Wolves Top Mustangs 16-8

ABERDEEN, SD – The Wolves extended their winning streak over Southwest Minnesota State to 15 games with a 16-8 win on Saturday. The Wolves’ defense took control of the pace of the game by coming up with two interceptions and one fumble recovery, and also got to the SMSU quarterback four times.

It was a strong Northern defensive effort that played the biggest role in NSU’s first conference win of the game. The defense shut out the Mustangs in the first three quarters and had much to do with both of the touchdowns that the Wolves scored in the game. A Nate McGruder interception led to the Wolves’ first score, a 13 yard touchdown pass from true freshman Andrew Wanner to Wade Ginsbach in the corner of the end zone late in the first quarter. The defense themselves scored the second and final NSU touchdown of the game in the second quarter. Bryar Johnson sacked SMSU quarterback Josh Shudlick and forced a fumble that was swiftly picked up by NSU’s Josh LeBrun. LeBrun turned on the speed and made his way 19 yards to the goal line, putting the Wolves up 13-0, all they would need for the Saturday win.

While the efforts on the defensive end were the story of the day, NSU’s offense stepped up as well. With a rookie quarterback playing in the first game of his collegiate career, every player knew that they would have to work even harder to get Wanner a win. The offense came up with 193 total yards, one touchdown, and a field goal. Wanner completed 19 of 33 passes for 183 yards, with the longest pass going 23 yards, and had no interceptions. The offense was successful at spreading the ball around to keep SMSU guessing. Ginsbach had six catches for 45 yards, followed by Mike Cahoy with five catches for 44 yards and Brian Jark with five catches for 43 yards. Driscoll led the rushing game with 19 runs for 33 yards.

Kyle Bowman led the defense with 12 tackles, one forced fumble, and one sack for a loss of 13 yards. Una Latu tallied 11 tackles and also forced a fumble, while Rudy Jones came up with 10 tackles. In his first game back from injury, Kia Tupou had three tackles and two sacks, including a sack in the first play of SMSU’s opening series. Assisted by a strong southern wind, punter Eric Schwan put up impressive figures with seven punts for 246 yards. He put three balls inside the 20 yard line and booted a season-high 59 yard kick that put the ball on SMSU’s one yard line.

Southwest played a game that was much improved than in previous years, coming up with 206 total yards and threatening to score often in the game. They advanced the ball down the field excellently on the first and second downs, troubling NSU’s defense with quick rushers that posted more than 100 yards on the day. Their Achilles Heel was converting on the third down, of which they failed in each of nine attempts. Their sole scoring possession was in the fourth quarter, when they drove the ball 81 yards for a touchdown in just four plays. Shudlick passed successfully for 72 of those yards, including a 32 yard toss for a touchdown, and ran the remaining nine on his own.

The win for the Wolves and loss for the Mustangs sets the teams’ records even at 2-2 overall and 1-1 in the league. The Wolves will return to action next weekend by hosting Bemidji State for the 1:00 pm homecoming game.

 

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