|
The Metrodome Football Classic has come and
gone. Eight teams closed out their seasons, while the seasons of Winona State
and Wayne State will continue.
Last Week's Games
Concordia St. Paul 48, Minnesota Crookston 0
Concordia St. Paul racked up 634 yards of
offense, closing out the season on a positive note. Concordia St. Paul turned in
their biggest rushing performance of the season, rushing for 201 yards on 29
carries. 20 of Concordia St. Paul's 31 first down were gained by rushing. The
Golden Eagles were limited to 215 offensive yards. For third down conversions,
neither team was terribly successful. Minnesota Crookston converted five of 17
attempts, while Concordia St. Paul two of 12 attempts.
Kole Goodchild led the rushing attack, rushing
for 74 yards. In the passing game, Goodchild passed for 376 yards while
connecting 24 of 39 attempts. Tyrone Ruffin hauled in 159 yards, while Eric
Tonkin caught 107 yards. For Minnesota Crookston, David White passed connected
on 10 of his 24 passes. 115 of the 145 passing yards were caught by Aaron Wall.
Prediction: Concordia St. Paul 28, Minnesota
Crookston 10
Actual: Concordia St. Paul 48, Minnesota Crookston 0
The season hasn't gone the way Concordia St.
Paul players and fans have been used to based off the past few seasons, but the
season ended on the a positive note. Minnesota Crookston wasn't able to
duplicate last week success.
Bemidji State 56, Upper Iowa 28
Bemidji State and Upper Iowa held close for the
first three quarters before Bemidji State pulled away in the fourth quarter.
Bemidji State had 454 offensive yards, 284 coming through the air. Cory Wardrope
passed for 240 yards and four touchdowns. The big star for the Beavers offense
was Anthony Schreiber. Schreiber had 179 yards receiving and three touchdowns,
along with one pass for a touchdown.
Jay Lehman passed for 243 yards and two
touchdowns leading the Peacocks. The downside for Upper Iowa was five
interceptions and one fumble. Those six turnovers turned into 21 points for the
Beavers, 14 of those points coming in the fourth quarter. TC Hicks had another
solid performance rushing for 147 yards and one touchdown. On the day, Hicks
averaged nearly seven yards per carry.
Prediction: Bemidji State 31, Upper Iowa 21
Actual: Bemidji State 56, Upper Iowa 28
Before Bemidji State's 21 point outburst in the
fourth quater, this game was close to the point range I called. Turnovers really
killed the Peacocks chances.
Mary 37, Northern State 13
Mary racked up 542 yards offense, securing
third place in the conference. The Marauders converted half of their 18 third
down attempts, while Northern State converted three of their 16 attempts. Mary
had six drives in the first half that made it on to Northern State's side of the
field that didn't result in scores. In contrast, four of Mary's five drives in
the second half that made it on to Northern State's side of the field resulted
in scores.
Blair Sandy passed for 418 yards and four
touchdowns lead Mary. Mike Williams had 137 yards receiving and two touchdowns.
Northern State was led by Eric Ellingson, who had 341 yards passing and two
touchdowns. Northern State lost the turnover battle, giving up four turnovers,
while only gaining one. Three of those turnovers came in the second half,
killing drives.
Prediction: Mary 31, Northern State 20
Actual: Mary 37, Northern State 13
For as high flying as these offenses are, the
first half produced very little. Mary finished the season strong, winning seven
of their last eight games. Northern State had their three game winning streak
snapped and fell shy of winning record.
Winona State 59, Wayne State 34
Winona State clinched their tenth NSIC title in
15 seasons as the Warriors had their biggest offensive performance of the
season. Winona State had 652 yards of offense, led by Alex Wiese. Wiese rushed
for 313 yards on 30 carries, setting a new Winona State rushing record. Wayne
State's Silas Fluellen passed for 406 yards and two touchdowns. Frederick Bruno
had 191 yards receiving leading the Wildcat receivers. In addition to Fluellen's
passing total, he tacked on 96 yards rushing. Simply put, Fluellen had a
fantastic day.
Drew Aber passed for 255 yards and five
touchdowns to lead the passing attack. Scott Peters had 139 yards receiving had
two touchdowns. Andrew Verbancouer had two catches but both went for touchdowns.
Winona State's offense simply clicked, as they scored on nine of their 13
drives. Both teams were solid on third downs, as Wayne State converted nine of
15 attempts, while Winoan State converted six of 11 attempts. There were only
three turnovers, all being picked up by the Warriors.
Prediction: Winona State 31, Wayne State 28
Actual: Winona State 59, Wayne State 34
Winona State's offense played about as well as
an offense can work. The rushing attack was on track and the passing game was
effective. It's not often that a quarterback can put up over 500 yards of total
offense in a losing effort. Wayne State does get to play another day, in the
Mineral Water Bowl.
MSU Moorhead 41, Southwest Minnesota State
27
Southwest Minnesota State rushed to a 14 point
lead with just under 14 minutes left in the game. MSU Moorhead then rattled off
four touchdowns in the next ten minutes to win the game. NSIC offensive player
of the year Dustin Long passed for 311 yards and three touchdowns. Two turnovers
by Southwest Minnesota State in the fourth quarter resulted in 14 points for the
Dragons.
Jabari Taylor had 186 yards receiving and three
touchdowns, and Bert Smith had 121 yards receiving for the Dragons. Enol Gilles
tacked on 121 yards rushing and one touchdown. For Southwest Minnesota State,
Josh Shudlick passed for 380 yards and two touchdowns, completing 32 of his 52
pass attempts.
Prediction: MSU Moorhead 27, Southwest
Minnesota State 24
Actual: MSU Moorhead 41, Southwest Minnesota State 27
Turnovers really caused issues for the Mustangs
late in the game. The Dragons broke a five game losing streak, while Southwest
Minnesota State lost their fifth straight game.
This Week's Game
Winona State at North Dakota, 1pm, Alerus
Center, Grand Forks, ND
I'm not sure if Winona State fans know where
the Alerus Center is at this point. For the fourth time in seven seasons, Winona
State will travel to the Alerus Center for a match up with North Dakota. Winona
State is playing solid right now, but they'll need a top performance to knock
off North Dakota. There are few different keys. I know this is a different team
and a different season then the past years, but Winona State needs to shake off
the past three performances against North Dakota. The Warriors need to control
the turnover margin. The Warriors have slow down the fifth ranked offense in the
country. While the Warriors can score a lot of points, North Dakota is different
animal than most. Winning the battles at the line, by getting a push up field on
offense and getting into the backfield will help. As much attention as Weston
Dressler gets, Ryan Chappell deserves attention as well, as he averages 145
yards per game. The Warriors need to leave it all on the field, because it's win
or go home time.Prediction: North Dakota 42, Winona State 28
Odds and Ends
Last week I got all five of my picks. For the
season, I'm 42 and 17. Cheesefactor and wsudiehard on the message board won pick
'em contest, though there are still at least two games involving NSIC teams left
to be picked..
Coming up in final column of the season after
the Mineral Water Bowl, I'll be giving a nice season wrap up. Any questions or
comments, e-mail me. And of course check out the D2Football.com message board,
where I'm active.
|
