Huskies dominate in 44-14 win over Crookston

Saturday, September 8

Crookston, MN

1:00 p.m.

St. Cloud State

2-0 , 2-0

University of Minnesota Crookston

0-2 , 0-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

St. Cloud State

Minnesota Crookston

Dwayne Lawhorn wracked up 333 yards in the Huskies 44-14 win over Crookston Saturday.

Photo by: Maddie MacFarlane

9/8/2018 5:11:00 PM | Football

Box Score

CROOKSTON, MINN. – In its season opener, the St. Cloud State football team need a last-minute drive to ensure victory over the University of Mary. On Saturday, it was the complete opposite story. The Huskies were completely dominate in their 44-14 victory over the University of Minnesota-Crookston, allowing them to improve their record to 2-0 both overall and in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) play.

St. Cloud State truly was dominant in all facets of the game, as the team led Crookston in every offensive and defensive category except for punting. Dwayne Lawhorn (Germantown, Wis. / Germantown) logged a career-high 333 passing yards, completing 16 of 26 passes with three touchdowns, two of which were to senior wide receiver John Pass (Elk Grove Village, Ill. / Elk Grove), while the Husky defense held the Golden Eagles to 239 yards in the air. St. Cloud State's run game was also dominant in the victory, as six individuals racked up 176 yards and two touchdowns in the victory.

The scoring started early for the Huskies, as Adam Stage (Appleton, Wis. / Kimberly) gave the team a quick 3-0 lead after converting a 46-yard field goal at 10:54 in the first half. Then, five minutes later, St. Cloud State scored its first touchdown of the ball game on a beautiful pass from Lawhorn to Pass. The two connected for a 27-yard touchdown reception, extending the Huskies lead to 9-0 before Stage converted the point after (PTA) to make the lead 10-0.

Crookston answered by scoring on the next possession, cutting the lead to 10-7 on a 26-yard run by quarterback Jalin Scott. However, the Huskies quickly pushed its lead back to a touchdown, as Stage made another field goal on St. Cloud State's first possession of the second quarter, extending the lead to 13-7.

Of course, the Huskies weren't done scoring in the second, as Gregory Lewis (Milwauke, Minn. / Wauwatosa West) scored his first touchdown of the season with a five-yard run, pushing the lead to 19-7. Yes, Stage converted the PTA, as he has all season long, to extend the lead to the 20-7 lead St. Cloud State would hold at halftime.

The Huskies scored two more touchdowns in the third, extending the lead to 27-7 then 41-14 after the Golden Eagles managed to score their second touchdown of the game midway through the quarter. Curtwan Evans (Bloomington, Ill. / Lake Park) scored the team's second rushing touchdown of the day, capping off a 75-yard drive with a six-yard run to give St. Cloud State the 27-7 lead (Stage converted the PTA). However, less than 20 seconds later, Crookston scored its second touchdown of the ball game, this time on a 70-yard pass from Scott to Tristan Robbins to cut the lead to 27-14 (yes, the Golden Eagles kicker converted his PTA as well).

St. Cloud State answered in the best way possible by scoring on its very next offensive possession. Lawhorn connected with one of his favorite targets, first-week hero John Solberg (Cambridge, Minn. / Cambridge-Isanti), for a 70-yard touchdown reception, the duo's longest of the season and Lawhorn's longest pass of the day to extend the Huskies lead to 34-14 (Stage converted again).

Like in the second quarter, St. Cloud State was the only team to score in the fourth, as Lawhorn found Pass again, this time for a 64-yard touchdown pass, and Stage converted his third field goal of the game, this one for 47-yards, to cement the Huskies 44-14 victory.

While the offense certainly provided several highlights, St. Cloud State's defense was no slouch either. Ferris Ingraham (Evanston, Ill. / Evanston Township) recorded a season-high nine tackles and forced a fumble in the victory, while Jack Horter (Sussex, Wis. / Marquette University High School) added eight. Jamari Manuel (Madison, Wis. / East) tallied his first interception of the season as well, while Tyler Turriff (Onalaska, Wis. / Onalaska-Lutheran) recorded a forced fumble as well.

With the win, the Huskies improve to 2-0 overall and hold a 2-0 mark in NSIC play. St. Cloud State will return to the field on Thursday, September 13 when it hosts the University of Minnesota-Duluth in a huge rivalry game starting at 6 p.m. The game will also serve as NSIC Day.