Offense stuck in the mud after 6-5 loss
MARQUETTE -- For a little over 45 minutes Saturday afternoon in the Superior Dome, Northern Michigan University and the University of Indianapolis were like two boxers just punching away and landing hits, but not scoring a knockout.In the end, the Greyhounds escaped Marquette with a 6-5 win over the Wildcats. NMU drops to 4-4 overall on the season and 4-3 in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play. UIndy improves to 4-4 and 3-4 respectively.
The only scoring chance the ‘Cats had in the first half was when Rockne Belmonte missed a 42-yard field goal attempt at 6:41 of the second quarter. Belmonte did get the ‘Cats on the board first with a 38-yard field goal just seconds into the fourth quarter (14:08) for the 3-0 score. He also missed a 40-yard boot in the fourth quarter (8:29).
UIndy used a five-play 77-yard drive which was capped off by a 12-yard pass from Chris Mills to Tyran Fakes for the 6-3 game (6:17). The extra point kick was no good.
With six seconds left in regulation, UIndy was facing a fourth down and eight to go from their own 47-yard line. The Greyhounds lined up for a punt, but the punter (Fakes) turned and ran the other way into its own end zone for a safety. By that time the clock had ticked away to zero and the game was over (6-5).
Neither team generated much offense on the day. NMU recorded 170 yards of total offense while UIndy had 146. The ‘Cats on the ground had 132 yards on 40 carries while the Greyhounds had 19 yards on 34 carries. In the air it was 38 yards for NMU (9-24-2) and 127 for UIndy (13-28-0). The Greyhounds ended the day with two more first downs than the ‘Cats (11-9).
Phillipe Smith led the ‘Cats on the ground with 63 yards on 14 carries. Jacob Hicks had the entire passing yardage as he was 9-23-2. Three ‘Cats had two catches each on the day as they were Craig Thompson (20 yards), Tony Awrey (11 yards) and John Privitelli (two yards).
Josh Droese led the ‘Cats' defensive efforts with nine total tackles (six solo and three assisted). Jacob Lehmann registered six solo tackles and one assisted tackle for seven total tackles.
The ‘Cats cross the bridge for the final time this season next week as they travel to Tiffin, Ohio to take on the Dragons. Kickoff is set for Oct. 30 at 1:30 p.m.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forWLUC