Courtesy of Midland Athletics
YANKTON, S.D. – Following their win last weekend, Midland University moved into the NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 Poll this week, garnering the No. 23 ranking. This week, they traveled to South Dakota to take on Mount Marty University as competition in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) continued. The Warriors opened up the game with a 10-0 lead and then held on for the 20-7 victory to improve to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the conference. The Lancers fall to 1-2 on the season and 0-2 in the GPAC.
As time wound down in the opening quarter of action, River Walker connected with Trevor Havlovic for the game’s first score with 42 seconds on the clock. Jared Quinonez came on for the extra-point kick to make it 7-0 after one.
In the second, Quinonez added a 41-yard field goal to his line, putting the Warriors up 10-0 with 10:50 to go in the half. Mount Marty quickly responded however with a 66-yard pass 44 seconds later. They would convert on the point-after kick, making it a 10-7 game.
Midland’s next drive reached the Lancers’ 17-yard line before Quinonez came on to try to extend the lead. The kick sailed wide but he would get redemption on the Warriors’ final drive of the half.
With seven seconds on the game clock, the Warriors set up for a 23-yard attempt. This time the ball made its way through the uprights, putting MU up 13-7 at halftime.
The second half was a defensive battle as each team held the other in check. Midland broke through for their second touchdown of the day in the final minutes of the third. Garrison Beach, who came on in relief of Walker, found Jordelle Lacy from 24 yards out. Lacy worked down the right sideline and found himself unguarded. After a slight pump-fake, Beach dropped the pass in for the score with 2:07 on the clock.
That proved to be the final score of the contest. Midland’s defense held the Lancers scoreless with solid play over the final 15 minutes. With just over two minutes on the clock, the Warriors had a great stand at their defensive goal line. They kept Mount Marty out of the endzone on fourth down from the one, and the offense proceeded to run out the final minutes on the clock with hard runs on the ground.
“We played resilient today on defense. Guys stepped up to make a play at the end when we needed it the most on the goal line,” said head coach Jeff Jamrog after the game. “We played really physical up front today on both sides of the ball. Our running backs are as tough as they come which helped us grind out tough yards at the end. We are excited to get back to work in preparation for Jamestown.”
Midland rushed for 245 yards on 54 attempts with Trevor Jones, Levi Markey, and River Walker all toting the ball 10 or more times. Jones had 20 carries for 90 yards, Markey rushed 15 times for 74, and Walker carried it 12 times for 52 yards.
Walker threw the ball 14 times, completing 6 passes for 79 yards and a touchdown. Garrison Beach was a perfect 5-for-5 passing with 49 yards and a score.
Defensively, Trevor Havlovic had nine total tackles, four solo stops, and two behind the line of scrimmage. One of those was a two-yard sack of the Lancers’ quarterback. Chase Lipsys, Tray Kingsland, and Trevor Ziemba all have five tackles, the next highest on the team. Lipsys and Michael Sunclades combined for a sack in the fourth quarter, while Uiti Moe had the third quarterback sack by the Warriors’ defense. As a team, they held Mount Marty to 75 yards rushing.
Midland (4-0, 2-0 GPAC) will be back at home next weekend when they welcome Jamestown (2-2, 1-2 GPAC) into town. The Warriors will host the Jimmies on Saturday, September 24 as part of Homecoming Week at Midland University. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. at Heedum Field.
