Statesman

Issue date: 10/15/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Alexander Susuki

The Bulldogs had another dominating performance last Saturday, with a 55-7 win against Northern State.

The 3,808-homecoming crowd helped cheer the Dogs to their seventh-straight win.

UMD now has a 6-0 record in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).

The scoring started with a 5-yard run by sophomore Issac Odim and the Dogs took the early lead.

"Getting out of the gate fast gives us a cushion and makes the opponent play from behind," said Odim.

However, Northern State answered right back with a touchdown.

This was the last time Northern State found the end zone, while the Bulldogs would rattle off five unanswered touchdowns before the half, all coming from the arm of senior quarterback Ted Schlafke.

Schlafke threw touchdown passes to sophomore Justin Neumann, seniors Luke Schalekamp and Tony Doherty, and two to sophomore Noah Pauley, which gave UMD a 42-7 lead at halftime. 

The Bulldogs kicked off the second half with a 33-yard touchdown run from sophomore Brad Foss, making the score 49-7. 

UMD defense shut out the Northern State offense and forced a total of five turnovers throughout the course of the game. 

"There was outstanding efforts on both sides of the ball," said defensive coordinator John Steger. "Scoring on every first half possession really put the game away. On defense, we created five turnovers, five sacks and only gave up 100-yards of total offense for the game."

UMD would score again in the fourth quarter on a 9-yard pass from freshman quarterback Jon Lynch to freshman Ryan Hayes. 

"We play with the confidence to know we can win, but we still have the sense of urgency that comes with knowing we could lose anytime," said Odim.

The defense also quieted the Wolves star running back Tavis Ve'e, who Steger called "one of the best in the nation" to a mere 13 yards.

"We have a lot of depth up front with 7-8 guys to rotate in and out," Steger said. "We have a lot of experience in the secondary with two of the best safeties in the country with seniors Tyler Yelk and Jim Johnson."

In fact, Yelk set the school record for tackles in a career with 279, according to the UMD Web site.

And Yelk wasn't the only record breaker of the day. 

Schlafke's pass to Pauley before halftime marked his 92nd touchdown, which broke the school's record for touchdown passes in a career.

"It was also pretty cool to set the mark on the same day Teddy also broke the record for career passing touchdowns," said Yelk.

Even though the team looks promising, the playoffs are in the far future and every game counts.

"When you're having a great year with national playoff implications, it's usually pretty easy to take things one game at a time," said Odim. "We know that we have to be

perfect, so we prepare for every game as if we have to win."

The dogs are ranked ninth in the nation in both the American Football Coaches Association Division II poll and D2Football.com. The team also remains first in the NSIC.

UMD will travel to St. Cloud, Minn. to play St. Cloud State at 2 p.m. next Saturday.

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