UMD Knocks Off #1 Ranked CSU-Pueblo

Nov 26, 2011

Northland Sports Online

Trailing at halftime to the nation’s top-ranked team in their own backyard — and with the season on the line at that — is the kind of challenge that the University of Minnesota Duluth and its battle-tested playoff quarterback Chase Vogler appear well-suited. Take what happened Saturday in Pueblo, Colo., for example.

Vogler engineered a pair of key second-half scoring drives to help rally the Bulldogs past Colorado State University-Pueblo 24-21 and keep their aspirations for a second consecutive NCAA II national championship intact. The victory, which came before an overflow crowd of 10,151 at the Neta and Eddie DeRose ThunderBowl, put the clamps on the CSU-Pueblo’s 15-game winning streak (the longest in the country) and propelled UMD into the NCAA II playoff quarterfinals for a fourth consecutive year. The Bulldogs will host Wayne State University next Saturday in the NCAA II Super Region 3 final.

“That was a heck of game today,” said UMD head coach Bob Nielson. “I’m really proud of our guys, the way they battled back and overcame adversity. When times got tough, the character of this team really showed.”

CSU-Pueblo, which came into the day sporting the top scoring defense (9.1 points per game) in the country, marched 80 yards after the opening kickoff and grabbed an early 7-0 lead on J.B. Mathews 14-yard touchdown run. Senior placekicker David Nadeau got the Bulldogs on the board with a 46-yard field goal on UMD’s first series and then went ahead seven seconds into the second quarter when sophomore wide receiver Joe Reichert hauled in a 14-yard toss in the end zone from Vogler, which was intended for, and tipped by tight end Ben Helmer. The ThunderWolves (11-1), who were making their first NCAA II postseason appearance ever, then regained the lead with 2:06 to go before halftime after a snap sailed over Vogler’s head and was recovered in the UMD endzone by CSU-Pueblo’s Corey Orth.

The two clubs traded touchdowns on their only full possessions of the third quarter. Senior running back Zach Hulce plowed in from one yard out for his team-leading 12th touchdown of the year to put UMD up 17-14 before the ThunderWolves countered with an 18-yard scoring run from quarterback Ross Dausin. The 21-17 CSU-Pueblo lead stood until midway through the fourth quarter when freshman running back Brian Lucas’s one-yard touchdown run capped off a five-play, 49-yard scoring drive to nail down the win.

“They are the No. 1 defense for a reason,” said Vogler, whose 31-yard scamper was the main spark in that final scoring drive. “They did a lot of confusing things up front and stunted differently but we made some adjustments in the second half. Both of our running backs (Hulce and Lucas) ran hard all day and got some big first downs for us. And, the defense once again was outstanding — especially in that second half”

Vogler accounted for 183 yards of offense, amassing 60 on the ground as well as 83 through the air. Hulce picked up a game-high 84 rushing yards while Lucas added 62 for the Bulldogs. UMD (11-2 overall) finished with just 287 yards of total offense, but held the ThunderWolves to even less – 224, including a mere 79 in the last two quarters.

“We knew they were a team that really wanted to try to run the ball and control the ball,” said senior outside linebacker Rob Huberty, who was credited with a team-leading nine tackles and had one of UMD’s season-high five sacks. “That has been our goal every week – to limit the opposing team’s running game and force them to be one-dimensional. We thought if we could do that, we’d be successful today.”

And now, it’s back to James S. Malosky Stadium next week for what should be the final time in 2011.

“Our guys love playing at home,” said Nielson, whose Bulldogs also upended another 11-0 and No. 1 ranked team, Grand Valley State University, on the road in the NCAA II playoffs three years ago. “It’s a nice bonus for them to be coming back here and they’re excited.”

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