Box Score (Aberdeen, S.D.)-  The University of Minnesota, Crookston Football team traveled to Aberdeen, S.D. today to take on the Northern State University Wolves with both teams searching for their first NSIC victory of the season. NSU recorded 474 yards of total offense and scored three touchdowns in the third quarter to help take the 45-21 victory.
 
Northern State got on the scoreboard first when Kristin James rushed into the end zone from nine yards out to cap off a 37 yard drive. NSU closed out the first quarter scoring with a Nick Wanner 11 yard rush to go up 14-0. Minnesota, Crookston got on the board at the 12:33 mark of the second quarter when Richard Haley (RB, 6-0, 205, Jr., Detroit, Mich.) found the NSU end zone from three yards out that capped a 10 play, 77 yard drive. Northern would go up 14 points again when Wanner completed a 32 yard touchdown strike to Chris Morton to go into halftime up 21-7. UMC struck first in the second half when Haley again found the end zone this time from four yards out. The seven point difference at 21-14 would be the closest UMC would get to NSU as Northern scored three unanswered touchdowns all by James in the third quarter to go up 42-14. The Wolves scored again in the fourth quarter on an Evan Nolte 22 yard field goal to go up 45-14. The Golden Eagles continued to battle back as the team drove 71 yards on six plays and capped the drive off with a seven yard touchdown run by Haley for the final score of 45-21.
 
The Golden Eagles were led by quarterback A.J. Barge (QB, 6-3, 190, Fr., Carrollton, Ga.) who rushed 16 times for 117 yards with a long rush of 48 yards and a rushing average of 7.3 yards/rush. Barge also completed seven passes for 62 yards. Haley rushed 21 times for 138 yards and scored a career-high three touchdowns. He had a long rush of 39 yards and averaged 6.6 yards/rush. Eric Fiege (WR, 5-9, 175, Jr., San Diego, Calif.) led the Golden Eagle receiving core with four catches for 32 yards. Linebacker Cecil Brown (LB, 5-10, 205, Jr., Edison, Ga.) had a sensational game recording a game-high 13 tackles (5 solo, 8 assisted). UMC was 3-3 on fourth down conversions and 3-3 on red zone scoring chances.
 
Northern State was led by Kristin James who rushed 30 times for 246 yards and averaged 8.2 yards/rush. He earned a long rush of 74 yards and scored four touchdowns. Quarterback Nick Wanner completed 12 passes for 143 yards and one touchdown. Chris Morton caught four passes for 57 yards and one score. The Wolves defense was led by Mike Bogdanovich who recorded eight tackles, 1.5 tackles for a loss and one quarterback hurry.
 
Minnesota, Crookston is now 1-6 on the season and 0-6 in the NSIC. Northern State moves to 2-5 overall and 1-5 in conference play. The Golden Eagles return to the field next Saturday to host St. Cloud State University. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Ed Widseth Field.
 
For more information, visit the Golden Eagle Athletics website at www.goldeneaglesports.com.
 
Follow the Golden Eagles on Facebook at Golden Eagle Sports and on Twitter at @UMCAthletics.
 
The University of Minnesota, Crookston is an NCAA Division II Institution and a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Golden Eagle Equestrian team is a member of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA).
 
 
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