BOX SCORE

MARSHALL, Minn. – Minnesota, Crookston running back Richard Haley rushed for career-high 232 yards and three touchdowns on 34 carries to lead the Golden Eagles to a 33-28 victory over Southwest Minnesota State on Saturday afternoon in Crookston. 

The victory for UMC was its first in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play since Sept. 27, 2008, snapping a 39-game losing streak.  UMC is now 1-3 overall, 1-3 NSIC, while SMSU drops its second straight game and is 1-3 overall, 1-3 NSIC.

UMC built a 33-14 lead into the fourth quarter, before SMSU rallied with a pair of touchdowns to cut the deficit to 33-28 with just under five minutes remaining in the game.  But UMC was able to run out the clock, including picking up a key third-and-12 at its own 18-yard line to seal the victory.

UMC finished the game with 442 yards of offense, including 284 on the ground.  The Golden Eagles ended the game converting nine of 17 on third-down and was also three of four on fourth-down conversions.

SMSU ended the game with 423 yards offense with a season-high 236 on the ground.  Warren Matthews led SMSU with 139 yards and one touchdown on 13 carries, for his sixth career 100-yard rushing game.  Gannon Moore added 69 yards rushing and one touchdown on 10 attempts, while also catching a career-high 10 passes for 118 yards and one touchdown.  SMSU quarterback Tyler Peschong completed 18 of 28 pass attempts for 187 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions.

UMC opened the game's scoring on the first play from scrimmage as Richard Haley broke free on a 60-yard touchdown to stake the Golden Eagles to a 7-0 lead with 14 minutes and 49 seconds on the clock.

SMSU responded on its opening drive, moving the ball 67 yards on 10 plays, with Peschong scoring on a 2-yard run at the 10:07 mark of the opening quarter to tie the game a 7-7.

The Golden Eagles regained the lead on the ensuing possession with A.J. Barge scoring on a 24-yard run on fourth-and-four to make the score 13-7 with 4:49 remaining followed a blocked PAT.

SMSU fumbled at the UMC 31-yard line on its next possession and UMC was able to take advantage to extend the lead.  Haley capped the UMC drive with a 1-yard scoring run with 11:13 left in the second quarter to cap a 16-play, 69-yard drive and make the score 19-7.

SMSU turned the ball over three times in the opening half with Peschong intercepted twice, including once in the UMC end zone late in the half. 

UMC finished the first half with 235 yards of offense and 13 first downs, with Haley leading the way with 137 yards rushing on 17 carries. 

SMSU ended the half with 181 yards of offense with 12 first downs. 

Following an SMSU punt on the opening drive of the second half, UMC added to the lead as Barge connected on a 35-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Cheatham to give the Golden Eagles a 26-7 lead with 9:31 left in the third.

SMSU cut into the lead on its next possession as Matthews ripped off a 58-yard touchdown run, his longest run of the season, to trim the deficit to 26-14 with 7:49 remaining in the third quarter.

The momentum SMSU gained on the scoring drive was quickly taken away on the next UMC drive as the Golden Eagles picked up a pair of third-and-long conversions to keep the drive going before Haley made the score 33-14 with a 20-yard touchdown run with 2:27 left in the third.

The Mustangs didn't quit and answered with another touchdown as Peschong connected with Moore on a 38-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-two to cut the lead to 33-21 with 12:05 on the clock.

Following a UMC punt, SMSU put together an impressive nine-play drive, covering 63 yards, with Moore plowing across for an 8-yard touchdown to make the score 33-28 with 4:48 remaining.

UMC then took over at its own 19-yard line and following a rush for no yards and a rush for minus-one, the Golden Eagles faced third-and-11 and the 18-yard line, but Barge completed a 12-yard pass for the first down and UMC was able to run out the clock to earn the victory.  It was UMC's first victory over SMSU since Oct. 3, 2003.

AJ Page recorded a career-high 14 tackles, including three for loss and one sacks for the Mustangs, while JJ Bobrowicz added 13 tackles.

Southwest Minnesota State is back in action next Saturday night at the University of Sioux Falls (4-0, 4-0 NSIC) with kickoff slated for 6:30.