ST. PAUL, Minn. - MLC and Northwestern went blow-for-blow in a UMAC heavyweight matchup on Saturday afternoon and the Knights came away with a 35-34 upset win.
The difference in the game ended up being a big-time special teams play by
Carter Bilitz, who blocked Northwestern's final PAT.
The block gave the Knights the ball back with 12:59 left and trailing by just 6.
Brady Turriff led the offense on a 10-play, 81-yard scoring drive that chewed up more than five minutes off the clock.
The drive featured three key passes, including a highlight-reel one-handed catch by
Noah Huebner that went for 37 yards. Later in the drive, Turriff found
Arthur Robinson out of the backfield to convert a second-and-12 with a 17-yard completion.Â
Benjamin Vasold capped the drive off with a 10-yard touchdown reception on a perfectly-placed ball from Turriff and
Gabriel Nottling converted the PAT to give MLC the lead.
Vasold played a key part in the victory, with 92 yards receiving and a pair of TDs. Both scores came in the fourth quarter. Turriff kept his streak of 300-plus yard performances alive, throwing for 324 yards and four touchdowns. He also broke his own single-game record, completing 29 passes.
Turriff found six different receivers, including top target
Jude Pederson, who had nine catches for 70 yards.
Nathan Schmidt and
Ethan Melso capitalized on the few mistakes that the Eagles offense made. Schmidt once again wreaked havoc in the backfield with three tackles for loss, including two sacks, a forced fumble and fumble recovery on the game's final play. He was also credited with three quarterback hurries. Melso, meanwhile, led the team with eight total tackles and also intercepted Elijah Alexander on the final play of the first half.
MLC's ability to sustain drives was another key to the win, for the Knights had a nearly 18-minute advantage in time of possession. The Knights were 7-for-16 on third down and 3-for-5 on fourth down, including a key fourth-down conversion with less than three minutes left that allowed MLC to burn more clock.
The Knights scored twice in the final five minutes of the first half, sparked by a special teams mistake by the Eagles when their punter fumbled the snap and
William Stuebs recovered at the UNW 16. Turriff would find
Trenton Heyn two plays later to tie the game at 14.Â
After a three-and-out, MLC's offense closed the first half on an 11-play, 53-yard scoring drive capped off by a Huebner TD reception to take a 21-14 lead into halftime.
The result, paired with wins by Westminster and Minnesota Morris, keeps MLC alive for a share of the UMAC title and automatic qualification for the playoffs.
