News
Briefly
Calendar of Events
Commentary
Opinions
Sports
Diversions
Special Report: Methamphetamine
World News
Classifieds
Login
Letter Submission
Search
Archive
Publishing Policy
Mail Subscriptions
St. Cloud State University
College Publisher
Home
>
Sports
Huskies upset Sioux 21-17
By Eric Stromgren
Published:
Monday, October 4, 2004
Media Credit: Matthew Kaster
Junior wide-out Ryan Koch out jumps Danny Gagner (33) and comes down with a catch Saturday versus UND. The reception helped put the Huskies up 14-10. The Huskies upset No. 2 ranked UND 21-17.
In front of the first sellout crowd in Husky Stadium history, SCSU achieved a few other firsts on the field in the 21-17 victory over no. 2 ranked North Dakota Saturday night.
The win marked the first time the Huskies beat UND in St. Cloud. While the Fighting Sioux were a perfect 10-0 at Selke Field in a streak dating back to 1983, the Huskies ushered in a new era with a win in Husky Stadium.
The win also set the Huskies record for the best start in school history. The no. 15 Huskies are now 6-0 overall and 2-0 in the conference, placing them atop the NCC.
But the win was a tough one.
The Huskies opened the game on a key defensive play when Chad Kruckman intercepted Chris Belmore's pass on the third play of the game. The Huskies would not be able to capitalize on the turnover and the Fighting Sioux got the ball back.
Belmore would strike after a series of runs by Adam Roland by launching a deep ball over the Huskies' coverage to senior wide-out Caleb Johnson. Johnson scored on the 35-yard reception to put UND up 7-0.
UND would tack on a field goal a few minutes later by Jeff Glas and give the Fighting Sioux a 10-0 advantage. Husky fans may remember Glas from last year as the kicker who beat the Huskies on a last second field goal in Grand Forks.
Initially, everything seemed to be playing into the Fighting Sioux's favor. Husky star running back Matt Birkel was held to minimal gains and quarterback Daniel Kaczor struggled to find a rhythm.
"We stayed calm and knew it was going to come along," Birkel said.
On the next series, Ryan Koch caught a 39-yard pass in double coverage, bringing the Huskies up to the three-yard line. The catch set up the first SCSU TD when Birkel ran untouched into the end zone to bring the Huskies within three.
"Kaczor told us to step up and drive one down the field and stick one in, and that's exactly what we did," Birkel said.
The Huskies added another score before the end of the first quarter when Kaczor faked to Birkel, scrambled out of the pocket and ran toward the end zone. Kaczor dove across the line and put the Huskies up 14-10.
The Fighting Sioux would march back into SCSU territory early in the second, culminating with a 48-yard field goal attempt by Jeff Glas. The kick, affected by the windy conditions, fell just short, hitting the crossbar giving the Huskies decent field position.
SCSU methodically drove down the field on the feet of Birkel. The end of the drive was marked by three straight third down conversions, with one of those being a 2-yard touchdown run by Birkel.
That was the beginning of what would be a strong first half scoring 21 unanswered points taking an 11-point lead.
Birkel rushed for 100 yards in the first half and two scores. It was the first time UND has given up 100-yards rushing this season. To that point UND had only given up one rushing touchdown.
UND came out of the locker room at halftime a different team. The Fighting Sioux's offense worked the second half with several time consuming drives.
One of those drives was in the third quarter. The Fighting Sioux drove 85 yards on 14 plays on a drive that lasted over six minutes and ended with an Adam Roland rushing touchdown. The score brought UND back into the game, still trailing 21-17.
A key stop happened in the middle of the fourth quarter. As the Sioux were poised to cross midfield, Chris Schmitz swatted the ball out of Chris Belmore's hands and Derek Jensen jumped on the ball.
While UND continued to make plays and put together drives, the Huskies' defense held strong. They had to; the Huskies' offense only managed one yard of total offense in the second half until the middle of the fourth quarter.
"We got our butt kicked at times, but they are a good football team and they are going to have big plays," SCSU junior defensive end Charlie Cosgrove said. "Our coaches told us to not get too high and not too low."
Much like last year's game, it came down to the wire in the final moments of this year's contest.
SCSU kicker Scott Dirkes punted the ball with 8.5 seconds remaining in the game. The kick sailed up into the air, hitting the ground and bouncing out of bounds 29 yards later as time expired. The Huskies sprinted onto the field, but were pushed back to the sideline when the referee put 1.5 seconds back on the clock.
UND attempted a long hail mary throw for a touchdown, but the intended pass for Jeff Weber was knocked down by Justin Biebighauser. The Huskies would rush the field a second time, but were pushed back again after a penalty was called for rouging the passer.
On the third attempt, Derek Jensen knocked Belmore's pass to the ground and the players stormed the field to celebrate the win, this time officially.
"You've got to beat ranked teams to get team respect," head coach Randy Hedberg said. "That's how you earn respect, and that's what this win means to us."
Matt Birkel rushed 35 times for 148 yards and two touchdowns in the win. Birkel became SCSU's first 1,000 yard rusher since Randy Martin did it in 1996.
Forum:
No comments have been posted for this story.
Post a comment
