Athletic News

Crown played host to the University of Minnesota-Morris on Saturday, October 11, in a very important matchup of UMAC rivals. Both programs entered the game with identical conference records of 1-1, and desperately needed a key win in the conference race.

Crown looked strong early in the contest. The defense would stop the Cougar offense and then the Storm would quickly drive down the field. The drive was capped off with an Adam Hayes (So. Chinook, Mont.) seven yard pass to Drew Milner (Jr. Sheridan, Wyo.) and the Storm had a 7-0 advantage. The Cougars would answer at the end of the quarter with a fourteen yard touchdown run that would tie the game at 7-7. In the 2nd quarter the Storm offense struggled to finish drives and the Storm defense had trouble slowing down the Cougar ground attack. Morris would take a 14-7 lead midway through the quarter, and right before half-time take the field for a forty-two yard field goal attempt. The Storm gave a big surge and blocked the field goal keeping the score at 14-7.

The 3rd quarter began much as the 2nd quarter had played out. Morris was able to stretch their lead to 21-7 after the Storm offense was incapable of sustaining a drive. Time seemed to be slipping away the Storm, but they roared back to life on a thirty-seven yard completion from Hayes to Callan McKinley (Fr. Chester, Mont.). The Storm had themselves a first down at the eighteen, and a few plays later Lemone Johnson (Sr. Boston, Mass.) ran for a three yard touchdown to cut the score to 21-14 with just two seconds remaining in the 3rd quarter. An energized Storm defense took the field and quickly shut the Cougar offense down. Then they blocked the punt giving their offense great field position. The Storm offense would not disappoint, and Lemone Johnson would cap off the drive with a very impressive twenty-four yard run for a touchdown. However, the extra point would miss wide right, and the Cougars would hold to a 21-20 lead.

The missed extra point would prove to just be the first of many scary moments for Storm Nation during the games final quarter. After another defensive stop the Storm offense would come back out only to throw an interception in their own territory. Fortunately, the defense stiffened again and got the ball back for the Storm offense. Crown would make the most of their opportunity. They would drive eighty-one yards, and cap it off with a six yard pass from Hayes to Zach Freitas (Fr. San Jose, Calif.). Steve Boger (So. Cokato, Minn.) would successfully run in the two-point attempt, and give the Storm a 28-21 lead with 4:27 to play. Morris was not out of it yet, and they drove the field setting up a first and goal at the Storm four yard line. A penalty pushed them back to the nine, and Morris gave the ball to their star freshman tailback Robert Koranda (40 carries for 239 yards, and 357 all-purpose yards), who was able to get to the two before fumbling the ball away. Jay McCoy (Sr. Maple Plain, Minn.) fell on the loose ball with 1:09 to play in the game and it was enough to secure a Storm victory.

The Storm rushing attack was led by Lemone Johnson’s 92 yards and 2 touchdowns on 19 carries. Adam Hayes added 40 yards on 7 carries. Hayes also completed 22 of his 29 attempts for 244 yards. He was intercepted twice, but also had 2 touchdown passes. Drew Milner was the leader of the Storm receivers with 9 catches going for 85 yards and 1 touchdown. On defense, Jay McCoy and Brian Yates (So. Woodlands, Tex.) had big days for the Storm. McCoy had a part in 13 tackles, with 2 going for a loss and 9 being solo. He also recovered the critical fumble at the games conclusion. Yates had 8 solo tackles, with 1 being a 3 yard sack.

Crown (3-3, 2-1) next plays at Martin Luther (4-2, 1-1) on October 18 at 1 pm. For the Storm a win over the Knights would put them in the UMAC championship game in the Metrodome on October 31st.