September 23, 2008 (Bemidji Game Notes) - Northern State University

NORTHERN STATE vs. BEMIDJI STATE Page 2 Sept. 23, 2008
National Rankings
American Football Coaches Association
Prev.
Rk Team Record Points Rank
1. Valdosta State (Ga.) (20) 3-0 639 1
2. Grand Valley St. (Mich.) (2) 3-0 617 2
3. North Alabama (2) 4-0 601 3
4. Abilene Christian (Texas) (2) 3-0 569 4
5. Nebraska-Omaha 3-0 549 5
6. West Texas A&M 4-0 496 6
7. Pittsburg State (Kan.) 4-0 465 7
8. Northwest Missouri St. 3-1 441 9
9. Central Washington 4-0 423 8
10. Bloomsburg (Pa.) 4-0 400 10
11. Carson-Newman (Tenn.) 2-1 396 11
12. Indiana (Pa.) 3-0 347 12
13. Tuskegee (Ala.) 3-0 318 13
14. California (Pa.) 3-1 311 14
15. Minnesota-Duluth 4-0 290 15
16. Tarleton St. (Texas) 4-0 276 16
17. Delta St. (Miss.) 2-1 246 17
18. Chadron State (Neb.) 3-1 202 18
19. Central Missouri 4-0 191 20
20. Albany State (Ga.) 3-0 160 19
21. Midwestern St. (Texas) 3-0 101 NR
22. Wingate (N.C.) 4-0 70 NR
23. Catawba (N.C.) 2-1 51 NR
24. Edinboro (Pa.) 3-1 40 23
25. West Virginia St. 4-0 37 NR
Week 4 Poll, September 23, 2008
National Rankings
d2football.com
Rk Team Record
1 Grand Valley 3-0
2 North Alabama 4-0
3 Valdosta State 3-0
4 Abilene Christian 3-0
5 Nebraska-Omaha 3-0
6 West Texas A&M 4-0
7 Central Washington 4-0
8 Carson Newman 2-1
9 Northwest Missouri 3-1
10 Pittsburg State 4-0
11 Tuskegee 3-0
12 Bloomsburg 4-0
13 IUP 3-0
14 Minnesota-Duluth 4-0
15 Delta State 2-1
16 California (Pa.) 3-1
17 Chadron State 3-1
18 Tarleton St. 4-0
19 Central Missouri 4-0
20 Albany State 3-0
21 Catawba 2-1
22 Midwestern State 3-0
23 Michigan Tech 3-1
24 West Virginia St. 4-0
T25 Wingate 4-0
T25 Edinboro 3-1
Week 4 Poll, September 23, 2008
Last Week vs. St. Cloud State:
1 2 3 4 F
Northern State 0 6 0 6 12
St. Cloud State 0 0 10 7 17
ABERDEEN, S.D. - In the end, it was the front lines that made the difference. The Northern
State University Wolves could not find an answer for the St. Cloud State University Huskies’ big
front lines - both offensive and defensive - as the Wolves fell by a final score of 17-12 Saturday
evening at Clark Swisher Stadium.
The loss drops NSU to 0-4 on the season and 0-3 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference
play, while SCSU evens out at 2-2 overall in 2-1 in the league.
The big Husky offensive line provided plenty of running room for the SCSU backs and plenty
of pocket protection for quarterback Mitch Watkins. The defensive line also largely controlled the
line of scrimmage as the Huskies racked up seven sacks and eight total tackles for a loss. Senior
defensive end Cale Pulczinski led that effort, getting in on 3.5 sacks for 22 yards and also blocking
a Matt Kloss field goal attempt that would have put the Wolves up 3-0 in the first quarter.
As it turned out, the Wolves got the first score anyway, going up 6-0 on an 8-yard Eric
Ellingson run. The broken-play scramble capped a 12-play drive that saw the Wolves convert
on a pair of fourth downs and a third-and-six. Ellingson converted on one of those fourth downs,
picking up five yards on a fourth-and-four just prior to his TD run.
That drive was set up beautifully by a Nate McGruder interception on the previous SCSU
drive. The senior defensive back returned the pick 39 yards to the NSU 43-yard line before being
pushed out of bounds to give the Wolves good field position to start.
NSU’s Andrew Wanner stymied Watkins again on the Huskies next drive, picking off the
junior at the NSU 12-yard line to keep the shut-out intact heading into halftime.
The third quarter, however, saw a change in momentum as the Huskies picked up a touchdown
on their opening possession of the quarter and a field goal on their second to take a 10-6
lead. SCSU then scored on the first play of the fourth quarter to make it 17-6.
Not about to give up, NSU traded punts with SCSU for two possessions before getting the
ball back on their own 20-yardline with 4:44 left to go in the game. The Wolves, behind five
straight Ellingson completions marched the ball down to the SCSU 10 before Ellingson was
intercepted in the endzone, threatening to take the wind out of NSU’s sails. The Huskies were
flagged for holding, however, negating the interception and putting the ball back in NSU’s possession.
Junior Marty Ponzo capitalized on the reprieve on the very next play, dashing five yards
into the endzone to make it a 5-point contest. The ensuing 2-point conversion attempt failed,
leaving it at 17-12.
The Wolves, needing nothing less than a touchdown, attempted an on-side kick, but the ball
was covered handily by the Huskies.
SCSU then ran the clock down to 10 seconds before turning the ball over on downs to NSU,
whose last-second pass and pitch attempt was knocked out of bounds at midfield, leaving the
final score 17-12.
Ellingson completed 24 of 37 passes without an interception for 196 yards, but was sacked
seven times for 47 yards on the day. Senior running back Tavis Ve’e led the Wolves in both
receiving and rushing yards, picking up 39 yards on the ground and 52 through the air.
Defensively, senior Bryar Johnson had nine tackles to lead the Wolves, including one behind
the line of scrimmage. Anthony Ponzo and Wes Uepi chipped in eight tackles apiece, while
McGruder had a trio of pass breaks-ups in the secondary.
Brandon Geiss carried the ball 29 times for 123 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead the
Huskies. Nate Johnson had five catches for 99 yards on the receiving end of the ball.
The Wolves will be back in action next weekend as they go back on the road to face Bemidji
State. The Beavers fell to Minnesota State Moorhead earlier today by a score of 27-7. BSU is
now 1-3 overall and 0-3 in the conference.