Offensive Outburst Not Enough For NMU Football
This story was written, and photo provided by, NMU Sports Information
QUINCY, Ill. - Trailing 14-10 at halftime, the NMU football team was outscored 31-17 in the second half on Saturday afternoon at Quincy, falling 45-27.
NMU Quarterback Mariano Valenti ended the game 34/49 for 368 yards and 2 TDs, adding another score on the ground. It was the first time since October 21, 2017, that a Northern quarterback threw for over 350 yards (Ryan Johnson, 363 vs. Saginaw Valley State).
NMU totaled 441 yards of offense, with 368 of those coming from Mariano Valenti through the air. Sam Peiffer led the receiver group with nine receptions for 94 yards and a score. Former Wildcat Drake Davis was 25/40 for 352 yards and 3 TDs for Quincy.
The loss drops the Wildcats to 0-4 on the season while Quincy improves to 3-1.
It was a defensive battle until halfway through the opening quarter when the Wildcats found themselves backed up in their own territory, starting their second drive of the day from their own 7-yard line. Mariano Valenti led the Wildcats all the way down the field inside the Quincy five, extending plays including consecutive passes to Sam Peiffer of 11 yards on 4th down and another 22-yard gain following.
However, NMU was unable to punch it into the endzone, getting sacked on 3rd-and-goal. Michael Karlen would connect from 39 yards to give Northern a 3-0 lead as the 2nd quarter opened.
After much of the first quarter was played without either side being able to make the big, eye-popping play, the Wildcat field goal kickstarted a much more chaotic 2nd quarter.
Following that first score of the game, the Hawks quickly answered, moving the ball 80 yards in just six plays, capping it off with a 39-yard TD strike to Jalen Lawrence.
That's when the Wildcats struggled to take care of the ball. After a fumble, the Green and Gold defense came up big, forcing a 3-and-out and escaping unscathed as QU missed on a 44-yard FG try. A couple of plays into the next drive, NMU coughed up the ball again. Once again, the defense had the back of the offense, as Darryl Obasuyi came up with a 4th down sack to get the ball back.
Following an NMU punt, the Hawks marched the ball down the field again, jumping ahead 14-3 with five minutes to go on a 12-yard TD run by JQ Brown. It was another 6-play, 80-yard drive for the Hawks.
With less than two minutes left in the half, freshman Jax Hertel flashed his second interception of the season as the Hawks were marching into NMU territory. The turnover proved costly for Quincy, as NMU quickly moved the ball to the 1-yard line on a 40-yard connection to Franko Williams and found the endzone on the next play on a Mariano Valenti keeper, making the score 14-10 with just 22 seconds left in the first half.
Looking to double-dip to end the first and open the second, the 'Cats received the second half kickoff and pushed the ball inside the Quincy five-yard line for the second time, but NMU was stopped on third down. The Wildcats opted for the points. Karlen's second FG of the day made it 14-13 with 8:49 left in the third.
From there, the Hawks seemed to put Northern away with two quick touchdowns. First, Drake Davis scampered in for a four-yard score. After an NMU 3-and-out backed up inside their own territory, Quincy started at NMU's 38 and quickly found the endzone, this time from RB JQ Brown. It was 28-13 with less than two minutes left in the third.
Northern was able to get it back to a one-score game rather quickly. After a Tyquan Cox 49-yard reception set up NMU in the red zone, a 7-yard TD catch from Cox capped off the drive, closing the deficit to 28-20 on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Quincy's potent offense came through yet again in the fourth, scoring 17 unanswered points with TD's coming from Marlin Washington (69-yard reception) and Travis Isaac (8-yard reception), putting Northern in an insurmountable 45-20 hole late. NMU found the endzone one more time as the clock was winding down, a 5-yard connection from Valenti to Sam Peiffer for the final score of 45-27.
