Northern State played with purpose and physicality in a record-setting performance on Saturday afternoon.

The Wolves set two school records on the way to a 35-7 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference football victory over Minnesota State Moorhead at Dacotah Bank Stadium.

The two new standards were set on defense as Northern forced the Dragons into minus 88 yards rushing, and also had eight sacks, including 2.5 by Ian Marshall to raise his single-season total to a school record 12.5 on the year.

The two records went hand-in-hand in the sense that because Moorhead was unable to establish the run, the Dragons were forced to pass and Marshall and Co. held nothing back on pressuring the quarterback.

“Anytime we’re able to pin our ears back and rush after the quarterback is a blessing,” Marshall said. “A key thing in football, you stop the run, that’s when you get the blessing to rush the passer. That’s every D-lineman’s dream, especially mine. I love to get after the passer.”

While Moorhead could not run the football, the Wolves had no such trouble, racking up 254 yards on the ground, most of the punishing variety.

“The story of the game was when we had to run the ball, we were able to have success running the ball,” said Northern coach Mike Schmidt. “And when they had to run the ball, there was no chance they could run the football. They were just overmatched by our guys up front.”

A huge case in point came early in the game when Moorhead drove to the NSU 5-yard following a turnover. The Dragons tried one running play that netted zero yards, then were intercepted on the next play. On another occasion early in the third quarter, a 78-yard pass play put the Dragons at the NSU 1-yard line. Moorhead did not attempt one running play in four snaps and eventually lost 14 yards on back-to-back sacks by the NSU defense.

“We know how our defense is always going to play; we just have to match that,” said Northern running back Isaiah Cherrier. “When they get big stops like that, that means that we have to go put points on the board.”

The Wolves had little trouble doing that, thanks to a potent rushing attack and opportunistic passing by quarterback Will Madler, who finished with 148 yards and a pair of touchdowns, one to Caleb Schentzel and one to Ben Noland.

It was Northern’s ability to run the ball that played a key role in the contest. Regardless of who had the ball, the result was an impactful carry that usually resulted in a bruising finish.

“That’s exactly what we wanted. We wanted to play a physical game,” Schmidt said. “We wanted to set the tone in that regard.”

Wyatt Block had 110 yards and a touchdown, Cherrier 67 yards and a TD, and Stanley Haskins Jr. 41 yards and a rushing score.

“We were the hammer, not the nail. That was our mindset going in,” Cherrier said of the physical style of play. “We wanted to play relentless, win our one-on-ones. And that’s what we did as a group, but I think it makes it a lot easier when the five guys blocking for you played the way they did today.”

The Dragons finally got on the board in the closing minutes when they produced a 64-yard TD play on a fourth-and-one, but were unable to grind out significant yards when they needed them throughout the game. And the Wolves made them earn every yard. Lynden Williams saved a touchdown by chasing down a receiver just outside the end zone on a drive where Moorhead never did score.

“That’s just the identity of this defense: relentless. I feel like that’s a great word to call our defense,” Marshall said. “We’re just relentless every single play. We don’t want to give you a single inch. Give us an inch and we’ll defend it.”

The win was Northern’s fourth straight and allowed the Wolves to stay in the hunt for a possible NSIC North Division title. The team plays at division leader Bemidji State next Saturday, before hosting Minnesota-Duluth the following weekend.

“Those are two quality opponents,” Marshall said. “We knew we were going to have to beat those two teams to have a chance of winning the North and have a chance of making the playoffs.”

The Wolves, 6-3 on the season, control their own destiny and now get the chance to be playing meaningful football games in November.

“I think we’re just really grateful for this opportunity,” Schmidt said. “What more do you want than to be playing for first place in the North in week 10? That’s all you can ask for.”

To see complete stats of the game, click on the following link:

https://nsuwolves.com/sports/football/stats/2022/msu-moorhead/boxscore/12768