Bulldogs Ground Out 49-31 Win Over Northern State To Close Out Regular Season

Nov 11, 2012

Northland Sports Online

Rain, gusty winds and blustery conditions in Duluth made it an ideal day to run the football, and the University of Minnesota Duluth did just that Saturday afternoon. With a whole lot of success.

The Bulldogs piled up a season-high 506 yards on the ground and ran on 66 of their 77 plays from scrimmage while turning back Northern State University 49-31 in the regular season finale for both Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference clubs at James S. Malosky Stadium. Three different Bulldog eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark on the day, including quarterback Chase Vogler, who rolled up 224 yards (12 shy of the school single-game record) and five touchdowns on 22 carries in what was in all likelihood his final collegiate home appearance. Rookie running back Logan Lauters finished with 149 yards on the ground and had the other two touchdowns while sophomore Austin Sikorski added 102 rushing yards.

“We came in today looking to go with our normal game plan — 60 to 40 run or so,” said Vogler, who now has 15 rushing touchdowns this season. “Obviously, the conditions made it more difficult for us to pass, so we had to rely more on our blocking and running up front. The guys stepped up and we got a big win.”

A big win indeed. The victory not only improved the Bulldogs’ overall record to 10-1, but all but assured them of a fifth consecutive berth in the NCAA II playoffs. That 24-team field will be officially announced tomorrow at 4 p.m.

Three touchdowns by Vogler, including a key nine-yard scamper with 14 seconds to go in the first half, and another score by Lauters helped stake UMD to a 28-14 lead heading into the third quarter. The Wolves (6-5 overall) pulled to within seven when they took the second half kickoff and marched 77 yards on eight plays, but Vogler answered for the Bulldogs by bolting 64 yards (a personal best) into the end zone. Northern State, which had won six of its previous seven games coming into the day, never got within 10 points of UMD the rest of the way.

“Give Northern State credit, they battled hard from start to finish and their quarterback (Jared Jacobson) did a great job considering the weather conditions,” said head coach Bob Nielson, whose Bulldogs extended their NSIC home winning streak to 40 games and gave him his 100th career UMD victory. “Today our guys did what they had to do — and what we thought we could do — and that’s effectively run the football.”

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