St. Cloud, Minn. – The 11th-ranked St. Cloud State Huskies, in front of a record 5,158 fans, extended their home win streak to 14 games with a 35-7 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) victory over sixth-ranked University of Minnesota Duluth Saturday afternoon at Husky Stadium.
The Huskies improved to 8-1 overall and 7-1 in the NSIC. UMD dropped to 7-2 overall and 6-2 in the NSIC. St. Cloud State is tied with Minnesota State University, Mankato for first place overall in the NSIC and lead the NSIC North Division with a 4-0 record. St. Cloud State travels to Bemidji State next Saturday for an NSIC North Division game.
The win ended SCSU’s seven game losing streak to the Bulldogs and marked the 30th NSIC win for Husky head coach Scott Underwood in his four seasons at the helm.
St. Cloud State senior running back Dante Steward (Milwaukee, Wis.) rushed for 90 yards and a touchdown and sophomore back Michael Walker (Walworth, Wis.) scored two touchdowns on runs of three and one-yard and 84 yards to lead the Huskies ground attack.
Sophomore quarterback Phillip Klaphake (Princeton) completed 11 of 17 passes for 123 yards and rushed for one touchdown on seven carries for 48 yards. Junior wide receiver Tyler Allery (Lakeville) had four catches for 45 yards and is just five yards shy of the 1,000 yard career receiving mark.
Minnesota Duluth was led by quarterback Chase Vogler. Vogler rushed for 69 yards on 17 carries and completed 12 of 24 passes for 94 yards and threw two interceptions.
The Husky defense was led by senior linebacker Mark Martin (Milwaukee, Wis.). Martin collected nine tackles including two for a loss and had an interception, his first of the season. Sophomore Jack Moro (Brookfield, Wis.) collected his first INT of the season and third of his career.
St. Cloud State’s defense compiled eight tackles for loss and three quarterback sacks. One of the highlights for the Husky defense came in the third quarter. UMD faced a fourth and goal on the one-yard line and the Huskies made the stop with Martin and senior defensive back Joe Everson (Lakeville) making the stop
The Huskies finished the game with 398 yards of total offense including 275 yards on the ground. UMD collected 248 yards of total offense.
All six of the game’s touchdowns were scored on the ground. The Huskies played a crisp first half as Klaphake scored on a ten-yard run to give St. Cloud State a 7-0 first quarter lead. Walker scored both of his touchdowns in the second quarter and SCSU led 21-0 at the half.
Early in the third quarter Steward burst through the line for a 48-yard touchdown. The Huskies took a 35-0 lead early in the fourth quarter on a 25-yard romp by sophomore Damon Treat (Fairfield, Calif.). UMD’s Zach Hulce scored on a five-yard run at 7:20 of the fourth quarter.