Last minute magic clinches 14-13 win for Huskies

Thursday, August 30

St. Cloud, Minn.

6:00 p.m.

St. Cloud State

1-0 , 1-0

University of Mary

0-1 , 0-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

MARY

St. Cloud State

Graham Miller recovers the football in the first quarter of Thursday's game against Mary.

Photo by: Tom Nelson

8/30/2018 9:41:00 PM | Football

Box Score

ST. CLOUD, MINN. – It was no secret that Dwayne Lawhorn (Germantown, Wis. / Germantown) and John Solberg (Cambridge, Minn. / Cambridge-Isanti) had the potential to be one of the top duos in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) in 2018.

On Thursday, the two juniors showed just how dangerous they can be for opposing defenses.

Trialing 13-7 heading into the final minute of regulation, Lawhorn and Solberg did what quarterbacks and receivers do best in the state of Minnesota. Lawhorn threw the ball. Solberg made the catch behind his defender, only this time, it was in the back of the end zone, allowing St. Cloud State to open the 2018 season with a 14-13 win over the University of Mary.

In addition to Lawhorn and Solberg, the team's defense was outstanding Thursday afternoon. In fact, thanks to the defense, the Huskies had multiple chances to take an early lead in the game. In fact, the defense forced two fumbles in the opening quarter of play, including one less than 10 minutes into the game. At 10:40 in the first quarter, Zach Stecklein (Mt. Horeb, Wis. / Mt. Horeb) forced a Marauder quarterback Jordan Velarde fumble, putting St. Cloud State on the Mary 48-yard line less than halfway through the first quarter.

Unfortunately, the Huskies were unable to convert on their opening drive, as Lawhorn threw a pass right to UMary's Marquell Evens for an interception, returning possession to the Marauders. Fortunately, the St. Cloud State defense was just as stout as it had been on the opening possession. In fact, the Huskies defense dominated in the opening two quarters, as they held UMary to 21 yards rushing and 92 yards in the air. Sadly, St. Cloud State was unable to prevent the Marauders from scoring at 8:25 in the second quarter. With a fourth and two, UMary ran a quarterback sneak, and although senior defensive end Jake Schley (Cudahy, Wis. / St. Thomas Moore) managed to get a hand on the speedy quarterback, he was unable to bring Velarde down, resulting in a 7-0 lead for the Marauders.

The Huskies tried to even the score in the first have, but were unable to break through the visitors tough defense. In fact, St. Cloud State advanced all the way to the UMary one-yard line after Graham Miller (Minneapolis, Minn. / Washburn) recovered a fumbled snap on the 35. However, a goal line stand by the Marauder defense preserved and allowed the visiting team to score on the next possession.

Uncharacteristically, sophomore kicker Adam Stage (Appleton, Wis. / Kimberly) missed two field goal attempts in the first half, including one in the closing seconds of the second quarter. However, the Huskies did receive the ball at the start of the second half, as they chose to defer after winning the coin toss before the game.

St. Cloud State looked like it was putting together yet another impressive scoring drive on its opening possession of the third quarter, but an interception at the goal line seemed to swing the momentum back in UMary's direction. The tides quickly turned back toward the Huskies, though, as Matthew Lechner (Waukesha, Wis. / Catholic Memorial) came up big with an interception, returning possession and momentum back to St. Cloud State.

Nearly eight minutes later, the Huskies finally managed to break through and score, as Lawhorn connected with John Solberg (Cambridge, Minn. / Cambridge-Isanti) in the back of the end zone to cut the Marauders lead to 7-6. Stage then connected on the point after, tying the game at 7-7.

The score did not stay tied very long. UMary scored on its very next possession, as Velarde connected with Tyson Carney for a 51-yard touchdown pass. However, the Huskies were able to keep the score within six, as they stopped the Marauders attempt at a two-point conversation to hold the score to 13-6.

It took until the final minute, but St. Cloud State did eventually manage to tie the game. Lawhorn took command of the Husky offense, captaining the team all the way down the field to score with 1:07 remaining in regulation. Twice in the ensuing drive, Lawhorn connected with Solberg, including on the touchdown to tie the game at 13-13. However, the duo was gold throughout the drive, as it was Solberg who caught a big 33-yard reception on third down to put the Huskies in Marauder territory.

From there, it was Lawhorn and Solberg taking charge for St. Cloud State, as the two juniors connected for a touchdown to tie the game at 13-13. Stage then converted on the point after to put the Huskies ahead for the first time 14-13.

Despite the late lead, there was still 1:07 remaining on the clock, plenty of time for UMary to take the ball and regain the lead. The Marauders did manage to convert a third down and move to their own 40-yard line but a huge play by Ben Gutschow (Amherst, Wis. / Amherst) prevented UMary from converting on fourth down, preserving the 14-13 victory for St. Cloud State.

The Huskies finished the game leading the Marauders in all statistical categories, including passing (255) and rushing yards (105). Thanks to his last minute heroics, Lawhorn completed 25 of 45 passes in the victory while throwing for 255 yards with two touchdown and two interceptions.

Curtwan Evans (Bloomingdale, Ill. / Lake Park) rushed for more yards individually than all of UMary, as he finished the game with a team-leading 57 yards on 17 carries. Gregory Lewis (Milwaukee, Wis. / Wauwatosa West) finished the game with 33 yards on 11 attempts, while Lawhorn added 18. Solberg was the team's top receiver with a career-high 148 yards on 12 receptions and both touchdowns.

With the win, St. Cloud State opens the season with a 1-0 record and is also 1-0 in NSIC play. The Huskies will return to action on Saturday, September 8, when they take on the University of Minnesota-Crookston on the road at 1 p.m.