Mavs Outlast St. Cloud State, 39-36
OMAHA -- Senior tailback Justin Kammrad ran for 205 yards and two touchdowns and sophomore quarterback Brian Masek passed for three touchdowns as the Mavericks came from behind, then survived a St. Cloud State rally for a 39-36 North Central Conference win Saturday at Caniglia Field.
The Huskies' Shawn Braunagel missed a 47-yard field goal attempt that would have forced overtime as time expired.
The win makes the No. 17 Mavs 7-2 overall and 4-1 in the NCC while No. 18 St. Cloud State dropped to 6-3 and 3-2.
Kammrad recorded his eighth straight 100-yard game and his second straight 200-yard effort as he pushed his total for the season to 1,357, just 24 yards shy of the school record of 1,381 set by Adam Wright in 2000.
The Huskies, behind the passing of quarterback Keith Heckendorf, grabbed the early lead. Heckendorf, who passed for four touchdowns and 345 yards in the game, had three scoring passes the first half to give SCSU a 21-10 lead.
The Mavs sliced that margin to 21-19 by halftime as Masek passed 80 yards to Ryan Krause on the first play after a kickoff with 2:26 left and Andy Severson kicked his second field goal of the game.
Kammrad, held to just 33 yards the first half, broke loose for a 36-yard run in the third to set up UNO's go-ahead touchdown. The Council Bluffs, Iowa, native punched in from the three and Masek hit Krause for a two-point conversion to give UNO its first lead, 27-21.
The Huskies retaliated with an 88-yard drive capped by Josh Williams' three-yard run to reclaim the lead, 28-27, with 2:04 left in the third.
Masek drove the Mavs 80 yards to put UNO back on top with his three-yard pass to tight end Thadd Recek early in the fourth quarter, 33-28. After a Brandon Pinderhughes interception at the UNO 28 stopped the Huskies, Kammrad, on second down, broke free for a 59-yard touchdown run and a 39-28 lead with 8:54 to play.
Heckendorf guided the Huskies 80 yards in six plays and used just 1:44 before hitting Ryan Koch on a 16-yard scoring play with 7:10 left to make it 39-36.
St. Cloud State got the ball back for one final drive with 1:10 left and Heckendorf ran 36 yards to the UNO 33 on a third and 14 play to keep the drive alive. After two incomplete passes, Braunagel's 47-yard field goal attempt to tie the game fell short.
Heckendorf completed 32 of 56 passes for 345 yards as the Huskies rolled up 33 first downs and 506 yards in total offense.
Masek completed 12 of his 19 passes for 213 yards and wide receiver Chris Denney had five catches for 106 yards.
The Huskies' Shawn Braunagel missed a 47-yard field goal attempt that would have forced overtime as time expired.
The win makes the No. 17 Mavs 7-2 overall and 4-1 in the NCC while No. 18 St. Cloud State dropped to 6-3 and 3-2.
Kammrad recorded his eighth straight 100-yard game and his second straight 200-yard effort as he pushed his total for the season to 1,357, just 24 yards shy of the school record of 1,381 set by Adam Wright in 2000.
The Huskies, behind the passing of quarterback Keith Heckendorf, grabbed the early lead. Heckendorf, who passed for four touchdowns and 345 yards in the game, had three scoring passes the first half to give SCSU a 21-10 lead.
The Mavs sliced that margin to 21-19 by halftime as Masek passed 80 yards to Ryan Krause on the first play after a kickoff with 2:26 left and Andy Severson kicked his second field goal of the game.
Kammrad, held to just 33 yards the first half, broke loose for a 36-yard run in the third to set up UNO's go-ahead touchdown. The Council Bluffs, Iowa, native punched in from the three and Masek hit Krause for a two-point conversion to give UNO its first lead, 27-21.
The Huskies retaliated with an 88-yard drive capped by Josh Williams' three-yard run to reclaim the lead, 28-27, with 2:04 left in the third.
Masek drove the Mavs 80 yards to put UNO back on top with his three-yard pass to tight end Thadd Recek early in the fourth quarter, 33-28. After a Brandon Pinderhughes interception at the UNO 28 stopped the Huskies, Kammrad, on second down, broke free for a 59-yard touchdown run and a 39-28 lead with 8:54 to play.
Heckendorf guided the Huskies 80 yards in six plays and used just 1:44 before hitting Ryan Koch on a 16-yard scoring play with 7:10 left to make it 39-36.
St. Cloud State got the ball back for one final drive with 1:10 left and Heckendorf ran 36 yards to the UNO 33 on a third and 14 play to keep the drive alive. After two incomplete passes, Braunagel's 47-yard field goal attempt to tie the game fell short.
Heckendorf completed 32 of 56 passes for 345 yards as the Huskies rolled up 33 first downs and 506 yards in total offense.
Masek completed 12 of his 19 passes for 213 yards and wide receiver Chris Denney had five catches for 106 yards.
