KANSAS CITY, Mo. – [FCS Schedule] The NAIA Football Championship Series kicked off on Saturday, November 18th at four campus sites across the country, hosted by Baker (Kan.), Dordt (Iowa), Montana Tech, and St. Thomas (Fla.).

The First Round field was three at-large berths and five automatic qualifiers from their conference or division titles. Two of the teams were playing in the FCS for the first time ever while the teams have a combined 77 appearances.

The 68th Annual NAIA Football National Championship will culminate on December 18th at Durham County Memorial Stadium in Durham, N.C. For more information on the 2023 NAIA Football National Championship, click here.

St. Thomas (Fla.) def. Reinhardt (Ga.), 55-7

• The Bobcats picked up their first postseason win in program history
• STU generated 406 yards of offense on 71 total plays
• Rontavious Farmer ran for 179 yards and three scores for St. Thomas
• David Friedberg caught a pair of passes for 60 yards in the loss
• Braylon Jones led the Eagles with 12 total tackles for Reinhardt while Caleb Walker had a 58 yard fumble recovery for the Bobcats

Dickinson State (N.D.) def. Montana Tech, 35-28

• DSU's Will Madler tallied 244 yards passing on nine completions for a pair of touchdowns
• In the loss, Blake Thelen tossed for 359 yards, two scores, and three interceptions
• The Blue Hawks offense was led by 227 yards on the ground from Braden Zuroff and 116 through the air by Cameron Sheppard
• On the losing end, Mark Estes caught 133 yards and Wyatt Alexander snagged 131

Dordt (Iowa) def. Ottawa (Kan.), 35-7

• Brendan Pieper ran for four touchdowns off 20 attempts and 110 yards
• The Ottawa defense held the Defenders offense to only four completed passes
• Stephen Leinen was 5-for-5 on extra points after Dordt touchdowns
• AJ Hemphill recorded a game high 11 tackles for the Braves; Tyler Wieringa and Ian MacDonald each had 10 tackles for Dordt

Baker (Kan.) def. Louisiana Christian, 56-38

• The all Wildcat affair was the highest scoring of the day
• With nearly identical stats both teams each had six passing first downs and only a 422 to 417 difference in total yards gained
• Rashaan Graves ran for a game high 149 yards and three TD's for Baker; Daylon Charles tallied 122 yards and a game long 60 touchdowns
• Jalen Nash, Thad Metcalfe, and Canon Karn intercepted passes for a combined 63 yards and one touchdown