Huskies drop heartbreaker 13-10 in season finale

Saturday, November 10

Moorhead, MN

1:00 p.m.

St. Cloud State

7-4 , 4-3

Minnesota State University Moorhead

8-3 , 6-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

St. Cloud State

MSU Moorhead

St. Cloud State ends the season with a top-30 defense in the nation in both rush yards and passing yards.

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

11/10/2018 5:09:00 PM | Football

Box Score

MOORHEAD, MINN. – It all came down to this.

One game decided the fate of the St. Cloud State University football team. One game against the Minnesota State-Moorhead Dragons, a team the Huskies have beaten in 21 consecutive seasons.

A win meant a lot things for St. Cloud State Saturday afternoon. Win and the team was in the Mineral Water Bowl for the first time in program history. Win and the Huskies would close the season with an 8-3 record both overall and in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) play, meaning they would finish the season ranked with the third best record in the conference.

Unfortunately, a win was not in the cards Saturday afternoon. Despite leading for 40:54 of the game, St. Cloud State was unable to return from Moorhead with a win, falling to the Dragons in heartbreaking fashion 13-10.

As aforementioned, the Huskies led for nearly the entire game and set the tone early by taking a 3-0 lead at 7:54 in the first quarter. Adam Stage (Appleton, Wis. / Kimberly) connected on a 27-yard field goal to put St. Cloud State ahead despite the windy and snowy conditions in northern Minnesota. However, his field goal would prove to be the only points scored in the entire second half, as neither the Huskies now Dragons could find the end zone during the first half of the game. In fact, the two defenses were absolutely outstanding, as both teams were held to under 300 offensive yards in the entire game.

However, it looked like things were going to go St. Cloud State's way, as Gregory Lewis (Milwaukee, Wis. / Wauwatosa West) scored extended the Huskies lead to 9-0 at 9:21 in the third quarter. Stage connected on the PAT, extending the lead to 10-0 with a little over five minutes remaining in regulation.

MSU-Moorhead eventually managed to cross into the end zone in the third quarter, as Zach Simons run cut the lead to 10-7. However, the Huskies still had plenty of reason to be confident, as their defense had held the Dragons potent offense to minimal yardage and just seven points through 45 minutes of play.

The final half of the fourth quarter, though, is where things started to go south for St. Cloud State. MSU-Moorhead tied the game at 10-10 when Joe Tjosvold connected on a 25-yard field goal. However, the dagger seemed to come in the final minute, as Tjosvold connected on a 24-yard field goal with 59 seconds left in regulation to give the Dragons their first lead of the ball game at 13-10.

Still, 59 seconds was plenty of time for quarterback Dwayne Lawhorn (Germantown, Wis. / Germantown) to come up with a game-tying or game-winning drive. On first-and-10 from his own 27-yard line, Lawhorn found senior tight end Sam Hartman (Des Moines, Iowa / West Des Moines Valley) for a four-yard reception before completing a pass to John Pass (Elk Grove Village, Ill. / Elk Grove) for 16 yards. Then, from the St. Cloud State 47, Lawhorn found his favorite target all season, John Solberg (Cambridge, Minn. / Cambridge-Isanti) for a game-long 27-yard reception to get the Huskies over the 50-yard line.

Moving across the 50, it looked like St. Cloud State had a legitimate chance to either score the game-winning touchdown or put Stage in prime position to tie the game with an easy field goal. However, nothing is every easy in Moorhead, Minnesota with the whipping winds and snowy November weather. After the completion to Solberg, Lawhorn lofted the ball to the sideline, seemingly to no one, resulting in a 10-yard penalty for intentional grounding. Lawhorn was then unable to complete a pass to Hartman, putting the Huskies in an interesting and unique situation. With 10 seconds remaining on the clock, the team had third-and-18 from the MSU-Moorhead 34-yard line. The Huskies had one of two options: go for a pass on third down to try and move up the field or go for the 51-yard field goal.

St. Cloud State opted for its trusty kicker Stage, who missed just one field goal in the months of September and October. The 51-yarder would have been the sophomore's longest completed field goal of the season, though he makes those field goals with ease in practice and pregame warm ups.

Stage went through his normal presnap routine, approached, and absolutely booted the ball. It had the distance, and it seemed like it had the line to send the game into overtime. However, at the very last second, the ball hooked left, missing the upright, and promptly ending the game at 13-10.

Lawhorn finished the day with 95 yards in the air, completing seven of his 15 pass attempts, while adding 55 yards on the ground. Lewis was the top rusher in his final game as a Husky, rushing for 69 net yards with one touchdown.

Solberg was the top receiver, accounting for 40 of Lawhorn's 95 passing yards, while Hartman added 32. Jake Schley (Cudahy, Wis. / St. Thomas More) was the team's top defenseman, recording a team-leading 13 tackles in his final game with St. Cloud State.

With the loss, the Huskies close the season with a 7-4 record and a 4-3 mark in NSIC North play. The seven wins are the most for the program since the 2013 season, and St. Cloud State's winning percentage of .636 is the most for the program since that same year as well.