UMD Falls to Sioux Falls

NSO – NEWS RELEASE

A  21-point halftime deficit against any NCAA Division II team is hard to recover from, much less one that happens to be nationally ranked

The University of Minnesota Duluth faced that predicament Saturday night in its inaugural appearance at Bob Young Stadium in Sioux Falls, S.D., where the University of Sioux Falls used big plays and turnovers to take what appeared to be a comfortable 35-14 lead through two quarters.

That three-touchdown hole proved to be just a tad too much for the No.7 Bulldogs to dig out of as the No. 12 Cougars held on to win the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference heavyweight bout 35-31 and remain unbeaten at 3-0.

The Bulldogs, who fell to 1-2 for the first time since the 2007 season, had a chance to take their first lead of the night with 4:43 to go in the fourth quarter, but a fourth-and-eight slant pass from junior quarterback Drew Bauer to junior wide out Dominic Bonner in the UMD end zone was broken up by Sioux Falls cornerback Cliff Redmond.

Although there was still ample time remaining, the Bulldogs had already used all three of their time outs and Sioux Falls, after picking up two first downs on (on third-and-10 and third-and-five situations), ran out the clock to clinch the victory.

The second-ever clash between the two clubs was a textbook tale of two halves. Sioux Falls outgained UMD 347-239 in the opening 30 minutes of play, but the Bulldogs held a commanding 224-117 advantage in that department during the final two quarters. For the night, UMD also had possession of the football for over twice as long (40:30 to 19:30) as the hosts.

Sioux Falls took a 14-0 first quarter lead on David Clark’s 33-yard interception return (marking the first time a UMD opponent had parlayed a pick into a touchdown since the 2008 NCAA II national championship game against Northwest Missouri State) and Max Mickey’s 70-yard scoring run. Junior wide out/running back Beau Bofferding got the Bulldogs on the board one minute into the second quarter when he bolted 23 yards for his team-leading fourth touchdown of the year.

On the ensuing possession, quarterback Luke Papilion put the Cougars up 21-7 with a 17-yard touchdown and then nearly 10 minutes expired before Bauer capped off a 14-play, 87-yard scoring drive by hitting a wide open Bonner with a 35-yard strike.

Just 24 seconds after that score (and with 2:18 to go before the break), Sioux Falls answered as Papilon scampered around the left end and down the sidelines 56 yards untouched in regaining the 14-point cushion. Sioux Falls tacked on another touchdown, capitalizing on a Bauer interception, and went into halftime leading 35-14.

UMD would then proceed to do all of the scoring from then on, getting a four-yard and two-yard rushing touchdown from senior running back Logan Lauters and Bauer, respectively, in the third quarter, and a 31-yard field goal from senior Andrew Brees five minutes into the fourth quarter.

That came four minutes after his Cougar counterpart, Stuart Vanden Heuvel, sailed a 22-yard chip shot wide right.

Lauters rushed a career-high 33 times for 114 yards to lead all Bulldogs and also caught three passes for another 21 yards. With that 14th career 100-yard rushing outing, the 2014 All-American vaulted up to the No. 2 spot on UMD’s all-time ground yardage charts (3,229 yards — 943 shy of the school record held by Isaac Odim, 2008-10).

Bonner, who transferred to UMD this fall from Cabrillo College (Calif.), also had a team-leading three receptions for 87 yards and a touchdown (his first with the Bulldogs). Bauer threw for 198 yards and went 13-of-27 while seeing his career record as a starter fall to 25-5.

Sophomore outside linebacker Zach Bassuener established a personal best for totals with seven to top the UMD defensive charts and was followed by senior outside linebacker Mark Nahorniak (six tackles), senior free safety David Boegel (five tackles and a fourth-quarter fumble recovery) and junior inside linebacker Beau Bates.

UMD, which suffered just its fifth NSIC loss in 76 games since rejoining the league in 2008, will return to James S. Malosky Stadium next Saturday night and put its 12-game home winning streak on the line against Upper Iowa University.