by Dan Myers
Issue date: 10/19/06 Section: Mens Sports
Rarely will a team lose in a more heartbreaking fashion.
Last week, the Minnesota State football team came from 13 points back in the fourth quarter against the University of Minnesota-Duluth to force overtime, only to miss out on a number of opportunities to win the game in the extra frame.
The first was a fumble by the Bulldogs on a third down, a ball that rolled around on the ground for seconds. A Maverick jumped on the ball first, but it squirted free and the Bulldogs recovered. On the next play, UMD kicked what would amount to the game-winning score.
Down 16-13, MSU still had a chance to win, or at the very least, send the game to another overtime. A 14-yard run by Josh Bryant set the Mavs up with a first and goal at the five-yard line. The Mavericks passed three times - the first two thrown away, and the final dropped by Tyrell Smith - and elected to tie the game with what seemed like a routine 22-yard field goal.
But in a season where MSU has caught very few breaks, UMD blocked the kick and preserved the win.
"It's like being hit in the gut with a baseball bat," head coach Jeff Jamrog said after the game. Many in the stadium felt the same way. What was a boisterous Blakeslee Stadium just moments before, became eerily silent as Maverick fans slowly filed out, clearly in shock.
"That was the most heartbreaking loss I've ever been apart of," said senior linebacker Dan Ficcadenti. "But there is no sense in keeping your head down about it. I think the guys have bounced back well."
If there is a team in the NCC that doesn't feel bad for the Mavs, it is their opponent this weekend St. Cloud State. Annually among the best teams in the conference, the Huskies have struggled in 2006 and have yet to win a conference game.
In fact, the only team in the NCC that may be as snake-bitten as MSU this season may just be SCSU. Last weekend at Augustana College, the Huskies kicked what appeared to be a game-winning field goal with just 1:03 to play. But Augie responded, connecting on a 51-yard touchdown with just three seconds to play.
One week before, Western Washington scored 21 points in the final quarter to win 24-17 at Husky Stadium. Included in the comeback was an interception and a pair of blocked punts.
"They could easily have two or three wins this season," Jamrog said. "They have had some bad luck and some heartbreakers of their own."
Neither team, however, has time to make excuses this weekend. The winner of the game Saturday will take home the "Traveling Training Kit," a trophy the Mavericks have not won since the 2002 season. MSU had a chance last season, leading in the fourth quarter at Blakeslee Stadium, but a late comeback gave SCSU the victory and the kit for the third-straight season."
"I've seen the kit, but never in our possession, unfortunately," Jamrog said. "Hopefully, we'll take a look at that kit after the game and see what it's all about."
Ficcadenti, however, was on the team that won the kit in 2002.
"That game was a track meet and we ended up winning 41-40," he said. "It was cool to see the seniors run over to St. Cloud's sideline, grab that thing and parade it around like it was the national championship trophy. It was the coolest thing I've ever seen. We have our work cut out for us this week, but we need to bring that thing back home."
Dan Myers is the Reporter Sports Editor
The Traveling Training Kit was introduced into the Minnesota State-St. Cloud State rivalry in 1978. Created by the training staffs of the two schools, it is awarded to the winner of the annual game between the two teams.
Following a five-year layoff, the teams have played each season since 1978, and the Mavericks-Huskies rivalry is the longest tenured of the Minnesota schools in the NCC.
Purple on one side and red on the other, the tackle box is empty. The Huskies won 18-14 last season in Mankato and have won each of the last three meetings. The last time MSU won the kit was 2002 - a 41-40 comeback victory.
The first game played between the two schools came in November of 1923. SCSU won that game 37-0 and again 39-0 the following season. St. Cloud also won the following three years before the Mavs finally beat St. Cloud in 1929. SCSU leads the all-time series against MSU 36-30-4.
