A Tale Of Two Halves: Late Offensive Surge not Enough To Overcome Early Deficit over #13 UMD

Saturday, September 21

Duluth, MN

6 p.m.

St. Cloud State

2-1 , 2-1

University of Minnesota Duluth

3-0 , 3-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

St. Cloud State

Minnesota Duluth

Payton Conrad with an interception against UMD

A Tale Of Two Halves: Late Offensive Surge not Enough To Overcome Early Deficit over #13 UMD

9/21/2019 11:06:00 PM | Football

Box Score

Duluth, Minnesota- St. Cloud State lost a close one in what was truly a battle in the trenches. The Huskies defense held the number 13 team in the nation to 20 points in a 20-14 loss. The offense started off slow but managed to work their way back into the game after being down 17-0 in the third quarter by airing the ball out most of the second half. The Huskies drop to 2-1 (2-1 NSIC North) and Minnesota-Duluth improves to 3-0 (3-0 NSIC North on the season.

SCSU's defense was able to hold Minnesota-Duluth to 234 total yards offensively while forcing a one turnover. The Huskies also had one sack and eight tackles for a loss on the night. The defense proved that they are indeed one of the top in the NSIC. Dwayne Lawhorn (Sr., QB, Germantown, Wis.) finished the night with 176 yards in the air along with a pair of touchdowns.

On the very first play of the game Payton Conrad (So., CB, Tea, S.D.) intercepted Minnesota-Duluth's John Larson. That interception set up the Huskies offense on Minnesota-Duluth's 40-yard line. SCSU moved the ball a few yards but ultimately had to settle for a field goal which was blocked.

Throughout the first few drives both the Huskies and Bulldogs struggled to get their run game going. Both teams proved to be very physical upfront. On the third drive for St. Cloud State Curtwan Evans (sr., RB, Bloomingdale, Ill.) proved to be the difference as his physical run style got the offense moving. The drive ultimately ended with Lawhorn throwing an interception on a tough throw.

The Bulldogs got on the board first with 9:31 left in the first half on a 9 play 63 yard drive. The St. Cloud State offense responded with a few big plays on the next possession but ended up punting. The Huskies defense came back out and held Minnesota-Duluth to just four plays before forcing them to punt. After another St. Cloud State turnover on their own side of the field the defense made a stand with their backs against the wall and held UMD to a 27-yard field goal.

The story of the first half was the pressure created by defensive front four on both sides. St. Cloud State did a great job of making Minnesota-Duluth uncomfortable and taking them out of their game. The only difference was the few big plays UMD had that gave them good field position which resulted in them scoring.

After receiving the kickoff to start the second half and the drive ultimately stalling, the defense came out and continued to pressure the quarterback which forced the Bulldogs to punt after three plays. The Huskies next drive started on their own 20 and after losing a fumble the defense found themselves with their backs against the wall again. A Wyatt Jentz (So., DL, Hortontown, Wis.) sack made it third and 17 for UMD which resulted in a missed 47-yard field goal for the Bulldogs and kept the score at 10-0, Minnesota Duluth.

After giving up a touchdown to the Bulldogs to make the score 17-0, the Huskies marched down field and put together their longest drive of the day. SCSU put together a beautiful 75-yard, 15 play scoring drive. Lawhorn was able to connect with Anthony Carver (Sr., TE, Milwaukee, Wis.) on fourth and two to extend their drive. A pass interference put the Huskies in the red-zone for the first time on the night. Lawhorn threw a beautiful ball to Tanner Teige (Jr., WR, Big Lake, Minn.) which put the Huskies on Minnesota-Duluth's one with a fresh set of downs. The next play SCSU lost five yards on a false start. A play later Lawhorn connected with Max Plunkett (Fr., WR, Superior, Wis.) for a six yard touchdown reception to make the score 17-7.

St. Cloud State defense came out and held the UMD offense to a 32-yard field goal on a long drive that was aided by pass interference penalty. The Huskies got the ball on their 30-yard line with 8:16 left in the game after a nice return from Dwayne Wade (Jr., CB, Evanston, Ill.). Lawhorn connected with Carver on the first play of the drive with a 21-yard pass. The two connected again for a 16-yard gain a few plays later. SCSU caught a break after Lawhorn was sacked and the Bulldogs were charged with an unnecessary roughness penalty. After finding their way into the red-zone and facing a fourth and six, Lawhorn was able to find Carver for another nine-yard pick up. Teige caught a one-yard touchdown reception to make the game 20-14 with 3:32 to go in the fourth quarter.

The next drive the UMD offense was able to pick up a crucial first down and milk the clock to end the game.

The Huskies will be back in action at Husky Field for homecoming next Saturday, September 28, 2019 as they take on Northern State at 5 p.m.
https://scsuhuskies.com/boxscore.aspx?id=3996&path=football