Having narrowly skipped past Friday's semifinal opponents, this final pit the conference's two best teams with a lot to play for. The Broncos were eager to prove they had truly come of age this year by capping their Regular season Championship with another win over Akron. The Zips themselves, nursing the pain of ending the season without their now annual regular-season title, were looking to reassert their superiority over their Western Michigan rivals.
The tone of the game was set right from the early running. The Zips took the initiative, controlling possession and probing to break their hosts.