ST. PAUL, MN – A fourth down sack by University of Mary defensive lineman
Vegas George emphatically sealed the Marauders 13-10 road win over Concordia-St. Paul and capped a historic defensive effort for UMary.
With the Marauders (2-1 overall, 1-1 Northen Sun) holding a tenuous lead, the Golden Bears (1-2, 0-2) faced a 4
th-and-5 at midfield with 1:55 to play in the game. Crashing through the line of scrimmage, the Bismarck, ND, native hauled down CSP quarterback Lincoln Graf for a loss of 8 yards.
Three plays later – including a 19 yard run by
Xavier Brackenridge and two snaps from victory formation – the Marauders had their first Northern Sun win of the season.
The sack was the second of the game for George, with both coming in the fourth quarter. He totaled 3.5 tackles for loss, forced a fumble and had seven total tackles.
An attacking Marauders defense held the Golden Bears to just 142 yards of offense and nine first downs. The 142 yards allowed sets a team record for a Northern Sun game and the nine first downs ties the team NSIC mark. The previous record for fewest yards allowed was 146 to the University of Minnesota Crookston in 2007. In 2008 and 2010 UMary limited UMC to nine first downs.
The Golden Bears managed just 63 rushing on 27 carries. CSP managed just 79 yards passing as Graf completed 11-of-19 passes. He was sacked five times.
Sparked by a 47 yard reception by
Karsyn Jablonski on the Marauders first offensive play of the game, UMary drove 88 yards on nine plays to take an early 7-0 lead. Brackenridge busted into the end zone from 1 yard out at 7:41 of the first quarter and
John Girard added the extra point for the only scoring in the first half.
Both teams opened the second half with field goals. After CSP closed the gap to 7-3, Girard connected on a 27 yard field goal at 7:43 of the third quarter as the Marauders drove 65 yards on 12 plays. The Golden Bears immediately followed with a eight-play 75 yard drive to tie the score on a 7 yard run by BJ Davis with 4:45 remaining in the third.
UMary's defense then regained control, forcing fumbles on back-to-back plays.
Christopher Federico forced a Golden Bears fumble on the final play of the third quarter with the ball rolling out of bounds. On the next play, George sacked Graf on third down, forcing a fumble that CSP recovered for a loss of 13 yards. CSP subsequently punted the ball to UMary.
Taking over at their own 30 yard line with 14:40 remaining in the game, the Marauders offense produced a scoring drive of Odyssean proportions. Overcoming a false start penalty on the first play, the Marauders converted first downs on three third down plays and once on fourth down to keep their hopes for a game-winning drive alive.
Ryan Blair converted on passes of 6 yards to Jablonski and 18 to
Desmond Duffy to convert on 3
rd down plays and scrambled 10 yards on 4
th down to keep the drive alive.
Quin Hafner later rushed for 9 yards on a 3
rd-and-2 play to again move the chains and set up Girard for a 23 yard field goal. The freshman knocked the ball through the uprights with five minutes left in the game for a 13-0 UMary 13-10 lead.
The Marauders winning drive consisted of 17 plays covering 64 yards.
With one last chance, the Golden Bears took over at their own 30 and moved to midfield before Geroge ended their hopes with a signature sack.
Blair completed 14-of-22 passes for 204 yards for UMary. Jablonski finished with 78 yards receiving on four catches with Duffy adding 58 yards on three receptions. Brackenridge ran for 59 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries.
Carter Henke, the nation's leading punter, had another big day. Two of his three punts carried for over 50 yards with a long of 58 and he averaged 50.7 yards/attempt.
Federico led UMary with 10 tackles, including eight solo stops. He had 2.5 tackles for loss with one sack.
Travis Biery, the NSIC Defensive Player of the Week for week 0, had 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack.
Jaidon Siler broke up two passes.
Manny Harris led the CSP offense with 43 yards rushing on just three carries. Jonas Barros and Marquis Coleman had 2.0 tackles for loss each.
The Marauders return home to host the University of Sioux Falls on Saturday, September 19. Kickoff is set for 2 pm at the MDU Resources Community Bowl. Tickets for the Tackle Hunger game are available online at
www.UMaryTickets.com.
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