BISMARCK, ND – Making his first career start, University of Mary junior quarterback
Logan Nelson directed the Marauders to a pair of long scoring drives in the third quarter, capping one drive with a touchdown pass the next with a scoring run. Unable to sustain their rally, the Marauders fell to visiting St. Cloud State University 35-12 in the 2019 season opener for both teams.
Nelson, who passed for 210 yards, found
Kade Lynch alone down the right sideline for a 56-yard scoring strike for the Marauders first touchdown of the night, capping a 75 yard drive in just five plays. The series started with a pair of completions to
Danny Kittner for 4 and 14 yards.
Following a defensive stop by the Marauders defense featuring a pass breakup by
Casey Uhler, the Marauders took possession of the ball at their own 13 yard line. Facing a 3-and-7 at their own 28 yard line after a Husky penalty game the Marauders a first down, Nelson found
Leo Vecchi for a 39 yard gain. Using another SCSU penalty to gain a first down, Nelson capped the drive by sprinting 13 yards into the end zone through the heart of the defense to pull the Marauders within 28-12.
Momentum continued to go the Marauders way. The UMary defense limited SCSU to 1 yard on its next possession, forcing the Huskies to punt. Poised to receive the ball, a Marauders penalty instead gave the Huskies a first down. SCSU took advantage of the miscue and drove the field for the final touchdown of the game with 1:35 left in the third stanza.
Nelson finished 16-for-29 passing for 210 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. The junior also ran for a score but was sacked four times.
Kittner caught eight passes for 68 yards and returned two kicks for 66 yards, including a 45-yarder that he nearly broke for a score.
Luke Little had five catches for 45 yards and Lynch two for 61 yards and a score.
Bryan Lumsden led the Marauders ground attack with 41 yards on 11 carries.
Defensively
Richard Bendish and
Dylan Anthony made 11 tackles for the Marauders.
Marquell Evans broke up a pair of passes and
Noah Krebs and
Jarad Zittleman both had a tackle for loss.
Bailey Meyer dropped four of his nine punts inside the SCSU 20 yard line and hit a long of 48.
Brody Riggs placed two of his three kickoffs in the end zone for touchbacks.
Dwayne Lawhorn tossed five touchdowns for the Huskies, finding four different receivers in the end zone. He was 12-for-22 for 133 yards passing and ran for 36 yards. Joe Blando ran for 115 yards. John Solberg was limited to three catches for 10 yards, but two grabs went for scores.
The Huskies posted ten tackles for loss in the game, including four sacks. Matthew Lechner had two tackles behind the line to lead SCSU.
The Marauders play a second straight Thursday night game on Sept. 12 at Bemidji State University in the Midco Sports Northern Sun Game of the Week. Kickoff is set for 7 pm.
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