Box Score

ABERDEEN, S.D. – On a day in which the Wolves honored 17 seniors prior to the game, it was the young guns who ran the show, as redshirt freshman quarterback Jared Jacobson ran for 180 yards and three touchdowns and threw for another 136 yards and a fourth TD, while junior kicker Felipe Alfaia drilled a 35-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Wolves to a wild 39-36 win over the University of Mary Saturday afternoon in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference football action.
 
The win, NSU's first ever over the Maraudrers, marked the third straight for the Wolves, who finished the season at 5-6 overall and 4-6 in NSIC play.  The five-win season matched the win total of the three previous seasons combined and marked the first five-win campaign since 2007.
 
U-Mary closed its season at 5-6 overall and 4-6 in the loop.
 
The game became an offensive showcase for both teams, as NSU finished with a season-high 478 yards of total offense to U-Mary's 454.  Of those, 378 came on the ground and 319 came on the legs of Jacobson – who notched his second straight game with more than 100 yards both on the ground and through the air – and junior tailback Kristin James.
 
Jacobson led NSU's first-half charge, finishing the half with 156 rushing yards and two touchdowns.  The Rapid City, S.D. native carried the ball three straight times for 53 total yards on the Wolves' second drive of the second quarter, then capped the drive with a 15-yard touchdown run that bounced the Wolves back on top 16-14.
 
After a U-Mary fumble on the first play of the ensuing drive, the Wolves capitalized on the short field with another Alfaia field goal, his second of the half, to go up 19-16.
 
The Marauders – one of the top scoring teams in the league coming into the match-up – would not be outdone, scoring on their next possession to retake the lead, but the Wolves answered again just before the half.  Jacobson hit junior Chris Morton on a 22-yard play on fourth-and-ten to extend the drive, then found redshirt freshman Jordan Piatz two plays later for a 7-yard strike that again vaulted the Wolves back on top.
 
After forcing the Wolves into a three-and-out to start the second half, U-Mary scored quickly on their next possession, overcoming an intentional grounding penalty with a 61-yard Josh Murray run down to the Wolves' 2-yard line.  Quarterback Craig Bagnell found Jon Burke two plays later for a 1-yard strike to make it 28-26.
 
That drive, however, proved costly to the Marauders, as Murray left the game with an injury and did not return to the game.  He finished with 163 rushing yards and two touchdowns and was replaced by Dariouse Gravely for the remainder of the game.
 
After a third Alfaia field goal, this time from 37 yards out, upended the Marauders yet again, U-Mary settled in for a 9-play, 67-yard drive capped by Gravely's 11-yard TD run.  The Marauders completed the 2-point conversion to make it a 36-29 lead and force the Wolves to gun for the end zone.
 
NSU and Jacobson answered the call yet again, with James and defensive-back-turned-running-back Chris Nguyen carrying the load for the Wolves.  NSU survived a late scare on the drive after the ball popped loose inside the Marauder 4-yard line, but redshirt freshman offensive lineman Justin Parsons alertly fell on the ball to save the NSU possession.
 
Jacobson then capped the drive with his third TD of the day, scrambling out of a rapidly collapsing pocket and running the five yards on a broken play for the score.  Alfaia then tied the game with the extra point attempt.
 
U-Mary took over possession with 11:40 left to go and looked poised to re-take the lead, completing passes on broken coverages and rushing for the first down with Gravely.  The NSU defense, however, took the moment to shine, forcing an incompletion and two plays for negative yards plus a false start penalty that backed the Marauders up and made it a 4^th-and-16 situation.  Marauder quarterback Craig Bagnell dropped back to pass, but was sacked by NSU's Hanipale Seuga, giving the Wolves the ball back.
 
Both teams, however, were forced into three-and-out situations on their next possessions with NSU taking over at its own 22 with 3:44 left to play.
 
Jacobson led the NSU march down field, completing four of five passes on the drive, including a 20-yard strike to Piatz that set up the final sequence.  Jacobson then spiked the ball, then carried the ball on a centering play with three seconds left on the clock.  NSU called time-out to stop the clock and the Marauders burned their final two time-outs in an effort to ice Alfaia, but to no avail, as the junior from Brazil drilled the game-winner as time expired to lift the Wolves to the win.
 
Alfaia, for his part, was perfect on all four field goal attempts and three of four on PAT attempts.
 
NSU junior Mark Hanley hauled in seven catches for 70 yards, while Piatz had three receptions for 33 yards and a touchdown.
 
Defensively, senior Mike Bogdanovich lef the way with 10 tackles, while redshirt freshman Paul Woodward turned in nine tackles, a forced fumble and an interception.  Junior Marquis Mulkey also had nine tackles, two pass break-ups and a 25-yard fumble recovery and return.
 
Bagnell finished the game going 21-for-32 for 232 yards and two touchdowns for the Marauders.  Justin English had 12 tackles, most of which came while stopping Jacobson on the run, while John Oyloe and Marcus Broome added 10 apiece.