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| Dustin Spohn seeks yardage in the Martin Luther game. (B.W. photo) |
University of Minnesota-Morris football climbed to .500 in overall won-lost (3-3) with a home win over Westminster on October 6. Stevens County native Brendon Foss was an offensive power with his 12 pass receptions. The former Hancock Owl was a whiz getting open. He was a whiz in covering yards too. He seemed all over the place making his 12 catches for 182 yards and three touchdowns.
It was Dalton DeGraffenreid reaching the end zone first for UMM, getting loose on a 72-yard punt return.
Any thoughts this game might develop a defensive complexion dissipated. Foss showed his knack for advancing the football in a 72-yard scoring drive. He had a big catch and run. Cam Adel kicked for the point-after so UMM is up 14-0. The point total got hiked to 21 when Foss again scored.
The Cougar "D" came to the fore when Luke Evans intercepted a pass, setting up an eventual Roumy Desir touchdown that left the Cougars sitting pretty with the score 28-0. Westminster squeezed in a score just before halftime.
Westminster is accustomed to doing better offensively. They entered the game averaging 320 passing yards. The first half on October 6 saw them pass for just 58. Westminster was pressured into two intentional grounding calls.
Westminster crept forward a little on its first possession of the second half, driving for a score. But UMM answered as Derrick Foss (former Owl too) scored a rushing touchdown. UMM kept picking up steam when DeGraffenreid caught a seven-yard touchdown pass from Dan Garrigan.
The Cougars took advantage of an errant punt snap that ended with the Westminster punter falling on the ball at the three. Leandro Dower would score on a run from the one, making the score 47-14.
Brendon Foss scored his third touchdown on a ten-yard catch from Garrigan. Westminster scored the game's final touchdown, still in the third quarter, and UMM could eventually wrap up this 54-20 win.
Chad Mathiowetz brought cheers from the Big Cat Stadium crowd with his two interceptions. Would you believe Westminster got pushed back in the rushing department, finishing with minus-five yards in rushing on 27 attempts?
Northwestern 38, Cougars 14
This was a humbling afternoon for the maroon crew in St. Paul. The opponent was Northwestern who blew away the Cougars by scoring the game's first 28 points. A bright spot was the two touchdown passes thrown by Dan Garrigan. Another was Leandro Dower's 109 rushing yards. Dalton DeGraffenreid and Danny Kernan made the scoring catches. Four UMM receivers had three catches each.
While these aspects of the game were encouraging, the final score was not. The Cougars fell 38-14 in this September 29 contest.
Northwestern began its scoring with a seven-play drive culminated by a five-yard run. Northwestern took advantage of an interception to get its second touchdown on the board. The second quarter saw hard-charging Northwestern drive 99 yards in 21 plays to wear down the Cougars.
The last thing UMM needed now was a fumble on a kickoff but that's what happened. And Northwestern exploited this for a score.
UMM's first score came on a 16-yard pass from Garrigan to Kernan. We're just before halftime. Northwestern was able to squeeze in a field goal before halftime. The Cougars got a break when they recovered a fumble on the second half kickoff, but they couldn't take advantage to score. Northwestern struck with an eight-yard run for six in the third quarter, hiking their lead to 38-7. DeGraffenreid made a 19-yard scoring reception with 5:57 left to play, making the score 38-14 which stood as the final.
Greenville 49, Cougars 24
The Panthers of Greenville came at the host Cougars with a fast-action, read option offense. This turned out to be bad news for the Cougars who were marking Homecoming 2012 (on 9/22).
Greenville rolled up 408 rushing yards in a decisive 49-24 win over our maroon crew. The Panthers scored on their first possession. The Cougars then brought cheers from the Homecoming crowd at Big Cat when senior signal-caller Derrick Foss passed 48 yards to freshman wide receiver Dalton DeGraffenreid. But Greenville answered when quarterback Brandon Chambers connected with Steven Glover on a long scoring pass.
UMM freshman kicker Cam Adel drove the ball through the uprights from 35 yards out, adding three to UMM's point total (so the score is 14-10). The Homecoming crowd had its hopes fade as Greenville proceeded to score three straight touchdowns, taking advantage of an interception along the way. Two minutes are left in the first half and UMM's situation is grim. The score is 35-10.
The Cougars forced a punt and then summoned some offensive momentum. Using a series of quick passes, UMM advanced to set up a 31-yard touchdown pass from Derrick Foss to junior Danny Kernan. The scoreboard deficit was still big at halftime: 18 points.
The Cougars received the second half kickoff but failed to score. Alas it was Greenville subsequently scoring as Immanuel Gamble ran the ball in from the eleven. Greenville proceeded to score again which really put the game away.
UMM had one more score left in them, and it came when Tyler Peterson caught a five-yard pass from Derrick Foss with 9:28 left to play. The afternoon's scoring was done, unfortunately for UMM.
Cody Hickman was a bright spot in this loss with his 22 tackles, his career best. UMM's defense was decent vs. the pass and not so good vs. the run, where Greenville racked up 408 yards. Greenville employed a no-huddle offense for most of the game.
Leandro Dower accumulated 75 rushing yards for UMM. Dustin Spohn ran for 56 yards.
The Cougars will take the field in Illinois tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 13, to face Eureka College. Will the Cougars be saying "Eureka!" at game's end? We'll see.
Click on the permalink below to read about the Cougars' first three games of the 2012 season. This post is on my primary website, "I Love Morris." Thanks for reading - B.W.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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