The University of Minnesota Crookston (UMC) Golden Eagle football team turned the ball over four times on fumbles but showed some positive signs late in a 51-13 loss to Winona State in an NSIC game played at Ed Widseth Field in Crookston.
UMC started the game with a three-and-out offensively before Stephen Day (Sr., Eveleth) punted the ball to the Winona State 24-yard line. Winona State’s second offensive play from scrimmage was a 21-yard carry by Javian Roebuck (Jr., Avondale, AZ) to the WSU 45-yard line and a sign of things to come for the Warriors offense. However, Winona State was unable to capitalize on the big play and settled for a 54-yard punt into the end zone for a touchback. The Golden Eagles failed to pick up a first down on their next possession and Winona State’s pressure on the UMC punt forced a two-yard punt high into the winds on the far sideline setting up the visitor’s next drive at the Minnesota Crookston 17-yard line. The Warriors capitalized on the short field three plays later with a 3-yard run by Eric Birth (Sr., Winona) into the end zone for a Warriors’ touchdown followed by a Paul Ortiz extra-point to give the visitor’s a 7-0 lead with 8:54 left in the first quarter.
The Golden Eagles picked up their first first down of the game on their next possession via a facemask penalty but were unable to capitalize after Kevin Evans (Sr., Groveland, FL) had the ball stripped out of his possession at midfield and Winona State’s David Munson (Fr., Chicago, IL) came up with the pigskin. The Warriors returned the favor on the very next play when quarterback Owen Burke (Soph., Denver, CO) failed to secure the snap under-center fumbling the ball allowing Minnesota Crookston’s defensive tackle Joe Warner (Jr., St. Louis Park) to dive on it at the WSU 49-yard line. The Golden Eagles turned it over two plays later when Elijah Todd (Jr., Toledo, OH) coughed it up and Cole LaLiberty (R-Soph., Chetek, WI) scooped up the loose ball for Winona State at midfield.
The Warriors picked up 11 yards on a Sam Santiago-Lloyd (Soph., West Bend, WI) run followed by a 12-yard carry for the tailback taking the ball to the UMC 28-yard line. The Warriors then turned to the air as Owen Burke connected with Eliot Cox (Sr., Lake City) for 17-yards before Santiago-Lloyd carried the ball the remaining 11-yards over two plays into the end zone giving Winona State a 14-0 lead after the extra point with 2:51 remaining in the first quarter.
The Golden Eagles next drive generated just 4-yards sending the punt team out at their own 29-yard line. A high snap to Stephen Day went over the head of the UMC punter, forcing Day to bat the ball out the back of his own end zone for a safety giving the Warriors a 16-0 lead. Following the free-kick, Winona Started their next drive at their own 46-yard line before a 7-yard pass from Owen Burke to Tyler Hughes (Fr., Onalaska, WI) set the Warriors up with a fourth down and one from the UMC 45-yard line to start the second quarter.
On fourth down, Javian Roebuck burst through the line gaining 8-yards and the first down. Later in the drive, Burke hit Santiago-Lloyd on a bubble screen for 7-yards and a Winona State first down. On the next play, Santiago-Lloyd rumbled to his left and into the end zone for his second touchdown of the day to give the Warriors a 23-0 lead after the PAT with 11:06 left in the first half. Minnesota Crookston sat Jalin Scott (Jr., Houston, TX) for their next drive bringing Tristan Robbins (Fr., Muskegon, MI) onto the field at quarterback, but the offense again failed to move the chains on their next drive punting it to the Winona State 14-yard line.
Neither team reached their opponent’s red zone the rest of the first-half with Winona State content to take a 23-0 lead into the locker room at half-time. “Our defense got some fourth-down stops in the first half,” said UMC head coach Mark Duffner. “Our offense set them up on some short fields and the turnovers really hurt us. The elements were coming to play and Winona State handled it a bit better than us.”
The Warriors put together a strong drive to start the third quarter. After an incompletion to start the half Sam Santiago-Lloyd broke loose for a 16-yard carry to the UMC 49-yard line. A few plays later, Santiago-Lloyd again showed his speed rushing for 25-yards to the Golden Eagles’ 17-yard line. Facing third down and two at the UMC 10-yard line Eric Birth was stood up for a loss of one yard on the ground before a holding penalty erased a fourth down conversion setting Winona State back to the UMC 22-yard line for fourth down and twelve. The Warriors offense stayed on the field for fourth down and Owen Burke found a wide-open Tanner Gran (Jr., Caledonia) in the middle of the end zone for a 22-yard touchdown pass giving Winona State a 30-0 lead after the extra point with 11:01 left in the third quarter.
Minnesota Crookston’s best drive of the game came on their next possession as Tristan Robbins led Minnesota Crookston to the Winona State 14-yard line before the Golden Eagles turned it over on a poor lateral that was recovered by Winona State’s Ben McCabe (Fr., Caledonia). Both teams punted away their next possessions before Winona State took possession at the UMC 40-yard line following a 32-yard punt return by the Warriors’ Darryl Williams (Fr., Chetek, WI). Santiago-Lloyd carried the ball 16-yards to the UMC 24-yard line before Owen Burke found Darryl Williams in-stride for a 25-yard touchdown pass giving the visitor’s a 37-0 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Tristan Robbins watched a snap sail over his head and into his own end zone to start the fourth quarter allowing Winona State defensive tackle Alex Evans to dive on the football for a Warrior’s defensive touchdown giving the visitor’s a 44-0 lead following the PAT.
Minnesota Crookston’s next drive started at their own 25-yard line with a three-yard run by Kevin Evans moving the Golden Eagles to the 28-yard line before Shonte Smith (Jr., Pacoima, CA) jetted around the corner for 9-yards. Later, facing fourth down and two at their own 45-yard line, Tristan Robbins faked a pitch before finding space to spring 16-yards to the WSU 37-yard line. After a pair of incompletions and a run for no gain, Robbins found Kyler Banks (R-soph., Cannon Falls) for 33-yards to convert a fourth down and ten to the WSU 15-yard line. Robbins then sprung forward for 8-yards, before handing it off to Shonte Smith on a wide receiver reverse for a 4-yard touchdown run giving the Golden Eagles their first touchdown at home since September 8 as the Golden Eagles closed the deficit to 44-7 following the Jared McLemore (Fr., Lucas, TX) extra-point with 8:17 remaining. “(Robbins) has great agility and he’s a competitor,” said Duffner. “He’s shifty and that’s why he’s able to make some of those plays in a phone booth.”
The Warriors answered on their next possession when Miguel Benjamin (R-Fr., Chetek, WI) broke loose for a 70-yard run into the end zone for a Winona State touchdown pushing the lead back up to 51-7 with 7:00 remaining.
The Golden Eagles closed out the game with the final points of the afternoon on their next drive starting at their own 33-yard line. Tristan Robbins started the drive with a pair of completions to Andy Groebner (Fr., Andover) for 9-yards and a 6-yard screen pass to Jeremy Neuman (Soph., Andover). On fourth down and one, Robbins picked up five yards to the UMC 42-yard line. Following a 4-yard run by Boyce Harr (Fr., Spearfish, SD), Robbins scrambled for 8-yards and another first down. Robbins toted the ball an additional 10-yards on the next play setting UMC up at the Warriors’ 30-yard line. An 8-yard Robbins carry followed by a facemask moved UMC to the Winona State 12-yard line before Robbins was sacked, gained 4-yards on a run, and threw an incompletion setting the Golden Eagles up with fourth down and eight from the WSU 10-yard line. On fourth down, Robbins dropped back in the pocket before throwing a strike to Shonte Smith in the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown cutting the deficit to 51-13 after the extra-point was missed wide to the left. “(Robbins) is a playmaker for us,” said Duffner. “The nice thing about him is he ran a similar offense in high school, that’s a big reason we brought him in. You can see he’s a dynamic football player. Guys were playing with a bit more confidence at the end making some plays and we’ll see if we can carry the momentum forward into next week.”
The Warriors kneeled out the clock on their next possession to close out the 51-13 win on the road. “There are still things we’ve got to clean up, but we’re going to try and build off the positives and correct the negatives,” summarized Duffner.
The Golden Eagles fall to 1-6 on the season and will travel to St. Paul next Saturday when the Golden Eagles take on Concordia-St. Paul with kick off scheduled for 12 p.m. and the Riverview Health Pregame Show beginning at 11:20 a.m. on KROX. Winona State improves to 5-2.
| Box Score |
1st |
2nd | 3rd | 4th |
FINAL |
| Winona State | 16 | 7 | 14 | 14 | 51 |
| UMC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 13 |
1st Quarter
8:54 – WSU – Eric Birth 3 yard run (Paul Ortiz kick)
2:51 – WSU – Sam Santiago-Lloyd 3 yard run (Paul Ortiz kick)
0:40 – WSU – Safety
2nd Quarter
11:06 – WSU – Sam Santiago-Lloyd 11 yard run (Paul Ortiz kick)
3rd Quarter
11:01 – WSU – Tanner Gran 22 yard pass from Owen Burke (Paul Ortiz kick)
1:21 – WSU – Owen Burke 25 yard pass to Darryl Williams (Paul Ortiz kick)
0:07 – WSU – Alex Evans 16 yard fumble recovery (Paul Ortiz kick)
4th Quarter
8:17 – UMC – Shonte Smith 4 yard run (Jared McLemore kick)
7:00 – WSU – Miguel Benjamin 70 yard run (Paul Ortiz kick)
1:23 – UMC – Tristan Robbins 10 yard pass to Shonte Smith (Kick failed)
