Behind a milestone day for quarterback
John Larson, the University of Minnesota Duluth defeated Winona State 29-23 on Saturday afternoon. The win gives UMD a 3-0 overall record on the season and keeps them in first place in the NSIC North Division.
For Larson, a second quarter 64-yard touchdown pass to
Armani Carmickle would move him into an exclusive club. On the play, Larson would pass 5,000 career passing yards, making him just the fifth quarterback in UMD Football History to do it. Larson joins a list that includes Ted Schlafke, Drew Bauer, Ricky Fitz, and
Chase Vogler.
On the day, Larson was 13 for 23 with 206 passing yards and one touchdown. On the ground,
Cazz Martin led all rushers with 68 yards, while
Wade Sullivan tallied 56 yards and one rushing touchdown. Carmickle continued his terrific play through the air, the wide receiver caught three passes for an impressive 140 yards and one touchdown. Carmickle's day included the electric 64-yard touchdown from Larson.
Defensively for the Bulldogs, linebackers
Brad Dati and
Cole Refsnider both posted seven total tackles each, while Dati also secured one sack on the day.
Justic'e King and
Michael Kirkendoll both posted six total tackles each. In the air,
Joe Kordus and
Dayvia Gbor both posted one pass breakup each.
"We knew Winona was going to give us a test," said Head Coach
Curt Wiese. "We knew it was going to be a four-quarter game. That's a good football team we faced and a good win for our guys. Credit to our guys for making enough plays to win."
Like their first two games, UMD took control early. The Bulldog defense forced a quick Winona State three and out. On UMD's first offensive play of the game, Larson found Carmickle for a 63-yard completion to set the Bulldogs up with a first and goal from the WSU eight-yard line. A few plays later, Ojile found the endzone on a two-yard touchdown run to give UMD an early 6-0 lead.
The Warriors would use a 10-play drive and a 35-yard field goal to get on the board and make the score 7-3, halfway through the first quarter. Following two failed offensive drives, WSU would be forced to punt from deep in their own territory. On the ensuring UMD drive, Curt Cox would connect on a long 42-yard field goal to increase the Bulldog lead to 10-3. Duluth took the 10-3 lead into the end of the first quarter.
Winona failed to get anything going on their first drive of the second quarter and UMD's offense went back to work. Larson would find Carmickle on a 13-yard pass to get the drive started. A fair of successful plays to
Cazz Martin setup the Bulldogs inside the Winona State 5-yard line.
Wade Sullivan would punch the ball in on a 1-yard touchdown run to give the Bulldogs a 17-3 advantage midway through the second quarter.
UMD would pull some trickery on the ensuing kickoff, successfully recovering an onside kick. Pass completions from Larson to Marcus Weigand and
Byron Bynum got the Bulldogs into field goal range. Cox would knockdown another 35-yard field goal to extend the UMD lead to 20-3. Late in the first half, Larson would make history. On a second and twelve from the UMD 36-yard line, Larson found Carmickle for a 64-yard touchdown pass. On the play, Larson became just the fifth quarterback in program history to record 5,000 career passing yards. UMD took a 26-3 lead into the half.
In the third quarter, neither team would find the endzone until late in the frame. The Warriors used a seven-play drive to notch their first touchdown on the day, a 10-yard rush. The Winona touchdown cut the UMD lead to 26-10 with just two minutes left to play in the third quarter. On the Bulldog's next drive, Byrum turned in a beautiful 25-yard run to setup Cox with a 20-yard field goal attempt. The redshirt sophomore kicker made good from 20-yards out to give the Bulldogs a 29-10 advantage with just over 13 minutes to play in regulation time.
On the next Winona drive, the Warriors connected on a 41-yard pass to move their offense inside the UMD RedZone. A three-yard touchdown pass cut UMD's lead to 29-16 with 11 minutes remaining on the clock. Again, Duluth's offense stalled, giving Winona opportunity to make it a one possession game. After starting at their own 15-yard line, the Warriors used two 40-yard pass completions to move into UMD's RedZone. A three-yard rushing touchdown made the score 29-23 with 4:51 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The teams would trade possessions until Winona took over at their own 24-yard line with 1:15 left on the clock. The Warriors worked the ball into UMD territory and were faced with a fourth and seven from the Bulldogs 27-yard line. On fourth down, Winona tried to take a shot at the endzone, but the pass fell incomplete. UMD would runout the clock and hang on for a 29-23 road victory.
Next Up
UMD will return to James S. Malosky Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 25 for a matchup with Wayne State College. Kickoff is set for 6:00 PM in Duluth.
