Miner defense vs. Wayne State

WAYNE, Neb. -- The Miner defense had another good outing Saturday, but its effort wasn’t enough to overcome a turnover-plagued performance by the UMR offense.

Five turnovers in the second half – four of them in enemy territory – doomed the Miners as they fell back to the .500 mark with a 14-9 loss at Wayne State. The loss dropped the Miners to 5-5 heading into their season finale next week.

UMR nearly pulled the game out in the final minutes, as backup quarterback Mark Becker engineered one touchdown drive and put the Miners into scoring position again in the final minute, but the last hope ended with an interception in the end zone with 11 seconds to play.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Wildcats got on the scoreboard first on a six-yard run by Tyler Jones. Wayne State was able to keep that drive alive by converting on a third-and-14 play as Zach Molacek, who led all rushers with 142 yards Saturday, ran for 30 yards to the Miner 25. Jones scored four plays later to put WSC on top.

The Miners came back down the field and thanks to a 23-yard run by Padilla, moved inside the Wildcats’ 10-yard line. However, the drive stalled and UMR had to settle for a 27-yard field goal from Tim Valencia with 9:13 left in the second quarter.

UMR moved into Wayne State territory twice in the third quarter, once when Joe Winters connected with Ashton Gronewold for 45 yards to get the ball down the WSU 10. However, Winters’ next pass that was intended for Brandon Landry was deflected and picked off by Luke Hoffman in the end zone.

The Miners got back to the Wildcat 21 on their next possession, but Winters fumbled while running upfield and the Wildcats’ Matt Greenway recovered the loose ball.

Another turnover by the Miners, this one on a interception that came after a big hit on wide receiver Mike Greaving as the ball arrived, gave Wayne State the ball at the UMR 30 early in the fourth quarter. That set up a 24-yard touchdown run by Molacek on a fourth-and-four play that gave the Wildcats a 14-3 lead with exactly 11 minutes to play.

Winters drove the Miners back into WSU territory after the Wildcat touchdown, but threw his third interception of the half when Robert Manuel picked off a ball at the five -yard line.

Becker entered the game at quarterback when the Miners got the ball back and on his second play, hit Gronewold on a slant pattern for a 38-yard touchdown reception to draw the Miners to within five at 14-9; UMR missed the two-point conversion attempt.

UMR got the ball back after a punt at its own 22 with 1:36 to play and Becker threw a pair of key completions – one to Landry on a fourth down play – to keep the drive going. However, the last chance ended on an interception in the end zone on a play where contact was made with Gronewold but no penalty was called.

Winters threw for 194 yards as he completed 18 of his 34 pass attempts, while Becker hit on five-of-nine for 78 yards in his two series at quarterback. Landry caught nine passes for 89 yards, while Gronewold had 125 yards in receptions on his seven catches. Padilla led the Miner ground game with 64 yards.

Linebacker Avian Jordan led UMR with 15 tackles on the afternoon, while Loren Severs had nine stops from his linebacker position. Daudi White had an interception for the lone turnover forced by the Miner defense.

UMR closes its season next Saturday at home against Kentucky Wesleyan. Game time will be at 1 p.m. at Allgood-Bailey Stadium; the 14 Miner seniors will be honored prior to the game.