Football rebounds for 19-14 win at NSU

Saturday, September 22

Aberdeen, SD

1:00 p.m.

St. Cloud State

3-1 , 3-1

Northern State University

1-3 , 1-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

St. Cloud State

Northern State

St. Cloud State's defense held the Wolves to just two net yards rushing, the lowest total of the season against any opponent.

Photo by: Kylie Macziewski

9/22/2018 5:34:00 PM | Football

Box Score

ABERDEEN, S.D. – Not all wins are created equal. Some are pretty. Some are glorious. Some are gritty and scrappy. Others are ugly, hideous even. At the end of the game, though, all that matters is that one team has more points than the other, and preferably, the team with more points is the St. Cloud State University football team.

On Saturday, the Huskies were, in fact, the team with more points on their side of the scoreboard. After suffering its first loss of the season last week, St. Cloud State rebounded for a big 19-14 road win over Northern State University on Saturday, improving to 3-1 on the season with an identical mark in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) play.

The Huskies got off to a quick start in the game, as they scored three points on just their third drive of the game to take an early 3-0 lead over the Wolves. St. Cloud State started the drive at Northern's 48-yard line after another impressive three-and-out forced by the Huskies defense. St. Cloud State took full advantage as Dwayne Lawhorn (Germantown, Wis. / Germantown) and Curtwan Evans (Bloomington, Ill. / Lake Park) rushed for a combined 10 yards on the first two plays to get the first down, before Evans went on a season-long 36-yard dash to put the Huskies on Northern's two-yard line for first-and-goal.

Unfortunately, St. Cloud State was unable to score a touchdown on the possession, as Lawhorn's pass to John Pass (Elk Grove Villaige, Ill. / Elk Grove) was incomplete on third-and-goal. Adam Stage (Appleton, Wis. / Kimberly) was there to save the drive, connecting on the 23-yard field goal to put the Huskies ahead 3-0 at 3:09 in the first quarter.

St. Cloud State managed to extend its lead to 10-0 at the start of the second quarter, as Lawhorn ran the ball into the end zone just minutes in. The junior quarterback did fumble the ball, but managed to recover and hold on to earn six points in the Huskies favor. Stage then connected on the point after attempt (PAT) to put St. Cloud State in double-digits.

The Huskies defense then put on a clinic for the next seven minutes, as they forced three more Wolve three-and-out, giving the offense even more opportunities to extend the lead. Unfortunately, St. Cloud State's offense was unable to find the end zone, and Northern State eventually managed to break through the goose egg, scoring at 5:52 in the second quarter to cut the lead to 10-7.

The two teams entered halftime with the Huskies leading 10-7, the visitors were the first team to strike at the start of the third quarter. After another impressive display by St. Cloud State's offense, sophomore quarterback Justin Czech (Chippewa Falls, Wis. / Chippewa Falls) led the team right down the first for a field goal, extending the lead to 13-7. Stage again connected on the field goal, this one for 30-yards, while Evans had another big rush, this time for 16 yards on a second-and-13 to put the Huskies in Northern territory.

The Wolves tried to answer with an impressive drive of their own on the very next possession, but a goal-line stand by St. Cloud State's defense forced a turnover on downs. In fact, Northern State advanced all the way to the Huskies seven-yard line before an incomplete pass on fourth-and-one resulted in the turnover. Unfortunately, St. Cloud State was unable to advance beyond its own 14 and had to punt, giving the Wolves solid field position on their next possession.

Northern State certainly made the Huskies miscues count on the next possession. On the very first play of the drive, the Wolves connected for a 42-yard touchdown reception and converted the PAT to take a 14-13 lead. However, St. Cloud State did not panic. It simply waited until the final five minutes of the game to score the game-winning touchdown.

The game-winning drive started with a Czech pass to Pass for a seven-yard gain before Gregory Lewis (Milwaukee, Wis. / Wauwatosa West) got the first down on third-and-three with a six-yard rush of how. Czech then found Pass, this time for a 35-yard touchdown, to put the Huskies ahead 19-14 with under five minutes remaining in regulation.

Rather than have Stage kick the PTA, St. Cloud State attempted a two-point conversion to go up by a touchdown at 21-14. Unfortunately, Czech's pass fell incomplete, and the Huskies needed their defense to step up big and hold on to the 19-14 lead. The defense did exactly that, as it forced yet another three-and-out by the Wolves, thanks to a sack by senior defensive back Jake Schley (Cudahy, Wis. / St. Thomas Moore) to secure the 19-14 victory by St. Cloud State.

Offensively, Evans was the top player for the Huskies, as he tallied a season-high 140 yards in the victory with the 36-yarder in the first quarter. Czech was the top QB, going 3-for-9 with 41 yards and one touchdown, while Pass tallied a team-leading 67 yards and one touchdown.

St. Cloud State was outstanding on the defensive ball, as it held an opponent to 14 points for less for the second time this season. More impressively, the Huskies defense held the Wolves to just two net yards rushing, as season low in the NSIC this season, and 141 yards in the air.

Schley led the way for St. Cloud State with eight total tackles and the sack, while Jack Horter (Sussex, Wis. / Marquette) added seven tackles of his own. Jamari Manuel (Madison, Wis / East) and Devon Krzanowski (Fon Du Lac, Wis. / Fon Du Lac) each tallied a breakup and a combined five tackles in the victory.

With the win, the Huskies improve to 3-1 overall and hold a 3-1 mark in NSIC play. St. Cloud State will return to the field on Saturday when it takes on No. 1 Minnesota State-Mankato at 2 p.m. in Mankato, Minnesota.