| Oct 15th, 2005 | 1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
Final |
Records |
| Winona State | 6-2, 4-0 NSIC | |||||
| Northern State | 4-4, 3-1 NSIC |
Warriors Hold Off Late Northern State Rally
Aberdeen, S.D. (Swisher Field) - Northern State (4-4, 3-1) dropped its first NSIC game of the year as Winona State edged the Wolves 31-22 in front of over 2,400 fans at Clark Swisher Field. Winona State (6-2, 4-0) is now in sole possession of first place in the NSIC.
The Wolves pulled within two at 22-24 with eight minutes to go in the game and had the Warriors in a third an 11 down in their own territory, but the Warrior's quarterback eluded a pair of would be tacklers and found a receiver open twenty yards down field. The Warriors continued to march on their 85 yard drive as they scored their final touchdown to go up 31-22 with under three minutes to play.
Winona State got on the board first at 9:07 left in the first as they took their opening drive 79 yards on 11 plays capped off by a three yard pass from Drew Aber to Brian Hynes.
The Wolves would answer as Wade Ginsbach took a John Russell pass and slashed in from six yards out; breaking tackles to score his third touchdown of the season. Ginsbach turned in a season high with 91 receiving yards on nine catches. The Wolves would miss the extra point as Wolves starting kick Clinton Arial-Ryan is still out due to a leg injury and the Wolves would trail 7-6 at the end of the first quarter. Russell finished the game 29 of 44 for 216 yards and a touchdown. He was also intercepted twice.
Winona State extended its lead to 14-6 at 4:53 in the second after Aber hit Scott Peters from 36 yards out. They then added a 25 yard field goal with 1:17 left to lead 17-6 at the half.
The Wolves came out in the second half and totally changed the momentum of the game as they marched 70 yards on 13 plays taking nearly six minutes off the clock to set up a 27 yard Adam Kleckner field goal to make it 17-9.
Winona answered back on a 13 yard Aber to Hynes strike at 4:46 in the third to make it 24-9. The Wolves countered on their next possession as the drove the ball 80 yards on 11 plays to get down to the five yard line. The Wolves then brought in three defensive players to the offensive backfield. Chris McClellan took the ball up the gut, then bounced outside to stroll in for the five yard touchdown on his first rush of the season.
The Wolves defense held and gave the offense the ball back at the Wolves 40 early in the fourth. The Wolves marched 60 yards on 11 plays topped off by a six yard ChuckDriscoll rumble to close the gap to 22-24. The Wolves would go for the tie with the two point conversion. Back-up quarterback Andrew Corre came in the game and attempted an option/shovel pass but the play was stopped and the Wolves still trailed by two with eight minutes to go. Driscoll finished the day with 100 yards rushing on 19 carries.
The Wolves special teams trapped the Warriors kick returner and stopped him at the 15. The Wolves forced three third downs, but the Warriors were able to convert on all three as they drove 85 yards on 11 plays taking nearly six minutes off the clock putting the game out of reach at 33-21.
The Wolves defense held Winona to their lowest scoring output in NSIC play this season and allowed 395 yards, over 100 yards less than their season average. The Wolves leading tackler was Stephon Betts who racked up 12 tackles in the game. Shawn Warren had his second interception in as many games, while Kaleb Bowman picked up his fourth sack of the season.
The Wolves hit the road next weekend to take on Bemidji State (5-2, 2-2 NSIC) at 1:30 p.m. The Beavers are coming off a 40-14 win over Minnesota, Crookston this past weekend.
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Northern State University (located in Aberdeen, SD) is an NCAA Division II institution a
nd a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).
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