks and have obviously played well this season to help get their teams to this point. Ziemba has thrown for a lot of yards and has one of the best receivers in the country to throw to in Brown. He is big and strong and hard to tackle.”

UNA is making its first semifinal appearance since 2008. The Lions have played seven of their previous nine NCAA semifinals at home and are 4-3 in those games. UNA is 0-2 in road semifinals, losing 29-22 at North Dakota in 2003 and 40-7 at Northwest Missouri State in 2008.