NSIC Players of the Week
POW HIGHLIGHTS

#42 Ben Skelly (LB, 6-1, 205, Jr., Lakeville, Minn./North HS) helped Augustana hold Minnesota State to its season-low point total of 20 in Saturday’s loss. Skelly had a stand-out performance at linebacker, finishing with a career-high 14 tackles, including five solo stops. The junior also posted a career-high 2.0 tackles for loss in the contest. Skelly now ranks second on the team with 48 tackles this season, with 24 solo tackles and 3.0 tackles for loss.
#4 Grant Gebhardt (WR, 6-0, 185, Jr., Burwell, Neb./Burwell HS) made a highlight reel catch at the end of the second quarter to give Augustana a lead heading into halftime. Gebhardt caught  a Hail Mary pass from Trey Heid as time expired in the first half giving his team a 7-6 lead. Heid threw a jump ball into the end zone and Gebhardt, surrounded by four defenders, leaped and came down with the 39-yard touchdown pass. The junior finished the game with a team-high 51 receiving yards and a touchdown.  
 
Bemidji State
#4 Avery Walker (RB, 5-10, 202, Sr-1L, Milwaukee, Wis. / Mesabi Range CC) tallied his third consecutive 100-plus yard game with 122 yards on 29 carries for a 4.2 yards per carry average versus University of Mary Saturday. He scored his fourth touchdown in his last three games.
#34 Greg Button (ILB, 6-2, 225, So., Eau Claire, Wis./Eau Claire North HS) had 10 tackles, three solo, with one for a loss.
#37 Zach Pulkinen (P/K, 5-11, 200, Sr-3L, Minot, N.D. / College of Idaho) punted eight times for 355 yards to bail the Beavers out on multiple occasions versus U-Mary Saturday. He punted twice with his heels on the back of his own end zone and one punt traveled a career-long 73 yards. He averaged 44.4 yards per punt and pinned U-Mary inside its own 20 three times. Two of his four kickoffs went for touchbacks, while he averaged 61.2 yards per kick. He was a perfect 2-for-2 on extra points and added a field goal for five points.
BSU lost at home to U-Mary by the score of 26-17. The Beavers owned a 10-3 halftime lead, but a 16-point third quarter by the Marauders moved the score to 19-10. BSU scored a touchdown with 6:47 left in the fourth on a 58-yard catch and run by true freshman Vince Dinkel to move within two points, but U-Mary responded with a six-play, 60-yard drive to the end zone to take the 26-17 victory. The Beavers look to snap a two-game losing skid at Northern State Oct. 19. The Beavers and Wolves have a all-time series that dates back to 1957. BSU owns a slim 18-17-1 advantage in the series and have won seven of the last eight meetings. In those eight games, BSU has outscored the Wolves 30.3 to 16.9. Bemidji State is 7-11 in Aberdeen, S.D., and fell in the last meeting 14-0, Oct. 29, 2011.

Concordia-St. Paul
For the first time in eight meetings, Concordia-St. Paul fell to Upper Iowa, in its third trip to Fayette, in a 28-24 fourth quarter defeat … Concordia trailed 14-3 early in the second quarter before three straight touchdowns gave the Golden Bears a 24-14 lead in the third quarter … After Upper Iowa scored two fourth quarter touchdowns, Concordia rallied for a two-minute drive, falling short on the 5-yard line on a fourth and goal with three seconds to play … this Saturday, Concordia hosts Sioux Falls in the eighth meeting between the programs with Sioux Falls leading the all-time series 6-1 … Concordia won the first meeting back in 1971 with USF winning three more times in the 70’s and twice in the 80’s before the series was reopened last year with USF winning 31-23 in Sioux Falls, S.D. … this will be the Cougars’ first trip to Sea Foam Stadium … senior All-American defensive end Zach Moore notched a sack on Saturday, putting him 0.5 short of the career record of 30.0 held by Matt Woodford (1996-99).

University of Mary
Craig Bagnell (QB, 5-10, 185, Sr., Polson, Mont. / Polson) set the U-Mary career passing yardage mark in the Marauders 26-17 win at Bemidji State. He completed 21-of-30 passes for 311 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. He also ran for a season-high 41 yards and a score. Both his passing and running touchdowns came in the third quarter when U-Mary outscored the Beavers 16-0 to take control of the game. Bagnell is now U-Mary’s career leader in passing yardage with 7,963. The old mark was by Marauders Hall of Fame quarterback Chris Schwab (1996-99), who posted 7,786 yards through the air. Bagnell, already the career completion record-holder (640), is now after Schwab’s passing touchdown record of 73. U-Mary’s current four-year starter behind center has thrown for 64 touchdowns... Nick Jolliffe (WR, 6-2, 190, Jr., Bismarck, N.D. / Bismarck) established a career-high in receiving yardage, catching seven passes for 137 yards and a score. The receiving touchdown was his ninth of the season to rank second among Northern Sun players.
Grant Singer (LB, 6-1, 210, Jr., Turtle Lake, ND / Turtle Lake-Mercer) reached double digits tackles for the third time this season as U-Mary held Bemidji State to 286 yards and 14 first downs in a 26-17 Marauders win. The all-conference performer made a game-high 14 tackles, including 1.5 sacks and 2.0 tackles for loss. He also recovered a fumble for the third time this season. Singer leads the NSIC in tackles (63), is second in fumble recoveries, third in tackles for loss (9.0) and fifth in sacks (3.5)... Troy Guptill (LB, 6-2, 225, Jr., Quinn, S.D. / Phillip) made his way into the BSU backfield all day, picking up 3.0 tackles for loss, including 1.5 sacks. The junior linebacker registered nine tackles on the day. Guptill leads the NSIC in tackles for loss (11.5), sacks (6.5) and forced fumbles (3).
Tyler Ryan (K-P, 5-10, 180, Sr., Mesa, Ariz. / Mesa) had another strong day punting and kicking the ball for the Marauders. He was 2-of-2 on field goal attempts, connecting from 19 and 24 yards, and hit 2-of-3 extra points. Two of his six kickoffs went for touchbacks. Of the three that were returned, BSU averaged just 13 yards. Ryan averaged 38.1 yards on seven punts, downing three inside the 20 (the 7, 10 and 17) with a long of 52. Just two punts were returned for a total of five yards.

Minnesota Crookston
Talo Pascal (So., RB, Arlington, Texas)  had the best offensive game of his career in a 55-6 loss to St. Cloud State. The running back had 16 carries for 122 yards for an average of 7.6 yards per carry against the Huskies. Pascal had a career-long rush of 75 yards for a touchdown for UMC’s lone score of the game. Pascal was also the Golden Eagles’ top receiver in the game coming through in several key spots on third downs for UMC with four catches for 30 yards.
The Golden Eagles are coming off a 55-6 loss to St. Cloud State on the road. They will return home for a rivalry game against Minnesota State University Moorhead Sat., Oct. 19 at 1 p.m. at Ed Widseth Field as they battle the Dragons for the “State Farm Traveling Trophy” in the “Red River Valley Showdown Sponsored by State Farm Insurance”.

Minnesota Duluth
Austin Sikiorski (RB, 5-10, 200, Jr, Stevens Point, Wis.) rushed for a career-high 212 yards on 21 carries (a 10.1 yards per run average) and had three touchdowns in UMD’s 69-45 road win over MSU Moorhead. The 212 yards were the 10th highest single-game total ever accumulated by a Bulldog. Sikorski, who has now rushed for 100 or more yards eight times as a Bulldog (including each of the past two weeks) scored on runs of 28, 20 and 9 yards to push his 2013 touchdown. He  pick  also went over the 2,000-yard ground mark for his career (he now has 2,178 yards).
The Bulldogs will return to home to take on Minot State in the Beavers’ first-ever visit to Duluth. UMD is 42-1 in its last 43 NSIC home games with that lone loss being inflicted by No. 2 MSU (21-17).
UMD moved to 5-1 on the year by besting MSU Moorhead 69-45 in a shoot out for the ages in Moorhead.  The two clubs combined to amass 114 points, 1,304 yards of total offense, 16 touchdowns and 56 first downs on the day. Austin Sikorski and sophomore running back Logan Lauters (a personal-best 153 yards) spearhead a UMD ground game that rolled up 441 yards on and accounted for six of UMD’s nine touchdowns. Drew Bauer completed 13 of 21 passes for 178 yards and three scores in the victory -- UMD’s 12th straight over the Dragons. The Bulldogs did give up the most total yards ever to an opponent (685 yards) and the most points ever in a win (the previous high came against South Dakota in a 56-43 home triumph over the Coyotes in 2005.
Zach Zweifel established a career-high for pass receiving yards with 106 (on eight catches, which matched a personal best) Saturday afternoon. That put the junior wide out over 100 receptions for his career (he now has 101) -- something only 10 Bulldogs have done previously. UMD currently ranks sixth in the nation in rushing offense (320.7 yards per game) and is seventh in average time of possession (34:38).Senior defensive end Chris Vandervest, who paces the 2013 in total tackles with 30, capped off UMD’s scoring spree Saturday by returning a fumble 91 yards for a touchdown with 34 seconds to go in regulation.Since the 2008 season opener no other NCAA II has posted more victories (67) or a better winning percentage (.893 off a 67-8 record)

Minnesota State
#8 Dennis Carter, WR, 5-10, 177, Sr., Brooklyn Park, Minn./Spring Lake Park Senior Dennis Carter posted 111 receiving yards and one touchdown in MSU’s 20-10 win over Augustana. His 111 receiving yards represents the first time this season he has posted at least 100 receiving yards in a game. He has now tallied at least 100 receiving yards in three games during his career at MSU. He caught a 53 yard touchdown pass with less than four minutes left in the game to give MSU the 20-10 lead.
#93 Chris Schaudt (DE, 6-4, 272, Sr., Slater, Iowa/Slater)recorded six tackles in the Mavericks 20-10 win over Augustana. He led the team with two tackles for loss (3 yards) and broke up one pass.
#18 Sam Brockshus, K, 5-11, 205, Sr., Spencer, Iowa/Spencer Senior Sam Brockshus went 2-of-2 in field goal attempts against Augustana with kicks from 22 and 21 yards out. He also went 2-o-2 in extra point attempts for a total of eight points on the day. He tallied five kickoffs during the game, four of which went for touchbacks.
With its 20-10 win over Augustana, MSU has now won 17 straight NSIC games dating back to week one of the 2012 season.
The Maverick defense posted two interceptions against the Vikings as Patrick Schmidt and Jordan Hale each posted one.
The Maverick defense held the Vikings to 176 yards of total offense and 11 first downs.
MSU rushed for 231 yards against Augustana, with Jon Wolf leading the way with 91 rushing yards and a touchdown.

MSU Moorhead
Jake Hodge (QB, 6-1, 195, So., Kasson, Minn. / Kasson-Mantorville HS) had a huge day in the Dragons’ 69-45 loss to No. 11 Minnesota Duluth. He set a new MSUM single-game record with 472 passing yards, breaking a mark that had stood for six years. For the day, he completed 31-of-45 passes for 472 yards and a career-high five touchdowns. He connected with Cory Ambrose for an 86-yard touchdown pass, which was the second-longest scoring pass in school history. Hodge was also active on the ground, rushing 15 times for 83 yards. Hodge is 103-of-175 passing for 1,322 yards and 13 touchdowns. He also shares the team lead with 426 yards.
Chris Lee (LB, 5-11, 215, So., Dell Rapids, S.D. / St. Mary’s HS) had a big day for the Dragon defense during MSUM’s 69-45 loss to No. 11-ranked Minnesota Duluth. He finished with a game-high 17 tackles, which were also a career-high. He had six solo tackles and also had a forced fumble and a tackle for loss. Lee leads the Dragons with 47 tackles on the year, and also has a team-best 7.5 tackles for loss.
Wes Kramer (K/P, 6-3, 246, Fr., Northfield, Minn. / Northfield HS) had a good day kicking for the Dragons in a loss to No. 11-ranked Minnesota Duluth on Saturday. He went a perfect 6-of-6 on extra points and also added a 30-yard field goal in the first quarter which got the Dragons on the board. Kramer has scored 25 points this season for MSUM.

Minot State
Minot State University came within a couple seconds of snapping its three-game losing streak, but instead gave up a touchdown and a two-point conversion in the final seconds to fall to Northern State 22-21 Saturday. Until the final drive, the Beavers defense was solid, spearheaded by linebacker #42 Casey Weinmann (LB, 6-0, 212, Jr., Selz, N.D. / Harvey High School) who finished with 13 total tackles including five solo stops. #13 Brandon Boston (DB, 5-11, 176, Jr., Richmond, Texas / B.F. Terry High School / Blinn College) picked off his first pass as a member of the Beavers. On offense, #23 Wayne Peters (WR, 5-10, 187, Sr., Carson, Calif. / Carson High School / Pasadena City College) kept catching passes at a high rate for the Beavers, pulling in seven passes for 107 yards - his first time over the century mark this year - and a touchdown. MISU will have a daunting task to end its losing streak as the Beavers travel to nationally ranked Minnesota Duluth Saturday.

Northern State
Michael Alberts (Jr., LB, Britton, S.D., Langord-Roslyn HS) led a defensive unit that allowed just 80 yards rushing and 2.4 yards per carry in Saturday’s 22-21 come-from-behind win over Minot State. Alberts led the Wolves with six tackles in the win and also had a .5 TFL in the game. Alberts also caught a touchdown pass with four seconds remaining in the game to setup the go-ahead two-point conversion from the Wolves.
Jared Jacobson hit Michael Alberts in the back of the end zone off play-action for a one-yard touchdown pass with four seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, and then Jacobson scored on a quarterback keeper for a two-point conversion to give Northern State a dramatic come-from-behind 22-21 victory over Minot State Saturday in Minot, N.D.
 Next up will be a return to Swisher Field for the Wolves Oct. 19 as Bemidji State comes to town for a 2:30 p.m. tilt.

Sioux Falls
USF’s Homecoming was soured with a 45-40 loss at the hands of Winona State on Saturday afternoon at Bob Young Field. A crowd of nearly 2,800 watched both teams combine for 85 points despite battling wind gusts that reached more than 35 miles an hour. USF trailed 45-33 late in the fourth quarter but made things interesting with a score to cut the deficit to 45-40 with 58 seconds on the clock. Coach Stugart called for an onside kick, but it did not go past 10 yards and WSU freshman quarterback Jack Nelson simply took a knee at the Cougars’ 44-yard line to run out the clock.
 The Cougars fell to 3-3 and 1-1 in NSIC South play, while Winona State is 4-2 and a perfect 2-0 in the NSIC South division. It is only the second loss for USF at Bob Young Field (44-2) and it is the first time that fans have witnessed the Cougars get knocked off at home by a conference foe since the 2001 season. Papilion finished 16-for-25 for 200 yards. He accounted for five touchdowns (three passing, two rushing) and threw one interception.Lawler was 4-for-15 for 68 yards and a score. Nephi Garcia had 122 rushing yards for USF; his fifth straight over 100, while Carrington Hanna caught 11 passes for 139 yards and a score. Hanna moved into seventh on USF’s all-time career receptions list with 107 catches, despite playing the wide receiver position for only a year and a half.  John Batinich paced the defense with 10 tackles, including two TFL’s for a total of six yards. Evan Gentry tallied three tackles and posted the Cougars’ only sack (8 yards). USF racked up 616 yards of offense, the third straight week that the Cougars surpassed the 600-yard mark. They had two turnovers and committed a single penalty. The Cougars travel to Concordia-St. Paul next weekend.

Southwest Minnesota State
Junior quarterback Charlie Kern (6-3, 200, Belle Plaine, Minn.) helped account for six touchdowns, completing 26 of 31 pass attempts for 289 yards and four touchdowns and also rushed for 28 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries to lead SMSU to a 55-16 victory at Wayne State. It was just the third victory for SMSU at Wayne State in 12 all-time games. Kern completed touchdown passes of 26, 7, 12 and 42 yards in the game, while his two rushing touchdowns covered 11 and 2 yards. Kern has completed 141 of 226 passes for 1,682 yards and 15 touchdowns with just three interceptions on the season.
Senior linebacker Dashawn Miller (5-10, 237, Anaheim, Calif.) returned to action after missing last week’s loss to Sioux Falls and finished with six tackles (four solo) and also had an interception that he returned 17 yards for a touchdown in SMSU’s 55-16 win at Wayne State. Miller helped anchor an SMSU defense that forced WSC into three interceptions and limited the Wildcats to 376 yards, despite running 86 offensive plays.

St. Cloud State
Eric Poggenburg (Sr., DB, Cedarburg, Wis.) led the Huskies with a season high eight tackles. He collected the first pick-six of his career with a 70-yard interception return late in the fourth quarter. The INT was his third of the season and fifth of his career and first return for a touchdown.
Brothers Michael Walker (Sr., RB, Walworth, Wis.) and Kenneth Walker (RFY, RB, Walworth, Wis.) combined for five rushing touchdowns and Phillip Klaphake (Sr., QB, Princeton, Minn.) threw for two touchdowns to lead the Huskies to a 55-6 win over Minnesota Crookston. Michael Walker scored on runs of three, two, five and 27 yards and finished the game with ten carries for 54 yards. Kenneth Walker scored on a 14-yard run and had eight carries for 58 yards. Klaphake went over the 9,000 career passing yards mark in the game as he completed  18 of 24 passes for 228 yards. Klaphake has 9,176 career passing yards and is closing in on the school record of 9,695 held by Keith Heckendorf (2000-03). Eric Poggenburg (Sr., DB, Cedarburg, Wis.) collected his third interception of the season and fifth of his career when he picked off UMC and returned it 75 yards for a touchdown. He also led the team with eight tackles. St. Cloud State is 3-0 at home this year with three home games remaining. The Huskies travel to Bismarck, N.D., this week for an NSIC title against U-Mary. St. Cloud State is 7-0 all-time against U-Mary since the series began in 2006. Last year the Huskies defeated the Marauders 55-13 in St. Cloud.

Upper Iowa
Chris Smith (RB, 5-8, Jr., Brown Deer, Wis., Brown Deer HS) rushed for 266 yards, added four catches for 43 yards and scored three rushing touchdowns as Upper Iowa overcame a ten-point deficit in the fourth quarter of their week six matchup with Concordia-St. Paul.  The Peacocks defeated Concordia for the first time in eight tries, 28-24, scoring 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter.  Smith scored UIU’s first three touchdowns and set up the final touchdown with a 55-yard run to the 11-yard line giving way to a Cole Jaeschke bootleg to score the go-ahead touchdown.  Smith carried the ball 34 times to reach the second highest single game total in UIU history.  The big day rushing marks the fourth time in Smith’s career, and second time this season, that he has rushed for more than 200 yards.  The first two came as a freshman versus Wayne State (278) and Southwest Minnesota State (230); he then repeated the feat with 202 yards at Northern State in week three this season.  Smith now has his name attached to four of the nine times a Peacock has rushed for more than 200 yards in the history of the program.
After Upper Iowa took a 14-3 lead early in the second quarter on the back of two Smith touchdown runs from 1 and 30 yards away, Concordia-St. Paul took control scoring the next 21 points to take a 24-14 lead into the final quarter.  The Peacocks scored the final fourteen points in the game thanks to two more rushing scores by Smith and Jaeschke.  On four occasions, the Golden Bears and Peacocks have played games in which the final decision was not set until the final quarter of action and in multiple cases on the last play. The Peacocks knew they still would have to work hard to keep Concordia from spoiling their comeback.
CU took the ball at their own 32-yard line and used 9 plays to cover 63 yards and set themselves up with a first and goal at the 5-yard line. Three straight incomplete passes set up a winner-take all final play on fourth down. CU’s qb rolled out to free space but couldn’t connect with his receiver in the endzone. UIU got the victory they have not been able to secure against CU since the series began in 2006.

Wayne State
The Wayne State College football team suffered a 55-16 setback Saturday evening at home to Southwest Minnesota State.  It was the fifth straight loss at home for the Wildcats dating back to last season as WSC drops to 2-4 overall and 1-1 in NSIC South Division play.  Senior running back Charlie Davidson rushed for 138 yards on 29 carries and one score, a 21 yard TD jaunt in the first quarter.  It was his fourth 100 yard game of the season.  Other Wildcat scores came on a 19-yard pass from Zach Osborn to Cole McDaniel and a 27-yard field goal from Tyler Basch.  Wayne State hits the road Saturday for a 2:30 p.m. contest at Winona State.
 
Winona State
Chichi Ojika, RB, Sr., 5-8, 185, New Brighton, Minn. (Irondale) turned in another outstanding performance, rushing for 181 yards and a touchdown in the Warriors’ 45-40 win over Sioux Falls. Ojika crossed the 100-yard mark for the third time in the last four games, highlighted by a 65-yard scoring run that put WSU up for good in the second quarter. Ojika averaged 7.9 yards per rush, as the Warriors rushed for 311 yards as a team. The senior also caught two passes for 29 yards.
Patrick Lazzara, DB, Jr., 6-0, 185, Chicago, Ill. (Notre Dame), the reigning NSIC Defensive Player of the Week, led the Winona State defense with 12 total tackles in the team’s 45-40 victory over Sioux Falls. Nine of Lazzara’s 12 total tackles were solo stops, with the junior also breaking up a Sioux Falls pass attempt.
Brett Cochran-Bray (K, Fr., 6-3, 165, Spirit Lake, Iowa (Spirit Lake) was perfect kicking the football, connecting on all six of his extra point attempts, as well as a 24-yard field goal in the first half. The freshman accounted for nine kicking points in the game, a 45-40 Winona State victory.

Past NSIC Players of the Week
9/9/13
OFF: Cole Jaeschke  - UIU
DEF: Connor Quinn - BSU
SPT: Lucas Wainman - Augie

9/16/13
OFF: Tyler Tonderum - SMSU
DEF: Troy Guptill - U-Mary
SPT: Elby Pope - U-Mary

9/23/13
OFF: Chris Smith - UIU
DEF: Nathan Hancock - MSU
SPT: Alan May - WSU

9/30/13
OFF: Chichi Ojika - WSU
DEF: Jack Moro - SCSU
SPT: Zach Pulkinen - BSU

10/07/13
OFF: Anthony Dean, SMSU
DEF: Patrick Lazzara, WSU
SPT: Sam Brockshus, MSU

10/14/13
OFF: Jake Hodges, MSUM
DEF: Grant Singer, U-Mary
SPT: Tyler Ryan, U-Mary

    #NSIC#