BISMARCK, N.D. – The University of Minnesota Crookston football put up a great fight but a 26-yard run by University of Mary's Adam Woroniecki with three minutes left in the game would lead the Marauders past the Golden Eagles 33-28. UMC would do everything they can to come back in the final seconds and drove 65 yards but fell just 12 yards short of the end zone as U-Mary would hang on for the win.

U-Mary improves to 1-8 with the win, while the Golden Eagles dropped to 0-9 on the season.

The Golden Eagles were led by their strongest performance from a starting quarterback this season as Tra Hearns (So., QB, Bloomington, Minn.) was 21-of-39 for 247 yards with three touchdowns. His top target was Adam Connette (So., WR, Corona, Calif.), who finished with six catches for 83 yards and a touchdown. Constant Jackson (Sr., WR, Jacksonville, Fla.) added three catches for 64 yards with two touchdowns, while Rodney Stewart (Fr., WR, Fort Worth, Texas) had six grabs for 64 yards.

On the ground, Dre Person (Jr., RB, Detroit, Mich.) had a solid outing with 16 rushes for 70 yards, while Stewart had four carries for 28 yards and Connette had seven carries for 23 yards.

Defensively, UMC limited the Marauders to 381 yards and were led by Ali Alkhatib (R-Fr., DB, Rosemount, Minn.), who had seven tackles. Lethzee Calderon (Sr., DB, Eagan, Minn.) added six tackles. Brody Davidson (Sr., LB, Crookston, Minn.) had six tackles and a sack, while Bubba Cook (Fr., DL, Surprise, Ariz.) had six tackles and a tackle for loss.

The Marauders exploited the UMC run defense for 323 yards. Woroniecki led the way with 26 carries for 162 yards and a touchdown, while Zach Graves added 21 carries for 149 yards. Graves would add two catches for 46 yards and a touchdown and would finish the game with three touchdowns. U-Mary didn't throw the ball much as Caleb Buck was just 5-of-8 for 58 yards and two touchdowns.
U-Mary's defense looked to Austin Bolton, who had 14 tackles and 0.5 tackle for loss, while Seth Walton added 11 with one tackle for loss and a half sack.

After a 13-yard Stephen Day (R-Fr., K/P, Eveleth, Minn.) punt set up U-Mary with great field position, the Marauders would strike quickly as Buck found Zach Graves for a 40-yard touchdown pass to make it 7-0.

The Golden Eagles would quickly strike back as they would get into the red zone led by a 27-yard pass from Hearns to Connette. Hearns and Connette would connect from seven-yards out to knot the game up 7-7 in the first quarter.

The Marauders would take the 14-7 lead in the second quarter as Graves scored his second touchdown of the day, this time on a 38-yard touchdown run.

UMC would knot things up late in the second quarter as Hearns connected with Jackson from 24-yards out to make it 14-14.

The Golden Eagles would continue to build on that momentum early in the second half as Hearns again found Jackson, this time from 31-yards out to give UMC a 21-14 lead.

The Marauders would tie up the game later in the third as Caleb Buck found his tight end Zach Podoll for a five-yard touchdown to make it 21-21.


The Golden Eagles would again take the lead a few minutes later as the special teams came away with a partial block of a Coleman Olivas punt. It would be returned 17 yards for a touchdown by UMC freshman Lincoln Tappe (WR, Aiea, Hawai'i) to put the Golden Eagles up 28-21.

U-Mary would look to tie things up at 28-28 early in the fourth as Graves went in for his third touchdown of the game, this time on an eight-yard rushing touchdown. However, a Cody Goetz missed extra point would leave the Marauders down one 28-27.

UMC would drive the ball down to the U-Mary 21 on the next drive, but a Hearns pass would fall incomplete to Stewart, giving the ball back to the Marauders. The failed fourth-down conversion would prove costly, giving the ball back to the Marauders.

U-Mary would turn the turnover on downs into points as Adam Woroniecki went in from 26-yards out on a rush. The Marauders would attempt a two-point conversion but Buck's pass would fall incomplete as U-Mary would take the 33-28 lead.

The Golden Eagles would put up one last stand as they drove down the field led by a 22-yard completion from Hearns to Connette. UMC would get down to the 12-yard line on a pass to Stewart, however time would run out as they would fall just short.

The Golden Eagles will finish the year with two home games hosting Minot State University Sat., Oct. 7 at 1 p.m. and then finishing off the year against Minnesota State University Moorhead Sat., Oct. 14 in the Red River Valley Showdown Sponsored by State Farm Insurance.

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 a NCAA Division II university located in the Red River Valley of Northwest Minnesota. UMC sponsors 11 intercollegiate athletic teams with membership in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate conference (NSIC) and the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA). The NSIC is a 16-team conference with schools situated in Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska.