HOMECOMING SETBACK: Wildcats Lose To Alma
Story, photo courtesy of NMU Sports Information. Click the AUDIO buttons to hear the radio replays of NMU highlights with RRN's Casey Ford.
MARQUETTE, Mich. - The Northern Michigan football team fell in a high-scoring affair to Alma College on Homecoming, 44-27.
Trailing 30-10 at halftime, the 'Cats battled back to two separate 10-point deficits in the second half, but a fumble recovered by Alma for a TD early in the final quarter made it a three-score game that the Green and Gold couldn't overcome.
Nico Lukkarinen found the endzone twice on the ground for the Wildcats and Michael Love broke the century mark receiving for the first time in his career, going for 107 yards and a touchdown.
The Wildcats were outgained 469-340 on the afternoon, but the defense held Alma to just 98 second half yards to make it a game. Carter St. John threw four touchdowns with 315 yards through the air, while Marquette native Ty Lotterman caught six passes for 145 yards and two scores.
The Scots struck first four minutes into the game, putting together a 12-play, 65-yard drive to lead 6-0. They'd grab another score at the goaline to lead 13-0 after one.
Lukkarinen got NMU on the board early in the second with his first of two from 2-yards out. Alma would hit a 78-yard home run TD pass sandwiched between a pair of Michael Karlen FG's, but Alma found the endzone again before intermission to lead to 30-10 at the break.
NMU broke out on the ground in the third with 110 yards to get them back in the contest and outgained the Scots 110-15 in the quarter. Getting the ball back early in the fourth trailing 30-20, a fumble that was scooped up and brought in for a score flipped the momentum back to the visitors and ultimately made the deficit too much to overcome.
The Wildcats will be off next week in preparation for the GLIAC slate to start on Saturday, October 5 at home against Saginaw Valley State.
THE STORY BELOW is courtesy of Alma College Athletics
Alma College Football closed out non-conference play on Saturday at Northern Michigan University. Alma pulled off a big win over the Division II side, walking out with a 44-27 W.
Alma received to open the game, and promptly walked 65 yards down the field in 11 plays to score the game's opening points on a Carter St. John 5-yard TD pass to Colin Coffey. After some back and forth, the Scots extended their lead with an 80-yard drive culminating in a Jordan Williams touchdown from 3 yards out.
Leading 13-0, Alma allowed its first points of the day when a punt return set up a short field for NMU, who punched a score to make it 13-7 early in the second quarter. The Scots tacked on a field goal midway through the period, with Josh Hernandez converting from 36 yards out to push the lead to 16-7. Alma's advantage ballooned from there, as Ty Lotterman would score on a 78-yard touchdown pass just 4 minutes later, and Alma answered a Wildcats field goal with a 6-play, 75-yard drive that saw Lotterman in the endzone again. At half, Alma led 30-10.
Alma was held off the scoreboard in the third quarter, with Northern converting on a field goal with 4 minutes to play, and scoring a touchdown in the waning moments of the period to pull back within 10.
Leading 30-20, Alma dealt a massive blow when Jalen Dunwoody picked up a fumble and ran it in from 31 yards out to push the lead to 17. 5 minutes later, the Wildcats were in the endzone again, but Alma was up to the challenge of answering. The visitors went 84 yards in 10 plays to salt the game away, with Ryan McNiff scoring from 23 yards out on a TD pass to put things out of reach. When the dust settled, Alma walked out 44-27 victors.
Carter St. John went 20-33 passing for 315 yards and 4 touchdowns in the win. Eddie Williams led Scots rushers, as the 7th player in program history to eclipse 2,000 career rushing yards tallied 65 yards on 14 carries. Ty Lotterman caught 6 passes for 145 yards and 2 touchdowns to lead all receivers.
Defensively, it was Jett King who led the way with 9 tackles and a game sealing interception with under a minute to play in the contest. Brock Beaudrie also snagged a pick for the second straight game, registered a tackle for loss, and forced the fumble-six.
Alma moves to 2-1, and looks forward to a MIAA opening showdown with rival Hope College on Homecoming next Saturday.
