Oct. 2, 1999

Northern State proved it is more than a one-horse team Saturday, overpowering Southwest State 20-6 mostly without the services of All-American candidate Tyrone Morgan (Wichita Falls, Texas), who suffered a hip pointer in the second quarter and did not return.

In addition to the Morgan injury, the Wolves also had to overcome over 3,000 partisan Mustang fans hoping the cheer their team to victory on Homecoming Weekend in Marshall, Minn. The Wolves spoiled the festivities, however, controlling the game offensively and especially defensively in the snow-melted trenches on mushy Mattke Field.

Morgan ended with 14 carries for 49 yards and one touchdown. Filling in nicely behind NSU’s mammoth offensive line was junior back Tefua Bloomfield (Kearns, Utah), who pounded out a tough 72 yards on 25 carries. Mixed with NSU’s grinding ground game were big plays through the air. Senior quarterback Nate Breske (Webster) completed eight passes for 194 yards.

Five of Breske’s eight completions ended up converting third-or fourth-down-and-long situations; mostly by Breske rolling out of the pocket and drilling a strike downfield to move the chains. But the longest passing play came on an early second-down play when back Shane Carter (Aberdeen) turned a screen play in the flats into a 64-yard reception by busting a tackle and rumbling down the sidelines to the Southwest 15-yard line. Morgan took the next carry to the promised land to give NSU a 7-0 lead.

NSU gave the Mustangs chances, however, coughing up the ball twice in the first half and being penalized 13 times for 117 yards. But the Wolves’ defense simply slammed the door shut on any glimmer of offensive production for the Mustangs. SSU mustered just 21 yards of total offense in the first half and 105 for the game … 73 of which came on a late and inconsequential scoring drive in the waning minutes of an already decided game.

Senior defensive end Marcus Tynanes (Ewa Beach, Hawaii) had a career day, registering three sacks, five tackles for loss (31 yards lost), seven tackle and two forced fumbles. Senior middle linebacker Naki Angilau (Kearns, Utah) led the team in tackles with nine, including three for loss, a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries. In all, NSU’s defense tallied six sacks and forced three fumbles, recovering two.