Football suffers first loss at hands of No. 16 UMD

Thursday, September 13

St. Cloud, Minn.

6:00 p.m.

St. Cloud State

2-1 , 2-1

University of Minnesota Duluth

3-0 , 3-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Minn.-Duluth

St. Cloud State

Nathan Gimza celebrates his touchdown in the first half with teammates.

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

9/13/2018 9:34:00 PM | Football

Box Score

ST. CLOUD, MINN. – It was the perfect night for yet another upset. The St. Cloud State football team was taking on its rival, the University of Minnesota-Duluth, in a key Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) showdown under the Thursday night lights. Unfortunately, while the scene was picturesque, the result was not nearly as nice to the Huskies, as they fell to the No. 16/20 Bulldogs by a final score of 41-17.

Penalties and turnovers proved to be the dagger for the Huskies, as the usually disciplined team committed two turnovers and six penalties, which resulted in a costly 40 yards. In fact things didn't quite start the way St. Cloud State was hoping. On the first offensive possession, Husky quarterback Dwayne Lawhorn (Germantown, Wis. / Germantown) threw a beautiful deep pass right into the hands of Bulldog corner back Tareq Abulebbeh, giving the dangerous Minnesota-Duluth offense for its first possession of the ball game. However, St. Cloud State's defense forced a Bulldog three-and-out preserving the 0-0 score and giving the offense the chance to score first.

The Huskies were not so lucky on their next offensive possession. St. Cloud State went three-and-out despite multiple openings in the receiving game. Minnesota-Duluth, however, was not going to be kept out of the end zone on their next possession. Despite the Huskies best defensive efforts, the Bulldogs scored on a two-yard run to take a 7-0 lead over St. Cloud State.

The Huskies looked to answer on their next possession, but another three-and-out gave Minnesota-Duluth the ball yet again. In fact, the Bulldogs time of possession was over 15 minutes in the first quarter alone compared to St. Cloud State's 2:45 with the ball offensively. However, it did look like the defense managed to hold Minnesota-Duluth at bay, as twice the home team was faced with fourth-and-one on the possession. Both times, though, the Bulldogs managed to convert on fourth down and score, extending their lead to 14-0 at the start of the second quarter.

Minnesota-Duluth once again converted on third-down, scoring on a 48-yard touchdown pass to extend the lead to 21-0. However, St. Cloud State wasn't down and out yet. After falling behind 21-0, the Huskies went right down the field and scored a touchdown of their own cutting the lead to 21-7. Of course, it looked like another three-and-out was inevitable for St. Cloud State, as an incomplete pass by Lawhorn and a no-yard gain by Gregory Lewis (Milwaukee, Wis. / Wauwatosa West) resulted in third-and-10, a down and distance that had not been kind to the Huskies in the previous offensive possessions.

On the board! 9 yd TD pass from Lawhorn to Gizma give @SCSUHuskiesFB first TD of the day at 6:15 of the 2nd. Score stands at UMD 21, UMD 7 on Sept. 13. #unleashSCSU pic.twitter.com/ua7RbBl2jX
— Huskies Football (@SCSUHuskiesFB) September 14, 2018

Lewis, though, showed senior poise and leadership, as he earned a 42-yard gain against the No. 2 rushing defense in the nation to put St. Cloud State in enemy territory. Lawhorn then took matters into his own hands, taking advantage of two timely Bulldog penalties and connecting with Nathan Gimza (Chicago Ridge, Ill. / Richards) in the end zone to cut the lead to 21-6. Adam Stage (Appleton, Wis. / Kimberly) connected on the point after (PTA) to make it 21-7.

After the touchdown, it looked like the momentum was starting to swing in St. Cloud State's direction. The Huskies defense got a huge three-and-out against Minnesota-Duluth's hot offense to give the home team an opportunity to score yet again. Unfortunately, a fumble by Curtwan Evans (Bloomington, Ill. / Lake Park) proved a costly turnover, as the Bulldogs scored to make it 27-7 with roughly four minutes remaining in the second quarter.

After another three and out, it looked like the Huskies had a chance to end the half down only 27-7, so long as their defense could get another big stop. The defense did that and more, as senior linebacker Jack Horter (Sussex, Wis. / Marquette) came up with a big, albeit slightly odd, interception to give St. Cloud State possession again with roughly three minutes remaining in the half. The Huskies took advantage by scoring a field goal to cut Minnesota-Duluth's lead to 27-10 at the half.

WOW! #SCTOP10 @SCSUHuskiesFB Jack Horter with the highlight reel interception vs. @UMDBulldogs in the 2nd quarter. Puts SCSU into scoring position with 1:30 left in the half on Sept. 13. UMD 27, SCSU 7 pic.twitter.com/OqLHx873fK
— SCSU HUSKIES (@SCSUHUSKIES) September 14, 2018

St. Cloud State's defense was again stellar to start the second half, as it looked like the team managed to hold the Bulldogs scoreless in their opening possession. However, a penalty on the punt gave the ball back to Minnesota-Duluth, and the unfortunate result was another Bulldog touchdown.

Down 34-10 early in the third quarter, the Huskies had a chance to cut into the lead again on their next offensive possession. Unfortunately, Minnesota-Duluth's defense proved to be too great again and again and again. Though Evans did manage to score a touchdown in the fourth quarter, St. Cloud State was unable to catch the No. 16 Bulldogs, resulting in the 41-17 loss.

The Huskies did manage to score the most points against Minnesota-Duluth this season, as the Bulldogs only surrendered three points and six points in their previous two games. Offensively, St. Cloud State was led by Lawhorn, who completed seven of 23 passes for 100 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Lewis was the top rusher with 48 of the team's 86 yards, while John Solberg (Cambridge, Minn. / Cambridge-Isanti) was once again the top receiver, pulling in 41 yards total.

Defensively, the Huskies were led by Parker Buckley (Rice Lake, Wis. / Rice Lake), Horter and Matthew Lechnew (Waukesha, Wis. / Catholic Memorical) with six tackles a piece. Horter also recorded the interception.

With the loss, St. Cloud State's record falls to 2-1 and the team is 2-1 as well in NSIC play. The Huskies will return to the field on Saturday, September 22 as it faces Northern State University at 1 p.m. in Aberdeen, South Dakota.