BISMARCK, N.D. — The University of Minnesota Duluth football program continued its undefeated campaign in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) North division as the Bulldogs defeated divisional foe, the University of Mary 59-7 on the road Saturday afternoon at the Bismarck Community Bowl.

John Larson made his long-awaited return to the starting line-up for UMD (7-3, 6-0 NSIC North), out of action since week five, and the junior quarterback helped engineer a five-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to open the first quarter, needing just 2:32 before connecting with tight end Kurtis Weigand for the game's opening score, a three-yard pass. The Bulldogs were not finished piling it on UMary (1-9, 0-6 NSIC North) when Larson connected with Zach Ojile for a six-yard touchdown with 7:55 remaining in the opening quarter. UMD then reached into its bag of tricks when running back Wade Sullivan tossed a two-yard score to Larson to put UMD up 21-0 with 3:01 to go still in the first.

Larson continued to spread the ball around early in the second, hitting Armani Carmickle for a 29-yard touchdown pass just 30 seconds into the quarter before adding a 13-yard strike to Dane Lew with 9:35 left and closed out the half with a 12-yard throw to Sullivan. Dan Branger hit a 42-yard field goal in the second as the Bulldogs took a 45-0 lead to the locker room. Not to be outdone by the offensive fireworks, the UMD defense held the Marauders to (-16) yards rushing and two first downs while collecting four sacks in the first half.

The Bulldog offense slowed in the second half, adding a pair of touchdowns after Keagan Calchera took over behind center. The redshirt freshman connected with John Ross Linscheid and Dain Hudson for scores in the third and fourth quarters, respectively. UMary would end the shutout early in the fourth, getting on the board with their lone score of the day, a 44-yard rush by Bryan Lumsden with 14:25 remaining.

Defensively, Joe Kordus led the Bulldogs with nine tackles and 2.5 sacks in the winning effort. UMD totaled six sacks on the day and allowed 146 total yards by the Marauders.

NOTABLE
Head coach Curt Wiese improved to 7-0 all-time against UMary, while the Bulldogs are now 13-0 in the historical series with the Marauders … UMD allowed just two first downs in the opening half, out-gaining UMary 411-39 before halftime … the Bulldogs finished with 570 combined offensive yards in the victory.

UP NEXT
UMD wraps up the 2019 regular season taking on Northern State University on the road in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Opening kick between the Bulldogs and Wolves is set for just after 1 p.m. at Swisher Field. As always, the game will be broadcast live on KDAL 610 AM/103.9 FM and can be streamed live online at umdbulldogs.com/watch.

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