By: Ryan Haggstrom, Sports Information Intern

CROOKSTON, Minn. - In the tenth edition of the "Battle for the Hub Cap" between theMinnesota Crookston and the Bemidji State, the Golden Eagles won for the first time with a final score of 16-14. It was a cold, rainy Saturday afternoon at Ed Widseth Field in Crookston, Minn. The game was decided by a safety with 1:25 left in the game. Avery Walker could never get out of the end zone for BSU and was brought down by Tyler Hansen (Jr., DB/P, Morris, Minn./Natural Resources) a yard into the end zone. The win was also UMC's second-consecutive homecoming victory.

The homecoming victory over the Beavers gave the UMC their first win of the season, bringing their record to 1-4. It was Coach Mike Fritze's first collegiate victory. BSU dropped to 2-3 following the loss.

In their first victory against the Beavers since 1998, the Golden Eagles forced five fumbles, stopped two fourth down attempts, and limited Bemidji State to 14 points on five red zone attempts. Andrew Hall (Jr., LB, Detroit, Mich./Criminal Justice) was the rock of the defense this afternoon leading the team with 16 total tackles. Keith McBride (Sr., RB, Lodi, Wis./Management) provided most of the offense for the Golden Eagles with 75  of the team's 146 yards of offense.

Avery Walker was clearly the focus of the Bemidji State offense. He carried the ball 46 times for 265 yards and two touchdowns. Outside of Walker, the Beaver offense did not show much. Because of this, the Golden Eagle defense was able to key in on Walker doing a much better job against him in the second half.

Fumbled snaps and stops deep in Golden Eagle territory highlighted the first half between BSU and UMC. Going into the break, the score was tied 7-7, but Bemidji State dominated the field possession battle. Bend, not break was the Golden Eagle defense's motto, holding Bemidji State to seven points on four red zone trips.

The Golden Eagles defense carried the burden in the first half. Aided by four sacks and three fumbles, the defense was able to shut out Bemidji State long enough for the Golden Eagle offense to get their first lead of the year. Keoni Piceno (Fr., WR, Wahiawa, Hawai'i/Sports and Rec Management) ran down the seam, never checked by a BSU defender, and Kyle Larson (Fr., QB, Clayton, Wis./Health Sciences) found him for a 62 yard touchdown. Brody Davidson (Jr., LB, Crookston, Minn./Communication) and Hall led the Golden Eagle defense with seven total tackles in the first half.

Avery Walker proved to be a handful for the Golden Eagles, rushing for 180 yards in the first half on 25 carries. While Walker was consistent in the middle of the field, he had trouble powering the ball in from the goal line, only getting one score.

In the second half, it was a much more balanced affair. Bemidji accumulated 110 yards of total offense to UMC's 61. The difference maker in the second half was field possession. The UMC offense was not forced to start deep in their end for the second half.

Some tough running by Tommy Smith (So., RB, Naranja, Fla./Marketing) made a huge difference as he had 23 yards on three second half carries. Two of those were huge third and fouth and long conversions. Smith scored the only touchdown of the second half for the Golden Eagles.

The Golden Eagles first drive ended quickly with a punt from deep in their own territory. They were set back by a fumbled snap over the head of quarterback Kyle Larson.

A 25-yard missed field goal by Bemidji State kicker Zach Pulkinen kept the score tied at 0-0.

After some back and forth punting the Golden Eagles were able to get on the board with a 62 yard touchdown pass to Piceno. The Piceno score gave the Golden Eagles their first lead of the season. Avery Walker was able to march the Beavers down the field before a fumbled snap at the one yard line was recovered by A.J. Wallace.

After a quick punt, the Beavers had great field possession. As was the case most of the afternoon, they rode lead back Avery Walker to a score on an eight play, 40 yard drive.

On another fumbled snap, the Golden Eagles gave the ball to BSU deep in their own territory, but were able to make another stop at the two yard line. After running out the clock, the Golden Eagles went into the second half with the score 7-7.

Walker got Bemidji State out of the gate quickly running eight times for 62 yards to start the second half. A one yard run by Walker brought the score to 14-7 in favor of the Beavers.

After a shanked punt by Bemidji punter Pulkinen, the Golden Eagles started a drive on the Bemidji State side of the 50 for the first time on the afternoon. On fourth and nine, the Golden Eagles ran an option left. Kyle Larson wrestled through one defender before pitching to Smith. Smith then ran through a couple arm tackles for a touchdown, again evening the score.

After Hansen blocked a punt for UMC to get the ball on Bemidji's end of the field again, the Golden Eagles had a kick of their own blocked. On the 27 yard attempt by Mike Maw (Fr., K, White Bear Lake, Minn./Accounting) the line could not hold. J.J. Reinke got in the backfield to block the field goal attempt.

After a Beaver punt, Crookston returned the favor by punting the ball away after a three and out. The low punt by Tyler Hansen hit a Bemidji player and in the ensuing scrum Nataki Morris recovered the football for the Golden Eagles.

Three runs led to a fourth and one for the Golden Eagles. Coach Mike Fritze decided to bring out the punt team but a read by Hansen allowed him room to run for two yards and pick up the first down. The Golden Eagles still had to punt on the drive, but they were able to down it at the three yard line.

As expected, Bemidji State gave the ball to workhorse Avery Walker who was stopped short of the line of scrimmage. With 1:31 left on the clock, Coach Fritze showed a tremendous amount of faith in his defense and called a timeout to give the offense another opportunity to score. The offense would not need this opportunity. Golden Eagle defensive back Tyler Hansen repaid Coach Fritze's faith by wrapping up Walker in the end zone for a safety to put the Golden Eagles up 16-14.

After picking up a first down, the Golden Eagles were able to enter the victory formation. Upon the snap, the players entered celebration mode.

 For more information, visit the Golden Eagle Athletics website at www.goldeneaglesports.com.

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The University of Minnesota Crookston is an NCAA Division II Institution and a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Golden Eagle Equestrian team is a member of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA).
          

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