CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston football team fell just short of winning their third-consecutive Homecoming game as they lost 17-10 to University of Mary Sat., Oct. 18 at Ed Widseth Field. The Golden Eagles played in front of a near jam-packed crowd as fans filled Ed Widseth for Saturday's Homecoming festivities. UMC falls to 0-7 on the season with the loss, while U-Mary improves to 4-3 (2-1 NSIC) with the victory.

On offense, UMC struggled to move the ball for much of the second and third quarters, leading the team to pull starter Ben Bucholz (Jr., QB, Perham, Minn./Ag Business) in favor of Travon Hearns (Fr., QB, Bloomington, Minn./Sports and Rec Management) late in the third quarter. Hearns, used his big frame to help move UMC down the field on his first drive with the help of some good runs from Talo Pascal (Jr., RB, Arlington, Texas/Communications) but Michael Maw (So., K, White Bear Lake, Minn./Accounting)) would miss a 32-yard field goal attempt.

UMC would get the ball back and would again move the ball down to the U-Mary 13 ld by completions to Caleb Seger (Jr., WR, Lakeville, Minn./Ag Systems Management), Adam Connette (Fr., WR, Corona, Calif.) and Marcus Cheatham (Sr., WR, Stockton, Calif./Sports and Rec Management). This time, Maw would connect on a 35-yard field goal with 2:14 remaining in the game.

Maw would attempt an onside kick but U-Mary would recover and would run out the clock to hang on to the 17-10 victory over the Golden Eagles.

UMC's offense was led by Pascal, who had 11 rushes for 50 yards, and Connette who hauled in six catches for 92 yards and a touchdown to build on an already impressive season in which he now has 34 receptions for 394 yards and three touchdowns. Bucholz was 9-of-19 for 114 yards with one touchdown and one interception while Hearns was 5-of-9 for 51 yards.

U-Mary was led by running back Vince Ferrante, who had 24 rushes for 136 yards and one touchdown. Quarterback Ben Jolliffe finished the game 14-of-25 for 188 yards with a touchdown and an interception. His top target was Jake East, who had four catches for 81 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively it was a battle of the top two tacklers in the NSIC. Greg Lofquist (Sr., LB, South St. Paul, Minn./Criminal Justice) surpassed U-Mary's Grant Singer as the league's leading tackler as Lofquist put together his fifth-straight double-digit tackling performance with 15 tackles. Singer finished with seven with a half sack. Drew Selvestra (Jr., DL, Eagan, Minn./Criminal Justice) had another strong game with 11 tackles with one tackle for loss and a half sack. The breakout player of the game though was defensive tackle Derek Greene (Fr., DL, Covington, Ga./Software Engineering), who had his redshirt pulled recently and who was thrust into duty due to a game-ending injury to Jake Christopherson (R-Fr., DL, Sturgeon Lake, Minn./Natural Resources). Greene had four tackles with 2.5 tackles for loss.

UMC made the first big play of the game as Robert Gausi (Jr., DB, Brooklyn Park, Minn./Criminal Justice) came on the rush on the field goal attempt for U-Mary and knocked the ball out of holder Nick Jolliffe's hands, which he recovered at the UMC 30. The Golden Eagles would quickly strike offensively as Bucholz connected to Connette near the sideline and the speedy freshman showed his quicks as he scooted down the sideline to pay dirt to make it 7-0 UMC.

The defense came up with a big play the next drive as Mychal Traylor (So., DB, Cerritos, Calif./Business Management) intercepted Ben Jolliffe giving UMC good field position. However UMC would be unable to do anything and would be forced to punt.

U-Mary would drive the field but the Golden Eagle defense would again come up big as Benjamin Taliulu (Fr., DL, Aiea, Hawai'i) forced a fumble which was recovered on the one yard line by Tyler Hansen (Sr., DB, Morris, Minn./Wildlife Management)

U-Mary would cut the advantage to 7-3 going into the half as Brody Riggs connected on a 50-yard field goal attempt.

The Marauders would come out of the gate and move the ball as Ferrante went in for a five-yard rush early in the third quarter.

They would add a score late in the third quarter, which would prove to be the game winner, as Jolliffe found East for a 13-yard touchdown pass.

The Golden Eagles will the road Oct. 25 as they take on Minot State University in search of their first win of the season at 1:30 p.m. in Minot, N.D.

For more information, visit the Golden Eagle Athletics website at www.goldeneaglesports.com.
 
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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).