Article

Defense Scores Twice in Maverick Victory

Wilson, Earl and Ficcadenti come up big as football team matches 2005 win total.

by Dan Myers
Issue date: 9/12/06 Section: Mens Sports

Sometimes, it's the ugliest games that yield the prettiest results.

Such was the case Saturday when the Minnesota State football team battled through turnovers and missed opportunities to earn a key non-conference win over Division III Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

Reminiscent of the weather that opened their season two weeks prior, lightning struck twice early in the first half for the Mavericks.

After falling behind 7-0, the Mavs' Nick Wilson intercepted a Joe Patek pass and raced 27 yards for the tying score.

"Nobody in that back seven had an interception in the first two games," Jamrog said. "Earlier in the day, we were trying to guess who was going to be the first one to get it."

"I think Coach [Joe] Klanderman had me fourth or fifth on that list," Wilson said. "I kind of took that personally."

But faster than a bolt from the sky, MSU was in the end zone again.

Dan Smedberg's crushing hit on the ensuing kickoff forced a fumble that was recovered by MSU's John Jones. On the first play following the turnover, Ben King feathered a perfect 30-yard pass to Tyrell Smith to put the Mavericks out in front for good.

The two teams traded punts into the second quarter before Oshkosh appeared set to tie the game on a nine-yard pass from Patek to Kyle Kubasa. But Oshkosh missed the extra point and the game remained 14-13.

MSU found the end zone again on their ensuing drive.

Aided by a personal foul penalty on the Titans, King found wide receiver Bryan Dalton for a 20-yard score. John Christensen, subbing for an injured Jason Tompkins, added his third PAT to put MSU up 21-13, which would hold through halftime.

"I don't know how many times our players heard this week, that we had to come out and get off to a great start," Jamrog said. "You can't let the team think they can pull off the upset. We didn't do that."

In fact, Oshkosh once again had an opportunity to tie the score after their initial drive of the second half. The Titans set out on a 13-play, 85-yard drive that took nearly half the third quarter. Moriarity finished off the march with a one-yard score, his sixth carry of the drive. But again, UWO failed on their conversion, this time, a two-pointer.

But like they had all night, the Mavericks scored again quickly.

Just over a minute later, King found Dalton again for the combo's second touchdown connection of the night, this time from nine-yards out. The drive lasted only two-plays and was assisted by a nifty 60-yard return by Melvin Matlock on the kickoff. MSU missed the point, which was critical. The game remained a one-possession affair at 27-19.

The teams again traded punts until UWO took the first drive of the final quarter deep into Maverick territory. The defense stiffened, however, and held the Titans to a field goal.

Unable to move the ball on their next drive, MSU's defense once again needed a key stop.

And as he had in the previous two games, Randy Earl answered the call.

The red shirt freshman defensive end sniffed out the screen pass and intercepted Patek's pass. As he was going down, he lateraled the ball to senior linebacker Dan Ficcadenti, who ran the final ten yards for the score. Ficcadenti, who also added ten tackles in his first career start at middle linebacker, was named the NCC's Co-Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts.

"We all read screen right away," Ficcadenti said. "I couldn't believe nobody else was around. As he was going down I said 'Pitch it, pitch it' and he did."

For Earl, a walk-on from Milwaukee, it was his second interception of the season. He also added five tackles.

"He's going to be a good player for a long time," Jamrog said.

Earl and the Mavericks will open their conference schedule this weekend with a trip to Augustana. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.irst half for the Mavericks.

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OF NOTE:

After the game, Jamrog said he was unsure if kicker Jason Tompkins would be able to get back on the field this season. The senior kicker has been a reliable weapon for the Mavericks since joining the program before last season, but tweaked a knee injury before the season. Christensen - the Mavericks punter - assumed the kicking duties for the first time in has career. He finished 3-of-5 on PATs and did not attempt a field goal. Jamrog may stick with him, or could turn to Ben Spencer, a true freshman who handles kickoffs. The coach also hopes to have middle linebacker Tony Hunter back, who sat out the Wisconsin-Oshkosh with an undetermined groin injury. He is considered day-to-day.