Box Score

ABERDEEN, S.D. - In the end, it was the front lines that made the difference.  The Northern State University Wolves could not find an answer for the St. Cloud State University Huskies' big front lines - both offensive and defensive - as the Wolves fell by a final score of 17-12 Saturday evening at Clark Swisher Stadium. 
    The loss drops NSU to 0-4 on the season and 0-3 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play, while SCSU evens out at 2-2 overall in 2-1 in the league.
    The big Husky offensive line provided plenty of running room for the SCSU backs and plenty of pocket protection for quarterback Mitch Watkins.  The defensive line also largely controlled the line of scrimmage as the Huskies racked up seven sacks and eight total tackles for a loss.  Senior defensive end Cale Pulczinski led that effort, getting in on 3.5 sacks for 22 yards and also blocking a Matt Kloss field goal attempt that would have put the Wolves up 3-0 in the first quarter.
    As it turned out, the Wolves got the first score anyway, going up 6-0 on an 8-yard Eric Ellingson run.  The broken-play scramble capped a 12-play drive that saw the Wolves convert on a pair of fourth downs and a third-and-six.  Ellingson converted on one of those fourth downs, picking up five yards on a fourth-and-four just prior to his TD run.
    That drive was set up beautifully by a Nate McGruder interception on the previous SCSU drive.  The senior defensive back returned the pick 39 yards to the NSU 43-yard line before being pushed out of bounds to give the Wolves good field position to start.
    NSU's Andrew Wanner stymied Watkins again on the Huskies next drive, picking off the junior at the NSU 12-yard line to keep the shut-out intact heading into halftime.
    The third quarter, however, saw a change in momentum as the Huskies picked up a touchdown on their opening possession of the quarter and a field goal on their second to take a 10-6 lead.  SCSU then scored on the first play of the fourth quarter to make it 17-6.
    Not about to give up, NSU traded punts with SCSU for two possessions before getting the ball back on their own 20-yardline with 4:44 left to go in the game.  The Wolves, behind five straight Ellingson completions marched the ball down to the SCSU 10 before Ellingson was intercepted in the endzone, threatening to take the wind out of NSU's sails.  The Huskies were flagged for holding, however, negating the interception and putting the ball back in NSU's possession.
    Junior Marty Ponzo capitalized on the reprieve on the very next play, dashing five yards into the endzone to make it a 5-point contest.  The ensuing 2-point conversion attempt failed, leaving it at 17-12.
    The Wolves, needing nothing less than a touchdown, attempted an on-side kick, but the ball was covered handily by the Huskies.
    SCSU then ran the clock down to 10 seconds before turning the ball over on downs to NSU, whose last-second pass and pitch attempt was knocked out of bounds at midfield, leaving the final score 17-12.
    Ellingson completed 24 of 37 passes without an interception for 196 yards, but was sacked seven times for 47 yards on the day.  Senior running back Tavis Ve'e led the Wolves in both receiving and rushing yards, picking up 39 yards on the ground and 52 through the air.
    Defensively, senior Bryar Johnson had nine tackles to lead the Wolves, including one behind the line of scrimmage.  Anthony Ponzo and Wes Uepi chipped in eight tackles apiece, while McGruder had a trio of pass breaks-ups in the secondary.
    Brandon Geiss carried the ball 29 times for 123 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead the Huskies.  Nate Johnson had five catches for 99 yards on the receiving end of the ball.
    The Wolves will be back in action next weekend as they go back on the road to face Bemidji State.  The Beavers fell to Minnesota State Moorhead earlier today by a score of 27-7.  BSU is now 1-3 overall and 0-3 in the conference.