DULUTH — Minnesota Duluth quarterback Kyle Walljasper established a new career high in touchdown passes with six — four of them to tight end Luke Dehnicke — in an explosive 54-32 win over UMary on Saturday at Malosky Stadium.
Dehnicke finished with a career-high 230 yards receiving on eight catches in the high-scoring victory.
“We knew we had some stuff dialed up to be able to get Luke the football,” said head coach Curt Wiese. “I don’t know if we knew he was going to have quite the game that he did, but credit’s got to go to everybody on the offensive side.”
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After having to wait a week to get back on the field after falling for the first time to Northern State, Dehnicke said the team was eager to make a statement back on their home field.
“It was huge,” said Dehnicke of their bounce-back performance. “We wanted to make a statement that we are the team that we are, and today I think we proved that.”
The Marauders put the first points on the board early in the first quarter with a 43-yard field goal by Jack Henninger as the two teams exchanged jabs in an offense-dominated opening 30 minutes of play.
Walljasper took to the air on the ensuing drive, hitting a wide-open Dehnicke in the middle of the field for a 75-yard touchdown pass, tied for his longest of the season.
Dehnicke punched in the two-point conversion to make it 8-3 midway through the quarter.
In what became a trend in the first half, the UMary offense moved the ball with relative ease against the Bulldogs’ defense and answered right back with a touchdown of their own set up by a 44-yard pass from quarterback Jordan Polo Solomon to Xavier Brackenridge.
Hudsen Sheldon took over under center deep in the red zone, hitting Damani Wilks from eight yards out to reclaim the lead at 11-8 after a two-point conversion.
The Marauders finished the half with 229 yards passing and minus-3 yards rushing.
“I thought we were out of position a little bit defensively, and again, I think you have to give credit to Mary. I thought they took advantage of some underneath coverage and continued to be able to move the football,” said Wiese.
After a fumble deep in UMary territory spoiled their previous drive, the Bulldogs hit paydirt for the second time early in the second quarter with a 27-yard touchdown pass to running back Francis O’Malley along the sidelines.
The momentum remained on UMD’s side after the go-ahead score, as Luke Humbert intercepted a bobbled pass while on his back to set the offense up at the Marauders’ 30-yard line.
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“We were fortunate to be able to create a couple turnovers and gain possession of the ball back, or that first half could’ve been a completely different football game,” said Wiese.
The home team took advantage of the miscue with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Dehnicke to extend the Bulldogs’ lead to 23-11.
The two-score advantage lasted just over four minutes as the Marauders put together their best offensive series of the half, marching 84 yards in nine plays to cut the deficit to five at 23-18 with a four-yard pass from Solomon to Karsyn Jablonski.
The remainder of the half was all Bulldogs, with the team scoring 14 consecutive points via a Walljasper rushing touchdown and a 27-yard connection to Dehnicke.
After a rocky first-half performance, the Bulldogs’ defense stood tall early in the second half, forcing a turnover on downs at their own 29-yard line following a botched punt return by Catcher Langeness.
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The offense created additional separation on the scoreboard on the ensuing series with a three-yard touchdown grab by DaShaun Ames capping off an eight-play, 71-yard scoring drive with over four minutes taken off the clock.
Both teams found the end zone before the end of the third quarter, with Dehnicke catching his fourth touchdown of the game and marking the end of Walljasper’s day in a lopsided 50-18 score. The Marauders answered with a second touchdown pass by Solomon.
With backup Jacob Eggert under center, the Bulldogs tacked on three more points via a 28-yard field goal by Drew Henson. UMary found the end zone for the last time deep in the fourth quarter with a Sheldon six-yard rush.
The Bulldogs (7-1, 6-1 NSIC) will look to keep the momentum rolling when they travel to Jamestown, North Dakota, to take on the Jimmies on Saturday, Nov. 1.
“We have a three-game season left, and if we win all those, we should have a good shot at playoffs,” said Walljasper. “So I think that’s kind of our goal right now, which is to make it to the playoffs and see what happens.”