MORRIS, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris football team put Crown College down early on Saturday, exploding out of the gates for 49 points in the first half of a 56-23 win over the Polars. The Cougars, winners of five straight, move to 5-3 overall and 3-0 in the UMAC. 

After winning the coin toss and deferring to the second half, Minnesota Morris actually fell behind after Crown was able to drive downfield and connect on a 34-yard field goal from Brock Knick. The Cougars wouldn't wait long to strike back. All six UMN Morris drives in the first half ended up in the end zone, with Jacob Miranda setting the Cougars up for success with a long kickoff return that placed the ball at the Polar 39-yard line to start the first Minnesota Morris drive. A 34-yard pass from Marcus Reeb to Cole Mitchell put the ball inside the five and Izayah Boss found paydirt from three yards out to make it 7-3 following the Alex Happ extra point.

A three-and-out followed by a short punt meant that Minnesota Morris only needed to go 33 yards on its second drive of the day. Blake Johnson ran it in from seven yards out on the fourth play from scrimmage to make it 14-3 and a surprise onside kick recovered by Happ kept the offense on the field for another go round. This time it was Boss from 15 yards out that finished things off to make it 21-3 after one quarter of play.

The Cougars were already driving as the first 15 minutes ended and it took less than three minutes into the second quarter for Minnesota Morris to strike again. This time it was a Reeb quarterback sneak from a yard out that increased the cushion to 28-3. 

Following a Crown touchdown that made it 28-10, Miranda again ripped off a long return of 47 yards to put Minnesota Morris into Polar territory to start its drive. A third-down conversion run from Boss was followed by a 16-yard completion to Carter Watnaas and a 15-yard Johnson run for the score, pushing the lead back up to 35-10. 

Facing a third down and needing nearly 20 yards to move the chains, Reeb found Ethan Tang for 26 yards on the next Minnesota Morris possession. The Cougars methodically moved downfield from there, ending with a seven-yard completion to Tang to make it 42-10 with less than 30 seconds remaining in the opening half. 

Crown was content to run out the clock in the first half, but on a handoff to Caleb Freelen, Alex Emmrich got a hand in and stripped the ball. Greg Ohman was on the spot to pick it up and he zigzagged his way into the end zone with 15 seconds left to increase the margin to 49-10 at the break.

The first-half point total for Minnesota Morris was the most since the Cougars also had a 49-point outburst in a 77-13 win over Principia College on Sept. 15, 2007.

Given the huge lead that the Cougars carried into the second half, the rest of the game was largely a case of clock management. Crown was able to score on its first drive of the second half and make it 49-17, but Ohman came up with an interception to stop another long Polar possession later in the third quarter. 

Following that turnover, the Cougars ran out the rest of the quarter and took nearly another five minutes of the fourth quarter off before Ethan Klimek hit Tang for a six-yard score. One final Polar touchdown with less than six minutes to go made it 56-23, but Minnesota Morris was able to move the chains three times from there and run out the rest of the clock.

Reeb finished with an efficient 14-of-18 day for 169 yards and a touchdown through the air, plus a touchdown on the ground. Johnson carried 11 times for 79 yards and two scores, while Boss added 11 carries for 53 yards and two touchdowns. Christian Flores was a workhorse in the second half with 20 carries for 65 yards and Blake Schmidt added four carries for 36 yards. Tang was the top target through the air with seven catches for 73 yards and two touchdowns.

Emmrich was the top tackler for Minnesota Morris on the day with nine (five solo) in addition to his forced fumble. Hunter Infanger added eight stops (six solo) and Ohman had six tackles (three solo) along with his fumble return touchdown and interception. Chayce Meyer paced the front four with five tackles and 1.5 sacks.

Minnesota Morris heads to New Ulm, Minn. next Saturday to battle Martin Luther College at 1 p.m.