Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Schedule

Full Calendar

Events

Results

MSU Moorhead Athletics

FBvMaryCap
James Kellerman
7
Mary UMA 2-9 , 2-8
35
Winner MSU Moorhead MSU 7-4 , 6-4
Mary UMA
2-9 , 2-8
7
Final
35
MSU Moorhead MSU
7-4 , 6-4
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
UMA Mary 0 0 0 7 7
MSU MSU Moorhead 21 7 0 7 35

Game Recap: Football | | Nolan Schmidt

Stellar Seniors Go Out on High Note, Dragons Retain Paddle 35-7

MOORHEAD, Minn. -- MSU Moorhead's outstanding senior class made pivotal, game-changing plays throughout the 60 minutes as the Dragons defeated Mary 35-7 to close the 2023 season. It is the eighth consecutive win for MSUM in the annual Battle for the Paddle. 

MSUM concludes the season with a 7-4 overall record and an unblemished 6-0 ledger at Nemzek Stadium. It is the first time MSUM has gone undefeated at home since the 1995 season.

The Dragons would waste no time in getting on the scoreboard as Mary won the coin toss and opted to defer. Thus, the Dragon offense took over to start the game as Jack Strand found Madden Thorson on a screen play with nothing but green in front of him. Thorson scampered 72 yards to the end zone to bring the Dragons a 7-0 lead just 14 seconds into the contest. The touchdown pass was Jack Strand's 35th of the season, which sets a new MSUM single-season record. 

MSUM's defense would prove stingy on Mary's opening drive, forcing a three and out deep in their own territory. As they have done all year, MSUM got tremendous pressure on the punt, which was eventually blocked by Gavin Jarchow. With the ball bouncing towards the sidelines, a sprinting Joey Hughes scooped the ball up and ran it 11 yards for another Dragon score. Less than two minutes into the game, MSUM held a 14-0 lead. The two teams would trade punts on the ensuing drives before Kennan Stowers picked off a pass to give MSUM its first takeaway of the game. 

Jack Strand would then command a drive that spanned 70 yards on 12 plays and nearly five minutes of possession. Strand would eventually find Gage Florence for a five-yard dart to bring the Dragons a 21-0 advantage in the first quarter. While Mary would put together a nice drive early in the second stanza, they would miss a 27-yard field goal attempt to keep the game at 21-0. The Dragons would respond with another 12-play drive that lasted just over five minutes. MSUM traveled 80 yards and would punch it in on senior Tyson Powell's seventh rushing touchdown of the season. That score would hold true as halftime commenced. 

While the Marauder defense would stifle MSUM a bit in the third quarter, the Dragon defense continued to make plays. Mary would begin to drive midway through the quarter before senior Jake Bettcher nabbed his fifth interception of the season. MSUM would intercept Mary again later in the period as Adam Kallenbach made an absolutely unreal play on a pass across the middle. Kallenbach, who has been wearing a club-like brace on his wrist all season, jumped up for the pass and hauled it in with one hand. The younger Kallenbach would then return the pick 27 yards to set the Dragons up in great field position. MSUM would be unable to put points on the board following their third takeaway, but the Dragons still led 28-0 through 45 minutes. 

MSUM would continue to keep the Marauders scoreless after forcing a turnover on downs at their own 27-yard line. The Dragons would be unable to put anything together as they would punt again midway through the final frame. Mary would take over at their own 28-yard line and it took just one play to solidify the Dragon dominance. Quarterback Sofian Massoud would toss a ball into traffic with it being tipped up by Adam Kallenbach.

With the ball floating in the air, elder brother Jared Kallenbach would cap off his MSUM career in style. The senior would grab the ball and return it 36 yards for another Dragon touchdown. MSUM had asserted its dominance in all phases of the game, managing a touchdown on offense, defense and special teams.

Steve d'Eustachio's Stat of the Game

The only other Dragons team to score a perfect 6-0 mark at home was the 1981 outfit that finished 10-1-1.

Top Dragons
Print Friendly Version