MORRIS, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris football team claimed its first UMAC title since 2006 and will make its first playoff appearance since 1981 following a thrilling 42-39 victory over the University of Northwestern on Saturday at Big Cat Stadium. The win over the Eagles was the seventh straight for the Cougars, who improve to 7-3 overall and wrap up UMAC play with a perfect 5-0 record.
Northwestern looked unstoppable in the first quarter, rolling to three touchdowns on its first three possessions. The Eagles went 75 yards on the opening drive of the game, finishing up with a 27-yard touchdown pass from Caden Cantrell to Jeremiah Staten on a screen pass. After the Cougars were stopped short going for it on fourth down near midfield, Northwestern quickly moved the ball back into Minnesota Morris territory and made it 14-0 on a trick play in which wide receiver Beau Burk completed a 21-yard touchdown pass to Jaylen Brown.
The Cougars looked lost in the first nine minutes of the game, but
Izayah Boss wasted no time in jolting the team and the crowd back to life. Boss found a seam and burst outside for a 68-yard touchdown run on the second play after Minnesota Morris took the ball back over, making it 14-7.
The Eagles leaned heavily on Staten on the ensuing possession, but with the ball at the Cougar 24-yard line, they faked a run play up the middle and then handed the ball off to Brown on a reverse as he strolled in untouched to put Northwestern up by two scores as the second quarter got underway.
Minnesota Morris was inside the Northwestern 10-yard line as the second quarter began, but an attempted quarterback sneak by
Marcus Reeb from the 1-yard line resulted in a fumble that was recovered by Northwestern. In need of a big play, the Cougars got one from one of their seniors on Senior Day.
Hunter Infanger fought off a blocker and tripped up Staten in the end zone on the very next play to make it 21-9 and give the ball back to Minnesota Morris. The Cougars then moved the ball efficiently downfield and this time Reeb connected with
Cole Mitchell on a six-yard touchdown pass to pull UMN Morris with five, 21-16.
The Cougars touched the ball first in the third quarter and again rolled through the Northwestern defense. The drive was finished off by a seven-yard touchdown run from
Blake Johnson, though the two-point conversion attempt from Minnesota Morris was intercepted. Infanger came up with another big play on the next Northwestern drive, poking the ball out of Burk's hands after a completion.
Alex Emmrich recovered the loose ball and ran it back 20 yards to set the Cougars up at the Eagle 20-yard line. Four plays later, Boss was in the end zone for a second time and
Alex Happ's extra point gave Minnesota Morris a 29-21 lead.
Though Northwestern had allowed 22 unanswered points, the Eagles were far from out of it and answered back with a field goal that cut the deficit to 29-24. From there, a three-and-out from the Minnesota Morris offense put the UNW offense back on the field and Cantrell finished the drive with a one-yard plunge followed by a successful two-point conversion to stake the visitors to a 32-29 advantage.
Before the third quarter was through, Boss wiggled through the Northwestern defense for another chunk of yardage, rolling 36 yards into the Eagle red zone. The drive stalled, but Happ's 25-yard field goal knotted the score at 32-32 heading into the final quarter.
The fourth quarter began with a short field for the Cougars and Reeb escaped contain on third down and ran for 12 yards and a fresh set of downs. Two plays later, Johnson busted loose for 16 yards and the score to put Minnesota Morris on top, 39-32. Northwestern came right back with a 13-play drive to once again level the score at 39-39 with eight minutes to play.
A nice kickoff return from
Garrett Elison set Minnesota Morris up near midfield and the Cougars picked up a pair of first downs before being stopped at the Northwestern 25-yard line. With 4:29 remaining, Happ drilled a 42-yard field goal to put Minnesota Morris ahead by three.
The Cougars were now in a position to win with one stop, but Northwestern didn't make it easy. After picking up a first down in two plays, the Eagles then converted on a fourth down to move the ball to the 50-yard line. Using Staten on nearly every down, the Eagles moved inside the Minnesota Morris 20, but also began to have the clock working against them. Staten picked up another first down with a five-yard gain on a 3rd and 5 to get the ball to the Cougar 10, but it also resulted in Northwestern using its final timeout with 18 seconds to play.
Coming out of the break in action, the Minnesota Morris front four collapsed the pocket on Cantrell and the Eagle quarterback tried to force a throw instead of taking what likely would have been a game-ending sack. The ball wobbled through the air and didn't make it to his intended target, instead winding up in the hands of Juan Garza. The first-year safety ran the ball safely away from the goal line and was downed with seven seconds remaining, letting the Cougars wrap things up from the victory formation.
Reeb was 12-of-17 for 143 yards and a touchdown through the air.
Ethan Tang was his favorite target on the afternoon with five catches for 95 yards. Boss and Johnson formed a remarkable pair in the backfield as Boss went for 172 yards and two scores on 13 carries, while Johnson had 100 yards and two scores on 27 carries.
Emmrich was outstanding out of his linebacker position with 20 tackles (seven solo) and the fumble recovery that turned into a Cougar touchdown. Infanger finished with 11 tackles (six solo), a forced fumble, and a safety, while also providing excellent coverage to contain Northwestern's Burk that included a pass breakup in the end zone on the play prior to the game-clinching interception.
Gregory Ohman also added 13 tackles (eight solo).
Happ started his afternoon by singing the National Anthem and finished it with a 4-for-4 day on extra points and field goal makes of 25 and 42 yards.
Minnesota Morris will find out its destination for the first round of the NCAA Division III playoffs tomorrow afternoon when the 32-team bracket is released starting at 4 p.m.
