Another week, yet another ‘W’ on the season for the Bulldogs. Competing this past weekend at Herb Parker Stadium in Minot, N.D., UMD surged on both sides of the ball and easily finished off Minot State, 44-6.
Logan Lauters capitalized on his offense firing on all cylinders from the start, taking one in from seven yards out early in the first. Fellow running backs Brian Lucas and Austin Sikorski were also on top of their games, the latter of which sprinted for a 54-yard touchdown in the first quarter and gained 109 yards from scrimmage through nine carries on the day.
In the first quarter alone, the Dogs had 155 yards on the ground. Lauters and Lucas each had their own pair of touchdowns.
As a back on this squad, this is exactly what you want to see.
“Creating more big plays running the ball is definitely something we can improve on. Both of these things will make our offense that much better going forward,” said Sikorski. “The offense can improve by staying on track on first down by executing plays and eliminating penalties that we have had in the past.”
The UMD running backs made headlines and used enormous holes in the defense as an avenue to expose Minot State.
Also coming up big was the defense. The unit held Minot to 264 yards of total offense, put the pressure on with five sacks and a Cameron Harper pick, and controlled the tempo through the game. Despite playing with a comfortable lead, the boys on defense played hard through the game and dominated. The statistics alone reflect just that.
“Our ultimate goal is to play for a national championship. This game was a huge step towards that goal because we must be perfect the rest of the way, through the regular season into playoffs,” said linebacker Brent Stiglich.
This victory was crucial to keep the Bulldogs in contention for the NSIC title.
Homeward bound are the Bulldogs, who will march into James Malosky Stadium this weekend to battle with the Bemidji State Beavers for Homecoming.
BY BILL ZIEGLER ziegl147@d.umn.edu