CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Mary took advantage of momentum and missed opportunities on a frigid afternoon on the cold and snowy tundra of Ed Widseth Field as they upended University of Minnesota Crookston Sat., Nov. 10. The game was the season finale for both teams and Senior Day for Minnesota Crookston. The feels like hovered just over 0 degrees, while snow fell periodically throughout the game.

The Golden Eagles finish the season with a 1-10 mark, while UMary also finishes with a 1-10 record. Minnesota Crookston had many positives on the season, including their first win since 2015 as they took down Minot State University in September. They finish in a three-way tie for sixth place in the NSIC North.

UMary scored 21 points in the first half and did not look back despite a late charge by the Golden Eagles. The Marauders scored 21 in the second quarter, while Minnesota Crookston was unable to take advantage of crucial UMary turnovers in the early going. The dagger in the first half came as Jason Hoekstra looked to be spiking the ball to kill the dwindling clock in the second quarter. Hoesktra and Luke Little seemed to be the only two players on the same page as the rest of the team was at a standstill as Hoesktra found Little for the nine-yard touchdown pass as time expired.

The Golden Eagles put 14 on the board in the second half, but they ultimately came up short due to the strong effort by the Marauders in the second quarter.
Minnesota Crookston finished with 236 yards of offense with 179 through the air and 57 on the ground. The Golden Eagles were led by Jeremy Neuman (R-So. QB, Andover, Minn.), who took over for Jalin Scott (Jr., QB, Houston, Texas) in the second quarter to attempt to get the offense jumpstarted. Neuman finished 12-of-29 for 144 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions. Kevin Evans (Sr., RB, Groveland, Fla.) led the Golden Eagles on the ground on his Senior Day with 14 carries for 40 yards.

Rod Stewart (Sr., WR, Fort Worth, Texas) led the receiving ranks with four catches for 76 yards. Stewart finished his career ranked third all-time for career receptions with 139, which fell behind only Hall of Famer Mark Olsonawski and his teammate and all-time leading receiver Adam Connette. Stewart notched 1,869 career receiving yards, second to only Connette. His 10 touchdown receptions ranks fifth all-time.

Andy Groebner (Fr., WR, Andover, Minn.) ended his freshman campaign with three catches for 64 yards and a touchdown. Groebner had a better freshman season then Connette, the all-time leading receiver in Minnesota Crookston history. He ends the year with 33 catches for 601 yards and three touchdowns and his one of many talented youngsters with bright futures for the Golden Eagles.

Jonattan Mudd (Jr., WR, Gardena, Calif.) added four catches for 31 yards, while senior Lincoln Tappe (Aiea, Hawai'i) had two targets for eight yards.

Defensively, Minnesota Crookston was guided by 14 tackles, one tackle for loss, and a 61-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown by Ali Alkhatib (R-Sr., LB, Rosemount, Minn.). Alkhatib finishes his career third all-time in total tackles with 304. His 154 career solo tackles finishes tied with Justin Reed for second all-time, while his 31.5 tackles for loss is second all-time to Jim Mages.

Trevor Long, Jr. (R-Jr., DB, Brooklyn Park, Minn.) added 13 tackles. Ben Branscom (R-So., DL, Woodbury, Minn.) finished with 12 tackles, two tackles for loss, and a sack. Austin Steele (R-Fr., LB, La Crosse, Wis.) had 10 tackles and an interception. Will Cole (Sr., DB, Compton, Calif.) finished with five tackles. He ends his career just outside the top five for career tackles with 262 career tackles. His 140 career solo tackles finishes fifth all-time.

UMary finished with 376 yards of offense with 263 yards on the ground and 113 through the air. The Golden Eagle defense forced three turnovers on the day.

The Marauders looked to Colton Farmer, who ran quarterback out of the wildcat formation. He was one of the team's starting quarterbacks last year but has played tight end this season. He led the team with 31 carries for 175 yards and two touchdowns. Bryan Lumsden added 26 touches for 103 yards.

Hoesktra led the team through the air by going 6-of-11 for 113 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Little was his top target with two catches for 39 yards and two touchdowns.

Daniel Hudrlik paced UMary with 10 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and two sacks. Ryan Naki added seven tackles and an interception. Cyrano Rayfield finished with five tackles, four tackles for loss, and two sacks. Casey Uhler chipped in an interception that included a 20-yard touchdown return.

Neither team was able to get much going in the first quarter. The Golden Eagles obtained the first turnover of the game in the opening frame when Logan Huso (Jr., DL, Eagan, Minn.) hit Farmer and forced the fumble. Javon Chappell (Jr., DB, Ocala, Fla.) scooped up the football and returned it 18 yards to the UMary 49.

The Golden Eagles looked poised to score as Scott found Stewart for 35 yards down to the UMary one-yard line. However, Scott fumbled on the next play and Will Blewett recovered the Marauders to stop the scoring opportunity.

Neither team would be able to do much the rest of the quarter as defenses prevailed. However, UMary got on the scoreboard early in the second quarter when Farmer rushed in from 14 yards out to move the lead out to 7-0 in favor of UMary.

The Marauders pushed their lead out to 14-0 following a defensive stop. Hoekstra ended the drive by finding Little for the 30-yard touchdown pass.

Minnesota Crookston drove down to the Marauder 36. However, they would come up empty as they turned the ball over on downs. The Golden Eagles got the ball right back though as Steele picked off Hoesktra and returned the ball 35 yards to the UMary 19.

Minnesota Crookston moved the ball down to the Marauder 13. However, Neuman's pass was intercepted in the end zone by Naki on a fourth down attempt.
The Golden Eagles marched down the field later in the second frame but a dropped pass by Groebner on fourth down stalled the drive at the UMary 28 and gave the ball back to the Marauders.

Neither team would be able to move the ball much on the next two drives. However, the Marauders took advantage of a short punt at the end of the half. With time winding down, that is when Hoekstra pulled the fake spike play and found Little for a nine-yard touchdown connection to extend the lead to 21-0.

Minnesota Crookston started off on the right foot in the second half as Neuman found Groebner for a 62-yard touchdown strike to cut the deficit to 21-7 and give the Golden Eagles hope.

UMary answered on the next drive as they drove 64 yards on nine plays, capped off by a two-yard touchdown run by Farmer to move the lead to 28-7.

The Golden Eagles came through with a huge stop in the red zone later in the third quarter as Steele and Alkhatib took down Farmer at the two-yard line to halt the drive.

The next score came in the fourth quarter as Uhler picked off Neuman and ran it back 20 yards to pay dirt to extend the Marauder lead out to 34-7 following a missed extra point.

The Golden Eagles cut into the lead as Alkhatib recovered a fumble on a bad snap and took it 61 yards to the end zone to put a stamp on his great career for Minnesota Crookston as the lead was sliced to 34-14.

Minnesota Crookston attempted the onside kick and came close to coming up with it, but UMary would get the ball and would take the clock down to 1:13. The Golden Eagles had one more chance led by an 18-yard completion from Neuman to Stewart, the last for his great career. However, Minnesota Crookston would come up short as they fell 34-14.

The game was the last one for 14 players who played their last down with Alkhatib, Stewart, Cole, and Stephen Day (R-Sr., P, Eveleth, Minn.) finishing their careers in the record book. Day is the all-time leader for punts and third all-time in punting average. Zach Greenberg (Sr., Winnipeg, Manitoba), Tappe, Devante Nutall (Sr., DL, Plymouth, Minn.), Jerrod Miller (R-Sr., DL, Chicago, Ill.), Jake Newman (R-Sr., K, White Bear Lake, Minn.), Olufemi Obaweya (Sr., LB, Brooklyn, N.Y.), Derek Hartwigsen (Sr., RB/WR, Covington, Wash.), Evans, Logan Moreau (OL, Lake Nebagoman, Wis.) and Nelson Uzonwa (DB, Lagos, Nigeria) all suited up for the last time Saturday.

The Golden Eagles have a lot of young talent set to return as they look to continue to build. Minnesota Crookston earned their first win on a season since 2015 and they look to build upon that and several close games as they head into the recruiting season and look toward 2019.