SAN DIEGO (Interstat) — San Diego defeated visiting Valparaiso 38-13 on Saturday in an NCAA Football Championship Division game at Torero Stadium. The Toreros improved to 3-4 this season, while the Beacons fell to 3-4. An announced attendance of 3,817 attended the game. San Diego was the home team, and Valparaiso was the visitor.

San Diego opened the scoring on Adam Criter’s 5-yard touchdown run, but the extra-point attempt failed. Valparaiso answered later in the first quarter when Cedric Benning III scored on an 8-yard run and Luke Scoma added the extra point. The Toreros moved back in front on Omar Mbakwe’s 2-yard touchdown run and Emiliano Salazar’s extra point. Salazar made a 31-yard field goal with 1:39 left in the second quarter and added a 40-yard field goal with three seconds remaining before halftime. Valparaiso’s Scoma opened the third-quarter scoring with a 36-yard field goal. San Diego later put together a 17-point third quarter to create separation. In the fourth quarter, Criter scored on a 3-yard run and Salazar added the extra point. Scoma made a 40-yard field goal for the Beacons, Salazar answered with a 47-yard field goal, and T. Bailey returned an interception 52 yards for a San Diego touchdown to help seal the result. Valparaiso’s only touchdown came on Benning’s 8-yard run, while Scoma added two field goals and one extra point. The first half included a failed extra point by San Diego, a successful extra point by Valparaiso and two field goals by Salazar. San Diego then created distance with its third-quarter scoring.

Valparaiso quarterback Rowan Keefe completed 15 of 27 passes for 178 yards and rushed eight times for 21 yards. Devin Yeats led the Beacons’ receivers with four catches for 70 yards. Chris Gundy had four receptions for 54 yards and contributed one carry for 5 yards, two kickoff returns for 49 yards and one punt return for minus-1 yard. Marty O’Keeffe added three catches for 32 yards. Cedric Benning III finished with eight carries for 17 yards, one reception for 2 yards and one touchdown. Kam Fouty-Koonce had one catch for 10 yards, Daniel White had one for 6 and Colin Hayes had one for 4. Isaac Tran carried once for 3 yards, Ashton Allen had five carries for 9 yards and Gundy added a 5-yard run. Will Orlando punted four times for 214 yards. Scoma made both of his field-goal attempts and converted his extra-point try.

Defensively for Valparaiso, Anthony Feltrinelli recorded nine tackles. Nic Lendino added seven tackles, while Emmanuel Olojo, Alex Goworowski and Garrett Risley each made six stops. Mark Johnson, Max Samuel and Gabriel Batres each had five tackles. Samuel recorded one sack and one quarterback hurry, and Batres had one sack. Connor Cervantes and Jason Salman each recorded four tackles. Micah Markley and Wyatt Little each made two tackles, and Bertrand Berry II, Donovan Brown, Blake Thorp, Easton Hill and Skyler Slifer each had one. Kaiser Wilhelm returned two kickoffs for 41 yards and made one tackle.

San Diego quarterback Dom Nankil completed 14 of 25 passes for 140 yards and rushed seven times for 44 yards. Criter powered the ground game with 20 carries for 136 yards and two touchdowns. Mbakwe added 16 carries for 48 yards and one touchdown and caught one pass for minus-1 yard. Elijah Taylor caught six passes for 82 yards. Carter Pruitt had two receptions for 20 yards, Yosei Takahashi had one catch for 14 yards and two punt returns for 58 yards, Ashton Rees had two catches for 11 yards and Cole Monach had one catch for 9 yards. Zamar Reese ran four times for 23 yards and caught one pass for 5 yards. Nathan Brown added one carry for 5 yards. Christopher Hall returned one kickoff for 17 yards, and Salazar punted three times for 117 yards. Nankil’s 140 passing yards were complemented by San Diego’s strong rushing totals, with Criter and Mbakwe leading the way. Taylor’s 82 receiving yards led the Toreros, and Takahashi’s punt returns helped San Diego’s field position.

Defensively for San Diego, Ruben Lopez made seven tackles. Tim Hays added five tackles, Cayden Gibson had four and Shaun Aletor recorded three tackles with one sack. Thomas Nunes had three tackles, Ezekiel Swayne made one tackle and CJ Castille had three. Aletor’s sack was one of the Toreros’ defensive highlights. Salazar handled punting duties and made field goals, while Hall and Takahashi contributed in the return game. San Diego’s defense kept Valparaiso out of the end zone after the first quarter and came up with Bailey’s late interception return. San Diego’s defensive front generated pressure, and the secondary came up with the key interception return. The Toreros held Valparaiso to 13 points.

Valparaiso entered the game after a home win over Drake, while San Diego was coming off a loss at Butler. Valparaiso’s other wins this season came against Morehead State and Lawrence Tech. San Diego’s previous wins came against Davidson and Cal Poly. Both teams are now 3-4 overall. Valparaiso had also lost to Butler, Indiana State and Murray State this season. San Diego had also lost to Saint Thomas, Idaho State and UC Davis. Valparaiso will next host Presbyterian. San Diego will next visit Dayton. Valparaiso is also scheduled to visit Dayton and Stetson later this season, while San Diego is set to host Marist and Stetson in upcoming games.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of San Diego 48, Valparaiso 28. Interstat’s ELO system gave San Diego a 90 percent probability to win.