ST. CLOUD, Minn. - It was a battle between dogs in the season opener of the 2007 gridiron schedule Thursday evening in St. Cloud, Minn. The Huskies of St. Cloud State (1-0) totaled 383 yards in their 17-7 win over the Northern State Wolves (0-1). Sophomore quarterback Andrew Wanner had the highlight play of the game for NSU, a 30-yard scoring run in the second quarter which tied the game at 7-7.
The Huskies took the first bite of the game in their second drive of the season. They started things off with a 22-yard kick return and used five plays to drive 35 yards for the score. SCSU's Jake Machecek completed the drive with a three yard rush into the end zone at the 7:18 mark. The teams shared four turnovers in the remaining minutes of the first quarter, but neither team was able to capitalize with a score. Highlighting Northern's defensive effort was a forced fumble and recovery by Justin Swearingen (So., Huntsville, Texas) and an interception by Kellen Fetter (R-Fr., Waynesfield, Ohio), the first turnover marked by either player in their collegiate careers.
After nearly ten minutes of back and forth play between the teams, Northern sparked the game with a 12-play, 80-yard scoring drive that took just over five minutes to elapse. The Wolves came up with four first downs before Wanner (Groton, S.D.) took the scoring into his own hands, rushing 30 yards and diving into the corner of the endzone to tie the game with just about one minute remaining in the half. The Huskies made it into the red zone but missed their second field goal of the game to leave the game knotted at 7-7 at the half.
St. Cloud State drilled out 239 offensive yards in the first half and reached the red zone four times, but squandered three scoring opportunities with two missed field goals and a turnover on downs. The Wolves had 105 yards of offense but did not reach the red zone in the first half. The Huskies had 12 first downs to NSU's seven.
The Huskies, starting with good field position for much of the game, pounded their way back into the red zone in their second possession of the third quarter. They took back the game's lead with a three-yard touchdown pass from Jon Quesnel to Derek Sedin at the 3:19 mark, using ten plays to drive 41 yards. An extra point set the score at 14-7 in favor of the home team.
Northern State went three and out after three unsuccessful rush attempts. The Huskies ate up seven minutes in their first possession of the final quarter. The third time was the charm for SCSU kicker Justin Delgado, who put the ball through the uprights on a 29-yard boot, putting the Huskies up 17-7 with 3:19 to play.
The fourth quarter consisted of several long possessions by both teams, but neither team found a way to do serious damage, leaving the final score at 17-7.
Northern State marked 225 yards of offense in their first appearance of the season. 76 yards came on the ground, including 39 yards from Wanner and 28 from junior running back Tavis Ve'e (Alameda, Calif.). Senior Mike Cahoy (Colome, S.D.) led the receiving front with eight catches for 64 yards. Wanner completed 12 of 17 passes for 89 yards, while Eric Ellingson (Riverside, Calif.) completed eight passes for 60 yards. Jackson Hegerfeld (Sr., Elkton, S.D.) and Mike Preciado (Jr., San Bernardino, Calif.) led the defense with ten tackles each. Three other NSU players had six tackles. There were 12 penalties in the game, with seven charged to Northern.
St. Cloud State accumulated 383 yards in the game. They threw for 245 with passes and yards split largely between four players. Kenneth Patrick led the rushing game, carrying the ball 21 times for 94 yards. The Huskies had 138 total yards rushing.
The Northern State football team brings their game to hometown fans next Saturday, September 8. They host Augustana College in a 7:00 p.m. night game at Swisher Field.
