(Donna Young photo)

In a massive boilover in the Florida Cup semifinals, South Florida upended #22 Florida State 19-12 Saturday in Tampa.

The Bulls will take on #12 Florida in Sunday’s championship final after UF accounted for Eckerd College in the first semi.

South Florida, a Division II school, benefited from a string of errors by FSU, including two knock-ons in the try zone, plus a swag of penalties against the Seminoles.

Florida State maintained possession for nearly the entire second half, but couldn’t convert that dominance into points as the Bulls pushed back with intensity.

"The boys worked hard, and all the credit to USF for a tough game. We had high hopes for this post-season, but we'll be back better than ever next year," Florida State head coach Mike Naylor told ARN.

In the earlier game, Eckerd College was no match for Florida with the Gators posting an 80-7 win to advance to Sunday’s Cup decider against USF and a trip to the South Championships as the Florida League seed.

Further north in Virginia, #14 Kutztown beat the Virginia Military Institute 29-23. KU, which is on a multi-game swing through the South, fielded its reserve grade side.

Kutztown led 12-11 at the half and went on to score five tries on the day. KU has games coming up against Life, Atlanta Renegades and Kennesaw State ahead of next weekend’s St Patty’s Day tournament in Savannah, GA.

Elsewhere, in the Mid-Atlantic, #10 Delaware beat West Chester 32-15. The Blue Hens led 20-3 at the main interval.

In the northeast, #8 Army emerged from a lengthy winter’s stay indoors for its annual clash with the Super League’s Boston Irish Wolfhounds, the Black Knights scoring a 26-22 victory.

“Good first outing for us,” said Army head coach Rich Pohlidal. “Our work rate off the ball was okay, but the contact areas were poor.”

In Jonesboro, AR, #7 Arkansas State hosted Life University in a match that saw the Red Wolves fall behind early before eventually going down 38-15 to the Running Eagles’ Super League team.

“Our boys got somewhat of a shock to their system,” Arkansas State head coach Matt Huckaby told ARN, “but once they settled down and played some good rugby they were competitive.”

Meantime, in Ohio, Bowling Green played the Cincinnati Wolfhounds Division I men’s team and it was the Hounds who came away with a close 29-27 win. Rocco Mauer (2) was among the better players for BGSU.