The defending National Champions came to town to face the Beaver football team, and nobody could have predicted that a missed extra point with no time left on the clock would have cost the Beavers the game, losing 35-34.
The University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) Bulldogs came ranked sixth in the national polls and a 7-1 record.
The first half of the game started with both teams trading possession back and fourth. It was scoreless until UMD jumped on the board with a touchdown with four minutes left in the first half. UMD then added one more touchdown before the Beavers could put a mark on the scoreboard.
The Beavers struck with two minutes and 31 seconds remaining in the half, when junior signal caller Derek Edholm hit junior Andrew Schultz on a 32-yard pass for a Beaver touchdown. The touchdown brought the score to 14-7 in favor of UMD.
UMD responded one minute and 15 seconds later on a quarterback keeper, to add to the Bulldog lead.
Then the Beavers answered on their first play from the line of scrimmage. Edholm dropped back and hit sophomore Cameron Abram for a 64-yard touchdown pass to cut the scoring gap to 7. The touchdown came just 14 seconds after UMD scored.
The Bulldogs got the ball back with 53 seconds remaining in the first half, but saw their drive end abruptly when the Beaver sophomore Dusty Sluzewicz intercepted UMD's Christian Volger’s pass.
The second half began with both teams trading possession a few times in the first ten minutes, with good defensive stands on both sides.
With a little under six minutes remaining in the third quarter, UMD’s Isaac Odim punched a three-yard run into the end zone for his second touchdown of the day, making the score 28-14 to the Bulldogs.
It took the Beavers a long time to respond, as both teams' defense continued to play stingy in the fourth quarter.
The Beavers gained possession with seven minutes remaingin in the game. Edholm then led the Beavers down the field, capping off a 60-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to freshmen Christian Metz.
The Beavers “Gang Green” defenseheld the high-powered UMD offense to punt with just two minutes left in the game.
Edholm started the two-minute offense with an incompletion to Metz, followed the incompletion with a 12-yard scramble. Edholm got out of bounds to stop the clock without burning a timeout.
In the next play, Edholm dumped a short pass out to freshmen running back Dustin Kroeplin who broke away from the defenders, turning a short pass into a 56-yard touchdown pass.
That touchdown tied the game at 28, and sent the Beaver fans into a roar. UMD’s D.J. Winfield, who ran the ensuing kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown, quickly hushed that roar, and put the Bulldogs up 35 to 28 after a successful extra point.
Freshmen defensive back Charles Hrdlicka received the UMD kickoff and returned it to the 40-yard line, setting the Beavers up with 60 yards to go to tie the game.
The Beavers started the drive with one minute and 23 seconds remaining on the clock. Edholm got sacked on the first play to put the Beavers on their own 30-yard line.
Edholm then managed the clock and game, getting the ball down to the UMD 32-yard line with just eight seconds remaining in the game.
Edholm took the snap out of the shotgun, dropped back while receiving pressure from UMD’s strong defensive line, and launched a pass to the back left corner of the end zone.
Sophomore Jody Henningson leapt up and grabbed the ball with no time remaining on the clock for a Beaver touchdown.
The catch brought the Beavers to 34-35, just a field goal away from taking the defending national champions into overtime. Before the Beavers could start the celebration, a low snap and a bobbled hold caused the extra point attempt to sail left, ending the hopes of an upset.
The Beavers were led offensively by quarterback Derek Edholm, who completed 27 of 41 attempted passes for 391 yards and five touchdown passes, both career highs. Dustin Kroeplin led the team in receiving yards with a career high of 98. Freshmen Brody Scheff and senior Jake Anderson led the defense with 11 tackles each.
The Beavers take the field next week in Bismarck, ND to take on the University of Mary.
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