Angelo State 47, NMU 41: Slow start, late rally for Wildcats in home opener

For the second straight week, the Northern Michigan football Wildcats overcame an early deficit to force overtime.

Seven days ago in Ohio, they rallied from a 19-point hole to defeat Lake Erie College, 38-35, in the extra session. On Saturday afternoon in the Superior Dome, NMU came back from a 20-3 deficit before falling to Angelo State, 47-41, in triple overtime.

[ Check out the game recap and box score at nmuwildcats.com. ]

It’s too early in the season to call it a pattern, but the slow starts have to be a concern to the NMU coaching staff. One nearly cost the Wildcats a victory over an inferior GLIAC opponent a week ago, and another prevented them from knocking off a solid opponent from a strong Division II conference.

Some other thoughts on the Wildcats’ home opener:

Stats of the game

One word to describe the NMU offense: inconsistent. The Cats have big-play potential, but they were unable to sustain possessions with any regularity against Angelo State’s suffocating man-to-man coverage. They converted just 1 of 16 third-down opportunities.

NMU’s drive chart before overtime tells the story (plays, yards, result): 3-4 punt, 6-10 punt, 3-0 punt, 3-5 punt, 5-18 punt, 5-38 field goal, 4-17 punt, 3-7 punt, 5-19 punt, 3-0 punt, 6-16 missed field goal, 3-3 punt, 5-28 touchdown, 1-36 TD, 1-5 fumble, 3-2 punt, 6-28 missed FG, 8-37 FG.

That’s seven three-and-outs and 11 punts. As coach Chris Ostrowsky said after the game, his team has some work to do.

Speaking of work, freshman John Kwiecinski’s 11 punts traveled 510 yards for a 46.4 average. The punt coverage unit downed five of them inside the 20 and two on the Rams’ 1, one of which led to senior DB Julian Hornback’s interception return for a touchdown that got the Wildcats back in the game.

Clutch kicking

Three seconds left in the fourth quarter. Angelo State leads, 27-24, but NMU has the ball on the Rams’ 27-yard line. The Wildcats line up on the right hash for a potential game-tying 44-yard field goal.

Just before the ball is snapped, Angelo State calls its first timeout of the half to give NMU senior kicker Tyler Blackburn a few more seconds to think about the kick—and perhaps to contemplate the two he’d missed earlier in the second half.

The teams line up again, and right before the snap, the Rams call their second timeout. This time, the Wildcats’ holder takes the snap, places the ball on the turf and Blackburn drills the kick through the uprights in the west end zone. Good practice.

The teams line up again, and Angelo State burns its final timeout. No sense saving it for the flights back to San Angelo.

OK, one more time, this is it. Except … someone in green moves … flags … whistles … a 5-yard penalty on the Cats for a false start. Blackburn and the field-goal unit drop back five yards. Now it’s a 49-yarder for overtime. No pressure, right?

The snap is on target, the hold is down, and Blackburn nails it with room to spare. Overtime.

Record book

A week after becoming NMU’s leader in career touchdown passes, senior quarterback Shaye Brown moved into the No. 1 spot in career passing yards. He finished 24 of 49 for 238 yards, one TD pass, one interception in overtime and a rushing TD.

Good crowd

This season should be a good one in the attendance category.

The announced attendance of 4,527 on Saturday (no doubt enhanced by the cool, rainy weather) surpassed the largest crowd of 2015, when 4,289 showed up for the homecoming game against Hillsdale. No other game in ’15 drew more than 3,000, and the six-game average was 2,685.

NMU will have at least two more opportunities this year for crowds in the 4,000-plus range: Homecoming is Sept. 24 against Northwood, and Michigan Tech comes to town on Nov. 5. The last time the Huskies and Wildcats met in the Superior Dome—homecoming in 2014—they played before a crowd of 6,427.

Early prediction: NMU will draw 3,500 per game in 2016.

Of course, winning always helps the numbers.