Football Report: October 28, 2006
NCC Games
Minnesota State 44, South Dakota 39
Mankato, Minn. -- Jeff Fielder recovered and returned a blocked field goal 23 yards to push Minnesota State to a 44-39 victory over South Dakota.
The win, snapped MSU's 11-game NCC losing streak.
The Mavericks, who led most of the contest, saw themselves trailing 39-38 with one minute 34 seconds remaining as USD's Noah Shepard found Stefan Logan for a 13-yard touchdown pass to give the Coyotes its first lead since 14-10 in the second quarter. USD would miss the two-point conversion.
After a pooch-kick, the Mavericks found themselves with excellent field position and 89 seconds remaining. Ben King completed seven of eight passes to move Minnesota State into field goal territory with nine seconds remaining. The Mavericks originally set up for a 33 yard field-goal with nine seconds remaining. On first down, the Mavericks used a fake field goal as holder Ryan Fick's pass to Dan Harke fell short at the one-yard line, setting up another attempt. An illegal procedure call would push the kick back five yards setting up the final play of the game. USD's Tyler Bergan blocked the kick, which caromed into Fielder's hands and set up the game ending play.
King finished the game completing 40-of-63 passes for 505 yards, and four touchdowns, setting school records in each of those categories. King's 63 attempts also established a new NCC record. Bryan Dalton tied a school record for receptions in a game has he hauled in 13 catches for 152 yards. Dalton tied former wideout Dan Weldon Bryan Alberty also added five catches for a 108 yards.
Both teams combined for 152 plays and 1,111 yards. USD outgained MSU 566-545, despite MSU running a total of 87 plays. Logan led USD with 145 yards on 16 carries, he also caught five passes for 81 yards and two touchdowns. Brooks Little also added five catches for 100 yards, while Shephard completed 13-of-26 passes for 304 yards and two touchdowns.
Dan Ficcadenti tallied a career-high 11 tackles including a half a sack and a forced fumble. Sophomore defensive back Blake Freese added seven tackles and one pass breakup.
North Dakota 38, Minnesota Duluth 14
Grand Forks, N.D. -- North Dakota fired on every cylinder against Minnesota Duluth. The offense racked up 478 yards, while the defense created five turnovers, as UND dominated UMD 38-14 in front of a crowd of 8,009.
Much of the action came in the first half. UND jumped out to a 35-0 lead at half and had 353 yards, averaging just under 10 yards per play. The Sioux defense, meanwhile, held Duluth to 67 yards on 32 plays.
The Sioux also scored touchdowns on each of their first four possessions. Chris Belmore and Weston Dressler connected for touchdowns on three separate occasions. The defense also provided some points. Rory Manke intercepted a Ted Schlafke pass and returned 56 yards into the end zone.
Minnesota Duluth quarterback Ted Schlafke finished the day completing 24 of 43 passes for 326 yards and both touchdowns, but was intercepted four times. Tony Doherty had five receptions fof 156 yards and one touchdown.
Nebraska-Omaha 21, St. Cloud State 17
Omaha, Neb. -- Matt Ajuoga scooped up a blocked punt and returned it 19 yards for a fourth quarter touchdown Saturday to give the Nebraska-Omaha a 21-17 win over St. Cloud State. The victory, and a loss by South Dakota, boosts Nebraska-Omaha into sole possession of first place in the North Central Conference.
Quarterback Jon Quesnel passed for 251 yards and a touchdown for St. Cloud State. He engineered a 73-yard drive midway through the third quarter, producing a 33-yard field goal by Jon Gutierrez for a 17-14 SCSU lead.
That stood until the Mavericks forced the Huskies to punt from their own 33-yard line with less than 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Arsenio Richardson broke free and blocked the punt by Brian Cristan, Ajuoga recovered and ran in for the score.
The Huskies never trailed until the final quarter, scoring first on a nine-yard run by Kenneth Patrick early in the second quarter after the Huskies recovered a UNO fumble at the Maverick 44.
UNO quarterback Greg Wunderlich, playing in place of injured starter Zach Miller, led the Mavericks 76 yards in nine plays to tie the game. Tailback Kyle Kasperbauer picked his way 38 yards to the SCSU 2 to set up Wunderlich's two-yard scoring run.
Quesnel gave the Huskies the lead, 14-7, when he passed 14 yards to Derek Sedin with 2:46 left in the half. The Huskies then held UNO, forcing a punt, and got the ball back near midfield. UNO defensive end Tarvis Banks broke through to hurry Quesnel, whose throw was picked off by linebacker Jacob Chandler and returned 48 yards to tie the game with 1:05 left in the half.
Kasperbauer led the Mavericks with 136 yards on 27 carries and Zac Herold caught five passes for 61 yards. Wunderlich completed 9 of 18 for 91 yards with two interceptions.
Jarad Kness and Kenny Onatolu each had eight tackles for the Mavericks. Besides Chandler, Randy Kush and Jason Jones each had interceptions in the game. The Maverick defense now has not given up a second half touchdown in three straight games.
Central Washington 34, Augustana 28
Sioux Falls, S.D. -- Central Washington scored the first 20 points and went on to defeat Augustana 34-28 in a rare night game at Howard Wood Field.
Central Washington was paced by the accuracy of quarterback Mike Reilly's arm. Reilly completed 21 of 28 passes for 269 yards and three touchdowns. Chris Jameson had four catches for 88 yards and two touchdowns while Johnny Spevak had six grabs for 55 yards and one touchdown.
Augustana was paced by quarterback heroics of its own when backup Chris Pomerleau threw all four of the Vikings' touchdown tosses. He ended the night completing 18 of 27 passes for 210 yards. Ryan Rothenberger had 11 catches for 126 yards and two touchdowns while Tommy Ellingworth had seven catches for 69 yards and one touchdown.
Non-Conference
Western Washington 17, Western Oregon 14
Standings NCC Over.
Nebraska-Omaha 6-0 7-1
North Dakota 5-1 7-1
South Dakota 5-1 7-2
Central Washington 3-3 6-3
Augustana 3-4 5-4
Minnesota Duluth 3-4 5-4
Minnesota State 1-5 3-6
Western Washington 1-5 3-6
St. Cloud State 1-5 3-6