Northern State fends off furious Mankato rally for with last-minute pick to preserve win
For one Saturday in September at least Northern State University was not “one of those teams.”
Head football coach Mike Schmidt mentioned before Saturday's game with Minnesota State, Mankato that until a team can knock off one of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference powers, it's just a member of the league's rank and file.
“Until you beat the Mankatos the Augies, you’re just ‘one of those teams,’” Schmidt said.
Cross one of those teams off the list. The Wolves held on for a wild 23-22 win over No. 24 Mankato at Dacotah Bank Stadium to end 51-years of futility. Their last win over the Mavericks was in 1971. Northern had lost 10-straight games to the Mavs during that stretch.
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“We talked about all week (how this) team, the kids we bring in, we’re building a program designed to beat Mankato," Schmidt said after the game. "When we first took over this job, we were asking, ‘Are we getting guys that can beat Mankato?’ That’s our charge. Are we bringing in guys to beat Mankato? Because if we are, we’re always going to be in a position to contend for the league, and we did that tonight.”
But it wasn't easy. The Wolves had a 23-0 lead early in the fourth quarter and still needed a last-minute interception by Ar'Shon Willis to get the job done.
The closing minutes were tense
Northern took possession deep in its own territory with 2:18 left in the game and a suddenly precarious 23-20 lead. The Wolves lost four yards on three plays and, with 1:31 left, Mankato's Joey Goettl blocked the punt attempt. It went out of the end zone for a safety to trim the Wolves' lead to one with Northern having to kick the ball to the Mavericks.
After Mankato took over at its 28, third-string quarterback Camden Dean completed a 28-yard pass to star receiver Jalen Sample to the Northern 40. Suddenly, Mankato was in position to win the game with a field goal and there was still about a minute on the clock.
Two plays later, though, it was Willis to the rescue.
Madler at quarterback sparks Northern offense
Michael Bonds got the start under center for the Wolves, however, he was replaced by Will Madler on their second possession. Madler led the Wolves on a pair of first-quarter scoring drives. One ended with a 28-yard Payton Eue field goal, the other a 16-yard touchdown run coming from Madler that gave the Wolves a 10-0 halftime lead.
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“I think what you try to do in a game like this is find the guy with the hot hand,” Schmidt said, “And Will was able to make some things happen with his feet and his arm. In these games, you need to find someone who can step up and be a gamer, and he certainly stepped up for us.”
Particularly on his touchdown run.
“We had a bad snap,” Schmidt said. “We liked the look we had on the outside and had a bad snap. That was not the designed play, but to have him make a play, to score a touchdown, something we haven’t done in a week? It shows you his ability to make things happen.”
Defensively, you couldn’t have asked for much more than the Wolves gave in the first half. The defense held the Mavericks to a total of 90 yards on 28 plays. Mankato didn’t cross the 50-yard line until there were just 41 seconds to go in the second quarter. Sample, who Schmidt noted needed to be held in check, was, had one catch for four yards.
Madler also led two more scoring drives in the third quarter.
Eue connected on another field goal from 33 yards out, and Madler found Wyatt Block on a 26-yard scoring strike to make it 20-0.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Eue made another 33-yarder to give the Wolves a 23-0 edge.
Wolves needed one big play to win the game
That was great, but Schmidt was also pleased with the defense.
“I thought our defense was great,” he said. “I was a little upset we got on our heels and couldn’t quite recover late. We didn’t make them earn it, necessarily, toward the end of the game, but we just reminded our guys to stay calm, stay in the moment and understand at that point, only one play needs to be made to win the game.”
Willis made that play.
After being inconsistent in the first to games of the season, Eue got on track Saturday, making all three of his field goal attempts.
“Payton was great, he’s a great kicker and that was our conversation all week,” Schmidt said. “Dude, just go back to being you. We made a switch at holder, which was a good switch. I thought (Eue) had a great night. Not only his field goals, but his punts, kickoffs. Payton did a great job limiting (Mankato’s) return opportunities.”
Mankato native steps up for Northern State
Block's touchdown reception was set up by a fumble recovery after a band handoff exchange by Mankato.
Block, who is from Mankato, was happy to make the Mavericks pay. He finished with five catches for 66 yards and carried the ball eight times for 39 yards.
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“We had a different look on our faces this week,” Block said. “We knew we had to get our one-on-one matchups going and try to get guys open in space so we can make plays. Being from Mankato, I always went to their games growing up and always wanted to play for them, but it didn’t work out. Right now, I can’t describe how this win feels. It’s just amazing.”
Schmidt echoed his running back’s sentiment about knocking off the Mavericks.
“Wyatt Block is a football player, and this is a special moment for him, no doubt,” Schmidt said. “He’s from Mankato. They didn’t want him, and for him to come here, see what we’re building and win this game against them, I mean, that’s a dream come true for Wyatt.”
Mankato's scores three touchdowns in 10 minutes to rally
Mankato finally got its offense in gear with a little more than 12 minutes to go in the game, and kept it going, scoring 22 unanswered points.
Dean found a wide-open Gabe Hagen for a 30-yard score with 12:07 left. Following a three-and-out by the Wolves, Dean again led the Mavericks on a scoring drive, hitting Nyles Williams from 15 yards out. The two-point conversion attempt failed, making it a 23-13 Wolves lead. Dean tossed his third touchdown with 2:23 to go, finding Sample to make it a one-score game. That 70-yard drive took only 1:25.
“(Dean) was awesome,” Schmidt said. “He did a heck of a job. I think when you don’t know what you’re going to get from the (quarterback) position, it’s hard to know where you’re at (defensively). Is he going to scramble, is he going to throw? He was great throwing the ball on the run. I’d like to see us play with a four-man front and really try to contain a player like (Dean), but he was impressive, no doubt.”
Even so, the rally came up just short and the Wolves got to celebrate.
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“Honestly, the first thing I thought was, ‘Thank you’ to our fans,'” Schmidt said. “They were a huge part of this game. I just turned after (Willis) came down with the pick and looked at the crowd, the fans, our players and took it all in. I just thought how grateful I was to be a part of this moment. For me, our players and this community.”
History does not repeat itself
Last season in Mankato, the Mavericks rallied in the fourth quarter and eventually beat Northern in overtime. That denied the Wolves a big-time win, though they eventually thrashed the University of Sioux Falls, a step in the right direction to compete for an NSIC title.
The Wolves next head to Sioux Falls hoping for another “signature win” against Augustana Saturday at 1 p.m.
“I can’t wait to go to practice, can’t wait to watch Augie’s film right now, can’t wait,” Schmidt said. “We’re ready. We will be ready to play that game. We knew this stretch, Wayne, Mankato, Augie, we knew this gauntlet was coming. I can’t wait to get back to work.”
Northern and Mankato are now both 2-1 overall and in conference play. Augustana is 3-0.
This article originally appeared on Aberdeen News: Ar'Shon Willis' interception caps Northern State win against Mankato
