Wildcats Recover Five Fumbles; Fall At Ferris State

BIG RAPIDS, Mich.---The Northern Michigan University defense recovered five fumbles but the offense could not take advantage on Saturday, as the Wildcats lost to the second-ranked team in the country, the Ferris State Bulldogs, 38-10.

The Wildcats converted just two of their first 14 third down attempts, and had six penalties at the line of scrimmage during the first half. That allowed the Bulldogs to play over the turnovers, three of which happened in the first 25 minute of the game.

“We had a great day of taking it away, but on the flip side, we just weren’t good enough to capitalize and get productivity and get points from it,” NMU Head Coach Kyle Nystrom said. “Against a team the caliber of Ferris, when misfortune goes their way, you’ve got to get it done. But we didn’t take advantage of that."

"We had a hard time with their defense. They’re loaded up. They’re better than us right now. But that’s just today. It doesn’t have to be that way ever again, but right now, today, it was that way.”

Northern was forced to punt ten times, with senior John Kwiecinski averaging 40 yards per kick.

His best punt came in the fourth quarter, a 54-yarder that Isaiah Popp downed at the one inch line. Unfortunately, by the time that happened, the Bulldogs were well on their way to their fourth straight victory to start the season.

The Wildcats fell behind, 3-0, in the first quarter as Bulldogs kicker Jack Dieterle nailed a 52-yard field goal. After the NMU offense went three-and-out, the defense forced a fumble, and a FSU penalty set the ‘Cats up in Ferris territory.

A nice pass from quarterback Ryan Johnson to wide receiver Ravon Johnson put NMU inside the 20, but the drive sputtered and Daniel Riser missed a 42-yard field goal.

In the second quarter, Ferris scored on a 14-yard run by Tyler Minor, capping a 60-yard-five-play drive. Then Marvin Campbell went in from one yard out to cap a 34-yard drive after a punt return set the Bulldogs up in NMU territory.

The ‘Cats had another scoring chance with the ball at the Ferris 30, but Johnson got sacked and a penalty pushed the ball back. Riser tried to connect on a 57-yard field goal with the wind at his back, but the kick came up short of the mark.

NMU’s defense forced another fumble on the first series in the third quarter, and a pass to Ravon Johnson and seven-yard run by Sebastian Toland put the ball on the FSU two yard line. The ‘Cats couldn’t punch it in, however, and settled for a 20-yard Riser field goal. Then Dion Earls returned the ensuing kickoff 60 yards to the NMU 40, and Campbell scored on a three-yard run to cap another six-play drive, making it 24-3.

Before the quarter was over, Davonte Harrington scored on a three-yard run to make it 31-3, and on the first play of the fourth quarter, Minor broke free for a 57-yard touchdown run. All of a sudden, it was 38-3.

“I couldn’t get the box any tighter,” Nystrom said. “I knew he was just going to run it. We played zero coverage and loaded the box and he (Minor) still slipped through there on us. It’s the tempo and the execution speed. You’ve got to learn play at that high pace. That’s the biggest thing. There’s no weak spots in their offense. They have a great defense. There’s no weak spots there either. All they do is shuffle around the responsibilities. When they’re that good, you’ve got to match up and be that good.”

Northern out together a drive late in the game, capped off by a 12-yard pass from Johnson to Popp. The ‘Cats gave Keshawn Howard a chance to play some quarterback, and #98 Jason Pridgeon even got to play quarterback for a couple of handoffs.

Ferris State rushed for 350 yards on 51 carries, with three men having roughly the same numbers (Campbell 85 yards, Evan Cummins 83 yards, Minor 82 yards).

Northern was led by Tyshon King’s 55 yards on 16 carries. Sebastian Tolland had 37 yards on ten carries. Ravon Johnson had five catches for 87 yards. Loutsis had four grabs for 58 yards. Ryan Johnson completed 14-of-32 passes for 150 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions.

On defense, Issac Darkangelo again led the way with 13 tackles and a fumble recovery. Brady Hanson had nine tackles, with six of them solo tackles. He also had a forced fumble Edward Pierson had seven tackles and a forced fumble. Tavion McCarthy, Anthony Ladd, Trevor Roberts, and James Brown also had fumble recoveries.

Ferris State improved to 4-0. NMU fell to 1-3 and will host Wayne State next Saturday afternoon. Kick off is 1:00 and the game will be broadcast live on WUPT-FM (100.3 The Point), WCHT-AM (NewsTalk 600), and on-line at www.rrnsports.com.

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box above to see photos, videos highlights. Also click the AUDIO buttons to hear post-game comments from Coach Kyle Nystrom, Ast Coach Dan Fodrocy, and player