Sept. 29, 2007

Final Stats

DULUTH, Minn. - Quarterback Ted Schlafke threw three touchdown passes, lifting University of Minnesota Duluth to a 22-14 victory over Western Washington University in a North Central Conference contest Saturday at Malosky Stadium.

The Vikings suffered their third consecutive loss, falling to 1-3 overall and 0-3 in the NCC.

UMD improved to 2-3 overall and 1-2 in conference play.

Schlafke completed 32-of-44 passes for 316 yards and also had a team-high 67 yards rushing on 16 carries.

Western, which rolled up 470 total yards in a 63-42 loss last week to North Dakota, struggled offensively in the first half Saturday, notching just 85 yards of offense and six first downs in falling behind 12-0 at halftime. UMD used a pair of short touchdown drives to take the lead, Schlafke hitting Brandon Anson for a 17-yard score to cap a 2-play drive after a fumble late in the first quarter, then throwing a 19-yard scoring pass to Bryan Gambuzza to conclude a 3-play, 30-yard drive after a short punt midway through the second quarter.

Bad snaps led to both extra points being missed, and the Bulldogs also had another bad snap kill a field goal attempt at the end of the first half.

Western's offense had more success after halftime, getting on the scoreboard with 3:46 left in the third quarter as Adam Perry (Jr., Longview/R.A. Long) threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Travis McKee (Jr., Bothell), capping an 11-play, 78-yard drive that narrowed the margin to five, 12-7.

But that was as close as the Vikings would get. Britt Baumann kicked an 18-yard field goal in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter to make the score 15-7, then on the following series, the Bulldogs went 80 yards in 11 plays and Schlafke's 8-yard touchdown pass to Anson gave UMD a 22-7 lead. Anson had 12 receptions for 105 yards.

Western responded on a 1-yard sneak by Perry with 5:13 left, but the Vikings never saw the ball again, as UMD picked up four first downs, two of them on third-down conversions, to run out the clock.

"It was a heck of a battle," said Western head coach Robin Ross. "We did a nice job defensively, especially in the first half. In the second half, we started to move the ball more, but in the fourth quarter, our defense started to tire. Their offense does that to you. The most tiring thing you do on a football field is rush the quarterback, and we had to do that about 50 times today."

UMD had a 476-272 advantage in total offense and an edge of nearly four minutes in time of possession.

Perry was 14-of-32 for 184 yards and a touchdown, with McKee having six grabs for 77 yards.

Western running back Craig Garner (So., Tacoma/Lakes), who rushed for 190 yards last week and had been over 100 yards rushing in five of his last six games, was held to 62 yards on 26 carries.

Linebacker Shane Simmons (Sr., Kent/Kentlake) led Western's defense with a career-high 18 tackles.

Western plays host to St. Cloud State University on Sat., Oct. 6 (1 p.m.).

SCORING SUMMARYWestern Washington   0   0   7   7  ---  14Minnesota Duluth     6   6   0  10  ---  22
UMD - Anson 17 pass from Schlafke (run failed)UMD - Gambuzza 19 pass from Schlafke (run failed)WWU - McKee 9 pass from Perry (Lider kick)UMD - FG Bauman 18UMD - Anson 8 pass from Schlafke (Baumann kick)WWU - Perry 1 run (Lider kick)Attendance: 3,494