2018 NAIA football national championship

The 2018 NAIA football national championship was a four-round, sixteen team tournament played between November 17 and December 15 of 2018. The tournament concluded on December 15 with a single game, played as the 63rd Annual NAIA Football National Championship.

The championship game was played at Municipal Stadium in Daytona Beach, Florida. This was the 5th consecutive time the championship game was played at this venue after the prior six games had been played at Barron Stadium in Rome, Georgia. It was also the final game played at this venue after it was announced that the 2019 championship game will be played in Grambling, Louisiana.

The game was contested between two teams that had never before won a football national championship. On the visiting side of the scoreboard was the once-beaten, #7-ranked Benedictine Ravens, representing Benedictine College from Atchison, Kansas. The home team was the unbeaten, #1-ranked Morningside Mustangs, playing for Morningside College of Sioux City, Iowa. Benedictine was making its first appearance in the championship game while Morningside was appearing for the second time, losing the 2012 championship game in overtime to the Marian Knights.

Morningside was led by the quarterback-receiver duo of Trent Solsma and Connor Niles. Solsma was a first-team All-American who had just received the Rawlings Award in a banquet the prior evening. The award recognized the 2018 NAIA Football Player of the Year. Niles was a second-team All-American, a controversial achievement because many consider Solsma-to-Niles to be one of the most productive duos in NAIA football history. But an NAIA rule restricts the selection of players from the same team. So Solsma received the first-team choice, and Niles was the second-team selection.

In the end, this duo led Morningside to the victory, 35-28. They connected for 3 touchdown passes during the game. For his efforts, Niles was named the game's Most Outstanding Offensive Player. The parallel defensive award was given to Morningside defensive lineman Chase Reis.

Postseason playoff

A total of sixteen teams were selected to participate in the single-elimination tournament from across the country, with invitations that were revealed on Sunday, November 11, 2018. The field included eleven conference champions who received automatic bids. The field was then filled with at-large selections that were awarded to the highest ranked teams that were not conference champions. First-round seedings were based on the final regular-season edition of the 2018 NAIA Coaches' Poll, with certain minor modifications given based on geographic considerations. Each subsequent round will be re-seeded based on the rankings of all teams advancing to that round.

Quarterfinal pairings were announced by the NAIA on November 17, after the first round results were known.

Semifinal pairings were confirmed by the NAIA on November 24, soon after completion of the day's quarterfinal games.

2018 NAIA Football National Championship
Benedictine Ravens Morningside Mustangs (13–1) (14–0) 28 35 Head coach:  Larry Wilcox Head coach:  Steve Ryan Coaches 7 Coaches 1
1 2 3 4 Total Benedictine 14 6 0 8 28 Morningside 14 0 14 7 35
Date	December 15, 2018
Season	2018
Stadium	Municipal Stadium
Location	Daytona Beach, Florida
MVP	Connor Niles (WR, Morningside)(Offensive) Chase Reis (DL, Morningside) (Defensive)
Attendance	7,436
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN3
Announcers	Drew Fellios Forrest Conoly Kristen Bedard

Scoring Summary

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Benedictine Ravens Morningside Mustangs 1 13:27 4 69 1:33 Benedictine Ravens Aaron Jackson 26-yard touchdown reception from Shaefer Schuetz, Jacob Young kick Good 7 0 1 11:26 7 75 2:01 Morningside Mustangs Connor Niles 44-yard touchdown reception from Trent Solsma, Jared Amundson kick Good 7 7 1 9:03 4 20 1:35 Morningside Mustangs Arnijae Ponder 7-yard touchdown run, Jared Amundson kick Good 7 14 1 2:28 14 78 6:35 Benedictine Ravens Marquis Stewart 3-yard touchdown run, Jacob Young kick Good 14 14 2 6:35 4 7 1:37 Benedictine Ravens 24-yard field goal by Jacob Young 17 14 2 0:04 16 73 3:18 Benedictine Ravens 14-yard field goal by Jacob Young 20 14 3 14:22 2 75 0:38 Morningside Mustangs Connor Niles 80-yard touchdown reception from Trent Solsma, Jared Amundson kick Good 20 21 3 9:53 7 70 2:08 Morningside Mustangs Reid Jurgensmeier 19-yard touchdown reception from Trent Solsma, Jared Amundson kick Good 20 28 4 5:49 10 62 4:08 Benedictine Ravens Frank Trent 1-yard touchdown run, 2-point Alex Blake Pass Good 28 28 4 1:29 3 18 0:51 Morningside Mustangs Connor Niles 16-yard touchdown reception from Trent Solsma, Jared Amundson kick Good 28 35 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. Benedictine Ravens Morningside Mustangs

Playoff bracket

	1st Round November 17					Quarterfinals November 24					Semifinals December 1					Championship December 15
	1	Morningside (11–0)	49
	16	Rocky Mountain (8–3)	20
						1	Morningside (12–0)	51
						17	Saint Xavier (IL) (9–3)	14
	2	Marian (IN) (10–0)	21
	17	Saint Xavier (IL) (8–3)	34
											1	Morningside (13–0)	34*
											8	Saint Francis (IN) (10–2)	28
	8	Saint Francis (IN) (8–2)	34
	10	Grand View (8–2)	3
						8	Saint Francis (IN) (9–2)	51
						12	Baker (9–2)	14
	3	Bethel (TN) (10–0)	41
	12	Baker (8–2)	44*
																1	Morningside (14–0)	35
																7	Benedictine (KS) (13–1)	28
	6	Kansas Wesleyan (11–0)	15
	9	Langston (9–1)	9
						6	Kansas Wesleyan (12–0)	43
						15	Dickinson State (9–2)	40
	5	Northwestern (IA) (9–1)	6
	15	Dickinson State (8–2)	14
											6	Kansas Wesleyan (13–0)	21
											7	Benedictine (KS) (12–1)	43
	7	Benedictine (KS) (10–1)	48**
	11	Cumberlands (KY) (10–1)	41
						7	Benedictine (KS) (11–1)	54
						13	Concordia (MI) (10–2)	38
	4	Reinhardt (9–1)	21
	13	Concordia (MI) (9–2)	31

* denotes OT / ** denotes double OT